Season In Review
When Butch Estes became Guilford's men's basketball coach after six years away from collegiate coaching, he knew what he was getting into. He saw top Division III teams while broadcasting three national championship games for FoxSports and knew defending Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) champion Hampden-Sydney (the national runner-up in 1999) ranked among the country's best. Estes also saw films and statistics of Guilford's 1998-99 team, which went 3-21 and missed the ODAC Tournament for the fourth consecutive season. He didn't expect a dramatic turnaround in 1999-2000, but sought to lay a solid foundation for future success.
In Estes' first season, the Quakers doubled their overall (6) and conference (4) win totals from 1998-99, but again failed to reach the ODAC Tournament. The team's prospects looked bright after the first few weeks of the season, but the mid-semester break and a rugged league schedule led to a 1-11 stretch during January and February. Guilford recovered and entered the last game of the season with a chance to finish sixth in the conference with a win over Washington and Lee, but dropped a 74-56 decision and instead finished 10th.
"We were one game away from sixth place. We were close," Estes said. "It's a shame for all the effort and hard work we put into it and weren't able to break through."
While Guilford returned 11 letter winners and four starters from the 1998-99 squad, Estes considered the Quakers a team of 14 freshmen since he implemented new offensive and defensive strategies. Guilford played well at the start of the season and entered the mid-semester break with as many wins (3) as it had in all of 1998-99, plus a 2-1 league record. While losing to Division I clubs from Davidson and neighboring UNC Greensboro, the Quakers represented themselves well, outrebounding Davidson and staying within a dozen points of UNCG well into the second half.
Guilford posted ODAC wins at Lynchburg and home versus Eastern Mennonite to gain some much needed confidence headed into the wave of second-semester ODAC games.
"I felt really good after we beat Eastern Mennonite here in the last game before Christmas," Estes said. "I felt everything was going in the right direction at that point."
As good as the Quakers felt entering the break is as bad as they felt after it. A January 4 game with Washington and Lee was moved from Greensboro to Lexington, VA, due a Generals' scheduling conflict. The Quakers dropped a tight 73-67 game, which started a four-game losing streak. Guilford momentarily broke the slide with a road win over Eastern Mennonite, but dropped their next seven contests and slid to the bottom of the conference standings.
The Quakers kept working and scrapped their way to a surprising victory February 9 at Emory & Henry, their first in Emory, VA, since 1994. Guilford followed with a come-from-behind home win over Chowan and played eventual ODAC Tournament champ Roanoke to a four-point game two days later.
"We came back up at the end," said Estes. "I liked the way the season finished." He said the Quakers were flat in the season finale due to fatigue or because of their lack of experience in playing important games.
Estes looks forward to finding the proper blend of skill and experience that will move Guilford up the conference standings. He likens the top ODAC squads favorably low-level Division I programs and cites Randolph-Macon's nine-point loss to Division I Furman as an indication of the league's quality and depth. Randolph-Macon finished fifth in the ODAC.
With continued support and program upgrades to attract top-notch student-athletes, Estes firmly believes the Quakers can compete at that level. He enjoyed his first season at Guilford and wants to revive the program's proud tradition.
"I had a great time," Estes said. "When you only win six games and you had a great time doing what you're doing, you know you're back in the right profession. There's so much more we can do, but I'm pleased at the attention we're getting from prospects and look forward to next year."