Northwest Missouri State hoops on verge of becoming dynasty
By DAVE SKRETTA
AP Basketball Writer
MARYVILLE, Mo. (AP) — Ben McCollum was not a popular pick when Northwest Missouri State hired him to lead its men’s basketball program 14 years ago. He was 27 and had never been a head coach. Now, his Bearcats are coming off a third straight Division II national championship and their fourth in the last five NCAA Tournaments, and each spring for the past few years McCollum has gotten calls from Division I schools searching for their next coach. It would take the perfect fit, though, to pry him away from the dynasty he’s built in a small town in northwest Missouri.