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Men's Basketball
JUCO Coaching Report
Jan. 14, 2003 By Tony Jimenez It has been near two years, but Northern Oklahoma coach Mick Weiberg vividly remembers everything about Jan. 27, 2001, a day that staggered the sports world and broke Oklahoma State University's heart. It was a day that 10 Oklahoma State players or individuals associated with the program - including Weiberg's son Jared, a student-assistant to coach Eddie Sutton - perished in an airplane crash in Colorado. The names of those lost still ring clear for anyone associated with O-State, located in the quaint town of Stillwater: William Hancock III (Media Relations), Kendall Durfey (TV/Radio Engineer), Denver Mills (Pilot), Bjorn Fahlstrom (Corporate Aviation Pilot), Brian Luinstra (Athletic Trainer), Pat Noyes (Director of Basketball Operations), William Teegins (Voice of the Cowboys), players Nate Fleming and Daniel Lawson and Weiberg. A four-page spread in the Okahoma State press guide honored the fallen, including Weiberg. In part it read: "...Jared was one of the most enthusiastic, energetic and hard-working individuals to ever come into contact with Cowboy basketball." A graduate of Tonkawa high school, Jared, age 22, played for his father in juco and then at OSU; he was a student-teacher at Stillwater high school and was awarded a post-humous degree in secondary education in May of 2001. "It's a situation where you never get over it," said Mick, whose brother Kevin is the Big 12 Commissioner. "It gets better in some ways, I guess, with time but you have constant reminders, particularly in basketball. Everytime we go into a arena he played in it brings back some great memories. "Jared left us some great things. He was a great young man who loved what he was doing. We were proud of him and everything that he did." Since he was old enough to walk, Mick took Jared with him to games; a number of pictures show Jared sitting on the bench with his father or behind the bench. He was here, there and everywhere on a basketball court. "He knew what he wanted to do at a very young age," said Mick. "He was a coach's kid who wanted to coach. His whole life revolved around basketball. He knew the ups and downs of it. He just loved being around the game." Jared, no doubt, would have done well. According to Mick, he was not a gifted athlete but he was a walking sponge, soaking up knowledge from anyone and everyone who had anything to do with basketball. He was not projected to start for his high school team but did. He was not expected to play at the juco level but he did. He did it by working extremely hard at whaever he did. "He was a determined young man," said Mick. "Scoring was not that big a deal to him. He wanted everyone to do well around him on the floor, whether he played a second or a lot." And, most importantly, said Mick, "He was a loving family member."
Tip-Ins The NJCAA will induct coaches Don Klaas (DuPage, Ill.), Dave Campbell (formerly of Western Nebraska and now an assistant coach at Nebraska) and Lowell Roumph (Northeastern Colorado), who retired after last season, into its Hall of Fame during at the national tournament in Hutchinson, Kan., March 18-22. Klaas, still at DuPage, had a 646-307 in 25 years of coaching kicking off this campaign, while Campbell was 580-185 in 23 seasons before going to Nebrasak and Roumph had a 21-year mark of 431-263 before he hung up his whistle. Said Oklahoma Coach Kelvin Sampson last season: "Coach Romph is something else. Hey, we have always recruited juco players from winning programs. There are a lot of good coaches in the jucos. I can't tell you what a great coach Ron Murphree is at Carl Albert (Okla.). He is a hidden gem in this business. Ryan Wolf ran at lot of our 1-4 offensive stuff at Barton County (Kan.) and so Ebi (Ere) came into our program (last year) with an idea of how to run it. Ebi grew up a lot there, thanks in part to Ryan. Ryan is one of the most unsung coaches in junior college."... Bill Muse may be best known as the coach at Connors State, Okla. - he has sent 35 players to NCAA Division I schools in a decade in Warner - but he recently authored a seven-and-a-half page chapter in a book entitled 6 Psychological Facors For Success. He wrote about a variety of topics, including motivation. "I never realized how difficult something like this was to do," said Muse. "It took some time and a lot of thought." Muse was traveling in fast company, as Lute Olson, Bobby Bowden, Pat Summitt also wrote chapters in the book... How small time are the two-year school ranks? Typical of the towns the schools play in is Chanute, Kan., where Neosho County - Jannero Pargo of the LA Lakers is its most prominent recent former player - is located. There is no mall in the town of 8,000 and the McDonald's closes at 10 p.m. every night. "We sell books and basketball to kids," said Neosho County coach Craig Fletchall, "nothing more."... On the west coast, former Riverside coach and now athletic director Bob Schermerhorn, former Skyline coach Pete Pontaco, former Pasadena City College and former Long Beach City player Sam Robinson will be inducted into the California Community College Hall of Fame in San Diego in March. Schermerhorn, who posted a 247-135 record in 21 years at Riverside and Chaffey, is the fifth Riverside coach to be so honored, the others including Jerry Tarkanian, Bill Mulligan, Bob Boyd and Dave Waxman... Going from the high school to juco ranks is a piece of cake...at least if you're Vance Walberg of Fresno City, Calif., JC. Walberg coached at Clovis West high school in Fresno last season - he was in the prep ranks for 24 years and played at DeAnza JC in Cupertino - and has made his move seamless, having posted a 21-0 record as of early January. "It's coaching no matter where you go," said Walberg. "You just have to get your players to play well for you." Among the four players Walberg brought with him to Fresno City form Clovis West are his son Jason,a 6-3 freshman guard, who averages 20 points points per game, Tyrone Jackson, 6-2, who averages 18 points and five steals, and Tyson Parker, 6-3. Parker is the nephew of Brigham Young cach Steve Cleveland... Everything coach Don Johnson touches turns to gold, or so it seems. Johnson, who retired from Cypress after the 1993-94 campaign as California's all-time winningest coach - that 27-year, 588-259 record having since been surpassed - is now hitting it big at Biola University in La Mirada. He is in his eighth season as an assistant coach to Dave Holmquist, one of his former players at Cypress. Holmquist, whose team was 11-3 as of early January, had an 579-164 mark prior to this campaign, his 21st at Biola.
2002-03 JUCO COACHING CHANGES
Juco New Coach Former Coach Bakersfield, Calif. George Nessman Jeff Hughes Contra Costa, Calif. Virgil Watson Chris Huber Eastern Wyoming Andy Ward Bob Davis Eastfield, Texas Chris Johnson Mark Murdock Frank Phillips, Texas Elwyn McRoy Steve Payne Fresno City, Calif. Vance Walberg Mark Mendez Garden City, Kans. Earl Diddle Jeremy Cox Grayson, Texas Pat Rafferty Jeff Walker Hagerstown, Md. Kenny Keyes Jim Brown John Wood, Ill. Mike Elbe Jeff Moore Kennedy-King, Ill. Garland Dildy Willie Little McClennan, Texas Kevin Gill Wendell Hudson McCook, Neb. Ty Orton Lance Creechex Mississippi Gulf Coast Wendell Weathers Bobby Weathers Monroe, N.Y. (Bronx) Jeff Brustad Charles Jackson Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Jason Turk Lonnie Spencer Oakland, Mich. Campy Russell Dymetrius Ware Palomar, Calif. John O'Neill Virgil Watson Pratt, Kans. Jan Hanley Earl Diddle San Francisco, Calif. Patrick Springer Harry Pantazopulos Scottsdale, Ariz. Paul Eberhardt Tim Parmeter Sierra, Calif. John Fusano Jim Forkum Southwestern, Iowa Scott Rucker Mike Morley Utah Valley State Dick Hunsaker Jeff Reinhart West Valley, Calif. Dan Yoshikawa *Bob Burton Yavapai, Ariz. Brooks Thompson Dolph Carroll
*On one-year leave
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