15 years later, State College’s PIAA title run still memorable

For Matt Shetler, the reminders of the 2002-03 State College boys’ basketball season are practically daily.

“The rest of our team here (at his Merrill Lynch office) decided to plaster photos from that season in our break room,” he said. “I’m reminded of it quite frequently because there’s a picture right next to the copy machine.”

Willie Morse also gets reminders, though in a variety of ways. The most frequent is when he is working with several members of this year’s Little Lion team, including the Fribergs, and Morse is imparting his wisdom.

“It never left my blood,” said Morse, the dean of students and athletic director at Our Lady of Victory Catholic School. “The program has always meant a ton to me.”

It has been 15 years since the Little Lions won the PIAA Class 4A title in boys’ basketball, but the members of that team are not at all burdened whenever they are asked to relive that spectacular season.

“It definitely brings a smile to my face,” said Shetler, a financial planner. “As you get older you feel like Al Bundy (of the 1990s sitcom Married … With Children) at times, but it’s definitely all good thoughts and good memories. There’s nothing ever bad thinking about those days.”

A few members of that team will be in the North Gym on Friday night when State College hosts Cumberland Valley at 7:30 p.m. for Alumni Night.

The timing is rather appropriate, given the success the current Little Lion team is showing. They have a 15-0 record, with a deep roster filled with athletes who figure to have futures in either basketball or football.

“They’re similar in personnel and we’re different in our styles,” said Morse, who went on to play at St. Bonaventure and Colgate. “They’re all long and lanky, they all have a good feel for the game. They really do a good job in transition — that’s when they’re at their best.”

The 2003 Little Lion roster had seven young men who would turn into Division I athletes.

Along with Morse, Gabe Norwood made it to the 2006 NCAA Final Four with George Mason, Keith Hardin played at Penn State and Eric Meister went to Holy Cross. Two players had future careers in the NFL as Jordan Norwood hauled in passes for Penn State and won Super Bowl 50 with the Denver Broncos, while Jon Stupar played tight end at Virginia and for the Buffalo Bills. Brady Hart played quarterback at Yale to round out the list.

“We knew we had the potential,” Stupar said. “It was just a matter of if we could get everything to fit together and get a little lucky along the way.”

Getting to raise a trophy was a special experience, and carried into their lives well beyond that night in Hershey when they beat Chester. They learned that whole season about hard work and that some things don’t come easy.

“That championship is still kind of cool,” said Stupar, now in exterior modeling sales in southern New Jersey. “I cherish that ring — it’s still in the box. I’m very proud of it. I didn’t realize it then how hard it was to win a championship. I remember going to Virginia thinking, ‘Oh, we’ll win an ACC championship.’ Never happened. You never realize how hard it is to win any championship.”

They also realized being a part of something successful like that was different, and perhaps more rewarding, than anything they could possibly see later in their lives.

“In high school, these are guys you grew up down the street from, you go to church with, you grow up playing travel team with,” Morse said. “You get really close playing in college with guys for four years, but every guy on your (high school) team has been a part of your community since kindergarten. It’s different when you’re representing your town, your friends, your community than (your college).”

Coach Drew Frank could see the potential for the team at the end of the previous season, but there was nothing assured. He said it was the first time he could remember everyone buying into a plan and understanding their roles.

“I knew it was going to be special,” Frank said. “But I don’t know that anyone would have sat down and predicted that. But it seemed the work we did with the guys in the offseason … there was something different about the guys.”

The season had a number of twists and turns along the way. The previous fall, in the middle of football season, Shetler’s father passed away without warning. The shock had Shetler questioning whether he would even play that season.

“It definitely kept my mind away from things,” he said. “Winning and that whole experience definitely helped as well, a blessing in disguise for sure.”

The team had a decent regular season and finished the year 24-6 overall, but was the District 6 runner-up, falling to Altoona in the finals. A first-round win against Hempfield in Greensburg, locked up by a Stupar buzzer-beating putback for the winning points, seemed to solidify the team. They sailed through the next three games, including a decisive rematch with Altoona in the semifinals.

In the finals against Chester — a state power making its 12th PIAA final appearance at the time — State College was not intimidated and didn’t panic with an eight-point, fourth-quarter deficit and starters fouling out. Morse led the way with eight of his points in overtime and finished with 33.

“When you work as much as you do in the offseason, and there are very few people who truly understand the amount of time I put in … that’s what you want,” he said of the pressure of the final minutes. “For me there was no pressure, there was no fear. That’s everything you work for.”

Many of the players stay in contact in various ways. Morse and Shetler still live in State College, and Stupar frequently catches up with them when he visits his parents in town. Gabe Norwood is still playing basketball professionally in the Philippines. Jordan Norwood just retired from the NFL last offseason, and is with his brother this winter on the other side of the planet.

They may be scattered now, but they were very much together for a spectacular 2002-03 basketball season.

“When we won, people said you can’t understand how much this is going to impact your life,” Morse said. “They say that, but you’re a kid, you’re 18, you can’t know that until you’re older.”

This story was originally published January 25, 2018 at 10:11 PM with the headline "15 years later, State College’s PIAA title run still memorable."