The Northern Colorado basketball team that took the court against New Mexico State looked very different than the one I saw take on San Diego State at the McKale Center in the NCAA Tournament in March.
Gone were seniors Devon Beitzel, Chris Kaba, Taylor Montgomery and Neal Kingman, replaced in the Bears’ starting lineup by the fresh faces of guards Paul Garnica and Tate Unruh, bench players on last season’s Big Sky champions, as well as true freshman forward Tim Huskisson and center Connor Osborne, who missed last season with a broken wrist.
Despite playing with so many new faces, four of the 10 Bears that saw the floor were making their collegiate debuts; the Bears did not look much different than the team that won both the Big Sky regular season and tournament championships eight months ago.
2,269 fans packed Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion for the team’s home opener, and the Bears opened the season on the right foot, with Unruh tipping in a Mike Proctor miss for the first bucket of the season.
When Unruh’s basket went through, I had barely settled into my seat, which was, for my money, the best in the house. I was courtside, charged with updating the Northern Colorado athletic department’s Twitter feed.
With the Aggies leading, 13-9, Garnica (@PGarnica3) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to put UNC back in front, and redshirt freshman Tevin Svihovec recorded his first points as a Bear to give Northern Colorado a 17-13 lead eight minutes into the game and give the student section an excuse to be at full volume.
However, New Mexico State scored the next nine points, quickly quieting the near-capacity crowd, and UNC would not regain the lead until an Emmanuel Addo tip-in gave them a 33-31 edge with 6:33 left before intermission.
The Bears led by five just over two minutes later after a three from Svihovec, who finished with seven points in 16 minutes in his first college game.
The Aggies pulled the game back to a 41-41 tie as the teams headed for their locker rooms.
The story at the half was the free throw disparity, with New Mexico State having attempted 25 free throws to the Bears’ four. Despite that, the Bears looked every bit a team that had gone undefeated at home, won a conference title and acquitted it quite well in the NCAA Tournament last season.
The Bears got out to a quick start in the second half, coming out of the break with a 9-2 run keyed by Unruh (@Tateunruh) and Garnica, who led the Bears with 15 and 14 points, respectively. With 16-and-a-half minutes to play, the Bears had a 50-43 lead, as well as Uncle Mo and the sixth man in the stands on their side.
However, New Mexico State was bigger, more athletic and more experienced, and it showed as the second half wore on. The Aggies went on a 28-12 run over the next 11 minutes, taking a 71-62 lead.
The Bears finally showed another sign of life when Proctor (@procchops) put in two free throws after a tough battle to grab a rebound, cutting the NMSU lead to seven.
Alas, it was not to be Northern Colorado’s night. A team that had gone undefeated at home a season ago dropped its home opener, 89-75.
The Bears did shoot the ball well, a 48 percent clip, and all ten players that saw the floor scored, so there are positives to build on before heading north to take on Wyoming on Tuesday.
Sunday, November 13, 2011
Thursday, May 6, 2010
What I learned in JMC 410
The JMC 410 class has helped to reinforce what I learned in my other JMC classes during my college career.
In JMC 410, I really learned how to refine my writing and be more detailed when writing stories. Personally, I think the day in the life story about Tad Boyle that I wrote for the class was some of the best work I’ve ever done.
In addition, I was really able to find my voice during the course of the semester, something that had been somewhat of a struggle for me. Nowhere is that more evident than in the final story assignment of the course, my opinion column on new men’s basketball coach B.J. Hill.
The only thing missing from the class was an abundance of deadline writing. There was nothing that could equate to covering a game that ends at 9 p.m. and having a story due by midnight.
In my time as a JMC major, I learned the ins and outs of being a journalist. I was also reassured that I am going into the right profession.
Throughout my time as a JMC major, there were times that it felt like I was writing the same story over-and-over again, only changing the details. On the other hand, there have been times that every story felt creative and original, but I suppose that is part of the process of learning anything.
In JMC 410, I really learned how to refine my writing and be more detailed when writing stories. Personally, I think the day in the life story about Tad Boyle that I wrote for the class was some of the best work I’ve ever done.
In addition, I was really able to find my voice during the course of the semester, something that had been somewhat of a struggle for me. Nowhere is that more evident than in the final story assignment of the course, my opinion column on new men’s basketball coach B.J. Hill.
The only thing missing from the class was an abundance of deadline writing. There was nothing that could equate to covering a game that ends at 9 p.m. and having a story due by midnight.
In my time as a JMC major, I learned the ins and outs of being a journalist. I was also reassured that I am going into the right profession.
Throughout my time as a JMC major, there were times that it felt like I was writing the same story over-and-over again, only changing the details. On the other hand, there have been times that every story felt creative and original, but I suppose that is part of the process of learning anything.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
CU interested in Boyle
With CU head basketball coach Jeff Bzdelik taking the same job at Wake Forest, the Buffs have put UNC coach Tad Boyle near the top of their list of potential replacements.
Boyle holds a 56-66 career record in four seasons at UNC and led the Bears to a 25-8 record this season.
Other candidates in the mix for the job at CU include St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett and Steve McClain, Bzdelik’s top assistant at CU. Some of CU’s top players have stated that they would prefer McClain to take the job.
Boyle, a Greeley native, led his hometown university to its first postseason berth since moving to Division I, and since a trip to the Division II NCAA Tournament in 1989.
Before coming to UNC, Boyle was an assistant coach for six years at Wichita State, working under Mark Turgeon, who is currently at Texas A&M, a Big 12 rival of Colorado. Boyle was also an assistant at Jacksonville State, Tennessee and Oregon.
Bzdelik, a former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, was 36-58 in three seasons at CU, never finishing above eighth in the Big 12. He was 50-16 in a previous coaching stop at Air Force.
Boyle has experience in the Big 12 as a player at the University of Kansas from 1981-’85, and has been unpopular among some CU boosters since spurning the Buffs to play at KU.
If Boyle leaves, a likely replacement at UNC would be Bears’ assistant coach B.J. Hill.
Boyle holds a 56-66 career record in four seasons at UNC and led the Bears to a 25-8 record this season.
Other candidates in the mix for the job at CU include St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett and Steve McClain, Bzdelik’s top assistant at CU. Some of CU’s top players have stated that they would prefer McClain to take the job.
Boyle, a Greeley native, led his hometown university to its first postseason berth since moving to Division I, and since a trip to the Division II NCAA Tournament in 1989.
Before coming to UNC, Boyle was an assistant coach for six years at Wichita State, working under Mark Turgeon, who is currently at Texas A&M, a Big 12 rival of Colorado. Boyle was also an assistant at Jacksonville State, Tennessee and Oregon.
Bzdelik, a former head coach of the Denver Nuggets, was 36-58 in three seasons at CU, never finishing above eighth in the Big 12. He was 50-16 in a previous coaching stop at Air Force.
Boyle has experience in the Big 12 as a player at the University of Kansas from 1981-’85, and has been unpopular among some CU boosters since spurning the Buffs to play at KU.
If Boyle leaves, a likely replacement at UNC would be Bears’ assistant coach B.J. Hill.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Playing the Waiting Game
After its 68-63 loss to Montana in the Big Sky semifinals, the Northern Colorado men’s basketball team’s future is up in the air.
UNC will not advance to the NCAA Tournament, but is waiting on word from college basketball’s three other postseason tournaments.
A berth in the NIT would be preferable, but there are obstacles. Weber State, the conference’s regular season champion, receives an automatic berth to the NIT and the tournament is unlikely to take two Big Sky teams.
More likely destinations for UNC are the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
The CBI was founded in 2008 by The Gazelle Group, Bradley won the CBI in its inaugural year and UTEP won last season. The CBI is unique as it does not end with a championship game, but a best-of-three championship series.
The CIT was set up last season by CollegeInsider.com exclusively for mid-major teams. The champion of the Great West Conference receives an automatic bid to the CIT, as the league does not yet receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Old Dominion won last year’s inaugural CIT, and the Monarchs are headed to this year’s NCAA tourney.
The Bears will find out their fate when all three tournaments announce their fields Sunday night.
UNC will not advance to the NCAA Tournament, but is waiting on word from college basketball’s three other postseason tournaments.
A berth in the NIT would be preferable, but there are obstacles. Weber State, the conference’s regular season champion, receives an automatic berth to the NIT and the tournament is unlikely to take two Big Sky teams.
More likely destinations for UNC are the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) and the CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT).
The CBI was founded in 2008 by The Gazelle Group, Bradley won the CBI in its inaugural year and UTEP won last season. The CBI is unique as it does not end with a championship game, but a best-of-three championship series.
The CIT was set up last season by CollegeInsider.com exclusively for mid-major teams. The champion of the Great West Conference receives an automatic bid to the CIT, as the league does not yet receive an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Old Dominion won last year’s inaugural CIT, and the Monarchs are headed to this year’s NCAA tourney.
The Bears will find out their fate when all three tournaments announce their fields Sunday night.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Day in the Life
Soon, I'll post a link to my story on a day in the life of UNC basketball coach Tad Boyle. This was the first time I had written this type of story, so I'll share some of my experiences going through that process.
After spending the whole day with Boyle, it was somewhat difficult to choose the events of the day that were most significant and worth putting in the story. What did make it in was very interesting and I don't think anything too important was left out.
The easiest and most enjoyable part of the experience was the reporting itself. Spending a day with the basketball coach and reporting on it is exactly the type of thing I got into journalism to do.
That said, I did learn a lot about reporting over several hours and constructing a more complex story. A day in the life story isn’t all that easy to put together.
It was definitely a worthwhile experience and I’m glad I was able to do it, hopefully the resulting story is as interesting as the process of putting it together was.
After spending the whole day with Boyle, it was somewhat difficult to choose the events of the day that were most significant and worth putting in the story. What did make it in was very interesting and I don't think anything too important was left out.
The easiest and most enjoyable part of the experience was the reporting itself. Spending a day with the basketball coach and reporting on it is exactly the type of thing I got into journalism to do.
That said, I did learn a lot about reporting over several hours and constructing a more complex story. A day in the life story isn’t all that easy to put together.
It was definitely a worthwhile experience and I’m glad I was able to do it, hopefully the resulting story is as interesting as the process of putting it together was.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Welcome to the blog
Hi everybody,
This blog serves several purposes. First and foremost it is to help practice blogging, which is something I haven't really done before. I've done plenty of writing and editing for newspapers, but I feel a little bit like Captain Kirk right now, on the edge of the final frontier that is blogging. This blog will also track my growth throughout the class. I also hope to come up with some posts on here that aren't class-related, but we'll see how that goes.
I've written for the University of Northern Colorado's student newspaper, The Mirror, for four years, and am currently the sports editor there. I'm also currently interning for Mile High Hoops and have done freelance work for The (Greeley) Tribune.
This blog will cover the Northern Colorado men's basketball team. The Bears are currently having (easily) their best year since moving to Division I, and maybe the best season in school history. They are currently 19-5, 8-3 in the Big Sky. I covered the beat for The Mirror the two seasons before this one, when home games drew about 1,000 fans and wins were nice, but not expected all that often. This season is different, the Bears expect to win every game and are averaging 2,500 fans at home games.
My biggest strength as a journalist is my writing ability, which is what makes the prospect of blogging so intriguing to me. I don't really have to do any interviews that I need to do for normal print stories. Don't get me wrong, I like talking to players and coaches and getting their perspective on things, but I still need to work on my interviewing skills. I'm better than when I started, but I'm nowhere near as good at conducting interviews as I am at writing.
Now is the point where I'm supposed to discuss my blogging experience; I'll keep this short and sweet: None, whatsoever.
That said, I am excited to give blogging a shot. It seems like something I should be good at, but after four years of research papers and print articles, it might be tough to write more casually. This can be fun, I hope I can use this blog as a place for in-depth analysis and get into some serious breaking down of stats that might not be suitable for something like The Mirror.
This blog serves several purposes. First and foremost it is to help practice blogging, which is something I haven't really done before. I've done plenty of writing and editing for newspapers, but I feel a little bit like Captain Kirk right now, on the edge of the final frontier that is blogging. This blog will also track my growth throughout the class. I also hope to come up with some posts on here that aren't class-related, but we'll see how that goes.
I've written for the University of Northern Colorado's student newspaper, The Mirror, for four years, and am currently the sports editor there. I'm also currently interning for Mile High Hoops and have done freelance work for The (Greeley) Tribune.
This blog will cover the Northern Colorado men's basketball team. The Bears are currently having (easily) their best year since moving to Division I, and maybe the best season in school history. They are currently 19-5, 8-3 in the Big Sky. I covered the beat for The Mirror the two seasons before this one, when home games drew about 1,000 fans and wins were nice, but not expected all that often. This season is different, the Bears expect to win every game and are averaging 2,500 fans at home games.
My biggest strength as a journalist is my writing ability, which is what makes the prospect of blogging so intriguing to me. I don't really have to do any interviews that I need to do for normal print stories. Don't get me wrong, I like talking to players and coaches and getting their perspective on things, but I still need to work on my interviewing skills. I'm better than when I started, but I'm nowhere near as good at conducting interviews as I am at writing.
Now is the point where I'm supposed to discuss my blogging experience; I'll keep this short and sweet: None, whatsoever.
That said, I am excited to give blogging a shot. It seems like something I should be good at, but after four years of research papers and print articles, it might be tough to write more casually. This can be fun, I hope I can use this blog as a place for in-depth analysis and get into some serious breaking down of stats that might not be suitable for something like The Mirror.
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