The title – “National Champions” – has a nice ring to it. Unfortunately, only one team can actually claim that right each year, and getting there is about the most difficult journey in all of sports. Aquinas Junior College’s 1990-1991 men’s basketball team can proudly say they climbed that mountain and brought a national championship trophy to Coach Charles Anderson and the city of Nashville, Tennessee. The 1990-1991 season saw the Cavaliers travel to Hutchinson, Kansas, for the National Junior College Athletic Association basketball championships after an incredible regular season record of 28-2. Each night of the tournament resulted in a new victory: first over Polk Community College of Florida (68-62), then onto Alvin Community College of Texas (88-70), then Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (85-82), and finally the championship match against Arizona Western (74-68), which gave Aquinas the title. This marked the first time since 1974 that a team east of the Mississippi River had won the tournament and the first time ever for a team from Tennessee. Capping off a storybook season, Coach Anderson that very night was named Coach of the Tournament and was chosen by the “Basketball Times-Basketball Weekly” JUCO Coaches Association as National Coach of the Year. Anderson’s 1990-1991 cagers will always be remembered for the thrills and honors they brought to Aquinas Junior College and the state of Tennessee.
