Bleacher Report - Articles by Ron Knabenbauer

Colorado's Hawkins Finally Gets His Man

Ron Knabenbauer — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 21:51:17 -0500

Dan Hawkins finally got his guy.

After a month long search, the CU Athletic department officially announced on Wednesday that Denver Johnson has been named the new offensive line coach for the football team for the 2009 season.

“He’s very highly respected, and is a great man and a great coach,” said head coach Dan Hawkins in a press release on Wednesday. “He has experience coaching with and against Big 12 competition and has recruiting ties in the Big 12 region, especially Texas. I think he’s a great fit for our staff and for our team.”

The hiring of Johnson comes after former offensive line coach Jeff Grimes left for Auburn last month, to join former Iowa State head coach Gene Chizik’s new squad in a similar position.

In the press release on Wednesday, Johnson said he is excited to be at Colorado and coach with Hawkins.

“I am thrilled and excited to have the opportunity to come to Colorado and join coach Hawkins and his staff along with these young men,” Johnson said. “I have been a head coach for 12 years, but I’m an offensive line coach by trade. That’s my passion, so I am excited to be here at such a critical time and am looking forward to settling in and getting down to business.”

Johnson, 50, started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Oklahoma State in 1985 after a five year stint in the NFL and the now defunct United States Football League. After one year in Stillwater, he left for Tennessee-Martin where he became assistant head coach and the offensive line coach for three seasons.

The Seminole, Okla. native returned to the OSU Cowboys in 1989 where he became the offensive line coach until he left for Mississippi State in 1993.

He returned to Big 12 country in 1996 for one season with Oklahoma before he took the head coaching job at division I-AA Murray State in 1997.

Johnson’s most recent coaching experience came as the Illinois State head coach where he had been for the last nine seasons before he resigned after the 2008 campaign.

In his nine years in Normal, Ill. his team went 48-54, however in 2008 his Redbirds finished a disappointing 3-8.

However, Johnson’s greatest achievement as coach came in 2006 as he led ISU to the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS, formerly I-AA) quarterfinals and finished the season ranked eighth in the FCS.

Johnson will be coaching 15 returning players on an offensive line that was hurt badly last season by injuries. Of those 15, only six have starting experience, and only one is a senior in guard Devin Head.

Johnson said he is looking forward to working with the young athletes who are still developing as players.

“They are very much still in the development stage,” Johnson said. “They are a young, talented bunch with some length and athletic ability. It is a unique opportunity to take over a bunch that is so young.”

The Football team begins spring practice on March 31.

Buffs Prepare For Tough Big 12 Season

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 00:27:38 -0500

Don’t think for a moment that the CU women’s basketball team doesn’t know what they’re up against for the next two months as they begin Big 12 conference play.

“It’s the most amazing conference,” said head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller. “We have some of the most talented coaches, the most versatile players, the best fan support, and it just gets better and better every year because we get the top recruiting classes in the country as well.”

The current Associated Press Top 25 poll shows seven Big 12 teams ranked, with Oklahoma being the highest ranked at No. 3, and Oklahoma State the lowest of the seven ranked at number 22.

Other Big 12 teams that are ranked include Baylor (5), Texas A&M (8), Texas (16), Kansas State (17), and Iowa State (20).

For the players, that means playing against some of the nation’s best talent every night, but sophomore forward Brittany Spears said that it also means that they have to bring their best game every night as well.

“For me, I have to play hard every night, because we know we’re playing against the best, and we have to bring our best team game,” Spears said.

The Buffs have already faced two Big 12 opponents this season, falling both to number five Baylor (14-1, 2-0 Big 12) 63-50 last Saturday (Jan. 10), and to No. 22 Oklahoma State (12-3, 1-1 Big 12) on Wednesday night 79-43.

However, it was the Baylor game in which the Buffs (8-6, 0-2 Big 12) learned what kind of character they had on the team said senior center Kara Richards.

“What we learned most about our character is that we don’t stop fighting as a team,” Richards said. “We continue to strive no matter if the chips are down or if the chips are high.”

In the Baylor game, the Buffs were only down by two points with close to seven minutes left to play before the visitors from Waco, Texas began to pull away.

However, five of the eight Buffs who played did score at least seven points in the contest.

The Baylor game proved that the Buffs could keep up and have a well-rounded scoring attack against some of college basketball’s best.

Something McConnell-Miller said the team didn’t have last season.

“We’re pretty resilient and we have a very balanced attack,” McConnell-Miller said. “A year ago, you stop one player, you stop Colorado. This year we feel we have more weapons and more efficiency on offense.”

Colorado won’t be able to relax anytime soon, as they head to Austin, Texas to take on the No. 16 Longhorns (13-3, 1-1 Big 12) on Saturday before hosting No. 3 Oklahoma (13-2, 2-0) next Wednesday (Jan. 21) at the Coors Events Center.

However, for the veterans like Richards, they know anything can happen during Big 12 season.

“Anything can happen,” Richards said. “When you got a team down, you need to stay on top, and when you’re down, you keep fighting because there may be a time when the opposing team may mentally make a bad decision and you can capitalize.”

Colorado Buffaloes Lose Their Third Straight, Fall to SMU

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:34:38 -0500

The Colorado Buffaloes lost their third straight game on Monday as they fell to the SMU Mustangs 70-67 in Dallas, Texas.

CU is now 1-4 this season away from the Coors Events Center.

“I wish I had confidence in our bench, but people don’t see what I see in practice,” said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik after the game. “They need to step up and help because we run out of gas and get a step slow in parts of the game and that hurts us.”

The Buffs (7-6) fell down as much as nine in the first half, but came away ahead at halftime thanks to a two-point jumper by Casey Crawford as time expired, to give CU the 33-32 lead.

However, the Buffs couldn’t continue that momentum to start the second as the Mustangs (5-7) took control for most of the half.

CU would get the game down to within two with 4.8 seconds remaining as Nate Tomlinson was fouled on a two-point shot.

Tomlinson finished with 10 points, two rebounds, five assists, and one steal on the night.

Colorado would then foul SMU’s Bamba Fall hoping they would get one more chance to tie the game. They would as Fall would miss one of his two free throws to give the Buffs life.

However, a last minute three by Tomlinson would fall short as it hit the front of the rim to give SMU redemption after losing to the Buffs in Boulder last season.

CU had five players who finished in double-digits in points.

Dwight Thorne II led the Buffs in points with 18. He also had three rebounds and two assists.

Cory Higgins, CU’s leading scorer for the season, finished with 11 points, six rebounds, six assists, and four steals.

Higgins also went four-for-four from the free-throw line, with two of those shots being records as he hit his 39th and 40th straight free throw, a school and Big 12 record.

The previous Big 12 record holder was Joey Graham of Oklahoma State when he accomplished the feat in the 2004-05 season.

Other CU players who hit double-digits in points included senior Jermyl Jackson Wilson with 10 and freshman Austin Dufault with 13. Dufault also finished with a team-high seven rebounds.

SMU on the other hand had four players in double-digits in points, as Derek Williams led the Mustangs with 14. Williams also finished with two rebounds, four assists, and three steals.

Other notables for the Mustangs included Fall who finished with 13 points and a game high 11 rebounds, Paul McCoy with 11 points, and Mouhammad Faye with 10 points.

Colorado will have two days off before they host Western State College on Wednesday while SMU will host University of Texas at El Paso on Saturday.

Rainbow Classic Recap

On Dec. 28-30, CU traveled to Honolulu, Hi. to take part in the Rainbow Classic hosted by the University of Hawaii.

CU placed fourth with a 1-2 record. Their only win came on opening day as they beat Coppin State 80-63.

The Buffaloes would lose a heartbreaker the next night to keep them out of the Championship game, losing to Buffalo 62-60.

In the third place game, Colorado would lose 84-59 to a much better Vermont team as they settled with the fourth place finish.

Higgins was named to the All-Tournament Team leading the Buffs in scoring in all three games averaging 18 points.

Colorado plans on returning to the classic next season.

Will Oklahoma's Bob Stoops Become the Denver Broncos Next Head Coach?

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 07:31:21 -0500

The Denver Post has reported that the Denver Broncos have attempted to contact University of Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops in an attempt to fill their head coaching vacancy after the firing of Mike Shanahan earlier in the week.

Though it’s unknown at this time if the Broncos have actually talked to the 48-year-old Stoops directly, it does provide for interesting discussion if Stoops could ever coach in the NFL.

He did resurrect a Sooner team that had dropped off the map in the 1990’s, and has been to the national championship game four times in the last 10 years.

However, the one knock on the Sooners coach in the last few years is that he hasn’t been able to win in BCS games, going 0-4 in his last four attempts.

With that said, every year his team is a front-runner for the Big 12 and national championships.

Since joining the Sooners, Stoops has won one national championship and six Big 12 Championships in his 10 years as head coach.

Maybe it is time for a change for Stoops. He just received a $3 million bonus this week after staying in Norman for 10 years, and if he does beat Florida in a week for the BCS Championship, you could make a case that he has reached the pinnacle of college football and might try his luck in the NFL.

However, Stoops has no coaching experience or ties in the NFL, which hasn’t boded well with other college coaches who have attempted to try their luck in the pros with similar non-experience.

Take for instance Steve Spurrier and Nick Saban, who left great college teams for the NFL, only to be back on college campuses a few years later.

Though the NFL and the college game may not seem that different to coach in, there does seem to be a difference with all the bad luck college coaches have had in the pros. It seems like a no-win situation for Stoops if he does decide to make the jump.

Now Stoops isn’t the only candidate for the Broncos, but he is the only major college coach, as the team has been looking mostly at current NFL assistants.

Bringing in Stoops would be huge for the Broncos organization, but the risks of having a college coach with no NFL experience outweighs the benefits in this situation (look at the previous examples of Saban and Spurrier).

For Stoops, going to the NFL would be a new challenge, and if he does beat the Gators, there isn’t much more he could prove at the college level.

However, Stoops loves Oklahoma and the school loves him, and at this point there is no reason to expect him to leave the dynasty he’s building in the Big 12.

When Spurrier left the Gators, Stoops’ name was thrown in the mix as a candidate for that head coaching vacancy as he was the defensive coordinator in Gainesville from 1996-98, but he knew he had a good thing in Norman and decided not to leave.

If Florida couldn’t get him, what makes the Broncos think that they would?

The answer is the challenge. This would be Stoops chance to show that a college coach can be successful in the NFL and if he does fail, he would still have plenty of job offers at the collegiate level.

So what should Stoops do?

He probably won’t make a decision until after the Florida game, and that may be too long for the Broncos to wait as the NFL is a 365-day business.

Stoops should stay at Oklahoma, he has a good thing going, and the chances for success in the NFL are very small.

Though he probably will stay in Norman, the possibilities of a jump in the NFL will be a lot closer if he does win the national title game.

Colorado Vs. Louisiana-Monroe: Buffs Survive 65-62

Ron Knabenbauer — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 20:17:13 -0500

After being down by three at halftime, Colorado got a six-point edge in the second half, and thanks to two late Nate Tomlinson free throws, the Buffaloes beat the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks 65-62 on Tuesday night in Boulder, Colo.

“We need to rebound, take charges, get our nose dirty, get bloodied up, and skin our knees for all 40 minutes from everybody,” said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik after the game. “That’s what we talked about after the game. We made the right plays at the right time, and that is a positive to build on.”

The game was a back-and-forth affair, with no team being able to get larger than a three-point lead throughout most of the game.

CU (6-3) finally gained the lead when sophomore Casey Crawford hit a huge three-pointer to give the Buffs the 62-60 edge with 38 seconds remaining in regulation.

ULM (3-8) would answer back, as Lawrence Gilbert hit a short jump shot to tie the game at 62. Gilbert finished with a team-high 19 points and added five rebounds and two assists.

However, the foul on Tomlinson moments later proved to be the difference, as the Australian freshman hit both of his shots from the charity line to solidify the win for the Buffaloes.

Tomlinson didn’t play most the game, as he gained three personal fouls early in the first half and had to sit out for most of the contest. He finished with five points, four assists, and three rebounds.

Colorado freshman Austin Dufault had his best game of the season, making some key second half shots and finishing with a game-high 21 points. The North Dakota native also finished with two rebounds and three assists.

“My teammates were finding me,” Dufault said. “Last game, I was forcing things and rushing it too much. This game I slowed down and my teammates put me in a position to score, and I knocked them down.”

Malcolm Thomas led the Warhawks in the first half with nine points, but the Buffs defense shut him down in the second, holding him to only four.

Thomas did finish with a-game high 14 rebounds.

After the game, sophomore Cory Higgins commented on the Buffs' trouble with getting the ball off the boards.

“We need to work on blocking out and pursuing the ball,” Higgins said. “Sometimes we were blocking out and in position but weren’t pursuing the ball.

Higgins, the team's leading scorer coming into the game, was held to four points in the first half, but he finally found his rhythm in the second as he finished with 15 points, seven rebounds, three assists, four steals, and two blocks.

Colorado will next head to Honolulu, HI to take part in the Rainbow Classic from Dec. 28-30, while Louisiana-Monroe will host Tennessee Tech on Dec. 29.

Time Out: Who Won the Big 12 Player of the Week?

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 10:11:19 -0500

In a week where Obi Muonelo of Oklahoma State had 32 points, A.J. Abrams of Texas had over 25 points twice, and Blake Griffin of Oklahoma had 22 points, a surprising figure earned the honor of Big 12 Player of the Week for Dec. 15th.

The conference office announced on Monday that Colorado sophomore Cory Higgins earned his first weekly conference honor, and the first for CU since Richard Roby earned back-to-back honors in the 2005-06 season.

The Buffaloes only played one game this week, but Higgins made that game count, as he had 28 second half points to lead Colorado to a 75-56 win over in-state rival Colorado State last Wednesday.

A captain in only his second season, Higgins finished with a game high 33 points and added six rebounds, three assists, and three steals in the victory over the Rams.

The explosive second half by Higgins proved to be the difference as CU was tied with CSU at the half at 28. He went 9-of-10 from the field in the final 20 minutes, and finished with the third-best point total for a half in school history.

The Danville, Calif. native leads the Buffs in points and rebounds this season, averaging 18.4 points and six rebounds per game.

Colorado (4-3) will be out of action until Friday due to final exams, as they take on Prairie View A&M (3-5) in Boulder, Colo. at 8 p.m. at the Coors Events Center.

Buffaloes-Rams: Cory Higgins Scores 33 as Buffs Beat In-State Rival

Ron Knabenbauer — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 18:45:13 -0500

The second half of Wednesday’s rivalry game between the Colorado Buffaloes and the Colorado State Rams became the Cory Higgins show. The CU sophomore had 28 second half points en route to a 75-56 victory over their in-state rival.

Higgins finished with 33 points, six rebounds, three assists, and three steals as Colorado (4-3) broke away from the Rams in the second half after being tied at 28 at halftime.

“I just wanted to be aggressive within the offense, I didn’t want to force anything, and the opportunities presented themselves in the second half and I was able to knock them down,” Higgins said after the game. “The offense opened up so many opportunities; if they pushed up, I’d go around and if they were to lie under, I was going to shoot the three. Tonight if fell for me.”

The Danville, CA native had a very efficient night from the field, going 11-for-16, including 3-for-5 from beyond the arc.

The win is the first for Colorado after a two-game losing streak, while Colorado State (3-7) has now lost four in a row.

“I was really proud of the effort,” said CU head coach Jeff Bzdelik. “It was wire-to-wire effort. We just kept battling and staying within our offense. We had 16 assists on 28 baskets, we had four guys in double-digits, we drew charges, and we battled on the boards. The most important thing is to keep getting better.”

The three other Buffs that were in double digits were Austin Dufault with 12 points, Nate Tomlinson with 11, and Dwight Thorne II with 10.

Things looked bleak for the Buffs early in the second half as the Rams jumped out to a 40-32 lead in front of a season high attendance of 5,963 at the Coors Events Center in Boulder, CO.

“Our fans were absolutely awesome even when we fell down eight points,” Bzdelik said. “For them to be here means a lot to us. It was a lively crowd and a great atmosphere.”

CU would then go on a 22-13 run to regain the lead and begin to pull away for good.

The team showed glimmers of brilliance after losing 62-46 last Wednesday to a TCU team that was picked to finish last in the Mountain West Conference.

The Buffs finished shooting 58.3 percent from the field, and late in the second half the team’s offense and defense seemed to be running on all cylinders.

“With the score and the way the game went, we played very well,” Thorne said. “The effort was through the roof, and I think Jermyl [Jackson-Wilson] played extremely well, Cory [Higgins] played extremely well. We just played hard and had great effort tonight.”

Jackson-Wilson, the lone senior on this Colorado squad, had six points, four rebounds, four assists, and two blocks on the night.

The one bright spot for the Rams was the play of Dan Vandervieren, who had a season-high 16 points in the loss.

The Buffs will look to keep this momentum as they will be out of action until Dec. 19 when they host Prairie View A&M, while CSU will host Stanford on Saturday at 7:00 pm in Fort Collins.

Colorado Aussie Day-To-Day

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 05:04:26 -0500

A familiar face was missing for the Colorado Buffaloes 62-46 loss to TCU on Wednesday night.

After starting every game this season, freshman point guard Nate Tomlinson sat on the bench Wednesday, watching helplessly as his team fell to the Horned Frogs.

Head coach Jeff Bzdelik said that the reason that Tomlinson didn't play was because he injured his foot during the second half of the season-opener versus Arkansas-Pine Bluff and has been playing with pain throughout this early season.

"Nate is such a competitor that I knew he was lying to me," said Bzdelik at the post game press conference on Wednesday. "He wanted to play tonight but we have to be smart. He has to get healthy and we have to find out for sure what's wrong and fix it."

Bzdelik said the worst case scenario would be a stress fracture which would put him out for six weeks.

However, that worst case scenario wasn't realized as an MRI on Thursday reveled just a foot sprain.

A relieved Bzdelik said that this was great news since the Australian native has become a leader on the team, and has made a huge impact on the court averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 assists per game.

"Obviously, this is great news," Bzdelik said in a press release on Thursday. "Hopefully, we can get Nate back to 100 percent."

Tomlinson is listed Day-to-Day, but he should have plenty of time to heal before CU's next game on Dec. 10 against in-state rival Colorado State at 8 p.m.

Big 12/Pac-10 Hardwood Series: Stanford Tops Colorado, 76-62

Ron Knabenbauer — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:15:35 -0500

Stanford’s Josh Owens had a game high 21 points and eight rebounds off the bench, as his Cardinal beat the Colorado Buffaloes 76-62, at home Saturday night at Maples Pavilion.

Stanford (4-0) had four players in double-digits as they played very well against a CU team that only shot 50 percent from the field in this Big 12/Pac-10 hardwood series matchup

Though the Buffs (3-2) were outplayed throughout the night, they did have the chance to win the game with Stanford shooting a poor field goal percentage of 48.2 percent.

The boys from Boulder got the game to within seven in the beginning of the second half, but missed opportunities and not being able to finish would kill the Buffs in the end.

When CU needed points, they weren’t able to get them, as they shot 20 percent from beyond the arc and had a poor showing from the charity line, going 9-for-16.

The Cardinal on the other hand, went 15-for-21 from the free throw line.

Lawrence Hill led all Stanford starters in points with 16, and also nabbed six rebounds.

Colorado junior Dwight Thorne II and freshman Nate Tomlinson led the Buffs in points with 18, and freshman Austin Dufault had a decent game scoring 10 points and grabbing five boards.

Sophomore Cory Higgins had a rough night, scoring only nine points and one assist. Higgins went 4-for-12 from the field and completed only 25 percent of his free throws.

The Buffs will look to rebound on Wednesday night at home against TCU (4-3), while the Cardinal will head to Colorado on Dec. 14th to take on Colorado State (3-3).

Avalanche-Ducks: Colorado Falls to Anaheim

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 17:30:48 -0500

Teemu Selanne beat up on his former club with two power-play goals, as the Anaheim Ducks beat the Colorado Avalanche, 4-1, Monday night at the Honda Center.

Selanne’s first goal at 10:19 in the first period was his 200th power play goal of his career, and now gives him a comfortable lead as the all-time goal scorer on the power play by a non-North American born player.

The Ducks (12-8-3) added another goal three minutes later, as Chris Kunitz beat Peter Budaj with a slap shot to give Anaheim the 2-0 lead going into the locker room.

Chris Pronger added another in the second for the Ducks, who outshot the Avs 8-4 in the period.

The third period would bring a goaltender change for Colorado (9-11-0), as head coach Tony Granato pulled Budaj in favor of Andrew Raycroft.

The change seemed to help, as the Avalanche jumped out early in the third period with an Ian Leperriere tip-in goal after a shot by John Michael-Liles from the point.

Though the goal ended Jean-Sebastien Giguere’s hope for a shutout, Giguere played magically, stopping 29 of the 30 shots he faced.

However, Anaheim's penalty kill also helped, keeping Colorado zero-for-four on the power play.

The Avs did have a chance to cut into the Ducks' lead when they had a power play seven minutes into the third period right after the momentum they gained from Laperriere’s goal.

Colorado wouldn’t be able to capitalize—but Anaheim would, in their power-play chance four minutes later.

Anaheim went two-for-three on the power play on Monday night.

Colorado will look to rebound when they host the St. Louis Blues at 7:00 P.M. (MST) on Wednesday, Nov. 26. Meanwhile, the Ducks have a few days off before playing host to the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday Nov. 28 at 1:00 P.M. (PST).

Game Notes

Let’s Get It On

It didn’t take long for the Ducks and the Avs to drop the gloves. Cody McLeod for Colorado and Nathan McIver for Anaheim started the game with a fight just seven seconds after the puck was dropped. Both, of course, received five-minute major penalties.

About Time

Daniel Tjarnqvist played his first game in an Avalanche jersey on Monday, after signing with the club in the offseason. Tjarnqvist has been available to play throughout the season, but has been a healthy scratch in every contest.

More Injuries

Darcy Tucker left the game with 16:12 left in the third period with a left-knee injury after a hit with Brendan Morrison. His status is up in the air for Wednesday’s game against St. Louis. Tucker’s injury adds to the injury woes of Colorado, which already had Joe Sakic, Wojtek Wolski, Ben Guite, and Adam Foote scratched with injuries on Monday night.

Zeiler Suspended

John Zeiler of the Los Angeles Kings has been suspended for three games after Saturday night’s hit on Adam Foote into the boards. The hit happened at 6:51 of the second period, where Foote laid motionless for several seconds. Although stretcher was brought out, Foote would leave the ice with help from the medical staff. Zeiler will lose $8,770.17 for the hit.

“A” New Captain

With injuries to Joe Sakic and Adam Foote, Colorado awarded Brett Clark the Alternate Captain's “A” for his jersey in Monday’s contest. It will be interesting to see if the “A” will find a permanent place on Clark’s sweater.

Freshman Look To Make an Impact For Colorado Women's Basketball

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 10:13:59 -0500

(Image of Colorado Freshman Julie Seabrook)

The CU women’s basketball program has a bright future, thanks in part to their two freshmen who have joined the squad this season in Alyssa Fressle and Julie Seabrook.

“They’re a breath of fresh air, they’ve got good energy, and they got a lot of life to them,” said women’s head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller.

“They’re really positive every day in practice, they’re two of our hardest workers, and they both bring very different things to the table. They’re a very fun freshman class and both are going to contribute tremendously to this program.”

The two freshmen are really good friends, and even when they leave the basketball court, they’re never too far apart, as both Alyssa and Julie are roommates.

“She’s a great roommate, she’s hilarious, we get along really well, I think,” said a laughing Seabrook about Alyssa. “I think it’s cool that she’s from Colorado because she can show me the boundaries of the state and she knows more places than I do.”

Though these two women live together, they couldn’t have come from two different backgrounds as Fressle comes from Highlands Ranch, Colorado, where she led her high school team to three straight Class 5A State Championships, while Seabrook comes from North Vancouver, Canada, where she spent her senior year in Hamilton training at the National Elite Development Academy (NEDA).

NEDA selects 12 girls each year throughout Canada who go to high school in the Hamilton community in the morning but then practice and work on basketball for the rest of the day.

Seabrook said she wished she could have played for her old high school in her senior year but made the journey to eastern Canada to develop more as a player.

“I definitely missed playing with my teammates in high school, it was such a fun time, and I really missed them,” Seabrook said. “I wish I could have played with them my senior year but for me to develop as a player, I think it was a better choice for me to go to NEDA and play with some of the best players in Canada.”

The six-foot-three forward also has some international experience, as she played in Buenos Aires, Argentina last summer at the 2008 FIBA Americas U18 Championship for Women.

At the tournament, Seabrook led the Canadian team to a 4-1 record with their only loss coming to the U.S. and helped advance Canada to the World Championships this summer in Thailand.

“It was a good experience,” Seabrook said. “We only lost to the states, which I think is really good and Canada Basketball is pretty happy with our progress.”

Fressle on the other hand, had a dominating high school career not only winning those three state championships, but also nabbing the 2008 Colorado Player of the Year, the 2008 Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year, and was nominated to the McDonald’s All-American team.

Though she grew up just down the road in Highlands Ranch, Fressle said she thought she would go out-of-state for college. That was until she visited CU.

“Growing up I kind of wanted to get out of Colorado,” Fressle said. “I never really realized what Boulder and Colorado had to offer until I took my visit, and I ended up just falling in love with the place, the school, and everything it had to offer.”

Though the five-foot-ten guard has had some great experiences on campus, she said her best so far this semester has been with the basketball team.

“Definitely basketball is the best part of being in college so far,” said Fressle. “Being with your teammates, growing on the basketball floor as well as off the floor, and developing that chemistry has been a good time.”

However, Fressle admits that the hardest part about transitioning from high school to college is all the freedom you get.

“You don’t have someone else telling you necessarily what to do all the time so you have to be the one to be like I need to get sleep or I need to sit down and do this homework, because you’re ultimately responsible for school, basketball, and everything else,” Fressle said.

Outside of basketball, Alyssa likes to have a good time with friends, while Julie enjoys singing and hopes to join a choir when she gets some extra time.

However, both freshmen do agree on one thing, playing the video game Rock Band.

“Oh yeah, we’re awesome,” Fressle said.

Seabrook added that they both excel in different instruments in the game.

“Alyssa plays the drums while I play guitar,” Seabrook said.

Though these two freshmen come from two different backgrounds from two different countries, it seems like the future of CU women’s basketball is in good hands.

Something that McConnell-Miller also agrees with.

“The expectations are great, every time we put them on the floor we know what they can accomplish, and there is a need for both of them in this program right now,” McConnell-Miller said. “Every single game and every night out we’re going to turn to those two for help and be an impact for this team.”

Can Texas Tech Pull Off the Improbable Season? College Football Week 13 Pick 'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 07:40:06 -0500

This is probably going to be my last Pick 'em for the season, and this week should be full of great games. Why? Because it's Rivalry week: Buckeyes-Wolverines, Red Raiders-Sooners (not really a rivalry but a big game), and Buffaloes-Cornhuskers.

I've had a decent season, but picking the upsets isn't as easy as it looks.

Here my picks for the CU Independent Week 13 College Football Week Pick 'em.

Season: 58-30; Last week: 6-2

Michigan 27 at (10) Ohio State 21

Michigan isn’t going to a bowl game for the first time since the world was made, it seems like. With that said, this will be Michigan’s bowl, and I think they’ll come out and beat their rivals from Columbus.

NC State 23 at (25) North Carolina 31

The Tar Heels are rolling this season, and that trend will continue this week against their in-state rivals.

(16) BYU 21 at (8) Utah 28

Utah is thinking BCS, but the Cougars have other plans in hopes of toppling the Utes in this Mountain West showdown. Unfortunately for BYU, Utah will continue winning and be playing in a BCS game in January.

(17) Michigan State 20 at (7) Penn State 38

Michigan State has had a great season, but Penn State will be too much for the Spartans to handle.

(20) Pittsburgh 33 at (19) Cincinnati 30

It’s going to be close, but Pittsburgh will pull off a win.

(2) Texas Tech 48 at (5) Oklahoma 45

We might see over 80 points scored in this game, as two offensive powerhouses battle in Norman. The Red-Raiders weren’t supposed to come this far this season, but they’ve proven almost everyone wrong, and that trend will continue on Saturday as they’ll beat the Sooners.

Florida State 27 at (22) Maryland 31

Possibly one of the last games for Bobby Bowden, but unfortunately, he’s not going to come away with a win.

Colorado 24 at Nebraska 21

There is nothing like a rivalry, especially one after Thanksgiving. The Buffs want to be in a bowl game, while the Cornhuskers are already heading to one. CU-Nebraska has always been a good game, and this one won’t be any different. My prediction: CU wins and heads to their bad bowl.

College Football Week 12 Pick 'Em

Ron Knabenbauer — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:33:31 -0500

Another good weekend of College Football is upon us. Here are my picks for this weekend's games for the CU Independent.

Season: 52-28; Last week: 7-1

Indiana 20 at (7) Penn State 31

After a heartbreaking loss last weekend, Penn State will get back on track and beat the Hoosiers.

(4) Texas 27 at Kansas 17

Kansas has proven me wrong this season, but they have no chance of beating the Longhorns.

(24) So Carolina 13 at (3) Florida 17

The Gamecocks head to the Swamp thinking upset, but it’s not going to happen this year, as the Gators are just too good.

California 31 at (23) Oregon State 27

I’m smelling an upset, and it’s of the Golden Bear variety.

Nebraska 13 at Kansas State 12

I don’t like the Huskers, but I think they’ll beat the Wildcats—barely.

Boston College 21 at (20) Florida State 33

Both teams are rebuilding, but Bobby Bowden’s Seminoles will top the Eagles.

(10) Ohio State 24 at Illinois 20

I want the Illini to win, but it’s not going to happen.

(11) Oklahoma State 27 at Colorado 20

I want the Buffs to win, but the Cowboys will be too much for CU. I think Cody Hawkins will rebound and have a good game, but the Buffs defense won’t be able to stop the Oklahoma State offense. It will be a good game, and CU will keep it close but lose in the end.

Holliday Traded To A's

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 07:41:24 -0500

Don't you hate when your on Facebook, and your friend from the Bay Area has the status of: Matt Holliday!!!

That's how I found out about this deal moments ago.

It seems like the Rockies traded Holliday to the Athletics for pitchers Greg Smith and Brett Anderson, though the final package has not been finalized.

Holliday has undoubtedly been the Rockies best player since coming into the league.He had a down year only blasting 25 Home Runs, tying him for first with Brad Hawpe.

The trade should open up some money for the Rockies to go after a big name pitcher and some decent hitters in the off-season (Dan Uggla possibly).

Rumors have swirled around Holliday leaving Colorado for the past few years, with him signing a deal with agent Scott Boras who is know for getting his players big contracts.

But for now, barring a physical, it seems like Holliday will trade in his Purple and Black for Green and Gold.

Colorado Women's Basketball Smacks Down Regis In Warm Up Game, 86-44

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 05:24:37 -0500

In preparation for the start of the regular season next Sunday, the CU women’s basketball team blew out Regis University 86-44, in an exhibition game at the Coors Events Center on Sunday afternoon.

Head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said she was pleased with her team’s performance, but admits there are still areas to work on before the season starts.

“I thought the ball pressure was great on the defensive end, causing 34 turnovers, easy buckets in transition, this group likes to get out and run and I thought their decision making was very good,” McConnell-Miller said.

“Free throws are a concern, this is very uncharacteristic for this group, because every day in practice it’s a focus and I don’t think we’re ever less than about 78 percebt from the free throw line.”

CU finished 16 for 25 from the charity line, a very low number since free throws have been an emphasis with the team since the start of practice.

“Our free throws we definitely need to work on,” said redshirt-sophomore Kelly Jo Mullaney. “We’ve been doing that a lot in practice so it’s kind of surprising that we’ve missed our free throws because of how much time we do spend on it in practice.”

Mullaney had 16 points, three rebounds, and three assists in her 22 minutes played against Regis.

After having to sit out a year per NCAA rules after transferring from Colorado State, Mullaney said it felt good to be back on the court in a game situation.

“It felt great, it was a good game to get under my belt, to play with my teammates and the chemistry on the floor was amazing,” Mullaney said. “It was great to be out there and play a game after two years of sitting out basically.”

A surprise for CU was the play of freshman Alyssa Fressle who played the most minutes on the team with 33 and led the Buffs in points with 18, while posting seven rebounds and three assists in her first collegiate game.

“I had some jitters, but I think that was normal,” Fressle said. “It was good to get this game out of the way and focus on a real game next Sunday.”

McConnell-Miller said Fressle’s play helped ignite the team not only on offense but on defense as well.

“I think she ignited everything on the defensive end, the amount of ball pressure she gives us really allows other players to take chances, gets deflections, and creates time constraints for the other team which forces them to take tough shots,” McConnell-Miller said.

The Buffs never trailed in the contest and started the game on a 16-3 run, which featured four 3-pointers.

Colorado went 4-for-4 from the three-point line in the first four minutes of the game, but then went 1-for-8 in the next eight minutes of the first half.

CU finished 8-for-23 from beyond the arc, something that McConnell-Miller did not especially like.

“I’m okay with the four for four, I’m not ok with that one for eight,” McConnell-Miller said. “Making eight is fine, taking 23, we’ve done worse, but we definitely need to shoot a higher percentage because we have some players who can make those shots.”

Except for a few minor details, it seemed like the Buffs were clicking on all cylinders in this warm up game.

However, McConnell-Miller said they need to do a better job in the rotation of players and in the preparation for the opposing team, before next Sunday’s season opener against Central Florida at 2:30 P.M. at the Coors Events Center.

“I think a better rotation for me, I think better combinations of players, and really what we’re running with, with those groups of players,” McConnell-Miller said. “Not taking so many chances on the defensive end, and hopefully having a little better preparation for what [the other team] is supposed to run.”

Bama, Watch Your Backs: College Football Week 11 Pick 'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 15:51:19 -0500

Last week I knew Texas Tech would give the Longhorns a run, but I didn't think that they would beat them. The Texas loss made Alabama ranked first in the nation, but if the Crimson Tide don't take care of business on Saturday against LSU, there will be yet again a new number one in college football. To see my pick for this game and others around the nation, keep on reading.

These are my picks for the CU Independent Week 11 Pick 'em.

Season: 45-27; Last week: 5-3

(22) Georgia Tech 13 at (19) North Carolina 15

This one is going to be close, but I like what Butch Davis is doing in Chapel Hill, and he’ll continue that success this week against the Yellow Jackets.

Clemson 14 at (24) Florida State 24

Bobby Bowden is nearing the end of his career in Tallahassee, but he’ll add a “W” to his all-time win record with a win versus the Tigers.

Kansas 23 at Nebraska 20

I flipped a coin on this one, and Kansas won.

(1) Alabama 29 at (15) LSU 24

Alabama will stay at number one for another week with a win over LSU. But watch out—LSU is still a good team, and we may see a new number one next week.

(8) Oklahoma State 33 at (2) Texas Tech 37

Texas last week, Oklahoma State this week—it doesn’t get easier for the Red Raiders, but they’ll keep on rolling and beat the Cowboys.

(21) California 18 at (7) USC 33

USC has had a quiet season, yet they’re still in the Top 10 and thinking about another Rose Bowl. The Trojans will continue that trend this week against the Golden Bears.

Notre Dame 28 at Boston College 37

Two 5-3 teams battle in Beantown with both the Eagles and Irish having decent seasons. I like the Eagles to topple Notre Dame.

Iowa State 21 at Colorado 27

Words can’t describe how badly the Buffs need this win. After starting the season 3-0, CU has dropped five of their last six, and yet Dan Hawkins still has his team in bowl contention.

If the Buffs don’t win this one, they can kiss their postseason dreams goodbye, and Athletic Director Mike Bohn might reconsider giving Hawkins a contract extension. However, I feel good about CU’s chances, and they’ll pull off a win against the Cyclones.

Colorado Basketball: Bzdelik Finds His Type of Player

Ron Knabenbauer — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 05:44:00 -0500

CU men’s basketball head coach Jeff Bzdelik has been searching the world for players that will not only run his style of offense, but reflect the university in a good light.

However, he doesn’t have to look far for a man who does those things; just down his bench is redshirt-sophomore Casey Crawford.

“Casey has a wonderful personality,” Bzdelik said. “He’s very caring and sensitive to the needs of other people, and a real genuine person to be around.”

Crawford, who sat out all of last season per NCAA rules after transferring from Wake Forest, is a laid back person off the court, but when he steps onto the hardwood, the 6'9", 235-pound Kansas native might soon become one of the best big men to shoot from the perimeter in the Big 12.

“He’s like a throw-back big man, who can really shoot the basketball from beyond the arc,” Bzdelik said. “That’s going to make opposing big men have to play him and honor him, which is going to add spacing in our offense that we didn’t have last year.”

While sitting on the bench last season, Crawford became a student of Bzdelik’s offense which he said was what he learned most from last season.

“I picked up the offense, which is a big part,” Crawford said. “I spent all of last year studying it and figuring it out.”

Crawford, who only played 27 minutes and scored 10 points with four rebounds, four assists and two blocks in nine games at Wake Forest, but said the most important lesson he learned during his freshman season in the ACC was to keep your head up.

“Never get discouraged, keep working hard, and no matter what happens, just play through and you can only control what you do yourself,” Crawford said.

Coming out of Blue Valley North High School in Overland Park, Kan., Crawford was named first team all-conference three times, league MVP and first team all-state twice. He was also named the 2006 Kansas Gatorade Player of the Year and Kansas' Mr. Basketball his senior season.

Crawford said it was nice to be awarded the title of Mr. Basketball as a senior in high school.

“It was a cool award,” Crawford said. “It was a good accomplishment for my four years.”

After practice, Crawford doesn’t leave the game of basketball on the court, as he is roommates with junior Dwight Thorne II, also on the basketball team. Thorne said he likes living with Casey and that they have a good relationship being roommates.

“It’s cool (living with Crawford),” Thorne said. “He handles his responsibility, I handle mine, it’s a pretty good partnership—relationship or whatever you want to call it.”

When, the two roommates are not on the court, Thorne said they like to watch T.V., listen to music, and play Madden NFL 2004 on the old PS2.

“Madden is our game of choice,” Thorne said. “That’s all we play, we don’t play anything else, just Madden ‘04 on PS2.”

Crawford gets his athleticism from his family. His brother, Blake, played basketball at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and his father, Steve, played professional baseball with the Boston Red Sox and the Kansas City Royals.

If he wasn’t playing basketball, Crawford said his next sport of choice would be baseball.

“I played baseball in high school but I hurt my shoulder pitching sophomore year,” Crawford said. “I couldn’t really do that anymore, so I had to stick with basketball.”

Crawford is not only becoming a scholar on the basketball court but in the class room as well. The political science major loves the field of study and wants to go to law school once he’s done playing on the hardwood.

“It’s a good major to have going into law school, and it’s something that I’m passionate and interested about.”

The men’s basketball team starts the regular season Nov. 14 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, with Crawford looking to make an impact immediately for the Buffs.

Though his perimeter shooting game may be his best asset on the basketball court, Bzdelik said his character is what makes him special as a person.

“He’s a type of young man that could babysit your little ones,” Bzdelik said. “He represents our program and the University of Colorado in a very positive way within this community.”

Video: Colorado Basketball Starts Strong in First Week of Practice

Ron Knabenbauer — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 18:26:23 -0400

A familiar sound has returned to the Coors Events Center as both the men's and women's basketball teams hope to improve on last year's records after wrapping up their first week of practice last week.

Men's basketball head coach Jeff Bzdelik said he is excited for the future of his team, but he admits they're still young and very inexperienced.

"This basketball team is going to be extremely young, and very inexperienced," Bzdelik said. "But at the same time, we're excited on where we're going and we can't lose sight of the vision we have for this basketball program."

Last Saturday, Bzdelik announced the captains for this squad, with senior Jermyl Jackson-Wilson, junior Dwight Thorne II, and sophomore Cory Higgins getting the honors.

Thorne II said he is trying to become one of the vocal leaders for this squad.

"I'm trying to be a little more vocal," Thorne II said. "I think being a little more vocal is going to be the key because I feel I try to work on and off of the basketball floor to set a good example for them."

The women's team also finished their first week with a lot of enthusiasm by the players to improve on their 2007-08 campaign, which saw the team make it to the Final Four of the Women's NIT.

However, head coach Kathy McConnell-Miller said the team needs to take the next step to make it to the national tournament.

"It's going to be a combination of great players, it's going to be a combination of mental toughness, it's going to a combination of building on what we did last year, and finding players who play for 40 minutes and make an impact on this program," McConnell-Miller said.

McConnell-Miller will be welcoming two freshmen to this squad in Alyssa Fressle from Highlands Ranch, Colo. and Julie Seabrook from British Columbia, Canada.

Sophomore Britney Blythe said that both freshmen are going to fit well with the team.

"They're really good," Blythe said. "They're going to fit in nicely this year."

The women's team opens the regular season home on Nov. 16 against Central Florida, while the men's team will open their regular season two days earlier on Nov. 14 against Arkansas-Pine Bluff.

Blythe said the upcoming season for both squads is going to be a journey to March.

"This isn't a sprint," Blythe said. "This is a journey, so if we keep trucking each day and coming in and working hard like the past week, we should be fine."

Watch the video at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efdbtiX89Cg

Thanks for reading and watching and let me know what you think.

College Football Week Nine Pick'Em: Could the Cowboys Wrangle in the Longhorns?

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:49:01 -0400

Last week was pretty good for me, going 6-2. I like my chances this week, but I admit I'm picking a few upsets. Here are my picks for the CU Independent.

Season: 33-23; Last week: 6-2

No. 23 Boston College 10 at North Carolina 13

Boston College cracked the AP Top 25 after last week’s win, while North Carolina looks to be slipping. I like the Tar Heels to come back and get a win against their ACC foe.

No. 8 Texas Tech 45 at No. 19 Kansas 20

Kansas is still a talented team as the Jayhawks have shown all season, but their defense will be no match for the Red Raiders' high-powered offense.

No. 9 Georgia 27 at No. 11 LSU 24

If there were ties in college football, I would say this would be one of those, but since there aren't, I like the Bulldogs to squeak past the Bayou Bengals.

No. 7 Oklahoma State 47 at No. 1 Texas 45

Code Red—UPSET ALERT! Oklahoma State has put together a solid year, while Texas has found its way up to No. 1. Somehow, the Cowboys will keep it close and win by a last-second field goal.

Michigan State 20 at Michigan 17

Michigan has had tough year with new head coach Rich Rodriguez at the helm. The Wolverines will continue to fall, but this week it will be at the hands of their rivals from East Lansing.

UCLA 24 at California 33

The Golden Bears will become golden again, as they will blow out the Bruins (also bears) in the first half, and then hold off the Bears from Westwood to get another Pac-10 victory this season.

No. 3 Penn State 30 at No. 10 Ohio State 24

Is it wrong that I think Penn State is going to win it all this season? I say not, and the Lions' stock will rise this week as they should defeat a good Buckeyes team in Columbus.

Colorado 23 at No. 16 Missouri 31

After going to last year’s game against Missouri and seeing the Buffs get blown out, I want to see them do well versus the Tigers this year. However, Mizzou is angry after losing two straight, and I don’t think a two-quarterback system is the way to go at this point of the year for Colorado. CU will keep it close but lose in the end.

To see the entire CU Independent sports staff picks go to www.thecampuspress.com.

College Football: Week Eight Pick 'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 19:03:47 -0400

Last week I finished even. I made some risky picks that didn't work out, and then there was Oklahoma and Missouri. Are you kidding me?

I know I say it every week, but this weekend, I'm smelling a sweep. These are my picks this week for the CU Independent.

This season: 27-21; Last Week: 4-4

Georgia Tech 27 at Clemson 17

This is a tough one to pick, but the Tigers will continue to fall in the ACC as GT will continue to rise. Plus, aren’t Yellow Jackets poisonous?

(22) Vanderbilt 20 at (10) Georgia 13

This might be the best game of the week, with two 5-1 teams battling in the SEC. I like Vandy to upset the Bulldogs on a late touchdown drive.

(12) Ohio State 23 at (20) Michigan State 14

I dislike the Buckeyes, but who am I kidding, they’ll stop the streaking Spartans.

(16) Kansas 23 at (4) Oklahoma 39

Oklahoma stayed right with Texas throughout last week’s Red River Shootout, while Kansas had some trouble with the Buffaloes. I like the Sooners to get back on that horse and buggy and add another one in the win column.

(11) Missouri 35 at (1) Texas 42

Missouri is good, but Texas is better. The Longhorns will win this touchdown party with a few key runs by Colt McCoy.

(18) North Carolina 26 at Virginia 17

Butch Davis has turned the Carolina program around, and they are now thinking about an ACC championship (that’s right, in football, not basketball). I like the Tar Heels to continue their winning ways against the Cavaliers.

(25) California 26 at Arizona 31

Cal is on top of the Pac-10 standings (who would have thought that?); at 2-0. But Mike Stoops of Arizona has his Wildcats on the rise, and they will steal one against the Golden Bears on Saturday.

Kansas State 20 at Colorado 24

Kansas State has put together a pretty decent season, while Dan Hawkins’ squad has had a rollercoaster year. The Wildcats will win this game as long as Josh Freeman can get time in the pocket and find holes to run through.

However, I think the Buffs defense will do a good job containing him, and pick him off a few times. The offense will finally get the ball moving again and Cody Hawkins will put up some decent numbers in CU’s first win in a month.

To see the entire sports staff's picks, go to www.thecampuspress.com

Getting to Know Colorado Basketball's First Aussie, Nate Tomlinson

Ron Knabenbauer — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 18:45:28 -0400

(Image by Chip Broomfield, ProMotion Ltd./cubuffs.com)

This season, head coach Jeff Bzdelik and the rest of the Colorado men’s basketball team will add a little bit of international flavor with the addition of freshman point guard Nate Tomlinson.

Tomlinson isn’t your average freshman, with him being the first ever Australian to play basketball at CU.

Though Boulder is a long way from his hometown of Sydney, Tomlinson has adjusted to American culture thanks in part to him spending the last two years at Lee Academy in Maine, where he averaged 12.5 points and 7.5 assists per game as a senior.

The Aussie also has some accomplishments in the international spectrum where he was a member of the Under-19 team during the summer of 2007 where he competed in Serbia for the World Championships.

Tomlinson will be competing for the starting point guard position this season as Bzdelik continues to rebuild the program.

Here is my conversation with Tomlinson on the team’s media day on October 9:

RK: You’re Australian born, but you’ve lived in Maine for the last two years, what has been the biggest difference from Australian basketball to American basketball?

NT: Well I played prep school so the style of play was a little different; it was more one-on-one kind of stuff. Back in Australia it’s more structured because we’re not as athletic or skilled as they are over here, so more individual sort of play I would say because of prep school.

RK: What’s some of the things that you love about Colorado that made you come here?

NT: First of all these guys here, all these guys, the basketball program, coach Bzdelik, all the coaching staff, and just the city of Boulder.

RK: What has been your favorite part of Boulder so far?

NT: So far the weather, the weather has been awesome compared to Maine. It gets kind of chilly up there, but the weather, the people are great, and everyone is just great here.

RK: What’s been the biggest difference culturally from Australia to America?

NT: Culture wise, not too much, I’ve been around basketball so that’s sort of American culture. Basketball goes hand in hand, so not too much, maybe sports, we have a few different sports then what you guys have. Also, the U.S. culture and universities, we don’t have that big of sports and universities back home, so that culture is a little different but nothing too much, we do the same kind of stuff that you guys do.

RK: Are you a big rugby fan?

NT: Yeah I am, but actually my sport is Australian Rules football, that’s my favorite, but I’m a rugby fan.

RK: Do you miss rugby since it’s not on the television?

NT: Yeah I do, the grand final was last week, but my team lost which was bit of a bummer. I actually saw outside on one of the fields that you guys have a rugby team, I saw some girls playing the other day so that was pretty awesome.

RK: Who’s your team?

NT: My team is the Melbourne Storm.

RK: What’s in your CD/MP3 player?

NT: I like some Rap, R&B, that sort of stuff, but a little Australian twist now and then.

RK: Who’s your favorite Artist?

NT: At the moment probably Lil Wayne and Jay-Z.

RK: What’s your favorite Car?

NT: I saw a pretty nice Hummer the other day, it looked alright. I can’t afford a car at the moment so I guess I can’t say.

RK: If you could afford a car, which one would it be?

NT: Definitely a Hummer.

RK: How have you done with American slang compared to Australian slang?

NT: I feel I’ve done a pretty good job, I think I have missed a few words because I was using my own slang words but not too much. I knew most of the words, but I did miss some when it came to food and that sort of stuff.

RK: Have you been back to Australia lately?

NT: I go home over the summer, I try to go home at Christmas but this time I can’t because we’re going to be in Hawai’i.

RK: Have you got used to the long flight?

NT: I have, the first time it was unbelievable, it took forever, but now I’m so used to it I just fall asleep

RK: What’s the one thing you really miss about Australia?

NT: My family and friends. Most of all my family and friends, my girlfriend is coming over here in the start of December so that will be good.

The Rise of the International College Athlete

Ron Knabenbauer — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 15:01:07 -0400

With the financial crisis hitting all over the world, it is now clear that the world has definitely become a smaller place, and when something happens over there, it has a huge effect over here.

However, a smaller world isn’t necessarily a bad thing, at least when it comes to sports.

Increasing in the 90's, U.S. professional sports began to see an increase of international born athletes who made huge impacts for those sports clubs.

The increase of international athletes has not just substantially increased in professional sports these days, but on the collegiate level as well.

The University of Colorado will be home for 16 athletes this academic year who are not from the United States, but will play on one of the school's 11 Division-I intercollegiate sports.

Recruiting for these sports has taken a bigger international flavor, and nothing is clearer than Men’s Basketball Head Coach Jeff Bzdelik spending a portion of his summer overseas looking at international talent.

“We are wide open,” Bzdelik said. “We’re looking not only locally but internationally.”

This season, Bzdelik and the rest of the team will welcome Freshman Nate Tomlinson, the first player in team history from Australia.

For Tomlinson, the Australian-American culture is pretty similar, but there are a few differences when it comes to the game of basketball.

“Well I played in prep school so the style of play was a little different,” Tomlinson said. “It was more one-on-one kind of stuff. Back in Australia it’s more structured because we’re not as athletic or skilled as they are over here.”

Tomlinson played two years at Lee Academy in Maine before enrolling at Colorado, giving him time to get used to any differences between the two countries.

For international athletes, coming to a different country can be difficult at first, but for Women’s Tennis senior, Franziska Jendrian of Rodleban, Germany, the people in Boulder have made the adjustment a lot easier.

“I hadn’t traveled throughout Europe a lot, so going to a different country was a little different,” Jendrian said. “I like the perception of the states and how nice people are. Everyone is open and welcoming, so it’s not too hard to adjust.”

The Tennis team has the most international athletes of Colorado’s Division-I sports with four. The squad has players from Denmark, England, Germany, and Uruguay.

Sophomore Tennis player Abbie Probert, from London, England, agrees with Jendrian on the openness of the U.S., but also states that when it comes to Tennis, America is more about the team, in comparison to the emphasis on individualism back in England.

“Definitely a stronger sense of team, you win as a team, you lose as a team,” Probert said. “You know your teammates are always there for you, and they want you to win as much as you want them to win.”

For Jendrian, the mixture of international and American players provides the perfect balance for the Tennis squad.

“What we have is the perfect mix: half international, half American,” Jendrian said. “It’s nice having diversity because the team can help you study and stuff like that, but it helps that the American players can guide you such as if coach says, ‘let's meet at noodles.’ For us (international athletes) it would be a bit confusing to understand what she was talking about.”

Probert agrees with Jendrian that the mixture is a good thing.

“It’s really good, we all bring something to the table, and we all took different paths to get to Boulder,” Probert said. “It’s really positive. I get to spend time with people who are from different backgrounds and different countries.”

Probert’s journey to another country isn’t anything new for her, she trains in Australia for a little bit and at age 16, she played 18 months in Barcelona, Spain.

Probert’s time in Barcelona was her first experience away from her home.

“It was my first time being away from home,” Probert said. “I kind of was just thrown into the deep end, I didn’t speak Spanish, and I was living on my own.”

For most international athletes at CU, the hardest part about playing in America is being far away from their family and friends back in their home country.

“What I miss most is my family, I would love them to be here,” Jendrian said. “My dad came over last spring to watch me play, and my mom is coming this spring. My brother came two summers ago in the summer of 2006 to visit so that was great.”

For Tomlinson, heading home to see his family means a 17-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean.

“I’ve gotten used to the long flight,” Tomlinson said. “The first time it was unbelievable, it took forever, but now I’m so used to it I just fall asleep.”

As travel and communication between countries increases, there will continue to be an increase in international athletes not only in professional sports, but also on the college level.

For coach Bzdelik, the increase of international athletes won’t just be seen at Colorado, but at other institutions around the nation.

“Well I think every school will see an increase,” Bzdelik said. “The world has gotten smaller, so to speak.”

Colorado Basketball Media Day: Team is Young But Moving in the Right Direction

Ron Knabenbauer — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 15:46:36 -0400

On Thursday the University of Colorado Men’s Basketball team had their annual Media Day at the Coors Event Center in Boulder, where head coach Jeff Bzdelik addressed local Boulder and Denver media.

Throughout the entire 22-minute press conference, Bzdelik stressed that the team is still rebuilding, and is extremely young.

In the Big-12 coaches’ poll released last week, Colorado was picked to finish last in the conference. However, the team is heading in the right direction said Bzdelik.

“We’re exactly where we want to be at this stage of the rebuilding process,” Bzdelik said. “If you recall when I first became the head basketball coach here I said ‘I can’t wave a magic wand and have this thing turn around over night.’”

For Bzdelik, it was all about keeping the team competitive without compromising the team and the school’s integrity.

“Our goal, our vision is to win and put ourselves in position for postseason play – and have success in postseason play,” Bzdelik said. “But to do so without compromising the moral and academic integrity of our university, so here we are with one senior and one junior on the roster on scholarship.”

For this young team, that means be ready to work in the classroom and be prepared to earn their scholarship.

“I want the vision to be clear, and the vision is to win and to do so without compromising the moral and academic integrity of this great university,” Bzdelik said. “My players will go to class, please and thank you are nice words, you can have excellence without arrogance—you can.”

The Buffs lost three scoring seniors from last year in Richard Roby, Marcus Hall, and Marcus King Stockton; leaving the door wide open for underclassman to come in right away and make an impact.

With the bulk of last year’s scoring from two players (Roby and Hall), Bzdelik is looking for a better balance with scoring from all positions, similar to the play he instituted at the Air Force Academy.

“I think we are going to have better balance, we’re going to be able to shoot the ball from all positions,” Bzdelik said. “I think a strength of this team can be its scoring – again from all positions.”

With this season looking like a continuation of last year’s rebuilding year, Bzdelik admits he’s still not a patient man but has begun to look at the big picture.

“To build this into a team that is a well oiled machine in the future, quick fixed don’t equate into a solid foundation that will last for a long, long time.,” Bzdelik said.

Bzdelik hasn’t set a starting lineup or inform his players if they will start the season because he doesn’t want them to get too comfortable.

“We’ll have a top eight or nine rotation, I’m sure of that.” Bzdelik said. “I’m not going to mention any names because guys will get comfortable and I don’t want guys to ever get comfortable with me.”

The team added a bunch of freshman as well as the return of a few key players from last season.

One of those is sophomore Cory Higgins, who spent a portion of his summer with Michael Jordan and the Charlotte Bobcats at their pre-draft camp.

“To have the opportunity that Cory had to hang with Michael [Jordan], and to be in the gym with him on a daily basis coupled with Cory’s drive to be the best player he wants to be, he has improved a lot,” Bzdelik said.

Another familiar face on the team is fellow sophomore Levi Knutson, who according to Bzdelik had a great summer.

Knutson, a Colorado kid had shown great promise for the squad last season averaging 4.6 points per game in only 584 minutes of playing time.

Higgins and Knutson has helped provide a base for not only the team, but for recruiting in Colorado as well.

“Well, obviously we want to keep the best players from this state here,” Bzdelik said. “By the time [Higgins and Knutson] are upperclassmen, by their senior and junior year we want to have a well oiled machine that is experienced and scared a little bit that is just ready to take off. That is where we are headed and we’re right on target.”

The Buffs will also finally welcomed Casey Crawford who sat out last season after transferring from Wake Forest.

Crawford, who was the Gatorade Play of the Year in the state of Kansas coming out of High School will add a better shooting range for the team.

“It’s interesting, every time we’ve had practice with defenders, Casey has drilled a few threes in just a couple of minutes and that really stretches the defense out,” said Bzdelik.

The freshman class this year is led by Austin Dufault from Killder, N.D., Trey Eckloff from Englewood, Ryan Kelley from Pomoma, Calif., Toby Veal from Savannah, Ga., and Nate Tomlinson from Sydney, Australia.

Tomlinson, is the first ever CU basketball player from Australia, but has played the last two years at Lee Academy in Maine.

For Tomlinson, he just loves being part of the team, in fact that and the coaching staff was a big reason why he chose Colorado.

“I chose Colorado because of all these guys here, all these guys, the Basketball program, Coach Bzdelik, all the coaching staff, and just the city of Boulder,” Tomlinson said.

Also new this season will be the Men’s Locker Room and the basketball floor at the Coors Events Center.

“Our locker room is state of the art and the brand new court, it is a court that—knock on wood—is the best designed court for wear and tear on ankles, back, knees and joints,” Bzdelik said.

Last season the Buffs finished 12-20, but the start of this season will be very favorable with the team playing nine of their first 15 games at home. In fact they don’t play anyone big until November 29when they play at Stanford, meaning CU could get off to a great start.

The team will start practicing on Oct. 17, and play their first game on Nov. 14 against Arkansas- Pine Bluff. But fans will need to realize that this season is going to be tough, but in the long run, it will be well worth it.

“Yes, we’re going to be young and our fans are going to have to understand that and our guys are going to give forth a great effort. I know that,” Bzdelik said. “How that translates into wins and losses I don’t know that but we will see, we’ll just work to get better every day.”

College Football Week Seven Pick'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 10:03:23 -0400

I'm not going to lie to you, last week was tough, but I'm feeling confident and am going to bounce back and sweep all of these games. Plus, if you minus the Texas Tech game, I was only 12 points away from being 7-1.

This season: 23-17; Last week: 3-7

East Carolina 24 at Virginia 17

I haven’t jumped off the East Carolina bandwagon yet, but the game is going to be close until the very end for the Pirates.

(5) Texas 16 vs. (1) Oklahoma 24

The Red River Shootout resumes this weekend with both Texas and Oklahoma looking to be in championship form. For how bad the Buffs played last week against Texas, they were in the game the whole time, and it seemed like the Longhorns could never pull away. That’s going to hurt them this week as Bob Stoops will have his players ready for another win against their Southern rivals.

(4) L-S-U 17 at (11) Florida 20

The Tigers have quietly climbed their way up the polls, while the Gators have had a few slip-ups this season. Florida is still in the race for the BCS, if not the National Championship, and will get back on track this weekend in a win over LSU.

Arizona State 20 at (8) U-S-C 45

I would love to see the Sun Devils beat the Trojans, but who am I kidding? USC will have no problem beating Arizona State. Plus, they’re at home, and the weather looks good this weekend in SoCal.

(17) Oklahoma State 28 at (3) Missouri 31

It seems like this year the Big 12 is stacked top to bottom with talent, and this week will be no exception with two very good teams battling in Columbia. I like the Tigers because they have more experience at quarterback and in winning games. The Cowboys will hang around the entire game and will give Mizzou a scare.

(6) Penn State 39 at Wisconsin 17

Whatever happened to the Badgers? After a close loss last week to the Buckeyes, Wisconsin will be looking to get back on track against Joe Pa’s Nittany Lions. Penn State is thinking national championship, and with the offense that they have, who’s going to stop them?

Notre Dame 17 at (22) North Carolina 27

While the focus of the ACC has been elsewhere this season, Butch Davis has put together a pretty good year and has brought Tar Heel Football back to respectability. As for Notre Dame, another season, another disappointment—Heels win.

Colorado 38 at (16) Kansas 24

The last few years, Todd Reesing of Kansas has absolutely destroyed the Buffs defense. That’s all going to change this week as Colorado will look to bounce back after a tough loss to Texas.

Cody Hawkins, realizing his job may be on the line, is going to have a huge day throwing for over 300 yards, a few touchdowns, and no interceptions (that’s right, you heard it here first). The offense will be clicking on all cylinders, and Darrell Scott will come out of hiding and finally have that breakout game.

College Football Week Six Pick 'Em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 07:19:44 -0400

The last few weeks I've been struggling, but I smell a comeback and if all goes well I'll go 7-1 this week (read more and you'll find out).

Here are my picks for the CU Independent for week six. (I'm giving you guys a preview since they won't be published on our site till Saturday morning.)

Overall: 20-12

Last week: 5-3

(23) Oregon 23, (9) USC 42

The Trojans are not going to lose twice in two weeks to Oregon teams; they’ll take care of business against the Ducks. However, Oregon will win one thing this weekend—the fashion contest. The Ducks have the best uniforms in college football, and you can quote me on that.

(14) Ohio State 23, (18) Wisconsin 24

Two teams that don’t like each other, battle in one of the biggest Big Ten games this season. I like the Badgers to upset the Buckeyes with a late score.

(13) Auburn 31, (19) Vanderbilt 27

Auburn proved that they’re for real this season, but they’ll have a tough game against Vanderbilt, who is looking for some more respect from the pollsters.

Arizona State 20, California 23 (OT)

Two Pac-10 programs on the rise battle in Northern California with aspirations of cracking the Top-25 and gaining some more respect. I think the Bears will pull out a huge touchdown run in overtime to beat ASU.

Navy 17, Air Force 20

In recent years, Navy has been the dominant military academy, but the Falcons are on the rise and will complete stage one of winning the Commander and Chief Trophy from the Midshipmen.

Florida State 24, Miami (FL) 27

There was a time when this rivalry meant something in college football. Now, both teams are rebuilding with hopes of returning to the national stage. FSU crushed the Buffs last weekend, but there will be no déjà vu this week with the ‘Canes winning by a field goal. Seminole fans, can you say “wide-right?”

(7) Texas Tech 13, Kansas State 21

How is Tech ranked this high? They’re a one-dimensional offense, and if you stop the passing game, you stop the Red Raiders. The Wildcats have a good defense and will stop the Tech passing attack.

(5) Texas 31, Colorado 27

At the beginning of the season, we all thought West Virginia was going to be the big game for the Buffs. Wow, things have changed. Texas comes into Folsom ranked fifth in the nation for a night game on Colorado’s homecoming.

Last year’s homecoming featured CU beating Oklahoma, where only half the students were awake to witness one of the greatest upsets of the season. Does Coach Dan Hawkins still have some of that homecoming magic left? I’ll say no, just so I can be proven wrong.

To read the entire sports staff's picks go to: http://www.cuindependent.com

Wideout Josh Smith Having Huge Sophomore Season for Colorado Buffaloes

Ron Knabenbauer — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 18:44:16 -0400

Just 2:46 into the Sept. 18 game against West Virginia, 51,883 people dressed in black erupted as sophomore Josh Smith raced through the south end zone of Folsom Field, giving the Buffs an early 6-0 lead.

“The ball was well thrown, and it was thrown high and away from the defense because I was double covered, and I felt like if any one out of the three of us would get to it, it was going to be me because I’m the fastest,” said Smith.

Smith’s catch was only his second receiving touchdown of his career at Colorado, and though he has only been playing football for a total of four years, it seemed like he has been catching touchdown passes his whole life.

“I’m just a lot more comfortable out there and that way the game is slowing down a little bit for me each game, and just I know what I’m doing a lot more, instead of a true freshman just walking in playing,” Smith said.

Last year’s receiving corps was very young, allowing Smith to get some big time college football action in his first year of eligibility, a rarity for most players.

In only 10 regular season games last fall, Smith caught 23 passes for 451 yards, second on the team only to current sophomore Scotty McKnight.

Through the first three games this season he has 10 catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns. He has become a threat on kickoffs as well, posting one touchdown and averaging 38.4 yards per kickoff return, the third best in the FBS (Division I-A).

His huge improvement this season can be attributed to a better preparation for practices and games and recognizing the details of the sport.

“Last year as a true freshman coming in, he was just trying to use his athleticism to beat everybody and play better, and now this year he is actually using technique and understanding what we are trying to get done,” said passing game coordinator and receiver coach Eric Kiesau.

The 20-year-old's performance this season hasn’t just helped the passing game, but also the rushing attack of freshmen Rodney Stewart and Smith’s nephew, Darrell Scott.

“I love that he’s [Scott] out there, because I feel that me and him complement each other real well,” said Smith. “What he does gets me open a lot by him being a threat, and me trying to build up my threat status on the outside, it pulls the guy out of the box to help cover me and opens holes for him on the other end.”

Scott, the prized recruit out of Ventura, California, credits his uncle on his decision to come to Colorado. The two played together at Moorpark High School during Scott’s sophomore and junior seasons.

Originally from Tallahassee, Fla., Smith moved to Southern California to live with his older sister and change his lifestyle, and at the same time bonded closer with his nephew and the game.

“Everybody understands how seriously they both are about the game, and they obviously have a lot of competitions and talk to each other a lot, but I think everybody on the team really respects how they work and the physical ability that they have,” said sophomore quarterback Cody Hawkins.

But who’s the better player right now, nephew or uncle? According to Smith, it’s still a mystery.

“People have their favorite of which one they like,” said Smith. “But really all it is, is that I got a year more of experience, so I’m a year ahead of him being comfortable out on the field.”

Smith plans on majoring in business management and knows he can’t play football forever. He has already been doing research on starting his own clothing and shoe line.

“It’s going to be ‘Fly-wear’,” said Smith. “It’s going to be pretty much showing an image of how I like clothes to be worn, showing a little bit of my style and image, and I’ve just been talking to a lot of people that I know that are in the clothing business, giving me some pointers and tips so I can continue to make an outline on my future.”

Though clothes may be in his future, head coach Dan Hawkins sees huge potential in Smith’s football career with Josh’s eagerness to get better.

“He’s so new and so young, he’s been great, he really has, but I think the awesome thing is that he will continue to get better, I just think as he gets more consistent, familiar with the game and the position,” said Hawkins. “He’s come a long way in a year and he’ll continue to grow.”

College Football Week 4 Pick 'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 18:15:56 -0400

This weekend has many great matchups, including a few great SEC games. Ron Knabenbauer of the CU Independent gives his picks for the weekend.

(4) Florida 35 at Tennessee 24

The Gators are looking like they’re in championship form, and Tennessee does not. This is the SEC, so the Vols will keep it close but lose in the end.

Notre Dame 23 at Michigan State 13

Michigan last week, Michigan State this week; let’s hope it doesn’t rain. Good thing for the Irish, the Spartans are not like the Wolverines, so they should have no problem winning this one.

(20) Utah 17 at Air Force 18

Utah looks to reclaim their spot on top of the Mountain West, but those Falcons of Air Force will pull out an edge-of-your-seat win in the end.

(18) Wake Forest 17 at (24) Florida State 24

The Bobby Bowden era is coming to an end, but Bowden will have his Seminoles ready to play and beat Wake Forest.

(6) LSU 20 at (10) Auburn 13

Probably the best game of this weekend, where LSU is going to show why they’re a force to be reckoned within the SEC by beating Auburn.

(3) Georgia 23 at Arizona State 13

I would love to see the Sun Devils beat the Bulldogs, but it’s not going to happen. UGA better be ready for those hot dry temperatures of Tempe, though.

Virginia Tech 17 at North Carolina 20

The Hokies are going to continue to fall, as Carolina will get its biggest win of the season. The Heels are smelling a bowl berth.

Wyoming 14 at (14) BYU 37

Wyoming has no chance in this game with the Cougars just being too good. BYU wants a taste of the BCS this season, and they’re not going to let the Cowboys get in their way.

To see all the staff's picks, go to http://www.cuindependent.com

College Football Week 2 Pick 'em

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:06:38 -0400

Though the season is still young, there are still a lot of good match ups out there, including a rivalry game in Florida, and two tough battles in the state of Colorado. Here are my picks this week for the CU Independent.

Georgia Tech 12 at Boston College 17

Though Chris Crane is no Matt Ryan for the Eagles, he still had a decent showing last week against Kent State. While GT beat down Jacksonville State (not FBS) last week, their quarterback, Josh Nesbitt, had a weak showing, completing less than 50% of his passes. The game is going to be close, but I think the Yellow Jackets won’t be able to finish against BC.

Southern Miss 13 at (10) Auburn 24

Well Brett Favre isn’t walking through those doors for So. Miss and Auburn is too good to lose this game.

(8) West Virginia 35 at East Carolina 14

ECU beat Virginia Tech last week, but the Mountaineers will be too much for the Pirates to control this time. Watch out CU.

Miami (FL) 27 at (5) Florida 24

A few Gators this week told the press that Miami wasn’t the “U” anymore. I think that will be enough to fire up the ‘Canes and beat their in-state rival. Plus, the Miami Kicking Gods will make sure the Gators' kick goes wide right.

Louisiana Tech 9 at (14) Kansas 24

Even though the Jayhawks are going to be a one-hit-wonder in the Big-12 this season, they’re going to find a way to beat LT.

Montana State 10 at Kansas State 38

I know MSU beat the Buffs a few years ago, but the Wildcats are not going to let this game get out of control. Plus, KSU actually has a QB that can throw, not like when the Bobcats beat CU.

Air Force 24 at Wyoming 18

This might be the best game of the week, but since these teams play in the Mountain West, you’re not going to hear about it. Both teams are looking to dethrone BYU and Utah atop the conference, but the Falcons will find a way to get the win with their veer offense. Respect the West!

Eastern Washington 28 at Colorado 35

Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, hasn’t had to mention their loss to Montana State much this week, because the players know what they’re up against. If the Buffs aren’t careful they’ll be lunch again for another Big Sky team.

Eastern Washington did almost beat Appalachian State last year, and A-State did beat a very good Michigan. Colorado will not over look the Eagles in preparation for West Virginia, but the Eastern Washington will come out to play.

For the picks from the entire CU Independent sports staff, go to http://www.cuindependent.com

Where is He Now? Former CU QB Darian Hagan

Ron Knabenbauer — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 07:29:52 -0400

For many students at CU, the quarterback who headed the 1990 National Championship team is a mystery. But the man who helped bring the University’s only football championship can be found on the sidelines along with a new generation of Buffs, prime for a taste at championship glory.

His name is Darian Hagan and it has been a long ride since he wore his number three jersey on the once AstroTurf field at Folsom.

Hagan came to Colorado as an amazing athlete from Los Angeles, who lettered not only in football in high school, but also in baseball, basketball, and track. He would eventually get drafted by both the NFL (San Francisco in the fourth round of the 1992 draft) and the MLB (Seattle and Toronto).

In 1989, his sophomore season, he was nominated for the highest individual award in College Football, the Heisman Trophy.

“It was fun,” Hagan said, “I never expected it. You know, first year starter in college, never expected it. I just went out and performed and did what I was asked to do and being able to be up for the Heisman, go down to the Heisman ceremony, that was awesome.”

Though his team barely missed the national championship that year, the next year he would lead them back to the Orange Bowl, where they beat Notre Dame, the team that beat them the year before, to earn a national championship ring.

“We were close as a family, everybody played for each other,” said Hagan.

However, what he remembers most about that team, was not the national championship game, but a game in Texas against the Longhorns month’s earlier, when the Buffs were down going into the fourth quarter.

“Our defense had just made a stop, and our offense goes out, and meets them at the 50 yard line, and we started talking to them, keeping them up. They went down and got a safety, they kicked off, we had an 80-yard drive to win the game,” said Hagan, “That changed our season, we went from losing the previous week to winning ten in a row.”

In 1992, he left Colorado for the pros. Though he was drafted by the 49ers in the NFL, he played the next five seasons in Canada for the Canadian Football League (CFL).

“It was wild, you know twelve men on the field, motioning all over the place. It was like Rugby on a football field with football pads, so it was fun, the experience was awesome,” said Hagan.

Other than the great health benefits that the citizen’s of Canada received from the government, it also gave Hagan a feeling he never felt before.

“With the experience of getting paid for a sport I love, that was an awesome feeling for the first time,” said Hagan.

Before his fifth and final season in the CFL, Hagan returned to Boulder to finish up his bachelor’s degree in Sociology and graduated in 1996. The degree means a lot to Hagan, with him being the first person in three generations of his family to get a college degree.

“A lot of people thought I would never go to college,” said Hagan, “They doubted me, and to go and finish up at a prestigious university like this is special.”

After earning his degree, he stayed in Boulder and worked sales for the Transit Marketing Group for six years. He helped market and sell bus and light rail equipment throughout the country, and met a lot of great people that he is still in contact with today.

“It was awesome because I would never go and wear my rings or anything, but as soon as they heard my name they knew who I was,” said Hagan.

In 2003, than Colorado head coach, Gary Barnett, asked Hagan if he ever thought about coaching. Hagan, reluctant at first finally gave it a try, and joined Barnett’s staff in early 2004.

In 2005, Barnett was fired and Dan Hawkins took over the reins as head coach for the Buffs. With most of Barnett’s staff not retained, it seemed that Hagan would follow the same path. But that didn’t happen. Instead, Hagan and current associate head coach & linebacker coach, Brian Cabral, were the only two members from Barnett’s staff that Hawkins kept.

“It was special that he kept us,” said Hagan, “He talks a lot about coach Cabral is the heart and I’m the soul of the program. For him to reach out on his own and do that says a lot about him, because a lot of other coaches probably wouldn’t have done that.”

Though he played quarterback at CU 17 years ago, today he is the running backs coach for the team. But don’t tell him he’s not qualified for the job. In this two starting seasons at CU, Hagan tallied up 2,007 rushing yards at quarterback, a school record that still stands today.

“Coaching is coaching,” said Hagan who played running back in high school, “Pretty much here I was a glorified running back, I threw the ball a couple of times a game.”

In recent years, Colorado has best been known for its running attack, and this season the Buffs have a slew of talent in Ray Polk, Demetrius Sumler, Darrell Scott, and Rodney Stewart. For Hagan this can make for an exciting time to be a coach.

“(Ray) Polk is a kid that is raw, he is going to be a special player once he figures it out, gets a spring under his belt. Then you got Demetrius Sumler, who is the steady eddy guy, who does everything right. He’s physical on the run game, physical on pass protection. Then you got Darrell Scott, big powerful speed back, that’s just getting into his groove."

"He’s a guy that you keep feeding him, and once he gets into a groove, he’s a smooth runner. He’s going to be good for us. Then you got Speedy (Rodney Stewart), and Speedy is a kid who instantly brings a wow factor to our program, and that’s something we didn’t have the first two years. We have that wow factor, it’s a crowd-pleaser, he’s the real deal,” said Coach Hagan.

With all this young talent, primed for winning, what is the one lesson that he tries to instill in the minds of his running backs?

“Never take anything for granted,” said Hagan, “What you’re given, you earned. Don’t be a taker; be a giver, it’s a team sport. There’s only one football, but you need to go out and play with passion, play with heart, and if you’re in it for selfish reasons, you’re in the wrong place.”

Hagan, now 38, has two sons, Darian Jr. (19) and DeVaughn (16) who also play football, and a daughter, Danielle (12) who runs track. His oldest son, Darian, Jr. plays corner back at Cal, while his youngest son, DeVaughn plays running back at Cherry Creek High School in Denver.

In his spare time he enjoys sleeping, relaxing, cooking, playing golf, and playing with his 10-week-old Saint Bernard puppy. However, with all these years away from the game, he still misses playing.

“I tell the guys all the time, if I could change positions with them, they coach me and I’ll be their running back, I would do it in a minute,” said Hagan, “I do miss it, but hey, my time has passed, and it’s a new generation and it’s their team and I want to see these guys have success.”

What Joe Sakic's Return Means to the Avalanche

Ron Knabenbauer — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 12:05:26 -0400

On Wednesday at 1:15 PM (Mountain Standard Time), the Colorado Avalanche announced the return of the only captain they've ever known—Joe Sakic.

It has been reported that the 39-year-old Sakic signed a one-year deal worth $6 million. That’s not a surprise, since Sakic has signed only one-year deals in the past couple of seasons.

Sakic, who was pondering retirement this offseason, says he still has the itch to play in an attempt to win his third Stanley Cup.

“Ultimately it came down to the fact that I still enjoy playing and competing,” said Sakic. “I’m comfortable with my conditioning and my overall health. I’m ready to start camp and am looking forward to the upcoming season.”

His health has been the main concern, with him playing only 44 games last season due to injury. However, he has not been injury-prone because in the last seven seasons, Sakic has played all 82 games four times and 81 games once.

But what does Sakic’s return mean to the team and the state of hockey?

He has been the face of the Avalanche organization since the team was in Quebec and will see his No. 19 in the rafters of the Pepsi Center in the near future.

He is also a great ambassador for the NHL, showing young hockey players the right way to play the game. You don’t have to be a flashy player; you just need to lead by example.

That is why Sakic is an automatic Hall of Famer when he does decide to retire. However, his 1,363 career points and 84 playoff goals also help his case for the Hall of Fame.

Sakic’s leadership is incredible, especially when it comes to young players. Think of some of the players who have come into the NHL under Sakic’s guidance: Chris Drury, Alex Tanguay, Peter Forsberg, and now Paul Stastny, Wojtek Wolski, and Marek Svatos.

That’s what makes him one of the best captains, if not the best captain, that the NHL has ever seen. That’s not a bad company to be in with the likes of Yzerman, Gretzky, and Lemieux.

With Sakic on the team, every player is made better. He is one of those guys who passes first, shoots second, unless he’s given the opportunity to whip his wicked wrist shot top shelf.

He lets other players get the goals, unless the team is on a cold streak. In that case he will step up his game in an attempt to get Colorado the “W” every night.

Sakic’s achievements have been plentiful. He has been the captain of the Canadian Olympic team, winning a gold medal for the team in 2002. He has played in 11 NHL All-Star Games, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1996, and the Hart Trophy in 2001.

However, his unselfishness is what he is most known for.

Such was the case in 2001 after the Avs won the Stanley Cup. He took the quick picture with Commissioner Bettman before lifting the cup and handing it over to Ray Bourque, an older player who played 22 seasons without feeling Lord Stanley’s smooth shine on his lips.

All levels of Avalanche fans know what Joe Sakic means to this team and to the city of Denver.

I think Avalanche Executive Vice President and General Manager Francois Giguere said it best though: “Having him return is great for our franchise and community, but also for the game of hockey.”

Important Colorado Avalanche Dates

Sept. 20, Training Camp begins

Sept. 22, Burgundy/White Game at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs

Sept. 24, Preseason opener vs. Los Angeles

Sept. 27, Preseason game vs. Los Angeles in Las Vegas

Oct. 9, Season opener at home against Boston on Versus

Dec. 15, @ Detroit