PORTLAND, Ore. - The team arrived early and is currently shooting around at Chiles
Center.
There was concern that
inclement weather was moving in, but besides a couple of raindrops during the
ride over and temperatures in the low 30s, it's really not bad out right now.
This is probably the
quickest trip the team has had, aside from nearby bus trips to places like Fort
Collins and Laramie.
Yesterday's flight landed
about 5 p.m., and if everything goes as planned today, the team will be back in
the air around 4:50 p.m., meaning just under 24 hours in Oregon.
Next time the team is on a
small plane, like the one last night, we are hoping to snap a couple of
pictures for a future blog. Seeing a guy like 6-9 Andrew Hooper shoehorned into a plane like that is interesting. I'm
not sure he would have enough leg room if you removed the seat in front of him.
Same goes for Justin Coughlin and,
truth be told, maybe even 5-10 Alex Pickert.
It's like the aerial
version of a clown car, when the flight attendant opens the door and the team
spills back out.
It was a low-key evening
last night with a team dinner in the hotel, and pregame this morning consisted
of scrambled eggs, potatoes and assorted bagels and cereals.
The University of Portland
is in the West Coast Conference, and the Pilots are expected to compete with
Gonzaga for the conference crown. The team is hoping to make the NCAA
Tournament for just the third time and the first since 1996.
The Pilots started the season
off strong with wins over Oregon, UCLA and Minnesota, but they are entering
today's game on a three-day skid.
All 4,852 seats in the
Chiles Center seem to be right on top of the court, and the arena appears to
be more purple than Coors Field.
Finally, Portland has one
player from Colorado. Freshman guard Cody Mivshek was born in Littleton
and grew up in Fort Collins. I'm told his given name is Kodiak. Not
sure why he would shorten a name like Kodiak Mivshek.
Happy Birthday:
First, we would like to apologize for not calling out birthdays for assistant
coach Jon Jordan (Nov. 25 with a win
over Wyoming) and freshman Blake Foeman
(Dec. 8 with a win over Cal State Northridge).
We would like to send out
birthday greetings for former DU center Adam Tanner, who played at Denver in 2006-08.
Tanner is somewhere near his
hometown of Melbourne, Australia, celebrating his 25th birthday.
Missed Milestone:
While we try to keep up with the milestones of the team, sometimes they
slip by us without fanfare. The Voice, Mitch Hyder, called his 300th
Denver men's basketball game against Lamar on Dec. 2.
So, here's to The Voice and hopes that his cracking voice holds up through Game No. 303.
A Time to Give:
There is still time to team up with the Pioneers to help a few worthy charities
during the holiday season.
9Cares Colorado Shares Nights are booked for the Dec. 17 men's game against Florida
International, and the Dec. 19 men's and women's doubleheader. All fans who
bring non-perishable food items to donate will receive a $2 discount on each game ticket for each donated item, good for
up to four tickets per transaction and available only at the Ritchie Center
Ticket Office. All collected food will go to the New Life Fellowship Food
Pantry.
All DU home events through
Dec. 17 will have Toys for Tots
collection boxes available. During these difficult economic times, there is an
even greater need than usual for toys. Any and all donations of new, unwrapped
toys are appreciated.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights
- 3
Total Mileage Flown - 1,958
Total Bus Miles
- 377
Total Number of Hotels - 3
Total Number of Different Airports - 3
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Number of Records Held by Pioneers at Portland's
Chiles Center - 1 by former DU player
Adam McCanna, who had eight blocked shots against the Pilots in 1997
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Charity, Bus Rides and Bowling - 12/2/09
DENVER - The
team is back home and ready to face the Lamar Cardinals tonight after a great
win at South Dakota State last Saturday.
The team is 4-1 and feeling confident, although the coaches and players know that they have to keep working hard and improving. Head coach Joe Scott often says that games get more important - and more challenging - as the team keeps winning.
The coaches wanted to give everyone a chance to bond off the court, so the team headed to a local bowling alley on Monday afternoon. It's safe to say that nobody is likely to join the PBA anytime soon, but everyone had a good time.
Rumor has it that The Voice, Mitch Hyder, took home the unofficial title, although Andrew Hooper was right on his heels. Travis Hallam, who bowled quite a bit throughout his youth, came ready to go with his own bowling ball and shoes. Hallam will be the first to admit that his bowling skills have deteriorated a bit, but it's hard to fault him since he can't get much practice in between school and basketball.
Another One Rides the Bus: There are still a limited number of seats available for a (roundtrip) bus ride from Denver to Fort Collins for the Colorado State game this Saturday. For just $25, fans can have a seat on the bus, game ticket, food and beverages during the ride.
Space on the bus is limited, and reservations must be made by Thurs., Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. To purchase tickets, please contact Dan Wesolowski at 303-871-3682 or daniel.wesolowski@du.edu.
A Time to Give: With the holidays upon us, DU is partnering up with a few charitable donations and encouraging fans to help those less fortunate.
All DU home events through Dec. 17 will have Toys for Tots collection boxes available. During these difficult economic times, there is an even greater need than usual for toys. Any and all donations of new, unwrapped toys are appreciated.
9Cares Colorado Shares Nights are booked for the Dec. 17 men's game against Florida International, and the Dec. 19 men's and women's doubleheader. All fans who bring non-perishable food items to donate will receive a $2 discount on each game ticket for each donated item, good for up to four tickets per transaction and available only at the Ritchie Center Ticket Office. All collected food will go to the New Life Fellowship Food Pantry.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 2
Total Mileage Flown - 966
Total Bus Miles - 188
Total Number of Hotels - 1
Total Number of Different Airports - 2
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Number of Players Who Own Bowling Shoes - 1
The team is 4-1 and feeling confident, although the coaches and players know that they have to keep working hard and improving. Head coach Joe Scott often says that games get more important - and more challenging - as the team keeps winning.
The coaches wanted to give everyone a chance to bond off the court, so the team headed to a local bowling alley on Monday afternoon. It's safe to say that nobody is likely to join the PBA anytime soon, but everyone had a good time.
Rumor has it that The Voice, Mitch Hyder, took home the unofficial title, although Andrew Hooper was right on his heels. Travis Hallam, who bowled quite a bit throughout his youth, came ready to go with his own bowling ball and shoes. Hallam will be the first to admit that his bowling skills have deteriorated a bit, but it's hard to fault him since he can't get much practice in between school and basketball.
Another One Rides the Bus: There are still a limited number of seats available for a (roundtrip) bus ride from Denver to Fort Collins for the Colorado State game this Saturday. For just $25, fans can have a seat on the bus, game ticket, food and beverages during the ride.
Space on the bus is limited, and reservations must be made by Thurs., Dec. 3 at 5 p.m. To purchase tickets, please contact Dan Wesolowski at 303-871-3682 or daniel.wesolowski@du.edu.
A Time to Give: With the holidays upon us, DU is partnering up with a few charitable donations and encouraging fans to help those less fortunate.
All DU home events through Dec. 17 will have Toys for Tots collection boxes available. During these difficult economic times, there is an even greater need than usual for toys. Any and all donations of new, unwrapped toys are appreciated.
9Cares Colorado Shares Nights are booked for the Dec. 17 men's game against Florida International, and the Dec. 19 men's and women's doubleheader. All fans who bring non-perishable food items to donate will receive a $2 discount on each game ticket for each donated item, good for up to four tickets per transaction and available only at the Ritchie Center Ticket Office. All collected food will go to the New Life Fellowship Food Pantry.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 2
Total Mileage Flown - 966
Total Bus Miles - 188
Total Number of Hotels - 1
Total Number of Different Airports - 2
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Number of Players Who Own Bowling Shoes - 1
Saturday, November 28, 2009
South Dakota State - 11/28/09
BROOKINGS, S.D. - It feels a little strange. This is the first road trip of the year, and
we're about to turn the calendar to December. To put that in perspective, Denver
played just three of nine games at home in November during Joe Scott's first two seasons. The Pioneers have already played
four this year.
The team is currently at shoot around at Frost Arena on the campus of South Dakota State University. Yesterday was a nice, uneventful travel day. The team practiced in Hamilton Gymnasium in the morning before loading on the bus for the airport and an easy flight to Sioux Falls, S.D. The bus ride to Brookings was only an hour.
Apparently it's hunting
season. Or at least a big, orange sign welcomed hunters as we walked through
the airport, and another sign waited in the lobby of the hotel (pictured with Andrew Hooper). For the record,
the hotel is nice. The last time the team stayed here, we walked into a
beautiful, new lobby that was still sparkling. Then we went through a glass
door that led to our rooms. And 1952. That door was like a portal into an
earlier time, complete with shag carpet and cracking walls. This hotel is
considerably better.
Frost Arena is also a nice venue, and it might have the nicest scoreboards in college sports. Daktronics, which makes a good number of the scoreboards around the country, was founded here in Brookings in 1968 by a South Dakota State alum. The scoreboard has large video screens on four sides, which are easily visible from every seat. There are also two wide video screens hanging above each basket and another one for ads in front of press row.
The Pioneers are playing here for the third time in the past five years. The first two were action-packed, but Denver came out on the losing end both times in heartbreaking fashion. In 2005, the Jacks hit a three-pointer that was determined to be before the buzzer to tie the game, and South Dakota State won 81-78 in overtime. DU led by two with 90 seconds remaining two years ago, but Garrett Callahan (Preseason All-Summit League First Team member this year) nailed a three-pointer, and the Jackrabbits sealed the game on free throws in the final minute.
As for South Dakota State, they have one of the best mascots in sports, at least from a Monty Python and the Holy Grail-sort of way. Their logo really makes a Jackrabbit look fierce, especially hanging in the rafters next to Oral Roberts' Foghorn Leghorn lookalike. The school itself may not have a ton of notable alumni, but it did produce Tom Daschle, former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, and four-time Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri.
Numbers Game: I have been getting a lot of questions about freshman Chase Hallam and his uniform number. Chase is listed in the media guide, on the website and almost everywhere else as No. 32. However, he wore No. 35 for the first four games at home this season. Let's just call it a wardrobe malfunction. Another jersey has been ordered, and Chase will be wearing a No. 32 home jersey soon. There are no problems with the road jersey, so tonight should mark the first game that Chase wears No. 32.
Badlands, You've Gotta Live It Every Day: Radio man Mitch Hyder has turned into a bit of an ironman in the northern states this week, as he calls both the men's and women's basketball teams. He called the women on Tuesday night in Missoula, Mont., returned to Denver to call the men's game on Wednesday, traveled with us to Brookings, S.D., for tonight's contest, and he heads to Fargo to call the women against tomorrow before returning back to Denver. Allegedly, Hyder tried to find a game to call in Idaho but couldn't.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 1
Total Mileage Flown - 483
Total Bus Miles - 94
Total Number of Hotels - 1
Total Number of Different Airports - 2
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Number of "Welcome Hunters" Signs - 2
The team is currently at shoot around at Frost Arena on the campus of South Dakota State University. Yesterday was a nice, uneventful travel day. The team practiced in Hamilton Gymnasium in the morning before loading on the bus for the airport and an easy flight to Sioux Falls, S.D. The bus ride to Brookings was only an hour.
Apparently it's hunting
season. Or at least a big, orange sign welcomed hunters as we walked through
the airport, and another sign waited in the lobby of the hotel (pictured with Andrew Hooper). For the record,
the hotel is nice. The last time the team stayed here, we walked into a
beautiful, new lobby that was still sparkling. Then we went through a glass
door that led to our rooms. And 1952. That door was like a portal into an
earlier time, complete with shag carpet and cracking walls. This hotel is
considerably better.Frost Arena is also a nice venue, and it might have the nicest scoreboards in college sports. Daktronics, which makes a good number of the scoreboards around the country, was founded here in Brookings in 1968 by a South Dakota State alum. The scoreboard has large video screens on four sides, which are easily visible from every seat. There are also two wide video screens hanging above each basket and another one for ads in front of press row.
The Pioneers are playing here for the third time in the past five years. The first two were action-packed, but Denver came out on the losing end both times in heartbreaking fashion. In 2005, the Jacks hit a three-pointer that was determined to be before the buzzer to tie the game, and South Dakota State won 81-78 in overtime. DU led by two with 90 seconds remaining two years ago, but Garrett Callahan (Preseason All-Summit League First Team member this year) nailed a three-pointer, and the Jackrabbits sealed the game on free throws in the final minute.
As for South Dakota State, they have one of the best mascots in sports, at least from a Monty Python and the Holy Grail-sort of way. Their logo really makes a Jackrabbit look fierce, especially hanging in the rafters next to Oral Roberts' Foghorn Leghorn lookalike. The school itself may not have a ton of notable alumni, but it did produce Tom Daschle, former Majority Leader of the U.S. Senate, and four-time Super Bowl champion Adam Vinatieri.
Numbers Game: I have been getting a lot of questions about freshman Chase Hallam and his uniform number. Chase is listed in the media guide, on the website and almost everywhere else as No. 32. However, he wore No. 35 for the first four games at home this season. Let's just call it a wardrobe malfunction. Another jersey has been ordered, and Chase will be wearing a No. 32 home jersey soon. There are no problems with the road jersey, so tonight should mark the first game that Chase wears No. 32.
Badlands, You've Gotta Live It Every Day: Radio man Mitch Hyder has turned into a bit of an ironman in the northern states this week, as he calls both the men's and women's basketball teams. He called the women on Tuesday night in Missoula, Mont., returned to Denver to call the men's game on Wednesday, traveled with us to Brookings, S.D., for tonight's contest, and he heads to Fargo to call the women against tomorrow before returning back to Denver. Allegedly, Hyder tried to find a game to call in Idaho but couldn't.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 1
Total Mileage Flown - 483
Total Bus Miles - 94
Total Number of Hotels - 1
Total Number of Different Airports - 2
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Total Number of "Welcome Hunters" Signs - 2
Friday, November 20, 2009
Final Exams - 11/20/09
DENVER - The
2009-10 basketball season is in full swing, although this weekend brings a slow
workload hoops-wise, as the players concentrate on final exams. Since DU is on
the quarter system, the school's holiday break begins as early as today for
some students and no later than Monday, depending on the schedule of their
finals, and it last through the New Year.
That means the players can concentrate on basketball without having to worry about class work for the next six weeks or so, during which the Pioneers will play a dozen games, including eight at home in Magness Arena.
The season is off to a good start. After dropping a hard-fought game to heavy Missouri Valley Conference favorite Northern Iowa, the Pioneers have won two straight heading into a clash with regional rival Wyoming on Wednesday, which should serve as a nice appetizer to a Thanksgiving Day full of college basketball, football and entirely way too much food.
Sports Illustrated put out its annual college basketball preview this week, and their experts predicted that all three DU opponents so far - Northern Iowa, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Montana -will make the NCAA Tournament.
As for Wyoming, there appears to have been a home-court advantage in the series during recent years. The Pioneers have won the last three meetings in Denver, while the Cowboys have taken the past four in Laramie.
Here's hoping that trend continues for another year.
In the Genes: The family of sophomore Brian Stafford was in town this weekend, and to say the Pioneers sharpshooter has athleticism in his genes is a drastic understatement. Look for a story on DenverPioneers.com early next week, as well as in the game program on Wednesday. Here's a preview: Brian's grandfather played basketball, his father played football and his mother was an All-American track star, all at Cal.
Discussing his grandfather David's career playing for Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell was fun, although I felt a little guilty about discussing his team's loss in the 1960 NCAA title game to Ohio State, which also marked the final game of Newell's career. It's just not fair to talk about that loss because it was one of the few defeats those teams suffered. During David's sophomore and junior years, the Golden Bears went a combined 53-6 and won the 1959 national championship against a West Virginian who later became the logo of the NBA.
Brian's dad, Pete, gets a sheepish grin when he's asked about his football career. He was a backup quarterback for Cal in the early 1980s and, according to him, might have thrown the ball 40 times in his career. He did, however, have a great vantage point of one of the great moments in college football history. In the final game of his career, Pete was on the sideline for what many simply call "The Play." Stanford had taken a one-point lead with four seconds remaining, but on the ensuing kickoff Cal used five lateral passes and ran over a few members of the Stanford band, as the Bears returned it for a touchdown and the win. That was also the last college game for the Stanford quarterback, after which he wore No. 7 for the Denver Broncos.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 0
Total Mileage Flown - 0
Total Bus Miles - 0
Total Number of Hotels - 0
Total Number of Different Airports - 0
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
That means the players can concentrate on basketball without having to worry about class work for the next six weeks or so, during which the Pioneers will play a dozen games, including eight at home in Magness Arena.
The season is off to a good start. After dropping a hard-fought game to heavy Missouri Valley Conference favorite Northern Iowa, the Pioneers have won two straight heading into a clash with regional rival Wyoming on Wednesday, which should serve as a nice appetizer to a Thanksgiving Day full of college basketball, football and entirely way too much food.
Sports Illustrated put out its annual college basketball preview this week, and their experts predicted that all three DU opponents so far - Northern Iowa, Arkansas-Pine Bluff and Montana -will make the NCAA Tournament.
As for Wyoming, there appears to have been a home-court advantage in the series during recent years. The Pioneers have won the last three meetings in Denver, while the Cowboys have taken the past four in Laramie.
Here's hoping that trend continues for another year.
In the Genes: The family of sophomore Brian Stafford was in town this weekend, and to say the Pioneers sharpshooter has athleticism in his genes is a drastic understatement. Look for a story on DenverPioneers.com early next week, as well as in the game program on Wednesday. Here's a preview: Brian's grandfather played basketball, his father played football and his mother was an All-American track star, all at Cal.
Discussing his grandfather David's career playing for Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell was fun, although I felt a little guilty about discussing his team's loss in the 1960 NCAA title game to Ohio State, which also marked the final game of Newell's career. It's just not fair to talk about that loss because it was one of the few defeats those teams suffered. During David's sophomore and junior years, the Golden Bears went a combined 53-6 and won the 1959 national championship against a West Virginian who later became the logo of the NBA.
Brian's dad, Pete, gets a sheepish grin when he's asked about his football career. He was a backup quarterback for Cal in the early 1980s and, according to him, might have thrown the ball 40 times in his career. He did, however, have a great vantage point of one of the great moments in college football history. In the final game of his career, Pete was on the sideline for what many simply call "The Play." Stanford had taken a one-point lead with four seconds remaining, but on the ensuing kickoff Cal used five lateral passes and ran over a few members of the Stanford band, as the Bears returned it for a touchdown and the win. That was also the last college game for the Stanford quarterback, after which he wore No. 7 for the Denver Broncos.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights - 0
Total Mileage Flown - 0
Total Bus Miles - 0
Total Number of Hotels - 0
Total Number of Different Airports - 0
Total Number of Airline Delays - 0
Total Number of Cancelled Flights - 0
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year - 0
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Preseason Honors Continue for Rohnert - 10/28/09
DENVER - The
2009-10 basketball season starts in 16 days, and practices are in full swing.
The preseason predictions are rolling in, and it should come as no real surprise to anyone who watched the Pioneers last year that senior captain Nate Rohnert is gaining more and more respect from around the nation.
Rohnert was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team by the league's head coaches, as well as the one by Rivals.com, which also put Rob Lewis on their All-SBC Second Team. Rohnert made the Blue Ribbon Preseason Team last month.
RushTheCourt.net has been running a series of impact players in each region of the country, and it put out the Mountain Region yesterday. Rohnert joined BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Colorado's Cory Higgins, Idaho's Mac Hopson and Montana's Anthony Johnson (who will play at Magness Arena on Nov. 19) on the list. Rob Lewis was an honorable mention on this list, as well.
This is what the writer had to say about Rohnert:
Head coach Joe Scott, like most other coaches (including DU hockey coach George Gwozdecky, whose team was No. 1 in the nation in a few preseason polls), would tell you that it's nice to be picked highly in preseason polls, but they are a lot more concerned with the postseason polls.
And judging from the SBC coaches' poll, in which five SBC West teams including the Pioneers received at least one first place vote, the Sun Belt Conference should have a lot of very good teams.
Speaking of preseason polls, Denver's opponent in the Nov. 13 opener at Magness Arena is Northern Iowa, which was picked to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champions in the MVC Coaches' Poll, The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy's College Basketball Preview and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview. In last season's opening game in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Pioneers led the Panthers with 4:22 remaining but were ultimately edged by five points, thanks to UNI free throws down the stretch.
Expect another battle on November 13. And tickets for all 16 games at Magness Arena are on sale now.
The preseason predictions are rolling in, and it should come as no real surprise to anyone who watched the Pioneers last year that senior captain Nate Rohnert is gaining more and more respect from around the nation.
Rohnert was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team by the league's head coaches, as well as the one by Rivals.com, which also put Rob Lewis on their All-SBC Second Team. Rohnert made the Blue Ribbon Preseason Team last month.
RushTheCourt.net has been running a series of impact players in each region of the country, and it put out the Mountain Region yesterday. Rohnert joined BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Colorado's Cory Higgins, Idaho's Mac Hopson and Montana's Anthony Johnson (who will play at Magness Arena on Nov. 19) on the list. Rob Lewis was an honorable mention on this list, as well.
This is what the writer had to say about Rohnert:
Nate Rohnert is the type of
player coaches love because you pretty much have to cast a net over him to get
him off of the basketball floor. Described by coach Joe Scott as "a
relentless worker" who's always in the gym trying to improve his skills,
Rohnert, a 6′5 senior guard/forward, averaged 37 minutes per game last year,
leading the entire Sun Belt and ranking 21st in the nation. To that end,
he also led his team in points (15.3 PPG), rebounds (5.4 RPG), assists (4.7
APG), and steals (1.3 SPG). Certainly no surprise that Scott anointed
him with the captaincy of the 2009-10 edition of the Pioneers. Denver
lands somewhere in the 3rd to 5th range in terms of most preseason predictions
for the Sun Belt overall, and they have never been to the NCAA
Tournament. We're willing to bet that this is something that bothers Mr.
Rohnert and is something he's thinking about during all that time in the gym on
his own. Despite the fact that Denver returns its four other starters and
most of the scoring from last year's 9-9 Sun Belt team, it will be hard to get
by the likes of Western Kentucky and North Texas. One thing of which
we're sure - it'll be a pleasure to watch Nate Rohnert make a run at it.
The Sun Belt coaches and
Rivals picked Denver to finish second in the SBC West Division in their
preseason polls. Head coach Joe Scott, like most other coaches (including DU hockey coach George Gwozdecky, whose team was No. 1 in the nation in a few preseason polls), would tell you that it's nice to be picked highly in preseason polls, but they are a lot more concerned with the postseason polls.
And judging from the SBC coaches' poll, in which five SBC West teams including the Pioneers received at least one first place vote, the Sun Belt Conference should have a lot of very good teams.
Speaking of preseason polls, Denver's opponent in the Nov. 13 opener at Magness Arena is Northern Iowa, which was picked to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champions in the MVC Coaches' Poll, The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy's College Basketball Preview and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview. In last season's opening game in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Pioneers led the Panthers with 4:22 remaining but were ultimately edged by five points, thanks to UNI free throws down the stretch.
Expect another battle on November 13. And tickets for all 16 games at Magness Arena are on sale now.
Friday, October 16, 2009
First Practice - 10/16/09
DENVER - It's
the first official practice of the year, so we're going to be blogging
throughout.
5:00 p.m. - Coach Joe Scott gathers the players on the sidelines to let everyone know what the team is doing today.
5:04 p.m. - It's good to hear Coach Scott yelling out instructions again. It's been a long offseason without basketball.
5:05 p.m. - Andrew Hooper just drilled a three-pointer at the end of a play.
5:14 p.m. - The team broke up into three courts with each group working on different fundamentals.
5:18 p.m. - To outsiders, these practices probably look like chaos. Everyone is acting based on what other players are doing. It's part of the beauty of this offensive, because it makes everything fluid.
5:25 p.m. - The groups have already switched courts twice. Each rotation is quick, so it's important for the players to utilize their time and energy.
5:28 p.m. - When you see these guys nearly every day, you don't always noticed how much they are growing and how much stronger they look. But guys like Sabatino Chen and Rob Lewis look like they hit the weight room quite a bit over the summer. And, of course, Nate Rohnert has been seen in the gym or weight room nearly every day since he arrived on campus. Clearly all the players worked hard during the offseason.
5:34 p.m. - Former player David Kummer just stopped in to watch for a while. It's not too hard for him to get to the Ritchie Center, since he's working fulltime at the Daniels College of Business now.
5:42 p.m. - This is the first year the team has really had upperclassmen who can help the new players. Last year, DU was the youngest team in the nation. With Rohnert as the only fourth-year player, and Rob Lewis and Kyle Lewis as the only third-year players, this team is still young. However, these freshmen don't look quite as intimidated as they learn the system, and that is because guys like Nate, Rob and Kyle are doing a good job of making sure the new guys understand what's going on.
5:46 p.m. - Most of the early part of practice involved five guys running the offense, but now five more guys are out there playing defense.
5:48 p.m. - Backdoor cuts are tough to guard, even when it's our own guys playing defense.
5:49 p.m. - Even sophomore player/manager Alex Pickert is pulling the freshmen aside to give them pointers.
5:53 p.m. - Freshman 6-foot-7 forward Blake Foeman just swished a three-pointer in what was a well-run play.
5:55 p.m. - Freshman Chase Hallam is guarding his older brother Travis, a sophomore. There seems to be some healthy competitive fire between them.
5:57 p.m. - The women's basketball team is standing on the sidelines, ready to start their first practice of the season in a couple minutes. They kind of look like their in the starting blocks, ready to sprint. There's some obvious excitement in the air for the new basketball season for both the men and women.
5:58 p.m. - Just heard the first "knucklehead" comment of the season.
6:00 p.m. - With the women taking the court, the men's team heads into the locker room for a post-practice talk from Coach Scott. And so ends the first practice of the season.
5:00 p.m. - Coach Joe Scott gathers the players on the sidelines to let everyone know what the team is doing today.
5:04 p.m. - It's good to hear Coach Scott yelling out instructions again. It's been a long offseason without basketball.
5:05 p.m. - Andrew Hooper just drilled a three-pointer at the end of a play.
5:14 p.m. - The team broke up into three courts with each group working on different fundamentals.
5:18 p.m. - To outsiders, these practices probably look like chaos. Everyone is acting based on what other players are doing. It's part of the beauty of this offensive, because it makes everything fluid.
5:25 p.m. - The groups have already switched courts twice. Each rotation is quick, so it's important for the players to utilize their time and energy.
5:28 p.m. - When you see these guys nearly every day, you don't always noticed how much they are growing and how much stronger they look. But guys like Sabatino Chen and Rob Lewis look like they hit the weight room quite a bit over the summer. And, of course, Nate Rohnert has been seen in the gym or weight room nearly every day since he arrived on campus. Clearly all the players worked hard during the offseason.
5:34 p.m. - Former player David Kummer just stopped in to watch for a while. It's not too hard for him to get to the Ritchie Center, since he's working fulltime at the Daniels College of Business now.
5:42 p.m. - This is the first year the team has really had upperclassmen who can help the new players. Last year, DU was the youngest team in the nation. With Rohnert as the only fourth-year player, and Rob Lewis and Kyle Lewis as the only third-year players, this team is still young. However, these freshmen don't look quite as intimidated as they learn the system, and that is because guys like Nate, Rob and Kyle are doing a good job of making sure the new guys understand what's going on.
5:46 p.m. - Most of the early part of practice involved five guys running the offense, but now five more guys are out there playing defense.
5:48 p.m. - Backdoor cuts are tough to guard, even when it's our own guys playing defense.
5:49 p.m. - Even sophomore player/manager Alex Pickert is pulling the freshmen aside to give them pointers.
5:53 p.m. - Freshman 6-foot-7 forward Blake Foeman just swished a three-pointer in what was a well-run play.
5:55 p.m. - Freshman Chase Hallam is guarding his older brother Travis, a sophomore. There seems to be some healthy competitive fire between them.
5:57 p.m. - The women's basketball team is standing on the sidelines, ready to start their first practice of the season in a couple minutes. They kind of look like their in the starting blocks, ready to sprint. There's some obvious excitement in the air for the new basketball season for both the men and women.
5:58 p.m. - Just heard the first "knucklehead" comment of the season.
6:00 p.m. - With the women taking the court, the men's team heads into the locker room for a post-practice talk from Coach Scott. And so ends the first practice of the season.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Television Schedule - 9/10/09
DENVER - FSN
Rocky Mountain announced the television schedule for Denver men's basketball
today, and six of the 16 DU home games will be broadcast on the network.
The Pioneers' games against Montana, Wyoming, Florida International, Seattle, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette will be aired. That's one more on the network than last season, which plays into head coach Joe Scott's plan, as he explained to me this afternoon while discussing the FSN schedule.
"A major part of our plan to build a sustainable winning program is to increase the exposure of the Denver basketball program," Scott said. "Adding more home games on television is critical to the development of our program. Hopefully as we continue to improve, we will get more and more of that exposure, which will pay huge dividends down the road. We are fortunate to have a good partner in FSN Rocky Mountain, and hopefully Denver basketball's relationship with them will continue to grow."
Last year, FSN broadcasted some of Denver's most exciting games, including an overtime battle with Northern Colorado and nail biting victories against Colorado State, Western Kentucky, South Alabama and the Ragin' Cajuns. Four of those five games were within five points, and the CSU game was stretched out with free throws at the end. Add those to the double overtime, one-point heartbreaker at Louisiana-Lafayette, which was broadcast on Cox Sports Television, and the Pioneers provided some of the most exciting college basketball on television last season.
Although the schedule was not quite ready to release, Scott was on FSN Rocky Mountain last week during a Colorado Rockies game discussing this year's team with Drew Goodman and George Frazier, a pair of baseball guys who know quite a bit about basketball, too. Goodman, in fact, has called play-by-play for a few Pioneers games in the past and has been spotted in Magness Arena with his kids.
Goodman and Frazier were excited about watching the Pioneers this season, especially since the top eight players - along with 98 percent of the scoring and rebounding - are returning, including All-Sun Belt Conference First Team selection Nate Rohnert.
Select-a-Seat: Anyone considering men's basketball season tickets can head down to Magness Arena tomorrow to check out potential seat locations at Select-a-Seat. DU ticket representatives will be available to answer questions and secure seats for the 2009-10 season.
Season tickets start at just $96 for all 16 games or $64 for half season packages.
Welcome Back: The University welcomed all new freshmen to campus this week for Discoveries, Denver's orientation week. Although the newcomers to the basketball team took summer classes and got a sneak preview, all of them have been given a more in depth look at DU.
The upperclassmen are starting to filter back, as well. In fact, both Hallam brothers were on the court in Magness Arena shooting baskets this afternoon.
The Pioneers' games against Montana, Wyoming, Florida International, Seattle, Western Kentucky and Louisiana-Lafayette will be aired. That's one more on the network than last season, which plays into head coach Joe Scott's plan, as he explained to me this afternoon while discussing the FSN schedule.
"A major part of our plan to build a sustainable winning program is to increase the exposure of the Denver basketball program," Scott said. "Adding more home games on television is critical to the development of our program. Hopefully as we continue to improve, we will get more and more of that exposure, which will pay huge dividends down the road. We are fortunate to have a good partner in FSN Rocky Mountain, and hopefully Denver basketball's relationship with them will continue to grow."
Last year, FSN broadcasted some of Denver's most exciting games, including an overtime battle with Northern Colorado and nail biting victories against Colorado State, Western Kentucky, South Alabama and the Ragin' Cajuns. Four of those five games were within five points, and the CSU game was stretched out with free throws at the end. Add those to the double overtime, one-point heartbreaker at Louisiana-Lafayette, which was broadcast on Cox Sports Television, and the Pioneers provided some of the most exciting college basketball on television last season.
Although the schedule was not quite ready to release, Scott was on FSN Rocky Mountain last week during a Colorado Rockies game discussing this year's team with Drew Goodman and George Frazier, a pair of baseball guys who know quite a bit about basketball, too. Goodman, in fact, has called play-by-play for a few Pioneers games in the past and has been spotted in Magness Arena with his kids.
Goodman and Frazier were excited about watching the Pioneers this season, especially since the top eight players - along with 98 percent of the scoring and rebounding - are returning, including All-Sun Belt Conference First Team selection Nate Rohnert.
Select-a-Seat: Anyone considering men's basketball season tickets can head down to Magness Arena tomorrow to check out potential seat locations at Select-a-Seat. DU ticket representatives will be available to answer questions and secure seats for the 2009-10 season.
Season tickets start at just $96 for all 16 games or $64 for half season packages.
Welcome Back: The University welcomed all new freshmen to campus this week for Discoveries, Denver's orientation week. Although the newcomers to the basketball team took summer classes and got a sneak preview, all of them have been given a more in depth look at DU.
The upperclassmen are starting to filter back, as well. In fact, both Hallam brothers were on the court in Magness Arena shooting baskets this afternoon.
Thursday, August 13, 2009
Yemi Returns - 8/13/09
DENVER - Former Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Year Yemi Nicholson stopped by the Ritchie Center this week.
Nicholson has been playing overseas since he graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in communications and minor in business administration in March 2006.
Despite some challenges with language and culture shock, Nicholson said he has really enjoyed playing in places like Spain, Germany and Belgium, and he anticipates playing for several more years.
Nicholson grew up in the Denver area and returns each summer, even though his family has moved to Pittsburgh because, as he said, Denver will always be home.
Mitch Hyder, the Voice of the Pioneers, interviewed Nicholson while he was here. You can see that interview in the media player below.
Travel Update: The basketball coaches all seem to be recovered from a jam-packed recruiting season. DU's coaches spent most of July traveling to places like Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas and seemingly everywhere in between.
The team should have just one scholarship, which means they can really focus on getting the best player available. Of course, the one scholarship that's opening up currently belongs to a guy named Nate Rohnert, who is set to graduate next spring. Hopefully whoever they sign will work as hard as Rohnert has in his first three years at DU.
The coaches are all back in the offices now and preparing for the season. Practices can't begin until Oct. 16, but the players will have a couple of hours of workouts each week once the school year starts in mid-September.
Dance the Night Away: DU's basketball players all took classes this summer, which is pretty common. What is not common is one of the classes.
Nate Rohnert and Andrew Hooper took "Dance in India," a core class that required them to perform a dance as part of the final.
Word from the players was that it was a challenging course that involved, in part, learning the names of several dance moves and how to do them.
According to the class description, "As a discipline in which the body is trained to become "naturalized" in very specific ways, dance tells us much about the culture in which it is a part... This course explores the tension between change (innovation) and continuity (tradition) in four different forms of dance from the Indian subcontinent: Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form from South India; Kathak, a classical dance form from North India; Bhangra, a folk dance form from Northwest India; and the mass-mediated, syncretic form of dance predominant in the Bollywood film industry."
Unfortunately, we do not have video footage of Rohnert at 6-foot-5 or Hooper at 6-foot-9 showing off their inner Bollywood. However, you never know where players might pick up new moves that will help them on the hardwood.
Star Search: Former DU basketball player David Atkins returns to town this weekend. He's better known these days as Sinbad, the comedian who made his start on Star Search (a.k.a. the original "America's Got Talent"), a number of HBO comedy specials and the Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World.
Atkins played four years for the Pioneers from 1974-78, averaging 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Sinbad is performing at Comedy Works South from Aug. 14-16.
Nicholson has been playing overseas since he graduated from the University of Denver with a degree in communications and minor in business administration in March 2006.
Despite some challenges with language and culture shock, Nicholson said he has really enjoyed playing in places like Spain, Germany and Belgium, and he anticipates playing for several more years.
Nicholson grew up in the Denver area and returns each summer, even though his family has moved to Pittsburgh because, as he said, Denver will always be home.
Mitch Hyder, the Voice of the Pioneers, interviewed Nicholson while he was here. You can see that interview in the media player below.
Travel Update: The basketball coaches all seem to be recovered from a jam-packed recruiting season. DU's coaches spent most of July traveling to places like Las Vegas, Orlando, Dallas and seemingly everywhere in between.
The team should have just one scholarship, which means they can really focus on getting the best player available. Of course, the one scholarship that's opening up currently belongs to a guy named Nate Rohnert, who is set to graduate next spring. Hopefully whoever they sign will work as hard as Rohnert has in his first three years at DU.
The coaches are all back in the offices now and preparing for the season. Practices can't begin until Oct. 16, but the players will have a couple of hours of workouts each week once the school year starts in mid-September.
Dance the Night Away: DU's basketball players all took classes this summer, which is pretty common. What is not common is one of the classes.
Nate Rohnert and Andrew Hooper took "Dance in India," a core class that required them to perform a dance as part of the final.
Word from the players was that it was a challenging course that involved, in part, learning the names of several dance moves and how to do them.
According to the class description, "As a discipline in which the body is trained to become "naturalized" in very specific ways, dance tells us much about the culture in which it is a part... This course explores the tension between change (innovation) and continuity (tradition) in four different forms of dance from the Indian subcontinent: Bharata Natyam, a classical dance form from South India; Kathak, a classical dance form from North India; Bhangra, a folk dance form from Northwest India; and the mass-mediated, syncretic form of dance predominant in the Bollywood film industry."
Unfortunately, we do not have video footage of Rohnert at 6-foot-5 or Hooper at 6-foot-9 showing off their inner Bollywood. However, you never know where players might pick up new moves that will help them on the hardwood.
Star Search: Former DU basketball player David Atkins returns to town this weekend. He's better known these days as Sinbad, the comedian who made his start on Star Search (a.k.a. the original "America's Got Talent"), a number of HBO comedy specials and the Cosby Show spin-off, A Different World.
Atkins played four years for the Pioneers from 1974-78, averaging 4.2 points and 4.4 rebounds per game.
Sinbad is performing at Comedy Works South from Aug. 14-16.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Getting to Know Chase Hallam - 8/12/09
DENVER – As we move
closer to the start of the 2009-10 season, I thought it might be
interesting to check in with one of the newest members of the Pioneers,
so we headed down to the lockerroom to talk with Chase Hallam (Mesquite, Texas).
Chase has been lifting weights and playing pickup games in Denver with his older brother and sophomore guard Travis Hallam (Mesquite, Texas), as well as the rest of the Pioneers.
What is it like playing with your brother?
It
was fun in high school, and it’s going to be fun here. We played well
together in high school. We went to the regional finals every year, and
went to the state championship, and hopefully we can have the same kind
of success here.
What made you pick DU?
I just liked all the guys here and the arena was nice. Out of all the places I looked at, I liked this the most.
Your brother didn’t have any influence on the decision?
Not really.
Where else were you looking?
Miami of Ohio, Colgate and a couple Ivy League schools.
Who influenced you to play ball?
My dad was a big sports guy and watched a lot of games on television. I guess I just picked it up naturally.
What is your first memory of playing basketball?
Losing
to Travis, when I was 4 or 5. We had one of those hoops that you put on
the roof of the house and we just shot. We just threw up the ball. We
didn’t know what we were doing. We would just start playing.
Who is more competitive?
We both are competitive. Off the court Travis is more competitive about some things.
Like what?
Video
games. He always wants to win with video games, and I don’t really
care. I mean I want to win too, but he is way more competitive with
them.
Explain to your high school mascot.
The Skeeters. It was a big, fierce looking mosquito.
There was an actual costume that had a little body and little wings but
a big long nose. We actually had a good mascot this year. He could
dance and do back flips in the costume and stuff.
For the full history, visit the school's website.
What is your favorite part about basketball?
Just going up and down the court. Running. I like winning, and I’ve won a lot of games.
What are you looking forward to at DU?
Getting to the NCAA Tournament, basically. I think we can do it. I think we have a good team. And I think we can make it there.
How are your classes this summer?
One class has been pretty easy, and the other has been brutal. But they’re not too bad.
What classes are you taking?
Psychology and philosophy.
What are you planning to major in?
Business, but I might minor in psychology, so this is a good start.
What do you do for fun?
Hang out. I’m a big movie guy. I watch a lot of movies.
What’s your favorite movie?
Anchorman. I love Will Farrell. He is the funniest guy ever. He is a funny, funny guy.
Do you buy DVDs or do you just rent them?
I go
to Hollywood Video a lot. It’s right next to the house. We go see
movies a lot, too. If you name a movie, I’ve probably seen it. But I
don’t do horror movies, though. That’s something I don’t do.
Why not?
I’m
scared. It’s one of my fears. I don’t do scary movies. I had a bad
experience, when I was a little kid. I went to a friend’s house and we
watched a horror movie. After that, I couldn’t sleep, and I didn’t want
to go through that again.
What else do you do?
I
like baseball. I’m a huge Rangers fan. I used to play baseball. I
actually got recruited for it, too. But I didn’t really like going to
baseball practices.
Who is your favorite basketball player of all time?
Michael
Jordan, but everyone says him. If you ever watch him on ESPN Classic
games, he doesn’t miss. Ever. He has the best, most well-rounded game I
have ever seen. Every time he’s on ESPN Classic, I’ll watch the game.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Summer Jobs - 6/30/09
DENVER – June is
winding down, which means the University of Denver basketball players are in
full swing with summer classes and the coaches are getting ready to hit the
recruiting trail again.
It always impresses me when I hear about how the DU
athletes spend their summers. As mentioned in previous blogs, all of the
basketball players are in Denver taking classes and working out. It’s especially important for the newcomers to
the program, who are learning the ways of Denver Basketball from the older players
and are transitioning to life on their own.
All of the players also worked at the Joe Scott
Basketball Camps earlier this month, and Nate
Rohnert and Andrew Hooper, along
with DU women’s basketball players Ashly
Robinson and Brianna Culberson, are
working at the Chauncey Billups Basketball Academy this week down in Rohnert’s
hometown of Parker, Colo. The report after Day One was that camp was going well
and that Billups was doing a great job making sure all the kids were learning
and having fun.
Then there are the Lewis brothers, as many people around
the Ritchie Center refer to them because they always seem to be hanging out
together – or perhaps it’s because they share the same last name.
Kyle Lewis and
Rob Lewis are both finance majors
who excel in the classroom, and both of them have landed internships at
financial companies.
Rob starts at Ryan Financial, and Kyle’s job is already
underway at Lazarus Investment Partners. Kyle said the job is a great challenge
and has immersed him in the financial world with everything coming at him
pretty fast. This is how Kyle described it: “It’s kind of like learning a new
language.”
It comes as no surprise that DU’s basketball players are
spending their summers with internships, considering the grade point average of
the returning players was right around 3.4 during the spring quarter. It really
is an impressive group.
Monday, June 15, 2009
New Faces on Campus - 6/15/09
DENVER – Summer classes started this morning here
at the University of Denver, and the newcomers to the men’s basketball
team officially joined the DU community.
Freshmen Blake Foeman, Chase Hallam and Jeff Powers join transfer Trevor Noonan in taking their first classes at Denver, which also allows them to start weight training and conditioning, as well as open gym with the rest of the team.
“We are excited to have the guys on campus and starting to make an early transition to the challenges of college life,” head coach Joe Scott said. “I know that Nate Rohnert, Rob Lewis and Kyle Lewis and the rest of the upperclassmen will work with them this summer and prepare them for when workouts start in September.”
Joe Scott Basketball Camps: The Joe Scott Elite camp, which occurred from Friday to Sunday following a day camp earlier in the week, welcomed some of the best high school players in Colorado, as well as some from California, Florida, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming.
The camp places a strong emphasis on overall individual skill improvement for players in grades 9-12, while also focusing on advanced offensive and defensive skills along with developing the competitiveness to be a college basketball player.
“The camps were well attended with high caliber players, who were eager to learn and improve their skills,” Scott said.
Obviously, the level of instruction was the highest caliber, as well, considering it was run by the Denver Basketball staff. In fact, both camps provided an excellent coaches-to-players ratio, providing participants with an exceptional amount of individualized instruction from Scott and his coaching staff.
Coach Scott will host a Team Camp on June 26-28, and more information can be found on DenverPioneers.com.
Freshmen Blake Foeman, Chase Hallam and Jeff Powers join transfer Trevor Noonan in taking their first classes at Denver, which also allows them to start weight training and conditioning, as well as open gym with the rest of the team.
“We are excited to have the guys on campus and starting to make an early transition to the challenges of college life,” head coach Joe Scott said. “I know that Nate Rohnert, Rob Lewis and Kyle Lewis and the rest of the upperclassmen will work with them this summer and prepare them for when workouts start in September.”
Joe Scott Basketball Camps: The Joe Scott Elite camp, which occurred from Friday to Sunday following a day camp earlier in the week, welcomed some of the best high school players in Colorado, as well as some from California, Florida, Missouri, Oregon, Texas and Wyoming.
The camp places a strong emphasis on overall individual skill improvement for players in grades 9-12, while also focusing on advanced offensive and defensive skills along with developing the competitiveness to be a college basketball player.
“The camps were well attended with high caliber players, who were eager to learn and improve their skills,” Scott said.
Obviously, the level of instruction was the highest caliber, as well, considering it was run by the Denver Basketball staff. In fact, both camps provided an excellent coaches-to-players ratio, providing participants with an exceptional amount of individualized instruction from Scott and his coaching staff.
Coach Scott will host a Team Camp on June 26-28, and more information can be found on DenverPioneers.com.
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Sun Belt Conference Touranment - 3/8/09
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. – The
Pioneers are back in Arkansas for the fourth time in the past five weeks, and
not a single person is complaining about it. It’s Sun Belt Conference
Tournament time down here, and there is an excitement as teams and fans walk through
town.
The team arrived in Little Rock late on Friday night and
stayed there because practice time was easier to come by at UALR than it would
have been in Hot Springs, where there were four women’s games at Summit Arena
yesterday. After practice, the players loaded back on the bus, headed about 60
minutes to Hot Springs and checked into the Arlington Hotel, an old place that
has a bit of resemblance to the Stanley in Estes Park, Colo. Needless to say,
the term “Redrum” has been utter more than a couple times (among other
references to The Shining).
It seemed a little strange yesterday being on the road but
not having a game. Most of the players took a walk through downtown, and of
course several of them could be founding studying in the hotel lobby, since
finals are coming up next week.
After dinner last night, the team headed over to Summit
Arena to watch the first half of the DU women’s game, but with the late game
time and an early wakeup call summoning, the players headed back to the hotel
to catch some sleep. On top of losing an hour with last night’s time change,
DU’s shootaround time was 8:40 a.m. That may not seem especially early, but
when considering the game is not until prime time, most teams prefer to sleep
in longer and make sure they are rested.
With eight teams competing today, each school gets only 20
minutes on the court to get used to the baskets, as opposed to the usual hour. In
order to get more preparation, the team headed immediately to Lakeside High
School’s Ram Arena. The intimate gym feels like a full circle to the first
practice of the year.
After this, the team will eat breakfast and then try to pass
some time until the tip at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, when the Pioneers will take
on Arkansas-Little Rock.
Bag Update: There
were a record number of comments sent in after the last blog about the team’s
bags not arriving in Monroe. To answer the most common question, the team
fortunately did receive everything on the first flight of the day, although
that plane did not arrive until 1:40 – long after the original shootaround
time. Everyone grabbed his duffle from the baggage claim, took out practice
gear and changed on the bus on the way to campus. Since we missed the time set
aside to practice, the court was unavailable, but ULM arranged time for us to
go through an abbreviated session in the student rec center. Based on the
results, it worked out OK.
However, it is only right to offer the top responses when we
asked for backup suggestions in case the uniforms did not arrive:
1.
Tank tops with Sharpied numbers
2.
Snuggie, which was offering a 2-for-1 deal
3.
ULM’s leftover women’s uniforms from their Think
Pink event a few weeks prior
About Hot Springs:
The boyhood home of Bill Clinton is surrounded on three sides by the Hot Springs
National Park. The hotels are all within walking distance of the Arena, and the
downtown section is lined with restaurants and other establishments.
And, of course, there are taps in the middle of town, where
people bring bottles to fill up with natural spring water. Even though it’s
only an hour from Arkansas-Little Rock, Hot Springs really has the feel of a
neutral site – a place where fans from every team can gather and cheer for
their teams. Based on the number of team shirts, there are plenty of fans for
every team.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 24
Total Mileage Flown
– 23,178
Total Bus Miles –
2,004
Total Number of Hotels – 19
Total Number of
Different Airports – 15
Total Number of
Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of
Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags
Lost This Year – 28
Total Number of the Trips
Involving the Little Rock Airport in the Past Five Weeks – 4 (at UALR,
refueling on the way back to Denver from Florida Atlantic, at Arkansas State
and the Sun Belt Conference Tournament)
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Louisiana-Monroe - 2/26/09
MONROE, La. – What
would a basketball team do if it showed up for a road game and had no shoes or
uniforms? That’s the question the Pioneers face today after a certain airline
(let’s just say it flies the American skies) left all 25 of the team’s bags in
Dallas. In case you’re wondering, the travel party comprised 21 of the plane’s
50 seats, and there are only two daily flights between Dallas and Monroe.
After assistant coach Jon Jordan, quite possibly the most patient man on the planet, sat on hold with the airline for two hours, there is hope that the team’s equipment will arrive on the first flight at 1:33 p.m. While that means the players have no shoes or practice gear in time for the scheduled shoot around at noon, at least they would have uniforms and shoes by game time.
That’s better than a thought by an airline representative, who suggested the team buy enough shoes and gear for five players, since only five are on the court at a time. Apparently, each substitute would then trade clothes with the guy coming off the court.
In the meantime, everyone is hanging out, waiting at the Hilton Garden Inn, which has been incredibly helpful in the situation, even running out to get enough toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and contact lens solution for everybody. We are open to suggestions on what to wear at the Fant tonight. Feel free to send e-mails to michael.kennedy@du.edu, if you have any ideas.
Who Wants Frozen Custard?: As most Denver basketball fans know, the Pioneers ended “The Streak” on Saturday, winning on the road for the first time in 43 consecutive road games. However, it should be pointed out that the 2008-09 squad was responsible for only a small fraction of that with a 12-game streak. In fact, only two people in DU’s travel party have been there for all 43 games, and one of those guys is trainer Pat Hoxsey, who also has seen an awful lot of road victories in 15 years in the job.
People have asked whether the team reacted like they had won a championship. The answer? They slapped a few high fives, shook hands with Arkansas State and walked into the locker room, just like they always do at home. Of course, the coaches did want to reward the players, so head coach Joe Scott told the bus driver to pull into a frozen custard stand just down the road from the arena, and everyone loaded up with milkshakes and malts. Needless to say, it could not have tasted better.
Now, the torch of the road losing streak is passed on to Sacramento State (36-straight) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (31-straight). The Pioneers, meanwhile, are going for their second-straight road win and four-consecutive win overall, at the Fant-Ewing Arena tonight.
About Monroe: Recently Monroe, La., has found a name for itself on the HBO show “True Blood.” While we have not run across any vampires, we can tell you that ULM is the alma mater of country singer Tim McGraw, baseball All-Stars Ben Sheets and Chuck Finley, and Breaux Greer. Who is Breaux Greer, you ask? That would be Hurricane from American Gladiators. According to the NBC website, “Run for cover as fast as you can whenever Hurricane blows into Gladiator Arena. Appearing without warning and striking with enough energy to blow down a mountain, those contenders unlucky enough to cross his path will experience a truly perfect storm of sheer athletic prowess and destructive Gladiator instinct” (http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/bios/hurricane.shtml). With the potential for a storm like that, the risk of vampires appears considerably less fearsome. (Thanks to ULM sports information director Jeff Hendrix for providing that vital piece of information.)
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 22
Total Mileage Flown – 21,471
Total Bus Miles – 1,892
Total Number of Hotels – 18
Total Number of Different Airports – 15
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost Yesterday – 25 (of 25)
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year – 28
Total Number of the Travel Party that Showed up at Breakfast in the Same Clothes They Wore Yesterday – 21 (of 21)
After assistant coach Jon Jordan, quite possibly the most patient man on the planet, sat on hold with the airline for two hours, there is hope that the team’s equipment will arrive on the first flight at 1:33 p.m. While that means the players have no shoes or practice gear in time for the scheduled shoot around at noon, at least they would have uniforms and shoes by game time.
That’s better than a thought by an airline representative, who suggested the team buy enough shoes and gear for five players, since only five are on the court at a time. Apparently, each substitute would then trade clothes with the guy coming off the court.
In the meantime, everyone is hanging out, waiting at the Hilton Garden Inn, which has been incredibly helpful in the situation, even running out to get enough toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorant and contact lens solution for everybody. We are open to suggestions on what to wear at the Fant tonight. Feel free to send e-mails to michael.kennedy@du.edu, if you have any ideas.
Who Wants Frozen Custard?: As most Denver basketball fans know, the Pioneers ended “The Streak” on Saturday, winning on the road for the first time in 43 consecutive road games. However, it should be pointed out that the 2008-09 squad was responsible for only a small fraction of that with a 12-game streak. In fact, only two people in DU’s travel party have been there for all 43 games, and one of those guys is trainer Pat Hoxsey, who also has seen an awful lot of road victories in 15 years in the job.
People have asked whether the team reacted like they had won a championship. The answer? They slapped a few high fives, shook hands with Arkansas State and walked into the locker room, just like they always do at home. Of course, the coaches did want to reward the players, so head coach Joe Scott told the bus driver to pull into a frozen custard stand just down the road from the arena, and everyone loaded up with milkshakes and malts. Needless to say, it could not have tasted better.
Now, the torch of the road losing streak is passed on to Sacramento State (36-straight) and New Jersey Institute of Technology (31-straight). The Pioneers, meanwhile, are going for their second-straight road win and four-consecutive win overall, at the Fant-Ewing Arena tonight.
About Monroe: Recently Monroe, La., has found a name for itself on the HBO show “True Blood.” While we have not run across any vampires, we can tell you that ULM is the alma mater of country singer Tim McGraw, baseball All-Stars Ben Sheets and Chuck Finley, and Breaux Greer. Who is Breaux Greer, you ask? That would be Hurricane from American Gladiators. According to the NBC website, “Run for cover as fast as you can whenever Hurricane blows into Gladiator Arena. Appearing without warning and striking with enough energy to blow down a mountain, those contenders unlucky enough to cross his path will experience a truly perfect storm of sheer athletic prowess and destructive Gladiator instinct” (http://www.nbc.com/American_Gladiators/bios/hurricane.shtml). With the potential for a storm like that, the risk of vampires appears considerably less fearsome. (Thanks to ULM sports information director Jeff Hendrix for providing that vital piece of information.)
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 22
Total Mileage Flown – 21,471
Total Bus Miles – 1,892
Total Number of Hotels – 18
Total Number of Different Airports – 15
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost Yesterday – 25 (of 25)
Total Number of Bags Lost This Year – 28
Total Number of the Travel Party that Showed up at Breakfast in the Same Clothes They Wore Yesterday – 21 (of 21)
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Arkansas State - 2/21/09
JONESBORO, Ark. – The
Pioneers are running through shoot around in the Convocation Center at Arkansas
State, while the weather outside the building is cold and rainy. The team flew
into Little Rock yesterday afternoon and bussed a little more than two hours to
Jonesboro in northeastern Arkansas.
The season is in its final stretch with three games remaining. While the coaches want the players to focus on continuing to improve and winning games, those of us at the scorer’s table are gazing at the Sun Belt standings, trying to figure out who Denver will be playing and where in the first round of the SBC Tournament.
The top team in each division, along with the team with the third best record regardless of division, receive a bye in the first round. The teams with the next five best records host the remaining five teams. The No. 4 seeded team hosts No. 13. No. 5 hosts No. 12, and so on. The teams with the byes and the winners of the first round games advance to the quarterfinals in Hot Springs, Ark. Western Kentucky (12-3), UALR (12-3) and Troy (12-4) seem to have the byes wrapped up.
With an 11-2 record at Magness Arena, the Pioneers (7-8) are working for one of those home games in the first round, and as of now DU is in line for the seventh seed. However, North Texas (9-6), South Alabama (9-7) and Middle Tennessee (8-7) are all within striking distance. Meanwhile, Florida International (6-9), Louisiana-Lafayette (6-9) and New Orleans (6-10) are not fall behind the Pioneers.
Clearly, there is a high likelihood of ties in the standings. The first tie-breaker is the record between the teams that are tied. If the teams split their meetings, the second tie breaker is the records against the No. 1 seed, followed by the No. 2 seed and so on, until the tie is broken.
Needless to say, the Pioneers are looking for more wins so that the tie-breakers become irrelevant.
About Jonesboro: Thanks to loyal reader Steve Honda, we learned this week that Jonesboro was once the home to Bartleby Clown College. Apparently from 1952-59, the clown college operated in Jonesboro, which was convenient due to its many railroad connections. According to Wikipedia, which of course is the leading resource for clown college information, “The loss of Arkansas [sic] only clown college disappointed many in the industry.” There was no clarification about whether that was the clown industry or the clown teaching industry.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 20
Total Mileage Flown – 19,764
Total Bus Miles – 1,701
Total Number of Hotels – 16
Total Number of Different Airports – 14
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Consecutive Weeks DU flew through the Little Rock Airport – 3
Total Number of Years Kyle Lewis has been alive – 20 (Happy Birthday, Kyle)
The season is in its final stretch with three games remaining. While the coaches want the players to focus on continuing to improve and winning games, those of us at the scorer’s table are gazing at the Sun Belt standings, trying to figure out who Denver will be playing and where in the first round of the SBC Tournament.
The top team in each division, along with the team with the third best record regardless of division, receive a bye in the first round. The teams with the next five best records host the remaining five teams. The No. 4 seeded team hosts No. 13. No. 5 hosts No. 12, and so on. The teams with the byes and the winners of the first round games advance to the quarterfinals in Hot Springs, Ark. Western Kentucky (12-3), UALR (12-3) and Troy (12-4) seem to have the byes wrapped up.
With an 11-2 record at Magness Arena, the Pioneers (7-8) are working for one of those home games in the first round, and as of now DU is in line for the seventh seed. However, North Texas (9-6), South Alabama (9-7) and Middle Tennessee (8-7) are all within striking distance. Meanwhile, Florida International (6-9), Louisiana-Lafayette (6-9) and New Orleans (6-10) are not fall behind the Pioneers.
Clearly, there is a high likelihood of ties in the standings. The first tie-breaker is the record between the teams that are tied. If the teams split their meetings, the second tie breaker is the records against the No. 1 seed, followed by the No. 2 seed and so on, until the tie is broken.
Needless to say, the Pioneers are looking for more wins so that the tie-breakers become irrelevant.
About Jonesboro: Thanks to loyal reader Steve Honda, we learned this week that Jonesboro was once the home to Bartleby Clown College. Apparently from 1952-59, the clown college operated in Jonesboro, which was convenient due to its many railroad connections. According to Wikipedia, which of course is the leading resource for clown college information, “The loss of Arkansas [sic] only clown college disappointed many in the industry.” There was no clarification about whether that was the clown industry or the clown teaching industry.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 20
Total Mileage Flown – 19,764
Total Bus Miles – 1,701
Total Number of Hotels – 16
Total Number of Different Airports – 14
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Consecutive Weeks DU flew through the Little Rock Airport – 3
Total Number of Years Kyle Lewis has been alive – 20 (Happy Birthday, Kyle)
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Florida Atlantic - 2/12/09
BOCA RATON, Fla. – Normally,
the team flies commercial flights to road games, settling for whatever flights
gets there in enough time. This trip is different, though. Playing in South
Florida on Thursday before returning home for a game on Saturday presents a
challenge. Basically, it takes away many of the benefits that make a home court
advantage, like not traveling 1,700 miles to the game.
In an attempt to offset that, the team chartered a 30-seat plane to get down to Boca Raton last night. It still made for a long day of travel that did not end until dinner last night at 9 p.m. However, we will be back to campus late tonight or, more likely, early tomorrow morning.
One unique aspect of chartering a plane like that is the need to stop and refuel. Halfway between Colorado and Florida, the plane landed at a small airport in Greenville, Mississippi. It appeared to be an airfield in the middle of countless acres of farmland, but it seems the town has some history. Sure there is Civil War history, but we were more interested to learn that this city in the heart of the Mississippi Delta produced Muppets creator Jim Henson, Kansas City Royals great Frank White and, according to some sources, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (thanks to loyal reader Steve Honda for pointing these out).
The best part of the flight for the players is considerably more room to stretch out. This blog has mentioned it before, but the tallest guys on the team seem to always end up in the smallest seats in commercial flights. Yesterday, on the other hand, 6-foot-9 center Justin Coughlin was relaxing in a double seat in the exit row when he declared, “I’ve never been happier on a plane.”
After arriving last night, the team gathered in the hotel restaurant for a basic grilled chicken meal before heading to their rooms. As usual on the road, the schedule tends to revolve around meals and the game, so everyone gathered again in the restaurant for breakfast this morning before heading to FAU Arena for shoot around. There will be a few hours of rest until the teams meets for the traditional pregame meal of chicken, pasta, steamed vegetables and salad, which takes place four hours prior to tip. At about 5:30 p.m., the bus will head back to the arena in time to prepare for the game, and we are hoping to be wheels up and on our way back to Denver shortly after the game ends.
Gotta Be the Shoes: Like most college basketball teams, the Pioneers have several pairs of shoes in their lockers, perhaps more than they need. The coaches asked the players to clean up their lockers and get rid of some of the shoes they did not need. Instead of throwing the old sneakers in their dorm rooms or tossing them away, the players got together and decided to donate the shoes to people who need them. The players donated the sneakers to Inter-Faith Community Services, a nonprofit organization in South Denver. The mother of backup guard Ryan Perry works for the organization, which will distribute the shoes to people who need them. For more information about the organization, visit ifcs.org.
Debatable: Tonight’s game marks the first time the Pioneers have played at FAU Arena. The team played the Owls in Boca Raton last season, but the game took place at nearby Lynn University due to the Republican Presidential debates occurring at FAU that night. The arena at Lynn is called the Count & Countess de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center, which may unofficially hold the record for longest venue name in college sports. The game that night went to overtime on a DU three-pointer at the buzzer, but FAU pulled away thanks to good shooting at the free throw line.
Elevator Update: In reference to the elevator in the Jack Stephens Center mentioned in the last blog, our friends down at the University of New Orleans had another idea of what the “S-M-L-E” meant: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large. It’s an interesting way to name the floors of a building, but it’s better than “smelly.”
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 18
Total Mileage Flown – 17,293
Total Bus Miles – 1,537
Total Number of Hotels – 15
Total Number of Different Airports – 14
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Players who hit their heads while boarding the charter yesterday – 5 (of 13)
Total Number of Players taller than 6-foot-5 who hit their heads while boarding the plane – 0
In an attempt to offset that, the team chartered a 30-seat plane to get down to Boca Raton last night. It still made for a long day of travel that did not end until dinner last night at 9 p.m. However, we will be back to campus late tonight or, more likely, early tomorrow morning.
One unique aspect of chartering a plane like that is the need to stop and refuel. Halfway between Colorado and Florida, the plane landed at a small airport in Greenville, Mississippi. It appeared to be an airfield in the middle of countless acres of farmland, but it seems the town has some history. Sure there is Civil War history, but we were more interested to learn that this city in the heart of the Mississippi Delta produced Muppets creator Jim Henson, Kansas City Royals great Frank White and, according to some sources, NFL Hall of Famer Jerry Rice (thanks to loyal reader Steve Honda for pointing these out).
The best part of the flight for the players is considerably more room to stretch out. This blog has mentioned it before, but the tallest guys on the team seem to always end up in the smallest seats in commercial flights. Yesterday, on the other hand, 6-foot-9 center Justin Coughlin was relaxing in a double seat in the exit row when he declared, “I’ve never been happier on a plane.”
After arriving last night, the team gathered in the hotel restaurant for a basic grilled chicken meal before heading to their rooms. As usual on the road, the schedule tends to revolve around meals and the game, so everyone gathered again in the restaurant for breakfast this morning before heading to FAU Arena for shoot around. There will be a few hours of rest until the teams meets for the traditional pregame meal of chicken, pasta, steamed vegetables and salad, which takes place four hours prior to tip. At about 5:30 p.m., the bus will head back to the arena in time to prepare for the game, and we are hoping to be wheels up and on our way back to Denver shortly after the game ends.
Gotta Be the Shoes: Like most college basketball teams, the Pioneers have several pairs of shoes in their lockers, perhaps more than they need. The coaches asked the players to clean up their lockers and get rid of some of the shoes they did not need. Instead of throwing the old sneakers in their dorm rooms or tossing them away, the players got together and decided to donate the shoes to people who need them. The players donated the sneakers to Inter-Faith Community Services, a nonprofit organization in South Denver. The mother of backup guard Ryan Perry works for the organization, which will distribute the shoes to people who need them. For more information about the organization, visit ifcs.org.
Debatable: Tonight’s game marks the first time the Pioneers have played at FAU Arena. The team played the Owls in Boca Raton last season, but the game took place at nearby Lynn University due to the Republican Presidential debates occurring at FAU that night. The arena at Lynn is called the Count & Countess de Hoernle Sports and Cultural Center, which may unofficially hold the record for longest venue name in college sports. The game that night went to overtime on a DU three-pointer at the buzzer, but FAU pulled away thanks to good shooting at the free throw line.
Elevator Update: In reference to the elevator in the Jack Stephens Center mentioned in the last blog, our friends down at the University of New Orleans had another idea of what the “S-M-L-E” meant: Small, Medium, Large, Extra Large. It’s an interesting way to name the floors of a building, but it’s better than “smelly.”
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 18
Total Mileage Flown – 17,293
Total Bus Miles – 1,537
Total Number of Hotels – 15
Total Number of Different Airports – 14
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Players who hit their heads while boarding the charter yesterday – 5 (of 13)
Total Number of Players taller than 6-foot-5 who hit their heads while boarding the plane – 0
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Arkansas-Little Rock - 2/7/09
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Last
night’s win was pretty impressive. When the schedules came out, this five-game
stretch really jumped out. Seeing Western Kentucky, South Alabama, at Troy,
Middle Tennessee and at Arkansas-Little Rock consecutively in a 15-day period
was daunting. Right now, those are the five best teams in the Sun Belt
Conference, all fighting for a first round bye in the SBC Tournament.
So, spirits were very high after beating Middle Tennessee last night, which added to the victories over both NCAA Tournament teams from last season. In fact, the Pioneers are within an overtime period of heading into the game at UALR on a four-game winning streak over the top teams in the SBC East Division.
With that, UALR is playing very well this season. In the nonconference season, the Trojans beat Creighton at home, and took out Pepperdine and Oral Roberts on the road. They narrowly dropped an eight-point loss to Memphis, which came within 2:13 of a national championship last year but lost to Kansas. UALR has won 16 games this season, and the team leads the SBC West Division by a solid four games with seven left to play.
The good news is the Pioneers are one of the teams tied for second place behind the Trojans. The less-than-good news is that DU is tied with Arkansas State, North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette, while New Orleans sits just a half game behind those four teams. With that many teams bunched together, the fight to host first round games in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament is full swing.
The seeding for the tournament is somewhat confusing, but here are the basics. The top team from each division (currently Western Kentucky and UALR) and the team with the next best record will all receive first round byes and automatically advance to the quarterfinals in Hot Springs, Ark. The fourth through eighth seeds will host a first round game, in which No. 4 would play No. 13, No. 5 would play No. 12, and so on.
I know people might be growing tired of hearing how young this team is, but it seems to be less of an excuse or apology than it is a sense of amazement at this point. This team has played really well since Dec. 9, going 9-6 in those 15 games. DU has put up double-digit leads in four road games, even if the team did eventually lose. And those six losses? They were by a total of 18 points. That’s three points per game – or an average of a single possession. That sounds more like a veteran team than the youngest team in the nation.
Elevation: The elevator in the Jack Stephens Center has no numbers associated to each floor. Instead, from top to bottom, it spells “S-M-L-E.” I mentioned that it was nice that the elevator buttons look like “smile.” Mitch Hyder, on the other hand, thought it looked more like “smelly.” Of course, Hyder also pointed out the tree enthusiasts could read it from the bottom up and get “elms.” Yes, these are the things we notice.
League of Their Own: Western Kentucky’s Courtney Lee has gotten a lot of publicity for going from the Sun Belt to the NBA, and it’s certainly warranted. Lee is playing well for the Orlando Magic, including a 21-point performance by going 9-for-10 on Wednesday night.
However, another Sun Belt alum is considerably more established in the NBA, and his number is hanging in the rafters of the Jack Stephens Center here at UALR. Derek Fisher played for the Trojans from 1992-96, culminating in a SBC championship his senior season. Since then, Fisher helped the Los Angeles Lakers win three-consecutive NBA Championships from 1999-2002, and played on two other Laker teams that lost in the Finals, including last year. Fisher returned to L.A. after three years with Golden State and Utah, to help the Lakers reach the Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 17
Total Mileage Flown – 15,584
Total Bus Miles – 1,506
Total Number of Hotels – 14
Total Number of Different Airports – 11
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Games as a Head Coach for Joe Scott after Tonight – 250
Total Number of Snuggies Ads Passed by the Team Bus – 1 ($14.99 at Walgreens)
So, spirits were very high after beating Middle Tennessee last night, which added to the victories over both NCAA Tournament teams from last season. In fact, the Pioneers are within an overtime period of heading into the game at UALR on a four-game winning streak over the top teams in the SBC East Division.
With that, UALR is playing very well this season. In the nonconference season, the Trojans beat Creighton at home, and took out Pepperdine and Oral Roberts on the road. They narrowly dropped an eight-point loss to Memphis, which came within 2:13 of a national championship last year but lost to Kansas. UALR has won 16 games this season, and the team leads the SBC West Division by a solid four games with seven left to play.
The good news is the Pioneers are one of the teams tied for second place behind the Trojans. The less-than-good news is that DU is tied with Arkansas State, North Texas and Louisiana-Lafayette, while New Orleans sits just a half game behind those four teams. With that many teams bunched together, the fight to host first round games in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament is full swing.
The seeding for the tournament is somewhat confusing, but here are the basics. The top team from each division (currently Western Kentucky and UALR) and the team with the next best record will all receive first round byes and automatically advance to the quarterfinals in Hot Springs, Ark. The fourth through eighth seeds will host a first round game, in which No. 4 would play No. 13, No. 5 would play No. 12, and so on.
I know people might be growing tired of hearing how young this team is, but it seems to be less of an excuse or apology than it is a sense of amazement at this point. This team has played really well since Dec. 9, going 9-6 in those 15 games. DU has put up double-digit leads in four road games, even if the team did eventually lose. And those six losses? They were by a total of 18 points. That’s three points per game – or an average of a single possession. That sounds more like a veteran team than the youngest team in the nation.
Elevation: The elevator in the Jack Stephens Center has no numbers associated to each floor. Instead, from top to bottom, it spells “S-M-L-E.” I mentioned that it was nice that the elevator buttons look like “smile.” Mitch Hyder, on the other hand, thought it looked more like “smelly.” Of course, Hyder also pointed out the tree enthusiasts could read it from the bottom up and get “elms.” Yes, these are the things we notice.
League of Their Own: Western Kentucky’s Courtney Lee has gotten a lot of publicity for going from the Sun Belt to the NBA, and it’s certainly warranted. Lee is playing well for the Orlando Magic, including a 21-point performance by going 9-for-10 on Wednesday night.
However, another Sun Belt alum is considerably more established in the NBA, and his number is hanging in the rafters of the Jack Stephens Center here at UALR. Derek Fisher played for the Trojans from 1992-96, culminating in a SBC championship his senior season. Since then, Fisher helped the Los Angeles Lakers win three-consecutive NBA Championships from 1999-2002, and played on two other Laker teams that lost in the Finals, including last year. Fisher returned to L.A. after three years with Golden State and Utah, to help the Lakers reach the Finals before falling to the Boston Celtics.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 17
Total Mileage Flown – 15,584
Total Bus Miles – 1,506
Total Number of Hotels – 14
Total Number of Different Airports – 11
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Games as a Head Coach for Joe Scott after Tonight – 250
Total Number of Snuggies Ads Passed by the Team Bus – 1 ($14.99 at Walgreens)
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Troy - 1/31/09
TROY, Ala. – It’s
been a great week for Denver basketball, and there are high hopes that
it will continue tonight against Troy. Both the men and women swept
Western Kentucky and South Alabama. It was the first time ever that the
men’s team beat both Sun Belt powerhouses in the same regular season.
If you missed it, Nate Rohnert
was named Sun Belt Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for
his effort against Western Kentucky. That accomplishment, while richly
deserved, was somewhat of a surprise in a league that consistently has
players with gaudy numbers. Because of the offense that DU runs, it is
unlikely that any player is consistently going to put up a lot of points
and rebounds. The voters of the award should be commended for realizing
just how good Rohnert’s game was against Western: 22 points, six
rebounds, nine assists, four steals and a block in 37 minutes. Two of
those 22 points were on a backdoor layup with 13 seconds remaining that
sealed the game.
Rohnert
is the only player remaining from the previous coaching staff, but it
could be argued that he may be the best suited player for Denver’s
system. Certainly no player has improved as much as Rohnert since Joe Scott
and his coaching staff came to Denver. Rohnert was a pretty good player
his freshman year, but two years later he’s in the running for first
team all-conference. Rohnert is fourth in the SBC in assists (4.60),
sixth in steals (1.40), eighth in scoring (15.0), 11th in assists/turnover ratio (1.53) and 17th in rebounding (5.1).
Tonight’s
game will be a challenge. The Trojans are the hottest team in the Belt
right now, winning five straight – and four of them were on the road.
One of those wins? A 24-point drilling of South Alabama on the road in
Mobile. Needless to say, Troy has a good basketball team.
About Troy:
Easily the question I get most when discussing the Sun Belt is, “Where
is Troy anyway?” It is about an hour south of Montgomery and an hour and
a half north of Panama City Beach, Florida. No matter what, it’s not
very easy to reach from Denver. Really, most towns in the Belt are
within an hour or two of a major airport with direct flights to Denver.
Troy and Monroe, Louisiana, are the exceptions. However, the teams were
fortunate enough to have a charter flight down here, meaning it was a
fairly easy trip to Montgomery followed by a short drive to Troy.
While
not easy to get to, it certainly is easy enough to find everything once
you are in Troy. People in town say there you can reach any part of
town within 10 minutes, including the Bandmaster Hall of Fame, which
sits in the middle of campus.
Without
a doubt, the nicest part of town is the Troy Campus, which sits atop a
hill just off the main drag. The buildings are all brick and connected
by tree-covered walkways, and the athletic facilities blend in nicely
with the rest of campus, much like those at DU. Perhaps the strangest
part of campus is the name of the main bookstore: Barnes & Noble.
It’s right in the center of campus and complete with a Starbucks that
also serves cheesecake from the Cheesecake Factory.
The
Trojans basketball team has a successful track record and has been to
the NCAA Tournament in 1988, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 2003, although many of
them were when the school went by Troy State. The problem for some
outside fans is that Troy has been in five conferences in the past 20
years, making them somewhat difficult to track.
Like
the rest of the campus buildings, Trojan Arena blends right in and
could easily be mistaken for the history department. The only downside
to an otherwise nice arena is the number of arts crawling around. They
are not easily seen at first, but then they start to bite, which is
considerably more noticeable.
The
big surprise was a look in the display case. A few years ago, Troy won
the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament championship, for which the team
was awarded the Cliff Wettig memorial trophy. That award is named after
the founder of the Atlantic Sun Conference and the father of DU senior
associate athletic director Pam Wettig, who was as surprised as anyone to see her father’s name on a trophy. In fact, Joe Scott pointed it out to Wettig.
Sneakers:
This weekend coaches across the NCAA will be wearing sneakers with
their suits as part of the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers
awareness weekend. Denver’s coaches are no exception, as Joe Scott and his staff will be sporting white Adidas sneakers on the sideline.
Writing Award: Shortly after DU hired Joe Scott, our friends in the communications department across campus decided to profile him in University of Denver Magazine. Richard Chapman, the writer of “Joe Scott:
More Than Just Tough Talk,” was recently awarded the CASE District VI
Gold Award for the feature story. The story is still available online at
http://www.du.edu/magazine/archive/2007/04/Sports.html.
Additionally,
Chapman won a Bronze Award for “Workers Spend Long Nights Converting
Floor,” an online story about the difficulty involved with converting
Magness Arena from an ice rink to basketball court and back again, which
workers often do a few times a week. Certainly, all of us in the
athletic department send our congratulations out to Richard for two
great stories.
Son of ShamWow:
I hate to say it, but our good friend Mitch Hyder replaced what was
thought to be his one-of-a-kind ShamWow shirt with one that looks really
similar, except it is black. Guess what. He wore the shirt for both
games against Western Kentucky and South Alabama. Although it’s a quick
turnaround, which translates to “probably not laundered,” the Son of
ShamWow shirt is likely making the trip to Troy.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 16
Total Mileage Flown – 13,451
Friday, January 23, 2009
PACK THE HOUSE vs. Western Kentucky - 1/23/09
DENVER – Huge game coming up tomorrow. In
addition to the annual PACK THE HOUSE game and all of the promotions
that go along with that ($10,000 anyone?), Denver is facing Western
Kentucky, the most storied program in the Sun Belt Conference.
The Hilltoppers caught a lot of notice during last year’s NCAA Tournament after senior guard Ty Rogers drilled a shot at the buzzer that was about 10 feet behind the three-point line to upset Drake. WKU followed that by beating San Diego in the Second Round and waltzing to the Sweet 16, where they played extremely well against No. 1-seeded UCLA.
Those of us who have been watching the Sun Belt for a few years were not really surprised by Western’s success. They finished the season 29-7, the fourth-straight year the team had won at least 22 games, and they had a guard named Courtney Lee, who was chosen by the Orlando Magic with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. Finally, WKU had a point guard named Tyrone Brazelton, who DU head coach Joe Scott called the most valuable player in the Sun Belt Conference last year. Scott would not argue that Brazelton was better than Lee, but he said that no other player was more important to his team than Brazelton.
WKU’s head coach last year, Darrin Horn, could not resist the call from South Carolina, which offered him a large contract to take over the Southeastern Conference team. The Hilltoppers replaced him with Ken McDonald, who spent four years working as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes at Texas after serving as a Georgia assistant for one year and a WKU assistant for five seasons. McDonald helped in the recruiting future NBA players Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin, among others, while at Texas.
This season, McDonald has already coached WKU to an upset of then-No. 3 Louisville in Nashville on Nov. 30. The Hilltoppers have also beaten a few other teams that were in last year’s Tournament – Georgia and South Alabama – as well as Missouri Valley power Southern Illinois.
Western Kentucky’s recent success is nothing new. WKU is eighth in the history of the NCAA with a .670 winning percentage, and its 1,548 wins entering this season were tied for the 15th most. This is a team with 20 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 1971, the Hilltoppers advanced to the Final Four, where they finished third in a year when teams still played a consolation game. They have also had 13 NIT appearances and 37 All-Americans.
PACK THE HOUSE: Tomorrow’s game marks the Sixth Annual PACK THE HOUSE at Magness Arena. Among other prizes, one lucky fan will have the opportunity to win $10,000 by playing Deal or No Deal at halftime. Fans also have a chance to win a year’s worth of burritos at Qdoba Mexican Grill, and one student will walk away with a customized Denver Pioneers long-board.
Random Question: Is Michael Jackson making a comeback? Prior to the games at both North Texas and Florida International, a variety of songs from Thriller were blasted through the arenas. If we’re waxing nostalgia back to the early ‘80s, are Huey Lewis, REO Speedwagon and the Thompson Twins going to give us the next surefire hits on Jock Jams?
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 15
Total Mileage Flown – 12.088
Total Bus Miles – 1,329
Total Number of Hotels – 12
Total Number of Different Airports – 9
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Bags Lost by Team, Not Airline – 1
Average Attendance at the first five PACK THE HOUSE games – 6,345
The Hilltoppers caught a lot of notice during last year’s NCAA Tournament after senior guard Ty Rogers drilled a shot at the buzzer that was about 10 feet behind the three-point line to upset Drake. WKU followed that by beating San Diego in the Second Round and waltzing to the Sweet 16, where they played extremely well against No. 1-seeded UCLA.
Those of us who have been watching the Sun Belt for a few years were not really surprised by Western’s success. They finished the season 29-7, the fourth-straight year the team had won at least 22 games, and they had a guard named Courtney Lee, who was chosen by the Orlando Magic with the 22nd pick in the first round of the 2008 NBA Draft. Finally, WKU had a point guard named Tyrone Brazelton, who DU head coach Joe Scott called the most valuable player in the Sun Belt Conference last year. Scott would not argue that Brazelton was better than Lee, but he said that no other player was more important to his team than Brazelton.
WKU’s head coach last year, Darrin Horn, could not resist the call from South Carolina, which offered him a large contract to take over the Southeastern Conference team. The Hilltoppers replaced him with Ken McDonald, who spent four years working as an assistant coach under Rick Barnes at Texas after serving as a Georgia assistant for one year and a WKU assistant for five seasons. McDonald helped in the recruiting future NBA players Kevin Durant and D.J. Augustin, among others, while at Texas.
This season, McDonald has already coached WKU to an upset of then-No. 3 Louisville in Nashville on Nov. 30. The Hilltoppers have also beaten a few other teams that were in last year’s Tournament – Georgia and South Alabama – as well as Missouri Valley power Southern Illinois.
Western Kentucky’s recent success is nothing new. WKU is eighth in the history of the NCAA with a .670 winning percentage, and its 1,548 wins entering this season were tied for the 15th most. This is a team with 20 appearances in the NCAA Tournament. In 1971, the Hilltoppers advanced to the Final Four, where they finished third in a year when teams still played a consolation game. They have also had 13 NIT appearances and 37 All-Americans.
PACK THE HOUSE: Tomorrow’s game marks the Sixth Annual PACK THE HOUSE at Magness Arena. Among other prizes, one lucky fan will have the opportunity to win $10,000 by playing Deal or No Deal at halftime. Fans also have a chance to win a year’s worth of burritos at Qdoba Mexican Grill, and one student will walk away with a customized Denver Pioneers long-board.
Random Question: Is Michael Jackson making a comeback? Prior to the games at both North Texas and Florida International, a variety of songs from Thriller were blasted through the arenas. If we’re waxing nostalgia back to the early ‘80s, are Huey Lewis, REO Speedwagon and the Thompson Twins going to give us the next surefire hits on Jock Jams?
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 15
Total Mileage Flown – 12.088
Total Bus Miles – 1,329
Total Number of Hotels – 12
Total Number of Different Airports – 9
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 3
Total Number of Bags Lost by Team, Not Airline – 1
Average Attendance at the first five PACK THE HOUSE games – 6,345
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Florida International - 1/17/09
MIAMI, Fla. – Yesterday
was a long day. The team woke up early, had a quick breakfast at 7 a.m. and
headed to DFW to catch what seemed like a long flight to Miami. When we got to
the hotel, sandwiches were waiting, but the players had to eat them quickly
before getting back on the bus and driving to Florida International for
practice.
Of course not all of us made it back to the hotel with the team. Radio voice Mitch Hyder stayed at the airport to report a missing bag, but when the team got to the hotel we discovered that someone had grabbed it and thrown it on the bus.
FIU’s women were practicing in the Arena, so Denver ended up in an auxiliary gym upstairs, which would actually be covered up if all the bleachers were extended. To say the gym was cozy would be an understatement. There was about two feet beyond the end lines, and the sidelines were walls. However, the team made due and had a good practice for about 90 minutes before a quick workout in FIU’s weight room. The drive back to the hotel was a little longer due to rush hour, but there was still about an hour before dinner.
For the second-straight time, we ate at an Italian chain restaurant the night before the game, and for the second-consecutive time a server dumped a drink down the back of one of the players. Nigel Peter-Denman jumped up pretty quickly as a glass of water cascaded down his back before shattering on the concrete floor. At least he got a free dessert out of the ordeal.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 14
Total Mileage Flown – 10,340
Total Bus Miles – 1,287
Total Number of Hotels – 12
Total Number of Different Airports – 9
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 2
Total Number of Bags Lost by Team, Not Airline – 1
Total Number of Players Doused with Drinks by Waiters – 4
Of course not all of us made it back to the hotel with the team. Radio voice Mitch Hyder stayed at the airport to report a missing bag, but when the team got to the hotel we discovered that someone had grabbed it and thrown it on the bus.
FIU’s women were practicing in the Arena, so Denver ended up in an auxiliary gym upstairs, which would actually be covered up if all the bleachers were extended. To say the gym was cozy would be an understatement. There was about two feet beyond the end lines, and the sidelines were walls. However, the team made due and had a good practice for about 90 minutes before a quick workout in FIU’s weight room. The drive back to the hotel was a little longer due to rush hour, but there was still about an hour before dinner.
For the second-straight time, we ate at an Italian chain restaurant the night before the game, and for the second-consecutive time a server dumped a drink down the back of one of the players. Nigel Peter-Denman jumped up pretty quickly as a glass of water cascaded down his back before shattering on the concrete floor. At least he got a free dessert out of the ordeal.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 14
Total Mileage Flown – 10,340
Total Bus Miles – 1,287
Total Number of Hotels – 12
Total Number of Different Airports – 9
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 2
Total Number of Bags Lost by Team, Not Airline – 1
Total Number of Players Doused with Drinks by Waiters – 4
Thursday, January 15, 2009
North Texas - 1/15/09
DENTON, Texas – We
are on the crispy cold campus of North Texas right now inside The Super Pit,
where they put their students in the Pit Crew right behind the visitor’s bench.
If nothing else, North Texas really has a way with names. That includes the
Mean Green.
As I’ve heard it, North Texas has always used a screaming eagle as the school’s mascot (if you go to www.meangreensports.com you can hear the scream of the eagle – I don’t recommend doing so at work), but at some point after Mean Joe Greene graduated from North Texas in 1969 and headed to the Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh, the school renamed its teams. As a side note, according to Wikipedia (which everyone knows is the foremost reference point when checking accuracy), there was a movement a few years ago to add the albino squirrel as a second mascot. I cannot be the only one in favor of the school adopting the albino squirrel. However, the web gurus might have trouble adding the scream of the albino squirrel to the website.
Here are a few more famous names that graduated from North Texas: Norah Jones, Pat Boone, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Roy Orbison, Dr. Phil and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
One Streak Snapped: Assistant coach Jon Jordan was given an aisle seat on the way to Dallas yesterday. From everyone’s recollection, it was the first time this season that Jon was not sitting in a middle seat. Needless to say, the 6-foot-4 Jordan looked considerably more comfortable when he wasn’t shoehorned between two other travelers.
Welcome Home: Freshman guard Travis Hallam grew up in Mesquite, Texas, which is about 50 miles from Denton on the other side of Dallas. Next season, the Pioneers expect to bring a pair of Hallams back to the Super Pit. Denver signed Travis’ younger brother Chase to a national letter of intent back in November. In the meantime, Chase’s current team Mesquite High School is ranked 11th in the Texas 5A rankings. From recent reports, about 80 people from Mesquite are expected to drive up for the game tonight.
When Life Hands You Lemons: A few players were a little sticky last night at dinner after the waiter at an Italian restaurant lost control of a drink tray, and three glasses of lemonade went flying. Fortunately, the restaurant served drinks in plastic cups, so no one was at risk when they hit the concrete floor.
Shirt Update: Unfortunately, Mitch Hyder’s ShamWow Shirt seems to have lost its magic after narrow losses at New Orleans and against Arkansas State (Mitch did not wear it during the double overtime loss at Louisiana-Lafayette), Hyder has retired the camelhair. Hyder has suggested that the shirt be burned during halftime of DU’s next home game, but it seems the fire marshal has denied his request. Its official record was 14-4.
Hotel Update: More than a couple people made the comment this morning that our hotel did not have a waffle iron shaped like Texas, but there’s still hope. The team will check out the Denton hotel today and head to another hotel by the airport after the game. Perhaps the breakfast buffet near DFW will come through like the one near Bush International did. Tomorrow, we will jump on a flight to Miami.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 13
Total Mileage Flown – 9,258
Total Bus Miles – 1,229
Total Number of Hotels – 10
Total Number of Different Airports – 8
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 2
Total Number of Players Hit by Flying Lemonade – 3
Total Number of Consecutive Flights Jon Jordan sat in the middle seat – 12 prior to snapping the streak Wednesday
As I’ve heard it, North Texas has always used a screaming eagle as the school’s mascot (if you go to www.meangreensports.com you can hear the scream of the eagle – I don’t recommend doing so at work), but at some point after Mean Joe Greene graduated from North Texas in 1969 and headed to the Steel Curtain in Pittsburgh, the school renamed its teams. As a side note, according to Wikipedia (which everyone knows is the foremost reference point when checking accuracy), there was a movement a few years ago to add the albino squirrel as a second mascot. I cannot be the only one in favor of the school adopting the albino squirrel. However, the web gurus might have trouble adding the scream of the albino squirrel to the website.
Here are a few more famous names that graduated from North Texas: Norah Jones, Pat Boone, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Roy Orbison, Dr. Phil and “Stone Cold” Steve Austin.
One Streak Snapped: Assistant coach Jon Jordan was given an aisle seat on the way to Dallas yesterday. From everyone’s recollection, it was the first time this season that Jon was not sitting in a middle seat. Needless to say, the 6-foot-4 Jordan looked considerably more comfortable when he wasn’t shoehorned between two other travelers.
Welcome Home: Freshman guard Travis Hallam grew up in Mesquite, Texas, which is about 50 miles from Denton on the other side of Dallas. Next season, the Pioneers expect to bring a pair of Hallams back to the Super Pit. Denver signed Travis’ younger brother Chase to a national letter of intent back in November. In the meantime, Chase’s current team Mesquite High School is ranked 11th in the Texas 5A rankings. From recent reports, about 80 people from Mesquite are expected to drive up for the game tonight.
When Life Hands You Lemons: A few players were a little sticky last night at dinner after the waiter at an Italian restaurant lost control of a drink tray, and three glasses of lemonade went flying. Fortunately, the restaurant served drinks in plastic cups, so no one was at risk when they hit the concrete floor.
Shirt Update: Unfortunately, Mitch Hyder’s ShamWow Shirt seems to have lost its magic after narrow losses at New Orleans and against Arkansas State (Mitch did not wear it during the double overtime loss at Louisiana-Lafayette), Hyder has retired the camelhair. Hyder has suggested that the shirt be burned during halftime of DU’s next home game, but it seems the fire marshal has denied his request. Its official record was 14-4.
Hotel Update: More than a couple people made the comment this morning that our hotel did not have a waffle iron shaped like Texas, but there’s still hope. The team will check out the Denton hotel today and head to another hotel by the airport after the game. Perhaps the breakfast buffet near DFW will come through like the one near Bush International did. Tomorrow, we will jump on a flight to Miami.
Yearly travel totals:
Total Flights – 13
Total Mileage Flown – 9,258
Total Bus Miles – 1,229
Total Number of Hotels – 10
Total Number of Different Airports – 8
Total Number of Airline Delays – 1
Total Number of Cancelled Flights – 1
Total Number of Bags Lost – 2
Total Number of Players Hit by Flying Lemonade – 3
Total Number of Consecutive Flights Jon Jordan sat in the middle seat – 12 prior to snapping the streak Wednesday
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