Tropf, once in the national spotlight, to guide Wildcats

Jeff Tropf and son Jason

Some people see an old boat as a bunch of trouble. Jeff Tropf sees his 1968 Chris Craft as a reliable tool.

He's not one to toss something useful away.

Tropf is a charter boat fisherman in the summer, a school teacher at other times of the year and always a basketball fan. His athletic, 6-foot-8 build prompts many clients to ask him a leading question: "Did you use to play?"

His stock answer has been "No." That seems easier than delving into a basketball career he takes great pride in, but is generally condensed into one misguided movement placed under the national spotlight 32 years ago. Most players who pushed a racial agenda at the time would take back their decision today if given a choice.

The lesson Tropf took from the incident was that "team" should always come above "individual" in basketball. It's a lesson he hopes to instill in players on the Northport varsity team next winter.

Tropf, the former Central Michigan University basketball star who played on two Mid-American Conference championship teams and was drafted by Portland to play in the National Basketball Association, has accepted the head coaching position at Northport.

The decision didn't come easy and was not without some trepidation. He has taught in Suttons Bay for 26 years — close to retirement, if he so chooses. He's heard of — and knows first-hand as a previous coach — the pressures that unhappy parents can bear on coaches.

And frankly — Tropf is nothing if not frank — he never considered himself a coach, even though coaching led him into the teaching profession.

"I admire the Keven Crosses, the Chris Stannards, the John Grosses, the Larry Glasses of the world," said Tropf, dropping the names of past Leelanau County coaches. "I think they have equal passion to take care of the kids. I believe I am as intense as all of them, and I believe that is what we will have in the Wildcats."

Discipline and hard work

During interviews for the position, Tropf told Northport officials, including superintendent Ty Wessell and athletic director Marshall Collins, that discipline and teamwork will be two of his top areas of emphasis. He wanted to dispel any question about being forced to dish out playing time to well-connected players who weren't willing to make sacrifices put forth by his teammates.

Tropf has been close to that once in his life. Too close.

His decision to return to the bench also boils down to bloodline. His son, 6-foot-4 Jason, played junior varsity basketball last season. Stannard, the long-time and popular Northport basketball coach, decided to retire, leaving the program without a leader.

Given the turmoil that has surrounded Northport School in recent years, Tropf could not sit on the sidelines.

He was a presenter at what was dubbed the Northport Summit, a public display of optimism over the future of the community held last winter. It was organized by resident and activist Andy Thomas in response to discussions to close Northport School.

Northport has suffered from declining enrollment, a recurring theme for the past several years that has led senior classes to ask if theirs would be the last to wear the Blue and Gold.

"I'm not doing anything that other people haven't done before," said Tropf, whose wife, Margie, teaches upper elementary school and kindergarten in Northport. He sees a great future for Northport School, and wants to do his part.

He won't inherit a roster full of returning talent, and in fact will likely be short on numbers. Thanks to a scrappy style of play and a few outstanding players such as 2007 graduates Drew Mitchell and Cody Brown, both three-year starters, Northport has stayed competitive.

"My guess is we'll have a few uniforms left over if any wants to play ball," said Tropf.

The MSU controversy

They'll have to learn to play together, a lesson Tropf gladly received two years after turning down recruiting efforts from Notre Dame, the University of Michigan and even Indiana University.

He was a Spartan, having grown up just a commute from East Lansing in Holt, and wanted nothing more than to play in "The Barn" at Jenison Fieldhouse.

The year was 1975, and in a recent development freshman were allowed to play on college varsity teams. It was also a time of racial unrest, and nowhere did black and white cultures clash more than on college campuses.

When coach Gus Ganakas announced to the team that he planned to start young Tropf against No. 1 Indiana in one of the Spartans' few nationally televised game, black leaders on the team walked off.

"It was over Christmas break," remembers Tropf, who agreed to sign a letter of silence later that year in exchange for MSU releasing him from his scholarship. "They had to call back the junior varsity players from all over. It was the worst loss in MSU history."

The incident also made national headlines, and shattered all traces of innocence brought by Tropf to his freshman year in collegiate basketball.

Eventually the school smoothed over the walkout, allowing all sides to move on. MSU hired Jud Heathcote from the University of Montana, who managed to convince another tall freshman from the Lansing area, Earvin "Magic" Johnson, to follow through on his commitment to become a Spartan. The result: A national title in 1979.

Black members of the 1975 team also moved on to successful careers. However, Tropf has learned that all his former MSU teammates regret their actions today.

Switching gears at CMU

And Tropf's basketball dreams came true just up the road. Tropf drove to CMU, where coach Dick Parfitt was putting together a team capable of playing with the nation's elite schools.

Tropf asked if he could be given a tryout. Parfitt offered a scholarship.
When Tropf opened the door to move into his Mount Pleasant apartment for the fall semester, he discovered his new teammates — all of them — there to help.

He had found a home.

Included were Dan Roundfield, James McElroy and Ben Poquette, who went on to NBA careers. The Chippewas won a MAC title in 1977 while advancing to the Regional final in Dayton, Ohio, losing to powerhouse Kentucky. They took the MAC title again in 1979.
Tropf remembers Parfitt as a "true gentleman."

"He said after so many years you aren't going to remember the scores of all the games or how many points you scored. You're going to remember the players who you played with. And he was right," said Tropf.

He had found a team.

Today Tropf has nothing but powerful, fond memories of his collegiate career, and no regrets over the injuries that kept him from an NBA career. He was drafted in the fifth round by Portland but ruptured his Achilles tendon in tryouts the summer after graduating from CMU. "I was months and months in a cast," he said.

Like his freshman year at MSU, Tropf turned what might be looked upon as a setback in life into a search for opportunities. A biology major, he learned that Chippewa Hills High School in Remus needed a basketball coach, and got the job. Then a biology teacher at the school suffered a farming accident that kept him from the classroom.

Tropf became a teacher.

The next year Tropf's father told him of a biology and coaching opening in Suttons Bay. If basketball was his favorite sport, hunting and fishing were right behind. He coached the Norsemen girls' varsity and the boys' junior varsity teams for several years, married a girl from Northport, raised a family, and spent his summers fishing.

Basketball, however, dropped out of his life. He rarely played, and avoided the subject even among his growing list of charter boat clients. His oldest son, Dave, opted not to play basketball but loved golf. The family decided to enroll Dave at Suttons Bay, which offered a golf program, instead of Northport closer to home.

Dave Tropf helped lead the Norsemen to the state golf title in the fall, and is enrolled at CMU.

But it's Jason's turn, and Northport needed a coach. Tropf, who figured he would be attending every game anyhow, stepped to the plate.

It's another opportunity in life, not unlike that old Chris Craft boat.

"I just love your woodwork, what is it, teak?" asked a strolling visitor at Fishtown this week, peering into the stern at the work Tropf has put into his boat.

The nearly 40-year-old boat is aptly called Fast Break. Like other opportunities in his life, Tropf has taken good care of it.