SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Jonte Flowers credits family basketball games for making him the defensive player he has become.

When it comes to his offensive abilities, the credit belongs solely with him.

Four seasons of dedication and determination at Winona State have molded Flowers into the all-around player he envisioned.

A senior guard, Flowers will lead Winona State into the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass. It's the third consecutive appearance for the Warriors (35-1), who play Grand Valley State, Mich. (36-0) at 5 p.m. Wednesday in the quarterfinals.

It's the last hurrah for Flowers and the rest of this year's senior class, the center of one of the greatest stretches in Division II basketball. The Warriors won the national title in 2006 and reached the championship game last season.

In the past three seasons, Winona State is 102-6, including a 57-game winning streak that established a Division II record.

"I'm living a dream," said Flowers, a former Madison La Follette athlete who was named a first-team All-American by Daktronics and a second-team pick by The Basketball Times on Tuesday.

"I'm having so much fun, and it's been a great experience for me and my four years in college. I wouldn't trade it for anything."

That's saying something coming from Flowers, who once dreamed of playing football at the highest levels.

He admits to daydreaming about what might have been had he stayed at the University of Wisconsin and played football for the Badgers.

Flowers has even thought about what might have happened had he stayed and tried to play basketball at UW, where his brother, Michael, is a starting guard for the Sweet 16-bound Badgers.

"I do think about that every now and then," he said. "I do miss the game of football, but my first love is basketball."

That passion has showed in everything Flowers has done the past four seasons for the Warriors.

A breakout season

He came to Winona State as an outstanding athlete but a raw basketball player with plenty of potential. Through hard work, Flowers has made himself into much more.

"Jonte Flowers is one of the best, if not the best player who has ever been at Winona State University," Warriors coach Mike Leaf said.  "He's a special player, a special person."

Flowers' first three seasons had spectacular performances and plenty of highlights, most coming in the form of crowd-pleasing dunks.

As good as he was, this season has been a coming-out party of sorts. Flowers has blossomed into an all-around player capable of carrying his team.

Playing alongside John Smith, last season's Division II Player of the Year, Flowers often was overshadowed on his own team. That's not necessarily the case anymore.

Flowers has left his mark this season. Still a force on defense, he was named the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Defensive Player of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.

Earlier this season he set the Division II record for career steals and has 403 heading into his final week of college basketball.

It's on the offensive end where his game truly has taken off. He's averaging a career-best 17.2 points per game, showing the ability to score in a variety of ways.

A complete player

In his past nine games, Flowers has scored more than 20 points five times, more than 30 three times and set a career-high Feb. 16 with 40 points against Minnesota State-Moorhead.

He scored 33 points to help the Warriors to a 68-60 victory over Northern State in last week's regional championship game.

"The last month has been unbelievable seeing what he's done," Smith said. "He's always been an athlete and always been a fantastic defender, but he's put in so much time on his shot and his offensive game."

Flowers admits it's taken time.

He learned to play defense as a kid when he and Michael would play games with their older brothers.

"We were the youngest and smallest out there," he said. "Sometimes they wouldn't let us play, but when they did we had to find a way to get the ball. We did that through hustle and defense. That's carried us a long way."

The offensive part of the game didn't come quite as easy for Flowers, who didn't have many offers for basketball coming out of high school.

Football, it was believed, was his calling card. When the Badgers came calling, he took them up on the offer.

"Word was I wanted to do football, and that wasn't really the case," he said. "Basketball wasn't too much of an option for me. I'm thankful for the opportunity I did get here at Winona State."

When he left UW and word spread he wanted to play basketball, there was lukewarm interest from top programs. Flowers said he visited UW-Green Bay, but didn't want to sit out a season transferring from one Division I program to another.

With the Warriors, he would have the chance to play right away. He did, too.

At Winona State, Flowers spent hour after hour in the gym with former guard Zach Malvik, the two shooting hundreds and hundreds of extra shots every day.

"I knew he had that work ethic. Even in high school he was always working in his weaknesses," said Warriors junior forward Curtrel Robinson, a high school teammate at La Follette and Flowers' college roommate. "He wanted to be well-rounded and he put in a lot of work in the offseason to make it happen. I knew he could elevate his game to this level."