By Duane Cochran for FightingFalcons.com

As an opposing coach Tim Koenig spent his fair share of time perusing the visiting corridors of Fairmont State University's Joe Retton Arena at the Feaster Center.
 
When Koenig was named the 13th head men's basketball coach at Fairmont State in late June of last year it wasn't long before the 2018-19 Mountain East Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year had his welcome to Fairmont State moment.
 
It came the first time Koenig negotiated the home hallway outside of the Falcons' men's basketball locker room. There, in rather larger-than-life form, the walls are decorated with former Fairmont State coaches and some of the school's best-ever players to don the Maroon and White.
 
The historical homage was the brainchild of former Fairmont State coach Jerrod Calhoun who took the Falcons to the brink of an NCAA Division II National Championship in 2017 before leaving to take the head coaching job at Youngstown State University.
 
It's also a less-than-subtle reminder that at Fairmont State basketball is much more than just another sport. In some senses it's a way a life and a strong passion embraced by both the school and community members, some of whom, have supported the program and it's rich history for well over 50 years.
 
Koenig got the message loud of clear. This is your chance to make history. Don't screw it up. He didn't.
 
And what's even more impressive is with no seniors, just three returning starters, one of whom transferred in from Notre Dame College, and as many as seven other players who were actually playing for Fairmont State on the floor for the first time in their careers, Koenig and the Falcons did make some history.
 
Fairmont State finished the regular season 22-6. The 22 regular-season victories were the most ever by a first-year coach in school history. The Falcons ended up 23-7 and made the NCAA Division II National Tournament which ended up being canceled before any games could be played due to the Coronavirus. The 23 total victories ties Koenig with Calhoun for the most-ever in a first season for a Fairmont State coach.
 
"Until I got here and really got ingrained a little bit and got into the season I didn't know how enthusiastic and passionate this town was about Fairmont State basketball," Koenig said. "Sometimes I learned more from losses. The D&E (Davis & Elkins) loss at home, the Glenville loss at home and the West Liberty loss at home. The town, the community and even our players – the expectation for excellence is really special.
 
"Unfortunately I never had the chance to meet or talk to Joe Retton before he passed away, but I know the legacy he left here. It was outstanding. I talk a lot to Coop (former All-American player and head coach Dave Cooper) and hear the stories and know what he did. I know what Butch Haswell did here as a head coach and of course I do know Jerrod (Calhoun) and Joe Mazzulla personally and I have a ton of respect for what they accomplished here.
 
"Fairmont State is a special place. I knew that coming in, but since I've been here I've learned so much more. For me it was a case of you think you know and maybe understand something, but until you actually get here, get involved and go through a season you really don't know or understand it. I'm getting it though. Every day I understand things a little better."
 
Koenig's first season at Fairmont State was exciting to say the least. The Falcons finished third in the 12-team MEC and recorded 12 of their 23 victories by six points or less, including nine wins by three points or less. The team also lost three games by six points or less.
 
"At the beginning of this past season I heard a lot of people talking about this being a rebuilding year for us," Koenig said. "I mean I heard that a lot. I started to think am I crazy because I don't think so. I think we can win.
 
"When we finished the regular season I honestly had no idea of what we accomplished until after the Frostburg game when Chris Thomas our sports information director came over and told me 'Congratulations you have recorded more regular-season wins than any first-year coach in school history.' I was stunned. That's special and it's really special because of our guys. They achieved this. They put themselves in the record books this year because of what they accomplished.
 
"I'll be honest our togetherness as a team was not very good at the beginning of the year. We got closer as the year went on. Some of those wins we had early looking back now helped us way more than I thought. I knew they were big, but at the time I didn't realize how big they were for us. What happened is people started to listen more and they started to listen to each other more. As a result, we got closer and better as a team and that led to us having a very special year."
 
Junior guard Cole VonHandorf and redshirt freshman point guard Dale Bonner were named first-team All-Mountain East Conference for the Falcons. Bonner was also selected as the MEC's Freshman of the Year. Bonner led Fairmont with a 17.8 scoring average. He also led the Falcons in assists (5.3) and steals (62) and pulled down 4.8 rebounds per game. VonHandorf, meanwhile, averaged 16.3 points per outing and was second on the team in both assists (2.8) and steals (53). He also averaged 4.0 rebounds per contest.
 
Junior guard/forward Kenzie Melko-Marshall was a second-team All-MEC selection. He averaged 14.8 points and led the Falcons in rebounding with a 4.9 average. He also handed out 2.7 assists per game and finished with 32 steals.
 
Sophomore guard Isaiah Sanders, who transferred from Notre Dame, averaged 14.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and had 40 steals for Fairmont this past season, while true freshman forward Shem Golek averaged 8.0 points and 4.2 rebounds.
 
The Falcons also got 5.7 points and 3.1 rebounds from junior college transfer Ilisia Washington, 4.8 points and 2.8 rebounds from sophomore forward Jacob Brown and 4.7 points and 3.4 rebounds from redshirt freshman forward Seth Younkin.
 
The Falcons are also expected to return redshirt junior guards Steven Solomon and Jack Kelsheimer. Redshirt junior guard Donald Kummer wrapped up his playing career and will graduate this spring. He'll serve as the team's graduate assistant coach next season. Redshirt freshman guard Jarrett Cox, who played in 12 games this season, recently left the team and entered the transfer portal.
 
"We talk a lot with the guys about our goals moving forward and we let them have a big say in those goals," Koenig said. "We know how much the town wants this team to win a conference tournament title. We haven't done it here since 1984. That obviously is one of the goals at or near the top of our list.
 
"One of our goals this past year was to be the first team to win the league and win the league tournament title. That had not been done before in the MEC until West Liberty did it this year. That's still a goal of ours.
 
"Since I've been here, I've heard from a lot of people and especially Bob Cable (Fairmont's veteran athletic trainer) how special it was in 2017 to host the Atlantic Regional here, win it and advance to the "Elite Eight." That is a goal too. Our players talk a lot about that. Those goals are all pretty lofty if you ask me, but you have to have high expectations for yourself if you want to be an elite program.
 
"Now, the bottom line for us is we've got to get better as a team. A major key for us is that every player on our team has to get better this off season and we've got to add some more key pieces to help us improve in the areas we need to improve in. We've got a chance and that's all you can ask for. We've got a chance to be better next year and to me that's really exciting."
 
The Falcons have already gotten commitments for next season from 6-8 power forward Ade Jenkins from Virginia Beach, Va. and 6-4 guard/forward Andrew Mills from Owings Mills, Md.
 
One area the Falcons need to improve upon next season is rebounding. Opponents outrebounded Fairmont State by 4.4 rebounds per game and held a 394-293 advantage on the offensive glass.
 
"Rebounding of course has been a big focus in our recruiting," Koenig said. "We know we have to do a better job on the boards. We also need to get more guys with length, more shooters and guys with skill in no particular order. We have two commitments, but we'd like to get two or three more and preferably have those guys be older guys. Guys, who maybe can step in and give us immediate help.
 
"We also want guys who are competitive and unselfish. One thing we need to do is scale back on some of the minutes for our guys. We had three guys average over 33 minutes a game this season. When you look at the national runner up team here from a few years ago Matt Bingaya played 25 minutes a game and he was the regional player of the year and a first-team All-American. Thomas Wimbush played 28 minutes a game on that team. For us to be at our peak we need some more depth. Now, I'm not saying we're going to play Dale Bonner 25 minutes a game, but 38 or 39 minutes, I think, is too much. If we can limit a few minutes here or there for our best guys I think we have the potential to be a lot more effective and productive on both ends of the floor."