From Umpqua to the NCAA Tournament

Like millions of other basketball fans I hardly left the couch the last four days as I watched game after game after game of the NCAA Tournament. I watched good games, bad games, close games and blowouts. But by far the game that was the most fun to watch was the Cornell - UCONN game that was on ESPN2 last night, because one of Cornell's starting forwards was Moina Snyder, who played here at UCC from 2004-2006. It was fun watching Mo play against the #1 ranked team in the country and battle against players who will eventually play in the WNBA. I couldn't help but smile as Mo beat the UCONN post players down the middle of the floor for a left handed layup and I thought back to the hundreds of times I've seen her do the exact same thing in games and practices. ("Cycles" anybody?)

Moina called and asked if Linda and I wanted her allotment of tickets to the game. Her parents were in France and wouldn't be able to make it over and so she thought of us. The fact that she wanted us to take part in the biggest night of her basketball career meant the world to us and we were very appreciative of the offer. Unfortunately, Linda and I couldn't make it to Connecticut on just a few days notice either, but we were definitely there in spirit. Mo had a great career at Cornell; she was a two year starter and received All Ivy League recognition both years. I know it probably sounds a little egotistical but I'm kind of proud that I had at least a small part in Mo's development as a player. She left UCC better than when she arrived and watching her able to score, rebound, and defend against UCONN confirmed to me that we're all doing something right.

Tom Eggers of the News-Review interviewed Mo for an article he recently wrote and here's the link: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080321/SPORTS/333351211/-1/SPORTS

On Cornell's web site (http://www.cornellbigred.com/) there are a couple pictures of Mo in action against UCONN and one of her being interviewed by Rebecca Lobo.

Hall of Fame Banquet, Friends, & Teammates

Last night I had the privilege of being inducted into the California Community College Women's Basketball Hall of Fame and the induction was both an honor and a surprise since I haven't coached in California in fourteen years. At the banquet I was able to see some familiar faces and to talk with old friends and rivals alike. The food was very good and they gave me an award that will look great in the trophy case. I was even able to bring Taylor up to the podium and the entire banquet hall sang "Happy Birthday" to her. (Taylor turned 9 yesterday and even though it wasn't Chuck E. Cheese, she thought the extra attention was really cool!)

But by far the best part of the evening was getting the chance to hang out with former players Dawn Haag and Elizabeth "Bits" Sirchia. I'll have to check but those two might be the winningest athletes in California basketball history. They were on the same team for two years (18 years ago) and during that time our won/loss record was 72-2. Bits was the California Player of the Year as a sophomore and received a scholarship to the University of Hawaii before finishing her career at Cal Poly Pomona. Dawn received a scholarship to Cal State Los Angeles and is now an Orange County Sherriff patrolling Mission Viejo, CA. It's been years since I've seen either one of them yet they both made time to fly to Oakland, rent a car and come to the banquet. The trophy I received was great. Having them there was even greater! After the banquet we all went to the Applebees across from the hotel and relived stories from the past. Each story that was told reminded one of us of at least two more. I wish I had a tape recorder with me!!

After sitting together and watching a few games today we all went to dinner at the Garlic Brothers Restaurant which sits on the water overlooking the San Joaquin Delta. We talked, reminisced, laughed, and shared our food. The night ended way too soon! I invited both Bits and Dawn to come visit us in Oregon whenever they could get away and asked if they wanted to play in the UCC alumni game next season. Even though they aren’t technically UCC alumnae, they have so many things in common with our team this year. I am totally convinced that if they were to sit down and talk to our current players that they would all feel like family in a matter of minutes!!

You know you’ve had a great couple days when you’re inducted into a Hall of Fame and that’s not even close to being the highlight of the trip!!

There's Got to be Somebody Else!!!

I wish I could find a very logical reason as to why we didn't play well at the NWAACC Championships but so far I'm drawing a huge blank. I wish I could say that learning some big life lesson through the whole experience makes everything worthwhile, but in all honesty I can't. Losing sucks plain and simple. Something tells me that between now and next November I'm going to catch myself thinking about this past weekend a lot. It's not that I enjoy being constantly miserable, but if I can pinpoint the problem then maybe I can help prevent it from happening again.

Late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning Linda and I sat in the hotel and talked about some of the things that we needed to work on in order to help our team get better. We talked for a long, long, time without either of us wanting to admit that we knew the season was really over. It didn't feel right then; it didn't feel right during the trip back to Roseburg; and it doesn't feel right now. It seems like there's got to be somebody else we can play.

Cassie Scheffelmaier came by the office this morning and Jacque Anderson is here now, using the office whiteboard to make an outline for an English paper she is writing. Other than those two, I haven't seen or talked to anyone else on our team today. It's been a strange and lonely day! For the past five months Mondays have been reserved not only for for the hardest workouts of of the week in the gym but also for weight lifting and "Monday meetings." Today, the office, gym, and weight room were all ghost towns. It just doesn't feel right. There's got to be somebody else we can play!!

Tournament Banquet

The NWAACC held a banquet tonight for all the teams that wil be playing in the championship tournament - 16 women's teams and 16 men's teams - plus coaches, sponsors, athletic directors, VIP's, etc. It was held in a huge banquet room adjacent to the Toyota Center and the room was packed. It was fun to see all the athletes dressed up and even more fun watching the dressed up athletes checking out the other dressed up athletes!! I might be a little biased but I thought our girls were the best looking team at the banquet!!! As a coach I sometimes forget (or at least try to) that these girls have lives outside of basketball. Seeing them all in dresses and wearing makeup made them seem so much older and they all carried themselves with great confidance. Each one of the girls represented themselves and UCC very well. Their parents would have been proud of them tonight!!

This Season's Last Practice

Today was kind of a bittersweet day for me as it was our last practice of the season. Sure, we'll have a couple walk throughs and shoot arounds at the NWAACC Tournament but they won't be anywhere near the length and intensity of our normal practices. As our current players and alumni already know, we have a series of drills that we run at the beginning of most practices, and even as those drills were in progress, I kept thinking to myself that this would be the very last time that I would watch the sophomores work on those skills.

I don't know why we've never done it, but I really wish that we had videotaped the first practice of the year. It would be so much fun to watch it now and to see how much everyone has improved in just a few short months. I remember that practice like it was yesterday. . .there was so much nervous energy as most of the girls had absolutely no idea what to expect. I had to stop and explain every single drill in complete detail because we just didn't have enough sophomores to demonstrate. Linda and I were immediately impressed at how unselfish they were even from the very beginning. Afterwards, Cassie Scheffelmaier walked off the court and told us that she had never gone through a practice like that before. I'm sure looking back, that day looks pretty easy to Cassie and the other freshmen now.

It would be even more fun to go back and watch a tape of the sophomore's first practice. Sam, Denay, and Marissa are completely different players now with more and better skills than any ever imagined that they would have. Coaching is kind of like watching your kids grow because when you see them every day you don't always notice the daily, subtle changes. But then when you go back and look at a tape of them taken a year or two earlier, the differences are obvious and often staggering.

While many things changed over the course of the season as everyone grew and developed, some things stayed the same. Back on the first day of practice, Kayla Haines was so excited to play that she had goose bumps all over her arms. Today, on the last day of practice, Kayla Haines was so excited to play that she had goose bumps all over her arms. . . . .

I wish today was the first practice again instead of the last. . . . . .

Umpqua 99 SWOCC 77; Preparing For NWAACC Tournament

We finished out the NWAACC Southern Region last Wednesday with a 99-77 win at Southwestern Oregon, which is one of the toughest plays in the NWAACC to play. The bleachers are only about six rows deep and the teams sit on the bottom row of the bleachers instead of in chairs. Their student "fans" are the most obnoxious in the league and the SWOCC administration has a "students will be students" attitude. Where else does the official school mascot (in this case a raccoon in a basketball uniform) routinely flip off and swear at the opponents leading scorer every time a basket is made just to try and keep up with the rest of the fans? Walk or stand on the opposite sideline to take the ball out of bounds and expect to have someone slap your butt or the back of your calves. I'm really shocked that more fights don't break out there! You can read about the game here: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080221/SPORTS/337693305/-1/SPORTS

The last several days has been crazy to say the least. The girls have been trying to work ahead in all their classses since it is extremely probable that they will miss four straight days of school. The NWAACC Championship banquet is a dress up event and so takes some advance preparation from all of us who have spent the majority of the last five months in sweats. There are 16 teams in the tournament and so we have been gathering up and watching all the videotape we can of possible opponents. Take 13 people multiplied by enough clothes, socks, and underwear for 6 days in addition to game uniforms, a box full of game videotapes and dvds, a vcr, a dvd player, and several lap tops and backpacks full of homework and you have an idea what the inside of our team van is going to look like!!

Our first round game is scheduled for 10pm next Thursday and so we have been practicing at 10pm to get ready. If you didn't look at the clock you'd never know it's that late - practice has looked the same way it does every day at noon. We haven't really changed anything in our practice routine instead choosing to continue to get better at the things we have done all year. We did a pretty good job in our preseason tournaments preparing for teams and making adjustments on the run and we are hopefully optimistic that we can continue that trend in Kennewick.

The local newspaper ran a short article on Denay Martin a couple days ago and is planning on a tournament preview on Wednesday or Thursday. Here's the link to the article: http://www.oregonnews.com/article/20080222/SPORTS/559484634/-1/SPORTS

Principal Cynthia Richardson

While recruiting potential players over the years I have watched games and been on high school campuses throughout Oregon, Washington, California, Idaho, and Nevada. I have met parents, coaches, athletic directors, fans, mascots, and other assorted characters, but last night I met someone who really, really impressed me - McKay High School Principal Cynthia Richardson.

Almost immediately after five of us (Dee, Miranda, Cassie, Jeff and I) walked into the gym we were greeted by a very friendly lady dressed in a nice warm up outfit and a McKay Womens Basketball t-shirt who shook my hand and welcomed me to the game. As we talked for several minutes, every student that walked by received some type of recognition from Ms. Richardson. She called them all by name, asked them about classes or homework and then gave them a smile and a high five. Ms. Richardson introduced a couple of them to me and then added "This one has a great future ahead of her." I couldn't help but believe her and noticed how each student walked away a little taller and with a little more confidance.

As soon as the game was over Ms. Richardson came back up into the bleachers and asked if we had heard the good news - West Salem HS had lost their game and McKay was the league champions. There wasn't a parent or athlete in the gym who was more excited than she was. Then she noticed my son Jeff standing close by and rushed to introduce herself. "I understand you go to college close by," she said. "I live right over here (gave directions) and if you ever want a home cooked meal, you're always welcome to drop by!" We all felt that we had a friend for life.

As we all walked through the parking lot back to our cars, we talked about how much fun we had at the game, and how impressed we were by everyone at McKay. The conversation drifted towards the leader at McKay, Principal Cynthia Richardson and I couldn't help but notice that we were all walking a little taller and with a little more confidance.