fresnobee.com Sports Buzz

Don't kid yourself: Coaches make all the difference

2009-11-20T21:29:00Z

I cringe when I hear high school coaches say, "You've got to have the players."

True, to win championships, you've got to have talent. But let's not fool ourselves here. Coaching separates programs.

Consider girls volleyball on the D-I level in the Central Section:

Buchanan won 7 titles in 11 seasons from 1997-2007. Why? Talent, dedication, athletes from homes with resources and, oh, let's not forget -- coach Marian Battles.

Why, then, did neighbor Clovis West -- with virtually identical demographics and resources -- not win a section title in 29 years until the past two? Simple: Rhonda DeRuiter.

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She won six consecutive section D-V championships from 1999-2005 before Clovis West's administration swooped in and pilfered her from Visalia.

That was not a particularly gifted Clovis West team that defeated top-seeded Buchanan 3-1 last night for the D-I crown. But the Golden Eagles had the right coach holding the clipboard.

'Dogs drop first to Seattle

2009-11-20T06:31:32Z

Seattle University handed Fresno State its first loss, 85-84, Thursday at KeyArena in front of Lakers great Elgin Baylor, who was on hand for ceremony to dedicate the court in his honor.

Sophomore forward Paul George and freshman center Greg Smith of Edison each had 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulldogs (2-1). Mike Ladd, a former high school star from the Seattle area, missed 6 of 7 shots and finished with just two points in 32 minutes in his homecoming.

It was a combination of Seattle's full-court press and Fresno State turnovers that decided the game. The Bulldogs committed 20 turnovers, including the last by guard Steven Shepp as he drove the lane for a potential winning shot in the final seconds.

Bigger is better

2009-11-20T01:24:20Z

Adrian Wiggins recruited two more guards in the November signing period, which is good thing for the Fresno State women's basketball team's motion offense.

But what the Bulldogs really need is a couple good bigs.

They might have one in 6-2 junior Veronica Wilson, a transfer from Boston College who's sitting out this season. The next tallest is freshman Jeanna, a project that might take three years to develop. After that, Fresno State has no one taller than 6-1 Hayley Munro, who has one season left after this one.

What's become obvious is Fresno State's height handicap against the good teams from the better conferences -- like USC, Cal, Stanford, TCU.

]]> The Bulldogs stay in those games through pure hustle and 3-point shooting. But as the NCAA tournament showed, Fresno State just can't compete against elite teams like Baylor and Cal with such a tiny lineup.

The WAC also is getting bigger. Louisiana Tech, Boise State, New Mexico State, Nevada are all recruiting bigs who can play. If the Bulldogs don't watch out, they might be left behind in a few years if they don't upgrade the post positions.

Lemoore wrestler Sierra signs with Grand Canyon

2009-11-19T06:45:12Z

Lemoore High's Nick Sierra became the second Fresno-area wrestler to sign a national letter of intent during the early signing period when he agreed to a scholarship offer from NCAA Division II Grand Canyon University in Phoenix.

Sierra, who placed sixth at the state tournament last season at 140 pounds, joins Clovis West's Zach Zimmer as early signees. Zimmer, fourth in the state at 112 pounds last season, is headed to nationally ranked Indiana of the Big Ten Conference.

]]> Sierra will join an Antelopes roster that also features former Clovis High standout Madison Gambrell, a 125-pound freshman this season.

Sierra is a two-time state qualifier and two-time Reno Tournament of Champions placer who won the Central Section title at 140 pounds last season.

"Nick has wrestled his whole life," Grand Canyon coach R.C. LaHaye said. "It is in his blood. He comes from a great wrestling family and is one of the top middleweights in the nation."

Should Clovis and Madera have checked out?

2009-11-19T02:19:49Z

I'm having a little trouble with Clovis and Madera choosing not to participate in the Division I playoffs.

The section playoff format allows everyone to compete in the postseason. The weakest of the weak generally choose not to, avoiding not only a rout, but one also on the road.

Clovis (3-7) and Madera (4-6) don't qualify as the weakest of the weak. Weakest in the Tri-River Athletic Conference? Yes. But that's no embarrassment, given the league's No. 1 status in the section.

Had they joined the postseason pool, Clovis, as a No. 10 seed, would have played at No. 9 Clovis East, and Madera, as a No. 11 seed, would have visited No. 8 Centennial.

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Clovis lost 31-0 to Clovis East (4-6) in the TRAC. So, one might ask: Why play them twice?

I think Madera, with its wing-T offense, would have been competitive at Centennial (6-4), which tied for third at 3-3 in the Southwest Yosemite League.

The strongest argument for the Cougars and Coyotes to compete in the playoffs is experience. And both, with several sophomore starters, could have used it.

Never know about the payoffs down the road.

Bond's Bulldogs has familiar look

2009-11-19T00:12:32Z

Southwestern Oklahoma State looks a lot like Fresno State on the basketball court this season and a certain Kelsi Bond has a lot to do with that.

The former assistant to Adrian Wiggins is in her first year there and Bond's Bulldogs are mimicking Fresno State's Bulldogs at the offensive end -- firing 3-pointers from the hip and running up the score.

SWOS made 17 of 31 treys in its opener and scored 90 points. Too bad the defense isn't there yet. Oklahoma Panhandle scored 100 in the win.

Bond brought in former Fresno State guard Cophie Moore (2001-05) as an assistant coach and current junior guard Natasha Brown, a standout from Central and Fresno

]]> City. Brown hit two 3s and scored 10 points against Oklahoma Panhandle.

This is Moore's first coaching job. She was a personal trainer and rehab specialist in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The best is yet to come

2009-11-18T22:06:50Z

I thought UCLA's Ann Meyers was the best basketball player I ever saw growing up in the '60s.

Then Old Dominion's Nancy Lieberman came along in the '70s, followed by USC's Cheryl Miller and Texas Tech's Sheryl Swoopes (as in Hoops) in the '80s, Tennessee's Chamique Holdsclaw in the '90s and UConn's Diana Taurasi at the turn of the Century along with Candice Wiggins out of Stanford and Candace Parker from Tennessee.

What set Parker apart was this: she could dunk.

But you ain't seen nothing yet.

]]> Brittney Griner. Remember the name. It won't be hard. This 6-foot-8 phenom is the talk of college basketball this season playing for Baylor.

Fresno State coach Adrian Wiggins twice already has brought up her name to me, suggested I check her out on YouTube.

Only seven women have dunked in a college or pro game. Georgeann Wells was the first in 1984 and most recently you've probably seen Lisa Leslie, Parker and Sylvia Fowles throwing one or two down.

Griner? Last year she jammed more than 50 times at Nimitz High outside of Houston, Texas. And I'm not talking about just getting the ball over the rim. She's reportedly got an 86-inch wing -- that's over 7 feet -- and her dad predicts she'll grow to at least 6-11 by the time she finishes college.

Check out this Utube jam fest with her.

Griner's the real deal. She runs the floor better than most pros. She's got soft shooting hands and comes out of nowhere to block shots.

She's the Lew Alcindor of the new era in the women's game. Only it might take a little time for her live up to that.

Griner looked like the freshman she is in Baylor's 74-65 loss to Tennessee in the season opener. She had 15 points, 4 rebounds and 4 blocks and played tentatively. Part of that was due to her teammates getting her the ball in bad places and an excited Griner too often getting too far beneath the basket to get her shot off.

She came back against Tennessee Tech Wednesday and nearly had a triple-double: 10 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks.

What distinguishes Griner most is her dunks, already legendary around Houston. She jams with either hand. Dunks off the dribble. Dunks off passes thrown off the backboard or bounced high off the floor. She windmill dunks. Throws down two-handers with force. And makes it all look so effortless.

But, oops, she missed her first one -- a one-hander-- against Tenn. Tech.
I've got my fingers crossed that the Bulldogs make the NCAA Tournament again this season and play Baylor in the first round again.

I'd pay to watch 5-5 Emma Andrews go out for the center jump against Griner, something Wiggins would surely set up since Fresno State gives away the jump ball anyway to play defense first.

LaTech safety suspended for Fresno State game

2009-11-18T21:06:36Z

Western Athletic Conference Commissioner Karl Benson suspended Louisiana Tech freshman safety Chad Boyd for the first half of the upcoming Fresno State-LaTech game as a result of a flagrant foul he committed against an LSU receiver in last weekend's 24-16 Tech loss.

On the play, which occurred close to the 13-minute mark of the third quarter with the Bulldogs leading 13-10, Boyd leapt into LSU receiver Terrance Toliver and appeared to lead with his helmet.

The play made YouTube, but went undetected by the game officials.

"A flagrant personal foul should have been called by the game officials, and Boyd should have been ejected from the game at that time," said Benson.

"By NCAA rules, I am required to review these types of situations and it was determined that the player clearly committed a flagrant foul, and thus will be suspended. Protecting a defenseless player from a hit to the head has been a point of emphasis for two years and cannot be tolerated even if it goes undetected by the game officials."

The suspension should hurt Tech, who is already suffering from a number of injuries, including the loss of senior All-WAC safety Antonio Baker for the season.

Searching for truth in today's blur

2009-11-18T19:39:09Z

You've no doubt heard the rumors. Fresno State football coach Pat Hill is a possible candidate for the same position at UNLV. At least that's what you can read here. And here. And here.

Never mind that we have no idea if Hill will get a contract extension at Fresno State. We don't even know if he wants a contract extension at Fresno State. We have no real idea if UNLV is even interested in Hill, or whether Hill would be interested in UNLV, or whether his name has been brought up only because he's waiting on an extension, is perceived as disgruntled, or simply has UNLV connections since he was an assistant there once upon a football season.

]]> UNLV doesn't even have an athletic director yet, the person who would theoretically make that sort of decision.

So we don't know anything, and yet that doesn't stop rumors and internet speculation. That is the world in which we live, though. The producers of information to the masses are no longer newspapers and television stations. It now includes blogs and web sites and chat rooms that don't have to answer to editors or readers, don't have to confirm anything with sources, don't even need sources.

This is not a complaint about the state of journalism or my job. That would be silly. Heck, I've never been an ice cream taster or a trampoline tester, but I'm pretty sure there aren't many jobs that are easier, or more fun, than what I do. But when it comes to finding the truth, about a coaching hire for instance, the new media makes it tough. Coaches get frustrated by their names surfacing for every opening, whether that guy is a hot coach, or simply a guy on the hot seat. Rumors have been around since humans began talking, theoretically, but a mass email can make it across this country in minutes. This could be my imagination, but readers' distinction between what is rumor and what is substantiated journalism seems to be deteriorating.

What's tough is that coaches trust less. They talk less. Coach Hill was livid last year before the New Mexico Bowl when his name came up about the opening at Iowa State. He got after the reporters for asking about. He walked away from a group of reporters, then came back to lecture them again about how much those rumors hurt his recruiting. Of course the people who speculated about Hill and Iowa State on the internet didn't have to face Hill in Albuquerque, N.M., and explain where they got the information. And yet local reporters, Fresno's TV and radio and newspaper reporters, are the ones who had to ask follow-up questions. We're competing against the internet, too, you know, or at least trying to figure out how.

And at the same time, it would be naive to think all speculation is just that. A has since said that Iowa State did contact Hill about its opening. Hill was caught fibbing about the Washington job last season, a job which he interviewed for at least once. So it's a tough balance. Coaches can't answer every question truthfully, especially about their interest in jobs, because it really would hurt recruiting.

All of this to say that Hill isn't talking about any potential jobs. He isn't talking about his contract extension. Fresno State administrators are simply saying that Hill will be evaluated after the season, like all their coaches. Hill has one more season on his contract, and a source says no decision has been made either way. Not that the Boeh administration wouldn't never cut a coach loose mid-season, but certainly Hill has earned the right to finish the season, if not his entire contract, if he wanted. That seems fair. Whatever the decision, it will have to happen this off-season. This time it can't be put off another year. Going into the final year of a contract with no plan in place would set the Bulldogs program back at least a couple years.

That's all for now. It isn't speculative or ground-breaking. Just what I can confirm up to this point.

Kendal Brock a star -- and bit of a mystery, also

2009-11-18T00:41:18Z

I'm getting mixed reports on the health of Clovis West running back Kendal Brock.

Some say he has a high ankle sprain and is questionable for the Golden Eagles' quarterfinal game against unbeaten Bullard Nov. 27 at McLane.

But his own coach, Coby Lindsey, says he's fine, that he ran with the team today and that "nothing" will keep him out against the second-seeded Knights.

What's not in question is this: I've had several sources not associated with Clovis West, including Bullard coach Donnie Arax, who say Brock is the finest running back in the Central Section.

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"No question," Arax says of the 5-10, 185-pound junior with exceptional inside and outside running ability.

Brock has been somewhat shoved backstage in a season that has seen defending D-I champion Clovis West (5-5) make news with eight players suspensions, a quarterback carousel and, of course, a .500 record.

But consider his production: 182 carries for 1,604 yards (8.13 average) and 14 touchdowns. Further, he's averaged 165 yards a game in the Eagles' losses to teams ranked in the state and/or section -- Buchanan, Bullard, Central, Servite-Anaheim and Centennial-Corona. Those teams are a combined 44-5.

He carried 12 times for 219 yards against Servite, which is ranked 10th in the state.

No Mathews, no problem vs Louisiana Tech?

2009-11-17T23:49:47Z

The Bulldogs are going to have their work cut out for them this week with Ryan Mathews out because of his concussion.

There's a reason the coaching staff ran him 213 times and the next back 56 times. There's a reason they passed four times at the goal line in the last game when Mathews was sitting the bench and some aren't really convinced it was because they were behind and needed to score quickly.

The "other" running backs -- particularly seniors Anthony Harding and Lonyae Miller -- have been limited in action this season, and many say rightfully so.

"Mathews", as freshman RB Robbie Rouse said Tuesday, "is a beast."

Rouse has rushed 56 times for 381 yards. Miller has run 53 times this year for just 276 and Harding has had 14 carries this season for 30 yards.

]]> They will have the opportunity to shine on senior day and show their worth in this next game. They've had big games in the past, with Harding leading the team in rushing last season and rushing for a career-high 158 against Hawaii. Miller rolled for 181 against Idaho last year. They'll need to do it again -- and against a team that roughed them up last year.

The Bulldogs were held to 63 yards rushing last year against Louisiana Tech, this Saturday's opponent. Mathews didn't play in that game either because of injury. It also didn't help that the offensive line was -- by their account -- handled up front.

If the Bulldogs (6-4) don't want to end this season -- one that has had so many highs -- at an average 6-6, they better get cracking.

Keeping TRAC in the fall

2009-11-17T08:22:40Z

The Tri-River Athletic Conference, which has routinely won 70% to 80% of all Central Section Division I championships in this decade, is as dominant as ever to begin the 2009-10 school year.

The league is 6-for-6 in D-I title opportunities in the fall, led by Buchanan's four.

The TRAC has swept boys (Buchanan) and girls (Clovis West) water polo, swept boys (Buchanan) and girls (Buchanan) cross country, and also won both girls golf (Clovis West) and girls tennis (Buchanan).

Further, the TRAC is also favored to capture the final two fall D-I titles, with Buchanan top-seeded in football and volleyball.

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What a start for the Bears -- even better than 2005-06, when they were named California School of the Year by Cal-Hi Sports after winning a state championship in wrestling, eight section titles and 10 league crowns.

What's even more frightening for the rest of the section is the prospects of the TRAC growing in strength, with continued growth of Central's athletic program and the addition of Clovis North in 2010-11.

Fresno State going back to the New Mexico Bowl

2009-11-17T01:58:10Z

The Bulldogs are 6-4, and regardless of the outcome in their last two games against Louisiana Tech and Illinois, they will be headed to a bowl game.

Which one? The New Mexico Bowl. Here's why.

Boise State (No. 6 in the BCS) will win the rest of its games and enter a BCS game as an at-large bid because automatic-qualifying schools like USC keep losing.

Idaho is going to the Humanitarian Bowl because the game is in Boise and the Vandals don't have a large fan base that's guaranteed to travel outside the state. So you keep the team, which hasn't been to a bowl since '98, in-state.

Nevada, which hosted Hawaii in Reno during the regular season, will be sent to the Hawaii Bowl after losing to Boise in Boise on Nov. 27.

That leaves Fresno State headed back to the N.M. Bowl because no other WAC team will be bowl eligible.

Boise could still bust BCS

2009-11-16T00:33:14Z

Don't count Boise State out of the BCS picture just yet.

Losses by USC and Miami on Saturday probably helped the Broncos in their quest for an at-large berth in a BCS bowl, regardless of how impressive TCU looked in routing Utah. Looking over the pool of candidates, I can't see how Boise State gets left out -- provided the Broncos finish undefeated.

Including the national championship game, there are 10 BCS spots available. Six of them go to the champions of the six major conferences (SEC, Pac-10, Big Ten, Big 12, ACC and Big East); the other four are up for grabs.

]]> If TCU finishes undefeated, the Horned Frogs automatically get one. Another will most certainly go to the loser of the SEC championship, either Florida or Alabama. (The winner would face Texas for the national title, if form holds.)

That leaves two openings. Other than Boise State, the top candidates look to be either Penn State, Pittsburgh or Cincinnati (whoever loses their Dec. 5 showdown), LSU and maybe Oklahoma State and Iowa. USC and Miami were contenders for at-large bids heading into Saturday but both picked up their third losses.

No way the other conferences let three SEC teams make it, so forget about LSU. The Cincinnati-Pitt loser would have a strong case (especially a one-loss Bearcats team), but neither is likely to be ranked ahead of a Boise State team with zero losses. Penn State is a good story, but whom have the Nittany Lions beaten this season? Nobody. Oklahoma State and Iowa? Not much sizzle there.

Don't expect to see Boise State-TCU in a BCS bowl because that match up won't draw big ratings or please sponsors looking for a national audience. But if a bowl can place the Broncos against a traditional power (a la Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl), it might have something.

Just a thought for a Sunday afternoon ...

Rams stick it to Tigers

2009-11-15T02:45:19Z

Emmanuel Lewis threw for 189 yards, DeAndre Boughton returned a fumble 58 yards for a touchdown and Fresno City hammered host Reedley 34-6 Saturday in the Battle of the Pump to force a three-way tie for first place in the Valley Conference.

The Rams, Tigers and either Sequoias or Sierra finished at 3-2. Sierra was playing at Sequoias in the late game.

If Sierra wins, Reedley will advance to the Northern California championship to face No. 1 San Mateo next Saturday in the Bulldog Bowl in San Mateo. Should COS win, it would go to the NorCal championship.

Fresno City was knockd out of contention with West Hills' 30-27 upset of San Joaquin

]]> Delta, and probably will host next week's State Center Bowl.

The state bowl pairings will be announced Sunday afternoon. Reedley and Sequoias are good bets to play in the postseason, too.

Fresno City spotted Reedley a Curtis O'Neill 37-yard field goal, then scored the next 27 points: Josh Tobar's 3-yard run; Isiah Barton's 2-yard run; Boughton's fumble return; Humberto Del Rio's field goals of 26 and 33 yards; and Barton put it away with a 55-yard run on a pitch play down the left sideline with about 4 minutes left.

"It was out game plan all week to keep them out of the end zone," said Boughton, a linebacker out of Edison High.

City led 24-3 at halftime and Jameel Medlock, who had two of his team's four sacks, said the halftime talk was about one thing.

"Coach [Tony Caviglia] told us it's 0-0 and don't let up. We kept our foot on the gas and kept giving it to them."