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Show B4 Friday, January 7, 1983 Signpost JV bball develops players for future by Dan Dickson Sports Reporter Most every student at WSC is aware of the winning record the basketball team has acquired over the years. It has taken lots of hard work and patience to develop this kind of basketball program. There is another basketball team at Weber that can take its share of the credit for the development of this fine basketball program. Of course, I am referring to the junior varsity basketball team. A team that many WSC students probably know little about. Since the rule to allow freshman athletes to play varsity sports was inacted, many major universities have done away with their JV programs. However, the Wildcat coaching staff feels it is a very important part of their basketball program. What purpose does the JV program serve? According to assistant coach Dan Dion, who is also in charge of the JV program, WSC can very seldom recruit the quality Blue Chip athletes that a lot of other bigger name schools can. A lot of the players that we recruit may not be able to handle it as soon as others. The JV program is set up to help these players develop their skills, and learn coach McCarthy's system of playing basketball. If the player does develop, he is given the opportunity to move up to the varsity level and work out with these players." Presently there are four of five players who are on scholarship and also working out with the varsity team. The rest of the team is made up of players that the coaches invited to try out for the team but were unable to give scholarships to. There are also walk-ons, players who feel that they may be good enough to make the team even though they were over-looked by the coaches. Even though this years' JV team has four wins and four losses at this stage of the season against some very tough competition, coach Dion says that winning and losing isn't his main concern. He believes it is more important for him to work with, teach and help his players develop their individual skills, so that sometime in the future they can be an asset to the basketball program at Weber. Some of the better players on the team this year are, Dale Baum, who scored 28 points against Snow College, and 38 points against the USU Junior Varsity team. Daryl McDaniel, who scored 26 points and had 16 rebounds against Ricks College. Mike Mounts is another scholarship player who has been doing very well. There are two other non-scholarship players who have contributed a lot to the team, Daryl Jett, from West High in SLC, and Chene Gardner, a walk-on from Bonneville High School in Ogden. In talking to Dale, and Chene, both are very happy to be playing ball here at WSC. Dale is a scholarship athlete from Wisconsin and plays either a swingman or a small forward. Recruited for his great shooting ability, he came to WSC because of the tradition the WSC basketball program has, and the great facility they have to play in. Chene comes from a tradition-rich basketball family. He is one of the co-captains on the team. He said he is having a lot of fun, and gaining many of valuable experiences.Most all of the JV games are played before the Varsity games. They start at 5:15 p.m. So if you want to leave for the big game early, beat the traffic, and watch some of the budding superstars in Wildcat future, come and sit back and relax and enjoy some exciting well-played basketball. Pre-season polls pick Vandals Heading into this 20th anniversary season, the 1981-82 Big Sky Conference basketball campaign will go down as one of the best of the previous 19 seasons. Last year the Big Sky established a conference record for winning percentage against outside competition; showed an attendance increase; had a team ranked among the major wire service polls in the top ten; advanced a team to the 'sweet sixteen' of the NCAA Basketball Tournament; and had a coach named as national 'Coach of the Year.' One of the changes that has been made this year is the addition of the three-. point basket. Last spring in Missoula, Montana, the league's Council of Presidents voted to adopt the three point goal as well as the Thursday-Saturday conference games. The three point goal will be allowed from a distance of 22-feet or more during the conference games this season. At the non-conference games the three point basket is optional.Currently in the Big Sky, Idaho is leading with a 10-1 record. The Van dals are closely followed by Montana with a 10-2 record and Weber State is in third place with a 9-3. The conference season begins on Jan. 13 with four games scheduled. Idaho will be at Northern Arizona, Boise will be at Nevada-Reno, Montana will be at Weber State and Montana State will be at Idaho State. 1982-83 BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRE-SEASON COACHES POLL 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 TOTAL POINTS 1. IDAHO 6 1 55 2. MONTANA' 2 5 - - - - 51 3. WEBER STATE 2 4 1 - - 43 . 4. NEVADA-RENO -.-421'--' 38 5. BOISE STATE - - - 3 4 31 6! MONTANA STATE --- 2 2 3 - 27 7. IDAHO STATE - - - - 1 3 3 19 - 8. NORTHERN ARIZONA - - - - - 2 5 16 Coaches were not allowed to vote for their own team. Points were awarded as follows: 8 for 1st; 7 for 2nd; 6 for 3rd etc. 1982-83 BIG SKY CONFERENCE PRE SEASON MEDIA POLL 123 45678 TOTAL POINTS 1. . IDAHO 16 7 ----- - 177 2. MONTANA . 6 11 5 -- 1 - - - 159 3. WEBER STATE 1 4 6 . 10 1 " 1 - - 129 4. NEVADA-RENO 1 11 10 - 1 126 5. BOISE STATE - - 1 1 16 1 4 86 6. MONTANA STATE - - - - 3 8 10 2 .58 (tie) IDAHO STATE - - - 2 1 9 6 5 58 8. NORTHERN ARIZONA - - - - 1 3 3 16 35 Points were awarded as follows: 8 for 1st; 7 for 2nd; 6 for 3rd; etc. Where are the former WSC basethall stars now? by Daryl Winslow Sports Reporter Weber State College has a very rich basketball tradition, and many seasons have' been enjoyed by the fans here in Ogden. As the Wildcats head into a new conference season, it seems appropriate to look at the stars of the past and find out where they are now. Everyone has their favorite player and if yours is not included, I apologize; however, I think that I have remembered most of the recent stars and I trust that the reader will enjoy finding out what has happened to them. Last season was a rebuilding year for the Wildcats. However, they nearly stole the Big Sky title away from Idaho. A major reason for that accomplishment was Todd Harper and his patented long distance shot. A player who reminded some fans of the NBA's Rick Barry, Harper finished his career at Weber State with 17.9 points per game average. Many times it was Harper, and Harper alone who carried the Wildcats. So, where is he now? Todd Harper is working in his father's business in San Diego and has no plans right now to play any form of professional basketball. Weber State's greatest player and probably the Big Sky Conference's greatest was Bruce Collins. Collins is on top of the conference scoring charts with 20.19 career points and is 7th on the rebounding list with 879 rebounds in his four years at vVeber. Collins led the Weber State games of the late 70's and after a short time in the Continental Basketball League, he left basketball and presently works with children in Wyoming. Mark Mattos was the point guard for those teams of the latter 70's at Weber, and holds all of the college assist records. Mattos has done some television commentary for Weber State games and right now he is going to medical school at the University of Utah. David Johnson was the number two scorer on those teams and is 13th on the conference all-time scoring list. Johnson is playing professional basketball in Belgium and his coach is former Weber State Assistant Coach Riley Wimberly. Also playing professionally in Belgium, but with a different team is Stan Mayhew. Mayhew averaged 22.0 points per game in 1977, and holds the Weber State single game scoring record with 45 points against Utah State. Richard Smith was a standout for Weber State in the late 70's and holds the school's career field goal percentage record at .536. Smith is presently a graduate assistant coach for the Wildcats and is easily distinguished by his 7'2" frame. There were, of course, many other stars in earlier years at Weber State, and they also deserve recognition, but that will have to wait for another season and another writer. I hope that some of the names mentioned here evoked pleasant memories for you, and I also hope that those memories will be strengthened as the Wildcats continue to play the best basketball in the Big SkyConference. |
