2006-07 Men’s Basketball Team - Tim Abercrombie, Justin Junghans, Ryan Junghans, Nick Scott, Darnell Edmonds, Anthony Bennett, Arthur Claybon, Chris LeGrand, Mike McCarrick, Jeff Willison, Jesse Gutekunst, Nnamdi Uzoukwu, Sean Robine, Joe Carpenter, Clyde Moore (manager), Tom Dickman (head coach), Emonte Hill (assistant coach), Keith Adams (assistant coach), Adam Dickman (assistant coach)
The 2006-07 Hood men's basketball team experienced one of the most brilliant campaigns in Hood athletics history and arguably in all of NCAA Division III. In just its fourth season as a varsity program, head coach Tom Dickman guided the Blazers to a 21-8 overall record, the Capital Athletic Conference regular season championship, a berth in the CAC title game and an at-large bid in the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament. The former coaching legend at Gov. Thomas Johnson High School came to Hood in 2003-04 and built the men's basketball program from scratch with a group of 13 freshmen. The Blazers won their second regular season tournament title at Lebanon Valley College in November 2006 which was a sign of the remarkable success that would be forthcoming for Dickman's clan. Less than two weeks later, Hood hosted its first-ever CAC contest against Gallaudet University. The Blazers knocked off the Bison, 77-64, for their first conference triumph in program history. Hood got into the thick of its conference slate in January and managed to defeat all eight CAC schools at least once in its inaugural season in the conference. The Blazers won their final three league contests to clinch the 2007 CAC regular season crown. By virtue of winning the regular season title, the Blazers secured home-court advantage throughout the CAC tournament. Top-seeded Hood defeated eighth-seeded Goucher College and fifth-seeded St. Mary’s College (Md.) to advance to the title game against defending champion Catholic University. The second-seeded Cardinals handed Hood just its second home loss of the season, 85-75. Hood's disappointment from losing the title game was transformed into jubilation a little over 24 hours later when Dickman and the Blazers learned they were one of 18 elite squads to garner an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament. Hood traveled to Virginia Beach, Va., to take on the Old Dominion Athletic Conference champion Hampden-Sydney College Tigers in the first round. Despite a valiant effort, the Blazers failed to advance in the tournament, falling 68-65. Dickman was lauded for his superb effort with three coach of the year citations. The Blazers also landed two players on the CAC first team in center Jesse Gutekunst and guard Ryan Junghans. Gutekunst and Junghans were also named to the all-region first and second teams, respectively.
