If you are interested in tales of hard work and determination paying off, then the story of Max Artis is for you. Shortly upon arrival on the Augustana campus in the fall of 1977, the list went up signifying who made (and who did not make) the 1977-78 Vikings men’s basketball team. Maxwell Artis, a young man out of East St. Louis Lincoln High School did not find his name on the list prepared by legendary Augustana coach Jim Borcherding.
Instead of brooding about it, Artis picked up a basketball and made the Carver PE Center gym his second home. He shot and he dribbled, he shot and he dribbled, constantly working on the game he loved. In the spring he turned his attention to baseball where he would eventually be a four year letterwinner as an outfielder. Still, he continued to work on his basketball skills and when the fall of 1978 rolled around he was ready. When the list was posted, Artis found his name and he started out with the junior varsity.
His improvement in a year was remarkable and eventually, after leading the junior varsity in scoring, started the last six games of the varsity season in 1978-79 as the Vikings went 18-7. From that point on he was a fixture in the lineup and his athleticism and smooth style of play made him a fan favorite in the Carver PE Center.
In 1979-80 he helped Augustana finish 21-6 and advance to the finals of the Central Regional in the NCAA Division III playoffs before losing to eventual national champion North Park. The next year was 1980-81 and with runningmate Billy Schneider at guard and Craig Brittnum, Shane Price and Bill Rapier in the front court, the Vikings went 25-6 and made it all the way to the championship game of the NCAA national tournament. Artis and Schneider were an exciting and fearsome duo in harassing opponents as they tried to bring the ball up the court. In that magical season the Blue & Gold won the CCIW title with a 15-1 record and in the NCAA tournament beat number one ranked Beloit on the Buccaneers’ home court in the Central Regional final.
A win over Whittier put the Vikings into the Final Four, which was hosted by Augustana in the Carver PE Center. With overflow crowds dripping from the Carver balconies, Artis and his mates finished second, losing in overtime to Potsdam State. With the clock winding down in regulation and the score tied, Artis went high to block a shot, pulled in the rebound and was fouled at about the same time. Just four seconds remained when he sank a pair of free throws to give Augustana the lead and what seemed like the school’s first national title. It was not meant to be, however, as Potsdam freshman Leroy Witherspoon hit a long shot at the buzzer to tie things and send the game into overtime where the Vikings fell 67-65. Despite the loss, Artis was named the “Most Outstanding Player” of the Final Four and was selected to the all-tournament team.
The next year, with Artis and Schneider again driving opposing teams crazy with relentless pressure, the Vikings won the CCIW for the second straight year and advanced to the NCAA tournament for the third straight year. Again it took an eventual national champion to sideline them as Augustana dropped a 54-51 decision to Wabash in a quarterfinal game played in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Artis was named to the Midwest Regional all-tournament team a week earlier and he finished the 1981-82 season as the team’s leading scorer with a 14.5 per game average.
He finished his career with 1,208 points, putting him in 13th place on the school’s all-time scoring list. In one memorable game against North Park on a bitterly cold January evening early in 1982, Artis set a school and conference record when he made 14 straight field goals in a 64-57 Viking victory. He was a first team all-conference selection as a senior after making honorable mention as a junior.
A physical education major at Augustana, he is currently a physical education instructor and basketball coach at Clark Middle School in East St. Louis, Illinois. He has also coached an A.A.U. girls basketball team for the last six years. Max and his wife Brenda reside in Kirkwood, Missouri with their children Brittany, Maxwell T. and Myles.
