In case you are reading this column for the first time today or you are a regular reader, this my attempt to bring some small attention to the schools in the Northwest who play basketball below the D-1 level. Of course I love all basketball, so not only this column, but I hope you will go often to CSNNW.com for my Crawford's Court blog, which appears there on Monday and Thursday. As many of you have done and I appreciate it very much, please feel free to send me after getting their permission, the email of anyone who might want to receive this.
Cascade Conference---It was another great week of basketball in what many think is the best basketball league in the NAIA. In order to be the champ, you have to beat the champ. It did not happen and with one week to go, Oregon Tech has a one game lead on the men's side, after a key victory on Saturday night over Northwest, who was tied with Oregon Tech for the league lead going into the game.
It was also a nice weekend for Warner Pacific as they swept at home defeating Northwest Christian University and Corban, to move into a second place tie with Northwest. Next week I will have all the seedings for postseason play.
On kind of sad note, you have to feel for Concordia coach Brad Barbarick, whose team has been decimated by injuries. Brad is truly one of the wonderful people in basketball coaching, has as one of his assistant's Larry Black, another true gentleman. Next week I will be listing several of the seniors on his team that will be going out in this world and making a major contribution to society after graduation, as will so many of these young men and women who play basketball in the Cascade Conference, who are student/athletes in the greatest form.
Northwest Conference---One week to go and all you can say is that once again Whitworth has dominated the league, hats off to them. It has been a tough year for the fans of Pacific and Linfield, many of them who are regular readers of this column. I also want to thank Blake Timm, the superb SID of Pacific University who often writes to me and puts out such a great professional product, which is a big help to myself.
GNAC---Another great basketball conference that plays on the D-2 level. With two weeks to go, the huge edge to win the GNAC title goes to Western Washington, after they beat second place Alaska Anchorage Thursday night 59-50. It should be lots of fun when the GNAC holds it postseason tournament at St. Martin's in Lacey Washington, starting on February 29th.
Community Colleges---It was fun game to see on Saturday night at Clackamas Community College, when the Cougars defeated Linn-Benton is a game that close the entire way. Clif Wegner has his team playing some great basketball, actually should have won both games this past week, but in something you rarely see in basketball they lost at Chemeketa on Wednesday night because of a scoring error. The Cougars actually won the game, 73-72, but in the first half, Chemeketa was credited with a basket they did not score and at the time the final score was 74-73. Sadly this should not happen in this day and age, but it did and tough loss for Clackamas and is not correctable.
One final note on the Saturday game, I am really puzzled why Joseph Vance did not start either half for Linn-Benton, which might have meant the difference in the game. Vance in my mind is the best player on Linn-Benton and one of the top ten players in the South Division, so to not play him all the time seems rather a mystery.
Multnomah University----Hey, let's pack the gym next Saturday for the final home game of the regular season for the Lions. The game starts at 3:00 p.m. and is a critical game for the number one seed against New Hope Christian College.
Multnomah is such an exciting team to watch and Curt Bickley does a great job of coaching his team each and every game.
Please do not forget to go to CSNNW.com often for all the latest in sports news and please feel free to email me crawscorner@gmail.com or on twitter @wchoops
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Week 5, The Other College Basketball People
This is once again my continuing efforts to get some small recognition for teams in the Northwest that play basketball on the D-2, D-3, NAIA and Community College level. Of course for all the news on D-1 basketball, I hope you will continue read Crawford's Court, which comes out every Monday and Thursday on CSNNW.com, the best sports website on the entire west coast.
Also please note, that this is just the tip of the iceberg as we finish out the 2011-12 basketball season. I already have a team in place to go big time with more information and the best website, radio interviews and much more when we get to the 2012-13 season when it comes to D-2, D-3, NAIA and Community College basketball in the Northwest. No one will be able to match what we are going to bring you for coverage of the people that have often been forgotten by many media outlets. We will be the go to people for basketball, without question.
Ok, here we go as we get down to crunch time in all of college basketball.
Multnomah University----Curt Bickley's Lions went 1-1 this past weekend, defeating Walla Walla University on Friday and then traveling to Eugene on Saturday and getting beat by New Hope Christian. Good battle this Tuesday as Multnomah travels to play their arch rival, Portland Bible College.
Multnomah has only two home games left, so I urge you to go to their website, check the schedule and go and watch an exciting team that loves the 3-ball and is so much fun to watch. I was raised on up-tempo basketball and will never ever not be a fan of teams of that score in the 100s as Multnomah does often.
Northwest Conference---It was great to see Tim Cleary's Pacific Boxers break their eight game slide and defeat Willamette on Saturday night. The Boxers have been plauged by injuries this year, so a win was just what the Doctor ordered. I still wish the Boxers would pull one of the greatest marketing moves the Northwest Conference has seen and change their nickname back to the Badgers. So Blake Timm, one of the best Sports Information Directors in the country, get going on my suggestion please.
It is no surprise that Whitworth will once again win the regular season championship in the NWC. Depsite losing their great coach Jim Hayford who left to over the head coaching job at Eastern Washington, the Pirates have not missed a beat this season and have lost only one league game so far, that being to Whitman.
Lastly on the NWC, congrats to longtime Linfield coach Larry Doty for surpassing Ted Wilson as the leader of all time wins at Linfield with 325. You can probably congratulate Larry in person as he is constantly out scouting and recruiting in the state of Oregon. Quite an accomplishment at a school with such a rich athletic tradition and I might add, my alma mater.
Community College---Clif Wegner's Clackamas Community College Cougars continue to surge as they won again on Saturday night, defeating SW Community College on the road. Wegner's team is playing the best ball they have played all year and face a tough week as they travel to Chemeketa on Wednesday and they return home on Saturday night to battle Linn-Benton, which is led by terrific player Joseph Vance.
It is worth noting about the Saturday night victory, seldom in basketball do you ever see a player score more points than minutes played, but the Cougar's Taylor Dunn accomplished that fete this past Saturday as he posted 34 points in just 32 minutes. No matter where Dunn goes to school next year, he is going to help whoever he plays for, it is really hard in this day and age to find a shooter like Dunn is.
CCC---Coaches never like to look ahead, but basketball writers have to and should. That is why the CCC championship just more than likely will come down to the February 11th match-up of Northwest traveling to Klamath Falls to meet OIT. The teams are tied atop the CCC at present and the showdown on Danny Miles court should be something. I also might add, I watch as much basketball as anyone in the country and I have not seen a player on any level play as hard this year as Bobby Hunter for OIT. He does not take one play off, either on the defensive or offensive end.
I am personally looking forward to seeing in person the Corban @Concordia game this coming Friday night on the Cavaliers campus. Brad Barbarick's Concordia team is fighting for playoff positioning and this game will be a key contest for Concordia. Of course the next night, Corban will travel to Warner Pacific to meet the Knights, in what is always a fun place to watch basketball, much like Concordia.
Before I leave the CCC, I would be remiss if I did not congratulate OIT women's coach Scott Meredith on winning 20 games so far this season. Anytime a college basketball team wins 20 games that is an accomplishment in itself.
GNAC---This is quite a league and is headed to a great finish, before the league goes to St Martin's later this month for their postseason tournament. It certainly is no surprise to see a Brad Jackson coached team on top of the league at this point in the season, as Western Washington leads Alaska Anchorage by one game, in an exciting race.
Worth noting as well, two new coaches in the league have had really good seasons thus far. Jamie Stevens is doing a wonderful job at Montana State University Billings as is Brady Bergeson at Western Oregon. Both of these coaches have really turned the programs around at their respective schools and deserve lots of credit.
So there you have another week of my covering "the other guys". If you have someone who would like to get this column by email, check with them first and then send me their email and they will get it automatically each week. Big things as mentioned before are coming from this column next year, but this year you still will get plenty of info. And please do not forget to go to CSNNW.com often to check not only Crawford's Court, but all the other great info on the website, the best as stated on the west coast.
I am always open to suggestions, comments, criticism, you name it by emailing me at crawscorner@gmail.com or you can follow me on twitter @wchoops.
Also please note, that this is just the tip of the iceberg as we finish out the 2011-12 basketball season. I already have a team in place to go big time with more information and the best website, radio interviews and much more when we get to the 2012-13 season when it comes to D-2, D-3, NAIA and Community College basketball in the Northwest. No one will be able to match what we are going to bring you for coverage of the people that have often been forgotten by many media outlets. We will be the go to people for basketball, without question.
Ok, here we go as we get down to crunch time in all of college basketball.
Multnomah University----Curt Bickley's Lions went 1-1 this past weekend, defeating Walla Walla University on Friday and then traveling to Eugene on Saturday and getting beat by New Hope Christian. Good battle this Tuesday as Multnomah travels to play their arch rival, Portland Bible College.
Multnomah has only two home games left, so I urge you to go to their website, check the schedule and go and watch an exciting team that loves the 3-ball and is so much fun to watch. I was raised on up-tempo basketball and will never ever not be a fan of teams of that score in the 100s as Multnomah does often.
Northwest Conference---It was great to see Tim Cleary's Pacific Boxers break their eight game slide and defeat Willamette on Saturday night. The Boxers have been plauged by injuries this year, so a win was just what the Doctor ordered. I still wish the Boxers would pull one of the greatest marketing moves the Northwest Conference has seen and change their nickname back to the Badgers. So Blake Timm, one of the best Sports Information Directors in the country, get going on my suggestion please.
It is no surprise that Whitworth will once again win the regular season championship in the NWC. Depsite losing their great coach Jim Hayford who left to over the head coaching job at Eastern Washington, the Pirates have not missed a beat this season and have lost only one league game so far, that being to Whitman.
Lastly on the NWC, congrats to longtime Linfield coach Larry Doty for surpassing Ted Wilson as the leader of all time wins at Linfield with 325. You can probably congratulate Larry in person as he is constantly out scouting and recruiting in the state of Oregon. Quite an accomplishment at a school with such a rich athletic tradition and I might add, my alma mater.
Community College---Clif Wegner's Clackamas Community College Cougars continue to surge as they won again on Saturday night, defeating SW Community College on the road. Wegner's team is playing the best ball they have played all year and face a tough week as they travel to Chemeketa on Wednesday and they return home on Saturday night to battle Linn-Benton, which is led by terrific player Joseph Vance.
It is worth noting about the Saturday night victory, seldom in basketball do you ever see a player score more points than minutes played, but the Cougar's Taylor Dunn accomplished that fete this past Saturday as he posted 34 points in just 32 minutes. No matter where Dunn goes to school next year, he is going to help whoever he plays for, it is really hard in this day and age to find a shooter like Dunn is.
CCC---Coaches never like to look ahead, but basketball writers have to and should. That is why the CCC championship just more than likely will come down to the February 11th match-up of Northwest traveling to Klamath Falls to meet OIT. The teams are tied atop the CCC at present and the showdown on Danny Miles court should be something. I also might add, I watch as much basketball as anyone in the country and I have not seen a player on any level play as hard this year as Bobby Hunter for OIT. He does not take one play off, either on the defensive or offensive end.
I am personally looking forward to seeing in person the Corban @Concordia game this coming Friday night on the Cavaliers campus. Brad Barbarick's Concordia team is fighting for playoff positioning and this game will be a key contest for Concordia. Of course the next night, Corban will travel to Warner Pacific to meet the Knights, in what is always a fun place to watch basketball, much like Concordia.
Before I leave the CCC, I would be remiss if I did not congratulate OIT women's coach Scott Meredith on winning 20 games so far this season. Anytime a college basketball team wins 20 games that is an accomplishment in itself.
GNAC---This is quite a league and is headed to a great finish, before the league goes to St Martin's later this month for their postseason tournament. It certainly is no surprise to see a Brad Jackson coached team on top of the league at this point in the season, as Western Washington leads Alaska Anchorage by one game, in an exciting race.
Worth noting as well, two new coaches in the league have had really good seasons thus far. Jamie Stevens is doing a wonderful job at Montana State University Billings as is Brady Bergeson at Western Oregon. Both of these coaches have really turned the programs around at their respective schools and deserve lots of credit.
So there you have another week of my covering "the other guys". If you have someone who would like to get this column by email, check with them first and then send me their email and they will get it automatically each week. Big things as mentioned before are coming from this column next year, but this year you still will get plenty of info. And please do not forget to go to CSNNW.com often to check not only Crawford's Court, but all the other great info on the website, the best as stated on the west coast.
I am always open to suggestions, comments, criticism, you name it by emailing me at crawscorner@gmail.com or you can follow me on twitter @wchoops.
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Week 4, The Other College Basketball
Of course this is my continuing efforts to bring you some information about basketball teams that play on the D-2, D-3, NAIA and Community College level. For all the D-1 action and coverage, please always read Crawford's Court at CSNNW.com
If you know someone who would like to read this, please after asking them, send them my email and I will make sure they get the information. Sometimes up to 10,000 people read this, so I plan to keep it up and make it even better in weeks to come and you will see some exciting things happen. If you have a team you like or follow, request they send me information to crawscorner@gmail.com and I will make sure they are mentioned in this blog. Thank you. Here we go.
Community College----Cliff Wegner really has his Cougars playing well at Clackamas Community College. After a blowing out Portland Community College on this past Wednesday night, they went to Roseburg on Saturday night and easily defeated Umpqua. Of course no coach is ever going to say a victory is easy, so leave that up to me. Taylor Dunn is a terrific player for the Cougars and it was a pleasure to meet his father this past Friday night.
It is also worth noting the academics that are being achieved by the Cougar team. Committing 30 hours per week and still producing in the classroom is not always easy, but the Cougars achieved an overall grade point average of 3.33 and three players had a perfect 4.0 GPA, Taylor Dunn, Brett Ball and Jake Dewitt. Hats off to the entire team.
NAIA---It was nice to go to two sellout games this past weekend in the Cascade Conference, Friday night at Concordia and Saturday night at Warner Pacific. Of course it never hurts attendance to have legendary program Oregon Tech in town, bringing a number one ranking.
Facing a number one team did not seem to phase Brad Barbarick's Concordia Cavaliers. In a game that was never even close from the opening tap, Concordia defeated OIT easily on Friday night, before as previously mentioned a packed house. For anyone who loves basketball and lives near Portland, Oregon, Concordia is one of those must see places to watch a game, always great atmosphere and always competitive, but friendly people.
Of course with the OIT Owls in town, the next night they traveled to Warner Pacific to face the first place Knights. Another packed house greeted the Owls, with the Warner Pacific fans almost being outnumbered by OIT fans, it was a tense atmosphere for sure. You had to think OIT would not play as poorly as they did on Friday night and they did not, beating the Knights and forcing what should be a great race down the stretch in the Cascade Conference.
It was also fun to watch the women's games each night before the men and I had never met OIT coach Scott Meredith, who lived up to his billing of being a class individual and someone all of the people in Klamath Falls should be proud of, just like they are of iconic coach Danny Miles.
Multnomah University---A must place to watch a game and what a thriller I was able to witness last Monday, as the Lions lost to Arizona Christian, 128-125 in double overtime. Curt Bickley coach of Multnomah, loves the up-tempo games, as do I, so Multnomah will produce excitement no matter who the opponent is. The Lions are another must see team, if you live around Portland, Oregon.
That is it for this week, but starting next week, you will see expanded coverage of this blog when it comes to all levels below D-1. Of course once again please keep reading Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball.
You can always email me at crawscorner@gmail.com or please follow myself on twitter @wchoops.
This first four weeks are just the tip of the iceberg, more and better coverage coming in February, so please pass this on to as many people as you can, I write it so people can enjoy it, it is that simple.
If you know someone who would like to read this, please after asking them, send them my email and I will make sure they get the information. Sometimes up to 10,000 people read this, so I plan to keep it up and make it even better in weeks to come and you will see some exciting things happen. If you have a team you like or follow, request they send me information to crawscorner@gmail.com and I will make sure they are mentioned in this blog. Thank you. Here we go.
Community College----Cliff Wegner really has his Cougars playing well at Clackamas Community College. After a blowing out Portland Community College on this past Wednesday night, they went to Roseburg on Saturday night and easily defeated Umpqua. Of course no coach is ever going to say a victory is easy, so leave that up to me. Taylor Dunn is a terrific player for the Cougars and it was a pleasure to meet his father this past Friday night.
It is also worth noting the academics that are being achieved by the Cougar team. Committing 30 hours per week and still producing in the classroom is not always easy, but the Cougars achieved an overall grade point average of 3.33 and three players had a perfect 4.0 GPA, Taylor Dunn, Brett Ball and Jake Dewitt. Hats off to the entire team.
NAIA---It was nice to go to two sellout games this past weekend in the Cascade Conference, Friday night at Concordia and Saturday night at Warner Pacific. Of course it never hurts attendance to have legendary program Oregon Tech in town, bringing a number one ranking.
Facing a number one team did not seem to phase Brad Barbarick's Concordia Cavaliers. In a game that was never even close from the opening tap, Concordia defeated OIT easily on Friday night, before as previously mentioned a packed house. For anyone who loves basketball and lives near Portland, Oregon, Concordia is one of those must see places to watch a game, always great atmosphere and always competitive, but friendly people.
Of course with the OIT Owls in town, the next night they traveled to Warner Pacific to face the first place Knights. Another packed house greeted the Owls, with the Warner Pacific fans almost being outnumbered by OIT fans, it was a tense atmosphere for sure. You had to think OIT would not play as poorly as they did on Friday night and they did not, beating the Knights and forcing what should be a great race down the stretch in the Cascade Conference.
It was also fun to watch the women's games each night before the men and I had never met OIT coach Scott Meredith, who lived up to his billing of being a class individual and someone all of the people in Klamath Falls should be proud of, just like they are of iconic coach Danny Miles.
Multnomah University---A must place to watch a game and what a thriller I was able to witness last Monday, as the Lions lost to Arizona Christian, 128-125 in double overtime. Curt Bickley coach of Multnomah, loves the up-tempo games, as do I, so Multnomah will produce excitement no matter who the opponent is. The Lions are another must see team, if you live around Portland, Oregon.
That is it for this week, but starting next week, you will see expanded coverage of this blog when it comes to all levels below D-1. Of course once again please keep reading Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball.
You can always email me at crawscorner@gmail.com or please follow myself on twitter @wchoops.
This first four weeks are just the tip of the iceberg, more and better coverage coming in February, so please pass this on to as many people as you can, I write it so people can enjoy it, it is that simple.
Sunday, January 22, 2012
Week 3, The Other College Basketball People
Here we go my third week of trying to bring some attention to "small college" basketball. Of course I sure do want you also read Crawford's Court, every Monday and Thursday on CSNNW.com and I thank you for reading all of my basketball columns. If you know of anyone who would like to receive this, or Crawford's Court, please send me their email. Thank you.
NAIA---Tremendous battle on Saturday night at Concordia in the Cascade Conference as the Cavaliers answered almost every challenge that league leading Warner Pacific threw at them, only to come up short at the end in overtime, 90-89.
Kind of special to see the game played before standing room only crowd, there was no trash talking, great student section excitement and one heck of a game for sure.
It might get even more challenging for both Concordia and Warner Pacific this coming weekend as Southern Oregon and OIT, led by their iconic coach Danny Miles visit the Rose City for their annual Portland stop. For any basketball fan, this is must see games, no excuses please.
And before I leave the Cascade Conference, I have a bit of free advice for the new commissioner, which will be selected this coming spring to early summer, replacing Dave Haglund. It is a must you spend some money to have your officials evaluated, if not every game, at least several times a year. It is a rarity for this writer to ever say anything negative about officiating, but in my view the Cascade Conference needs to at least have some sort of person at games to evaluate officials. Both the men's and women's program have some work to do when it comes to the people calling the games, no better example was Warner Pacific and Concordia, a horribly officiated game. Cascade Conference, you can do better and you must do better.
Shameless plug, but on Friday night, looking forward to being the halftime guest on the OIT radio network with Bobby Thompson
Northwest Conference---It looks like the winner of the league might come down to the next battle between Whitworth and Whitman, five years past you would have thought I was nuts for saying so, but Eric Bridgeland has done one great job at Whitman, building a winning basketball program, that was totally non-existent until he arrived on the scene. Both Whitman and Whitworth have some work to do before they meet again of course, both teams visit the Portland metro area this weekend as they play Lewis and Clark and George Fox, Friday and Saturday.
No excuse for not getting out to these games, on Saturday night the games at Lewis and Clark and George Fox will start at 6:00 p.m.
The Northwest Conference plays a great brand of basketball and it is always a league that has surprises week in and week out.
Community Colleges----Really happy to see Joseph Vance play so well for Linn-Benton, in the south division of the NWAACC. Vance had another big night on Saturday, as he led his team to a victory in over previously undefeated Chemeketa.
Wednesday night of last also saw a great game at Clackamas Community College, when the Mt. Hood Saints rolled into the Oregon City campus and beat the Cougars, in a thrilling game that went right down to the wire. Mt. Hood continued their great league play Saturday and ran their southern division record to 5-0, gaining a one game lead over Linn-Benton and Chemeketa.
Community College basketball is exciting, you can usually see plenty of D-1, D-2 coaches in attendance and I might just pay another visit to Clackamas this Wednesday when they play host to Portland Community College.
GNAC---What an exciting league the GNAC is this year and once again, no surprise to see legendary Brad Jackson's team at Western Washington on top with a one game lead over Alaska Anchorage and Western Oregon.
Of course Jackson is in his 28th year as coach at Western Washington, who turns out great teams each season, in what is an extremely good league.
On personal note it was also very nice this week to meet Alaska Anchorage assistant coach Ryan Orton. What a nice person and what a good basketball mind and always fun to meet someone you can just tell someday will be a head coach and highly successful when he is.
Multnomah University---Curt Bickley's Lions will have a rare back to back games this week, on Monday playing Arizona Christian at 3:00 p.m (yes correct time) and on Tuesday night meeting rival Portland Bible, both games on the NE Portland campus.
Of course if you have never seen Bickley's teams, you are in for a treat, as per usual the basketball will be fired up lots from behind the 3-point line, my kind of game, exciting and entertaining always.
I urge everyone to follow all of the league above, in the very near future Craw's Corner is going to have some HUGE announcements about this blog and its future. Also once again, please do not forget Crawford's Court, which comes out every Monday and Thursday, all the way through the Final Four, covering lots of interesting stories and news on D-1 basketball on CSNNW.com
Emails always welcome, crawscorner@gmail.com or please go to twitter and follow me @wchoops and I will quickly follow you back.
NAIA---Tremendous battle on Saturday night at Concordia in the Cascade Conference as the Cavaliers answered almost every challenge that league leading Warner Pacific threw at them, only to come up short at the end in overtime, 90-89.
Kind of special to see the game played before standing room only crowd, there was no trash talking, great student section excitement and one heck of a game for sure.
It might get even more challenging for both Concordia and Warner Pacific this coming weekend as Southern Oregon and OIT, led by their iconic coach Danny Miles visit the Rose City for their annual Portland stop. For any basketball fan, this is must see games, no excuses please.
And before I leave the Cascade Conference, I have a bit of free advice for the new commissioner, which will be selected this coming spring to early summer, replacing Dave Haglund. It is a must you spend some money to have your officials evaluated, if not every game, at least several times a year. It is a rarity for this writer to ever say anything negative about officiating, but in my view the Cascade Conference needs to at least have some sort of person at games to evaluate officials. Both the men's and women's program have some work to do when it comes to the people calling the games, no better example was Warner Pacific and Concordia, a horribly officiated game. Cascade Conference, you can do better and you must do better.
Shameless plug, but on Friday night, looking forward to being the halftime guest on the OIT radio network with Bobby Thompson
Northwest Conference---It looks like the winner of the league might come down to the next battle between Whitworth and Whitman, five years past you would have thought I was nuts for saying so, but Eric Bridgeland has done one great job at Whitman, building a winning basketball program, that was totally non-existent until he arrived on the scene. Both Whitman and Whitworth have some work to do before they meet again of course, both teams visit the Portland metro area this weekend as they play Lewis and Clark and George Fox, Friday and Saturday.
No excuse for not getting out to these games, on Saturday night the games at Lewis and Clark and George Fox will start at 6:00 p.m.
The Northwest Conference plays a great brand of basketball and it is always a league that has surprises week in and week out.
Community Colleges----Really happy to see Joseph Vance play so well for Linn-Benton, in the south division of the NWAACC. Vance had another big night on Saturday, as he led his team to a victory in over previously undefeated Chemeketa.
Wednesday night of last also saw a great game at Clackamas Community College, when the Mt. Hood Saints rolled into the Oregon City campus and beat the Cougars, in a thrilling game that went right down to the wire. Mt. Hood continued their great league play Saturday and ran their southern division record to 5-0, gaining a one game lead over Linn-Benton and Chemeketa.
Community College basketball is exciting, you can usually see plenty of D-1, D-2 coaches in attendance and I might just pay another visit to Clackamas this Wednesday when they play host to Portland Community College.
GNAC---What an exciting league the GNAC is this year and once again, no surprise to see legendary Brad Jackson's team at Western Washington on top with a one game lead over Alaska Anchorage and Western Oregon.
Of course Jackson is in his 28th year as coach at Western Washington, who turns out great teams each season, in what is an extremely good league.
On personal note it was also very nice this week to meet Alaska Anchorage assistant coach Ryan Orton. What a nice person and what a good basketball mind and always fun to meet someone you can just tell someday will be a head coach and highly successful when he is.
Multnomah University---Curt Bickley's Lions will have a rare back to back games this week, on Monday playing Arizona Christian at 3:00 p.m (yes correct time) and on Tuesday night meeting rival Portland Bible, both games on the NE Portland campus.
Of course if you have never seen Bickley's teams, you are in for a treat, as per usual the basketball will be fired up lots from behind the 3-point line, my kind of game, exciting and entertaining always.
I urge everyone to follow all of the league above, in the very near future Craw's Corner is going to have some HUGE announcements about this blog and its future. Also once again, please do not forget Crawford's Court, which comes out every Monday and Thursday, all the way through the Final Four, covering lots of interesting stories and news on D-1 basketball on CSNNW.com
Emails always welcome, crawscorner@gmail.com or please go to twitter and follow me @wchoops and I will quickly follow you back.
Sunday, January 15, 2012
Week 2, The Other College Basketball People
This is my continuing effort to bring some attention to the non D-1 schools in the Pacific Northwest. Of course for all the latest news on D-1, Crawford's Court will come out every Monday and Thursday at CSNNW.com
GNAC Conference----It was a great weekend for Western Washington as for the second year a row the Vikings swept the Alaska schools in Alaska. Legendary Western Washington coach Brad Jackson has his Vikings playing very well right and currently are tied for the GNAC lead with the surprising Western Oregon Wolves.
And speaking of the Wolves, after a great start in the GNAC and pre-league, this past Saturday saw the Wolves lose their first conference game in a big upset loss to the Saint Martin's on the Wolves home court. It appears at present the GNAC race is working toward a three team battle, featuring Western Oregon, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific. I will keep you posted, as the GNAC is such an outstanding basketball conference year in and year out.
Northwest Conference---A really tough loss for the Linfield Wildcats this past weekend as they had the Whitworth Pirates on the ropes right up to the end, only to lose 65-61. Very few teams have success in beating Whitworth at home in the last 10 years, so this would have been a huge win for the Wildcats.
Tim Cleary's Pacific Boxers, continue to play well and keep improving under his coaching, but as the travel partner of Linfield, the Boxers came up short this past weekend to both Whitworth and Whitman on the road. Pacific has a real chance to make a statement this Friday when they travel to Lewis and Clark in a battle of the Oregon schools.
Cascade Conference---It seems like this is a constant theme, but once again in men's play Warner Pacific and Oregon Tech are tied for first place, each with one loss. And in case you are wondering, the two teams meet in Portland on January 28th. Of course there are games in between, but looking at the schedules of both teams, that game should decide the Cascade Conference title. And yes I do know that coaches, players and fans take games one at a time, but college basketball writers have to look ahead in order to do a good job.
Big hats off to the job that Scott Meredith is doing as the women's coach at Oregon Tech. His team has an overall record of 18-3 and currently is tied for the lead in the CCC with Eastern Oregon and Corban. In my cursory look at 4 year college teams in the United States, I am hard pressed to find a combined record 37-5 for men and women's teams, as is the case at Oregon Tech, so way to go in Klamath Falls.
Clackamas Community College---Love to follow the Cougars as they not only play excellent basketball every year, but I have known their coach Cliff Wegner for over 30 years and he is a gem of a person, besides being an excellent coach. The Cougars gained a big win on Saturday night in league play, defeating previously unbeaten Linn-Benton on the road.
It is also fun for me to keep track of Linn-Benton, as my friend Kenny Vance's son Joseph is the star of the Linn-Benton team and Joseph is having a terrific season, a player to watch as he advances his basketball career in the future.
It should be a fun night at Clackamas Community College on Wednesday January 18th as the Cougars host the 3-0 Mt. Hood Saints, which is always a great rivalry game.
Multnomah University----Congrats to coach Curt Bickley for getting his first Pacific Coast Athletic Conference win this past Saturday night over West Coast Baptist College. It had to be nice for Coach Bickley to have his great scorer Austin Hodges back after missing seven weeks with a hand injury. The Lions will next be in action Tuesday night when they host Concordia at 7:00 p.m.
Thanks for reading. If you know anyone who would like to receive this column, which I write once a week on Sundays please send me their email at crawscorner@gmail.com and as always please continue to read Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball/. Would also love for you to follow me on twitter @wchoops and I will follow back.
Comcast SportsNet will also be showing two Portland Pilot games this week, Thursday at 7:00 and Saturday at 1:30
And if you are not doing anything on Tuesday night at 9:30 pm, we will be having our weekly Talkin Ducks show on Comcast SportsNet and of course after the Ducks performance over the weekend, plenty to talk about.
GNAC Conference----It was a great weekend for Western Washington as for the second year a row the Vikings swept the Alaska schools in Alaska. Legendary Western Washington coach Brad Jackson has his Vikings playing very well right and currently are tied for the GNAC lead with the surprising Western Oregon Wolves.
And speaking of the Wolves, after a great start in the GNAC and pre-league, this past Saturday saw the Wolves lose their first conference game in a big upset loss to the Saint Martin's on the Wolves home court. It appears at present the GNAC race is working toward a three team battle, featuring Western Oregon, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific. I will keep you posted, as the GNAC is such an outstanding basketball conference year in and year out.
Northwest Conference---A really tough loss for the Linfield Wildcats this past weekend as they had the Whitworth Pirates on the ropes right up to the end, only to lose 65-61. Very few teams have success in beating Whitworth at home in the last 10 years, so this would have been a huge win for the Wildcats.
Tim Cleary's Pacific Boxers, continue to play well and keep improving under his coaching, but as the travel partner of Linfield, the Boxers came up short this past weekend to both Whitworth and Whitman on the road. Pacific has a real chance to make a statement this Friday when they travel to Lewis and Clark in a battle of the Oregon schools.
Cascade Conference---It seems like this is a constant theme, but once again in men's play Warner Pacific and Oregon Tech are tied for first place, each with one loss. And in case you are wondering, the two teams meet in Portland on January 28th. Of course there are games in between, but looking at the schedules of both teams, that game should decide the Cascade Conference title. And yes I do know that coaches, players and fans take games one at a time, but college basketball writers have to look ahead in order to do a good job.
Big hats off to the job that Scott Meredith is doing as the women's coach at Oregon Tech. His team has an overall record of 18-3 and currently is tied for the lead in the CCC with Eastern Oregon and Corban. In my cursory look at 4 year college teams in the United States, I am hard pressed to find a combined record 37-5 for men and women's teams, as is the case at Oregon Tech, so way to go in Klamath Falls.
Clackamas Community College---Love to follow the Cougars as they not only play excellent basketball every year, but I have known their coach Cliff Wegner for over 30 years and he is a gem of a person, besides being an excellent coach. The Cougars gained a big win on Saturday night in league play, defeating previously unbeaten Linn-Benton on the road.
It is also fun for me to keep track of Linn-Benton, as my friend Kenny Vance's son Joseph is the star of the Linn-Benton team and Joseph is having a terrific season, a player to watch as he advances his basketball career in the future.
It should be a fun night at Clackamas Community College on Wednesday January 18th as the Cougars host the 3-0 Mt. Hood Saints, which is always a great rivalry game.
Multnomah University----Congrats to coach Curt Bickley for getting his first Pacific Coast Athletic Conference win this past Saturday night over West Coast Baptist College. It had to be nice for Coach Bickley to have his great scorer Austin Hodges back after missing seven weeks with a hand injury. The Lions will next be in action Tuesday night when they host Concordia at 7:00 p.m.
Thanks for reading. If you know anyone who would like to receive this column, which I write once a week on Sundays please send me their email at crawscorner@gmail.com and as always please continue to read Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball/. Would also love for you to follow me on twitter @wchoops and I will follow back.
Comcast SportsNet will also be showing two Portland Pilot games this week, Thursday at 7:00 and Saturday at 1:30
And if you are not doing anything on Tuesday night at 9:30 pm, we will be having our weekly Talkin Ducks show on Comcast SportsNet and of course after the Ducks performance over the weekend, plenty to talk about.
Sunday, January 8, 2012
Week 1, The Other College Basketball People
This is my first of weekly columns about non D-1 college basketball around the Northwest. I am open to suggestions, information and anything else you can throw at me please. Of course I will continue to write my columns for CSNNW.com, Crawford's Court, every Monday and Thursday, which is mainly on D-1 basketball. If you are getting this for the first time, or are an avid reader thank you as always for reading this. My sincere hope is that you will enjoy this and please feel free to send me the email of anyone you think would like getting this every weekend and I will automatically send it to them. Ok here we go.
OIT---Of course the big story in NAIA as of late, was the ending of the 65 game home court winning streak by Warner Pacific, when they defeated the Hustlin Owls in Klamath Falls. A great victory for sure by the Knights, who might be playing the best basketball in the Cascade Conference at present, as this past weekend they broke the 14 game winning streak of Northwest, in the Knight's home gym.
I would be remiss, if I didn't mention fact that in the ending of the 65 game home court winning streak, it was an awesome feat by Danny Miles' team to win that many games in a row. So awesome that at the time in was the longest home winning streak in all of college basketball and went back to 2008.
There is one certainty about the Cascade Conference, the basketball is always good and it is just fun games to watch, as any of you know when you attend a game.
Pacific----It was nice recently to meet second year Pacific coach Tim Cleary of the Boxers (I still really like the nickname Badgers, which I am use to calling Pacific) As I am considered a marketing specialist by many, what a great move it would be by Pacific to go back to the old nickname. When you talk to Tim Cleary you can just see his enthusiasm for his job and why I think the Pacific the basketball program of the Northwest Conference is in good hands for many years to come. Like the Cascade Conference, the Northwest Conference plays a great brand of basketball so please get out and see a game, if you are able too.
Cliff Wegner---It was my pleasure over the holidays to attend the Clackamas Community College Holiday tournament. What a great event and very well done by Cliff Wegner and his staff of people who put the tournament together. This tournament will be on my basketball schedule for many years to come to attend, as the teams are so competitive and fun to watch. It is also always fun to go to a sporting event where there are so many smiles, not to mention the fact at Community College games you see so many four year college coaches looking for talented players. On January 11th, Wegner's Cougars will host Chemeketa and that is a game well worth attending, especially when there is not much competition on a Wednesday night with other sports.
Larry Doty---Big congratulations to Linfield basketball coach Larry Doty for tying the legendary Ted Wilson for career wins at the McMinnville school this past Saturday night. All basketball coaches work hard, much harder than anyone knows and Coach Doty is right at the top of the list, as you see him all over the place scouting and looking for players. He has a nice young team and they will be a factor in the Northwest Conference race in years to come, once the young players get more experience.
Western Oregon---The national coach of year in all of college basketball at present has to be Brady Bergeson the head coach of the Western Oregon Wolves of the GNAC D-2 conference. After this past weekend Bergeson has his team at 6-0 in league play after having a great pre-league record of 7-2. The Wolves at present have a 10 game winning streak over D-2 opponents. Prior to Bergeson arriving at Western Oregon, the basketball program was average at best. Needless to say, he has turned things around, remarkably in the first year, which is so hard to do on any level of basketball. It is a long GNAC season, but no matter what happens down the road, Bergeson has done at awesome job and it is well worth taking a look at his team. It is kind of a shame that the GNAC Conference and Root Sports are not showing the GNAC basketball game of the week this year. That seemed to be a popular event last year, but it ended. So get to Monmouth, Oregon to see the Wolves, you will not be disappointed.
You can email me at crawscorner@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @wchoops. Plus as stated above I will continue through March to write Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball/
Thank you and each week, I hope this weekend edition of Craw's Corner will get better, please help me in doing so.
OIT---Of course the big story in NAIA as of late, was the ending of the 65 game home court winning streak by Warner Pacific, when they defeated the Hustlin Owls in Klamath Falls. A great victory for sure by the Knights, who might be playing the best basketball in the Cascade Conference at present, as this past weekend they broke the 14 game winning streak of Northwest, in the Knight's home gym.
I would be remiss, if I didn't mention fact that in the ending of the 65 game home court winning streak, it was an awesome feat by Danny Miles' team to win that many games in a row. So awesome that at the time in was the longest home winning streak in all of college basketball and went back to 2008.
There is one certainty about the Cascade Conference, the basketball is always good and it is just fun games to watch, as any of you know when you attend a game.
Pacific----It was nice recently to meet second year Pacific coach Tim Cleary of the Boxers (I still really like the nickname Badgers, which I am use to calling Pacific) As I am considered a marketing specialist by many, what a great move it would be by Pacific to go back to the old nickname. When you talk to Tim Cleary you can just see his enthusiasm for his job and why I think the Pacific the basketball program of the Northwest Conference is in good hands for many years to come. Like the Cascade Conference, the Northwest Conference plays a great brand of basketball so please get out and see a game, if you are able too.
Cliff Wegner---It was my pleasure over the holidays to attend the Clackamas Community College Holiday tournament. What a great event and very well done by Cliff Wegner and his staff of people who put the tournament together. This tournament will be on my basketball schedule for many years to come to attend, as the teams are so competitive and fun to watch. It is also always fun to go to a sporting event where there are so many smiles, not to mention the fact at Community College games you see so many four year college coaches looking for talented players. On January 11th, Wegner's Cougars will host Chemeketa and that is a game well worth attending, especially when there is not much competition on a Wednesday night with other sports.
Larry Doty---Big congratulations to Linfield basketball coach Larry Doty for tying the legendary Ted Wilson for career wins at the McMinnville school this past Saturday night. All basketball coaches work hard, much harder than anyone knows and Coach Doty is right at the top of the list, as you see him all over the place scouting and looking for players. He has a nice young team and they will be a factor in the Northwest Conference race in years to come, once the young players get more experience.
Western Oregon---The national coach of year in all of college basketball at present has to be Brady Bergeson the head coach of the Western Oregon Wolves of the GNAC D-2 conference. After this past weekend Bergeson has his team at 6-0 in league play after having a great pre-league record of 7-2. The Wolves at present have a 10 game winning streak over D-2 opponents. Prior to Bergeson arriving at Western Oregon, the basketball program was average at best. Needless to say, he has turned things around, remarkably in the first year, which is so hard to do on any level of basketball. It is a long GNAC season, but no matter what happens down the road, Bergeson has done at awesome job and it is well worth taking a look at his team. It is kind of a shame that the GNAC Conference and Root Sports are not showing the GNAC basketball game of the week this year. That seemed to be a popular event last year, but it ended. So get to Monmouth, Oregon to see the Wolves, you will not be disappointed.
You can email me at crawscorner@gmail.com or follow me on twitter @wchoops. Plus as stated above I will continue through March to write Crawford's Court, www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball/
Thank you and each week, I hope this weekend edition of Craw's Corner will get better, please help me in doing so.
Friday, December 2, 2011
CRAWFACTS. EDITION 16
BASKETBALL----Really appreciate all the great comments and emails, even the ones that totally disagree with what I write at www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball. My column on Comcast is reserved strictly for D-1 basketball, but it is important to note that there is lots of other basketball to watch and enjoy especially this time of year.
NAIA, D-3 and D-2 basketball offers a great product, so if you live close to one of these schools, get out there and support the program. Also I would be remiss if I didn't mention great high school basketball to see on all levels. And speaking of high school basketball, one of the great high school tournaments ever will soon be here and if you are anywhere around Portland, Oregon at the end of this month, it is a must to see a game or two.
The Les Schwab Invitational is classic event, which appears for now has found a permanent home at Liberty High School outside of Portland. I personally love this tournament, have gone to it most years since its inception and always look forward to great games. This year will especially be exciting as once again, the legendary Oak Hill Warriors will be in the field. Always fun to watch Oak Hill as many of their players go onto great college careers and often continue into the pros. I also feel it is important to recognize one of the classiest people I have ever met in sports, Tony Dorado, Nike's national manager of high school basketball, who knows more about high school basketball than anyone I know and is a big supporter of the Les Schwab.
Bottom line here, no matter what the level of basketball, get out and enjoy it, it is still an awesome sport.
OFFICIATING--- Please allow a short personal note here. As I live in Oregon and was an official in the Portland Basketball Officials Association for 25 years, retiring in 1997, I still have many friends in the Association and follow what is going on.
After the 2012-13 season, longtime PBOA commissioner Howard Mayo will retire. This coming February, the PBOA will select a new Commissioner, one year ahead of Mayo's retirement. At this time it is pleasure and honor for Craw's Corner to officially endorse Steve Scott to become the new Commissioner. While I am sure there are many good candidates running, Steve Scott is the person to move the PBOA forward. Steve is not only a friend, but I have worked with Steve on various projects and know his work ethic and dedication to officiating. He will do an awesome job.
DUCK FANS---Oregon has a great football program, with one of the best football coaches around. But it is getting a little old all the complaining that went on about the changes to Autzen Stadium and the fact that Don Essig can't say "it never rains in Autzen Stadium", in regard to the Pac-12 championship game in Eugene. Essig is a legend as a PA announcer, but Ducks, this in not an Oregon showcase, this is a showcase for the Pac-12. Your reward was getting the home field advantage and besides, I have been to Eugene when it has been raining, even during football games.
And as long as I am ranting, Pac-12 do not underestimate the knowledge and ability of sports fans. By bringing in Paul Olden to be the PA announcer for this game, once again it is your showcase, but please do not try and oversell us on things including the credentials of Olden. All we hear is this guy is the PA for the Yankees and Super Bowl. Well that is only partially right and accurate. After all, Olden has only been the Yankees PA guy since 2009 and he has not been the PA person for the Super Bowl since 2005. Lesson always, even from the great Pac-12, do not overhype the credentials of anyone.
GOLF----My friend Phil Baker, a great guy, has known Tiger Woods for since they were childhood friends. For the record, I do not know Tiger Woods and am not name dropping here, but I do respect Phil Baker. Phil has told me that he thinks Tiger is as close as he has ever been to getting his golf game back in shape and expects a big year out of him. For all golf fans, we can only hope.
More on golf, what is the deal with the slowness of the Champions, Nationwide and LPGA not having their 2012 schedules out. It is especially disappointing as I write this column on December 2nd that the LPGA does not have their schedule up. Often the LPGA feels they do not get the respect they deserve in the sports world, so here is another example to separate yourself from the rest of the "field" and once again a blown opportunity by the LPGA in my mind. I like the LPGA Tour, but is just seems like they do not get it and they might never get it when it comes to promoting your game and relating to fans. Little things matter in sports and little things turn into big successes down the road. By the way, for some great LPGA news, it is always fun to read the great blog written by @tonyjesselli. Tony is one of the best golf blog writers in the world and I really respect his work.
emails to crawscorner@gmail.com, twitter@wchoops and I am on facebook.
Please do not forget the the Wednesday and Sunday night editions of Crawford's Court at www.csnnw.com/pages/ncaabasketball
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