Getting to Know Scott Bamforth

Weberhoops.com is excited to see what Scott Bamforth, JC transfer out of Western Nebraska CC, will bring to this year's squad. The only JC transfer in this year's recruiting class, Bamforth comes highly touted. Bamforth was planning on playing his sophomore year with Western Nebraska before a season-ending elbow injury prevented that from happening. While this was most likely devastating to him, it can be seen as a positive for the 'Cats. Now, instead of having Bamforth for only 2 years, Weber will have him for 3. In Bamforth's freshman year for Western Nebraska, he played great, averaging over 18 points per game with a 45.5% field goal percentage; he shot 41% from behind the arc, sinking 88 thee-pointers; and he was an 80% free throw shooter. If this these stats carry over to DI basketball, Bamforth will be a familiar and exciting face on the court for the next three years.

I sent Bamforth a few questions via email and he was kind enough to respond. Enjoy!

Weber Hoops: How has your summer been? Did you get to do anything fun?

Scott Bamforth: My summer has been pretty good, I've just been working out and getting ready for the season to come. I've been taking some summer classes so my summer hasn't been to exciting, but I think it has been very productive.

WH: Your Facebook status says you are engaged. Congratulations! When is the wedding?

SB: Yea I am engaged and our wedding is planned for July 15th, 2011 so it should be an exciting experience in my life and we are really excited.

WH: How do you and Kendra like Ogden?

SB: Me and Kendra are excited to be out here in Ogden. We have enjoyed our summer so far. Ogden is a place that reminds us of our hometowns, which Kendra is from Denver and I am from Albuquerque, so we are familiar with having mountains really close to us.

WH: What is your major?

SB: My major is Human Performance Management.

WH: Can you tell us something about you that the Weber fans probably don't know? Hobbies, nicknames, anything like that?

SB: When I'm not playing basketball or working out, I enjoy playing video games and watching movies. I also enjoy going home and seeing my family whenever I get the chance to because they are the ones who helped me get to where I am at in my life.

WH: Last year you suffered an elbow injury. How is it feeling now?

SB: My elbow is pretty much back to 100%; it has been a long process and going through surgery wasn't the funnest thing to do but I feel I have worked hard to get back to normal and I am ready to get the season going.

WH: How do you see yourself fitting in with the team this year? What do you see your role being?

SB: This year I think we have a great chance to be very good. I think that the returning players will be ready to get back at it, especially after the hard loss that they went through at the end of the season last year. We have all been working hard, getting ready for the season and I think all of this hard work is going to pay off. I see myself fitting in really good with the team and I am willing to take on any role that I can. I can't predict what role I will have as of now, but I think that as practice starts and the season comes closer, I will be able to find my role and help the team win.

WH: There are going to be a lot of young, new players on the court this year. Do you have an idea of which ones will step up and get some playing time?

SB: I think that there are going to be a lot of new, young players who will step up and play good this year. But like I said before, as the season comes around each one of us will be able to identify our roles and we will be able to try and help this team get to where we want to go. I think that everybody on the team will have to step up if we want to win, and I think we have the talent and willingness to do that, so I am really excited.

Eyre Hands Out Grades for Big Sky Basketball Recruiting

June 20th
To be thoroughly candid, this is the first time that I have ever attempted a project like this, and I hope it turns out to be fair, honest, and balanced, unlike The Bergers' favorite news media outlet; Fox. I'm sure Cheese or one of the twins will take offense to that line, but nonetheless, it is definitely true.

So, here is my disclaimer...I am a huge Weber State fan, especially basketball, and for me, it is extremely difficult to say that someone else in the conference, or state, had a better recruiting season than the Wildcats. With that being said, I am determined to be honest and impartial. For me, the best way to accomplish this feat is to see what each team needs for it to be successful. That's done by looking at what each team accomplished last season, and the teams remaining players. Recruits are supposedly to plug holes. Of course none of us know how good a player really is until the season starts. The purpose of this piece isn't to talk about players that have left a Big Sky program, or who have graduated. The purpose of this piece is to analyze each school's 2009 recruits. Some schools I will be able to talk more about, since I have been able to learn more about their respective program. Unfortunately, there are a number of programs that I haven't been able to gather much information on, so I won't be able to be as thorough as I would want to be. Regardless, I have been able to find out about each programs' recruits and will be able to grade them accordingly.

What needs to be stated is the fact that the Big Sky is improving. Last season the Conference's RPI jumped from 23 (2007-08) to 17, and if MSU would have beaten Cal State Fullerton in the bracket buster, then the Sky would have finished 16 barely edging the Big West out. Automatically, one can then assume that the Big Sky will only get better this season. You can argue this, because of two reasons. First, and most important, each Big Sky team is returning the majority of their impact players. Only Weber State lost its team leaders. Second, the Sky is starting to compete more effectively with the bigger programs. PSU's victory over No. 7 Gonzaga and Idaho State's win over Utah are clear examples of the Sky's ability to compete with bigger schools. Even though wins are a clear indicator of improvement, close victories can also be indicators. There were a number of close, or overtime games with DI majors that can also be signs of how the Big Sky is improving. Anyway, here goes:

Easter Washington D+
Former Weber State assistant Kirk Earlywine led the Eagles to an overall 12-17 record, compiling a 6-10 mark in conference play. Their conference record earned them a 7th place finish and an early offseason. EWU went through some stretches, which should be familiar to many Wildcat fans, where the team seemed to lose focus and played poorly (Coaching?). Earlywine's team has adequate talent, and actually returns 2 of the Big Sky's best players in guard Benny Valentine and center Big Baldy (Brandon Moore). Other than that the Eagles roster is composed of glue players who play their roles well at times. For Kirk Earlywine's team to compete for a tournament spot it is in desperate need of a stronger and deeper backcourt. Earlywine, due to his seasons at Weber State, recognizes the affect good guards can have on a Big Sky team. Success in the Sky happens because of a team's guards. Earlywine went out and found a number of guards who will add depth to the lineup, but they don't look to be anything special; right now. Of course, with some experience and development each recruit has the potential to being really good. None of them will ever be considered great that would be a definite exaggeration. Unfortunately for the Eagles, a number of their signed players ended up not qualifying academically, which has caused Earlywine to scrounge for players after the late signing period had ended. Earlywine was able to sign 4 guards in the early signing period, but only one of them Jeffrey Forbes qualified. Fortunately for him, he was also able to steal a player who had agreed to play for PAC-10 powerhouse Arizona, in JC transfer Tremayne Johnson. Along with Johnson EWU signed Lorin Griffin who was a teammate of Johnson. Along with Johnson and Griffin, in the this late period EWU has been able to sign Sean Fischer, Alden Gibbs, and Glenn Dean who Earlywine says "is as talented as the most talented of the Sky" (Wishful Thinking?). None of the incoming guards wowed scouts. Most scouts actually say that Earlywine has been forced into his plan B option.

To be candid, I believe it's lucky he was able to sign anyone this late. The Eagles have been a very difficult team to track. This class brings the Eagles players who actually qualified academically. F. D'Vonne Pickett PG (combo) (ESPN 72) Non-QualifierF. Jeffery Forbes PG (ESPN 70) F. Sean Fischer Combo Guard (Gonzaga Prep) F. Chris Holmes SG (combo) Non-QualifierJr. Stevie Hendrick PG (Land of Lakes CC) Non-QualifierSoph. Tremayne Johnson PF (Southwest CC) *Top Recruit*Soph. Lorin Griffin (Southwest CC) Soph. Glenn Dean

Idaho State A-
Idaho State made huge strides this past season with a fairly young team. The Bengals made it to the Big Sky tournament and beat the Utes for the first time in 40 years. Fortunately for the Bengals, Joe O'Brien's team is senior laden and will bring back 7 veteran players. The 2009-10 team would have had 9 seniors on the team; yet, former Colorado and senior to be Kal Bay left the team in April and Phillip Taylor -backup PG- has opted to red-shirt this next season in hopes of improving his academic standing. Unfortunately for the Bengals, ISU loses senior star Matt Stucki to graduation. Stucki, along with guard Amorrow Morgan were the Bengals most consistent players last season. Already, the Bengals will start the season down, since senior to be, and the best three point shooter on the team, Austin Kilpatrick, has had surgery and will not be able to play or shoot till October. No matter, the Bengals will return as one of the most dangerous and athletics teams in the Big Sky field. Coach O'Brien knew what he needed for the team to find success -a true PG-- and went out and got two players who will, hopefully, automatically make an impact. Eric Segert is being tabbed as one of the best recruits to go to Pocatello, since Ron Boone the witless blinker. Segert is a two-star recruit who is a definite long range threat. The other recruit is a JC transfer from Frank Phillips CC and will provide the Bengals with an experienced veteran PG to backup sophomore Sherrod Baldwin. If Orlando Little is cleared to play by the NCAA...LOOK OUT! This class brings toughness to the listless Bengals. Maybe Ron Boone will make the trip to the Potato Barn to watch his beloved Bengals.F. Eric Segert SGJr. Broderick Gilchrist PG (Frank Phillips CC) Jr. Orlando Little (Memphis) Hasn't been cleared to play, but looks mean and good.

Montana A-
Tinkle can recruit, but the question shouldn't be how good of a recruiter is he but whether or not he can coach and develop the players once they have been recruited. To be fair to Wayne, he inherited a bunch of players that excelled as under-classmen for the coach that recruited them, but were merely average as upper-classmen for Wayne. Fortunately for Tinkle, he has the services of AJ: Anthony Johnson for another year. All Tinkle needed to do was to bring in a number of players who could automatically help Johnson. He might have done that, but with Freshmen one never knows how they will turn out. Yes, Montana has, most likely, next season's Freshman of the Year on the team, but will the returning and role players contribute enough to help the Griz get over the hump? I don't think Montana fans should get overly excited yet. Of course, I'm not a prognosticator --I am a pugilist-- but in my opinion Montana has an amazing veteran player, but a lot of under-classmen that haven't been tried or haven't shown their potential as of yet. There really isn't anyone else on the Montana team that has the experience, talent, and athleticism needed to make a run. In a few years that might be different. I'm giving Montana an A- because Tinkle needed more veterans to help this years team; however, Tinkle, did get 3 recruits who should be playing next January at bigger schools and in more prestigious leagues. This class brings athleticism to the Griz. F. Eric Hutchinson (ESPN 85 C) F. Will Cherry (ESPN 80, rivals.com have him as a three-star PG) F. Thurman Woods (ESPN 79 PF) Jr.
Rassum Young: he hasn't signed, but the UM faithful are pretty sure he will, if he qualifies. (Haggerstown JC. PG)

Montana State C-
State got what they were looking for, but not what they needed. They aren't great recruits, and may not even be good enough to help a senior laden team to be more consistent next season. In the long-term (2 or 3 seasons), these recruits may develop into being great additions to the MSU program. As for next season, I don't think so. Fortunately for State, they may not need them for a few years. Due to last seasons remarkable run in the Big Sky tournament --not since Boise State virtually bought a Tournament Championship (1994 BSC), and Weber State behind Longshot Lance Allred, has a 6th seed been in a conference championship-- State should return with some confidence. MSU is a veteran team, and is recruiting hard for the 2010-11 season. MSU went out and got players that could give them needed depth, players who might develop into good role players, and height. However, MSU was looking for an instant impact player. For MSU to be successful they needed to find a player that could take Mbunga's spot, which is virtually an impossible thing to do. So instead of trying to find one to count on MSU got three "Bigs," who might combined, make a new Mbunga. Out of this class, Budinich seems to be the best recruit. Budinich is too young and raw and Swita, yes he is 7'0, but isn't even average. The purpose of this class was to bring depth to the center and power forward position. Without a strong post the Bobcats will struggle. Jeff Budinich (ESPN 70 C 6-10) Marco Bourgault 6-8 FMichel Swita (Northern Idaho JC 7-0 C)

Northern Arizona C
None of these recruits look to be overly impressive. However, "Baldras" (Coach Adras) has a tendency to get the most out of his players. Adras arguably could be the best coach in the Big Sky. He has a reputation for being a coach that gets the absolute most out of his players. Former Lumberjack Kyle Landry is a notable example of Adras's coaching abilities. Landry would have been an average glue player if it hadn't been for Adras's genius. By Landry's senior year he had developed into an all-conference player, and the leader of his team. Landry is only one example. Under Adras's tenure there are many many more. However, Adras will have an extremely difficult time rebuilding his team. Gratefully, he will have a number of his role players returning, only Josh Wilson (one of the Big Sky's best Assist men ever) graduated. For Utahn's, Stallon Saldivar should be a familiar name. Stallon prepped at Judge Memorial and played with future Wildcat Dee Crandall. Fortunately for Stallon, he will not be depended upon to contribute next season as much as the JC signees. For NAU to compete they will definitely need the services of their new JC's, and regrettably for the Jack, none of them look to be that great. None of the JC's were overachievers at their respective schools. What will make or break them is their willingness to follow their coaches instructions. Because of these recruits, I don't see NAU being a force in the Sky next season. With that being said, I wouldn't be surprised if they compete for the conference title either. Speed is what this class brings to the Lumberjacks. Not only does this class bring speed, but will be depended upon to paint the giant Paul Bunyon like Lumberjack on the NAU campus. Also, I hope they like Buffalo Wings...F. Stallon Saldivar (ESPN 80 6-0 PG) F. Reid Wallace (ESPN 78 6-6 SF) Jr. De Angelo Jones (Cochise College 6-5 SF) Jr. Isaiah Jackson (Mississippi Gulf Coast CC 6-5 SF) Jr. Julian Olubuyi (Northwest College 5-9 PG)

Northern Colorado A
UNC got exactly what they needed, and became that much deeper due to these recruits. Connor Osbourne and Emmanual Addo are being touted as the best signees in UNC history. These two players along with Unruh and Arnold will be the foundation for UNC success in the upcoming years. UNC is extremely lucky to have the services of perhaps one of the best Mid-Major coaches in Tad Boyle. Along with being one of the best recruits in UNC history, Osbourne is also, possibly, the best recruit coming out of the state of Colorado this year. Connor should be playing at a bigger program, but based his decision on coaching. He really likes Boyles style of coaching and believes that Boyle will help him develop into an excellent players. Also, he believes that UNC has the best chance of success out of all the other Colorado schools. In his opinion, UNC is the best one out of the other DI Colorado programs to make it to the NCAA tournament. Depth is the number one quality that this class gives to the Bears. I hope they like the dancing suga bears...to bad they grow during the year to the point that their uniforms no longer fit, damn that beer. Connor Obsourne (ESPN 83 6-9 C) Emmanual Addo (ESPN 81 6-8 PF) Tate Unruh (ESPN 76 6-2 PG) David Arnold (ESPN 74 6-1 PG)

Portland State B+
After losing the "Bone" to the Washington State Cougs, the Vikings did a fairly decent job of keeping most of his recruits. Two of his most sought after recruits decided to stick with their commitments and attend Portland State. Max Jacobsen and Melvin Jones look like 2 excellent recruits. However, Jones is instantly going to feel pressured to play at the same level as the 2 time first teamer and former Big Sky MVP Jeremiah Dominguez. However, with a new coaching staff, and a number of key players returning for the Vikings, I don't think Jones will be too overwhelmed. However, PSU's recent success has virtually been created on the guard line. For PSU to continue being competitive in the future, they will need instant production from their JC transfers. Personally, I think Jones is capable for the task. The quality that this recruiting class brings to the Vikings is depth. These recruits were lured to PSU by the prospect of playing in front of a sold out crowd for each of their home games...too bad for them they weren't told how many sold out means. At PSU sold-out games equals less than 2K. Then again, that's an average arena in the Big West. Chris Harriel (ESPN 74 6-4 SG) Max Jacobsen (ESPN 73 6-7 PF) Melvin Jones (Northern Idaho JC 5-10 PG) Phillip Thomas (College of E. Utah 6-7 PF/C)

Sacramento State C+
Hornets Coach Katz must not have liked his players since he is signing, virtually, a new team. Katz signed 5 JC players, four from the California system that he is so familiar with, that should make an immediate impact on the lowly Hornets. Katz's team was a determined lot, but one that definitely lacked talent and ability. Hopefully these new recruits will make the Hornets more competitive. John Dickson and Dani Lopez are Katz's Freshmen. At Mid season, Lopez was being rated as a mid 80s recruit, but once AAU ball got under way Lopez's marks began to fall. I don't know if it was necessarily his abilities, or the fact that he signed with Sacramento State that dropped his overall numbers. Dickinson; however, is being touted as one of the best pickups for the Hornets in 5 or 6 seasons. He should get minutes as a freshman. The other five are nothing special. Duro Bjegovic could turn out, but the other 4 are merely fillers. The quality that this recruitment class brings to Sacramento State is new faces. John Dickson (ESPN 79 6-5 SF) Dani Lopez (ESPN 73 6-9 C) Walter Jackson (San Joaquin 6-5 SG) Duro Bjegovic (Highland CC 6-7 PF) Alpha N'Diaye (Ohlone CC 6-8 C) David Norris (Riverside JC 6-6 SF) Sultan Toles-Bey (Fresno City College 5-10 PG)

Weber State A-
The defending conference champion Wildcats will have a difficult time replacing the current Big Sky MVP Kellen McCoy and Defensive Player of the Year Daviin Davis. Fortunately for the other members of the Big Sky these 2 players have finished their eligibility, and have graduated; however, unfortunately for the Sky, the Wizard of Weber recruited exceptionally talented players to replace these losses. In my personal opinion I think Weber State has assembled one of its best recruiting classes in a decade. The Wizard has done an excellent job of balancing his class between freshmen and JCs. How Rahe got the three JCs is shocking to me. Franklin Session, Josh Nobel, and Lindsey Hughey all were conference 1st teamers with Session and Nobel attaining MVP honors for their respective conferences. Fulton, Davis, and Coro all are good freshmen players who with good coaching and some experience can really bring toughness and effort to the team. None of these players are quitters, each of them will bring much needed depth and experience to a championship caliber team. Rahe knew that all the other teams would get better in the off-season, and for the Wildcats to continue to compete, Weber had to get some great players who could help the Wildcats stay on top by adding toughness and speed to his lineup. However the qualities the Wildcats have improved on the most through this recruiting class is rebounding and defense. The next thing that the Cats need to improve on is student attendance...Big Papa and Weir best be helping Bev, if not Willie is going to punch them.Blake Davis (ESPN 78 6-5 SG) Byron Fulton (ESPN 74 6-8 PF/C) Dee Crandall (Judge Memorial PG) Pablo Coro (First Chilean DI player) Linsey Hughey (Seminole State College)Josh Nobel (Snead State JC)Franklin Session (Saddleback College JC

Road Trippin' Wildcat Style

During my spring break, my wife and I decided it would be fun to take our daughter on a road trip to Phoenix, Arizona to visit my brother and his family. On the way there we stopped in Flagstaff, home of the Big Sky's Northern Arizona Lumberjacks.

While staying in Phoenix we learned that the Wildcats were going to be playing in San Diego, a 5-hour drive away.  So we decided to make that an excuse to visit my other brother who lives on the military base there. We bought tickets to the NIT game and got to watch SDSU beat our team pretty bad. But we still had lots of fun anyway.  

Check out some of the pics of the game below:

WSU has the best team and the best fans

This basketball season has been awesome so far. I've really enjoyed the resurgence of the student section and the Purple Pack. Thanks to you all for making the games that much more enjoyable. And a big thanks to Bev and Dave for their roles in it all.

March is Madness for the Big Sky Too

Sometimes as Weber State fans we are so focused on what our University does to make our sports experiences better. We are always concerned with what marketing is doing, what our Sports Information Director is up to, and what the overall university support in our teams is. Often we get so caught up with our school and its efforts that we forget about those from the Big Sky Conference who work so hard to ensure that we are enjoying a quality product, whether it be on Big Sky TV, the Altitude, or in person at conference tournaments. If ever a fan wants to do a little research on Big Sky Conference sports and teams, I would highly recommend checking out the Big Sky’s website, their blog, or their new Twitter page. The Big Sky provides tons of news, information, and updates.
Because I believe the Big Sky is so important to our Weber State basketball experience as fans, I thought it would be interesting to do a short interview with Jon Kasper to find out exactly what he and the conference do behind the scenes and what they are doing to prepare for the Big Sky Championship tournaments.
I found his responses to my questions very informative and enlightening. I think you will too.

Wildcat Wall: What is your job title for the Big Sky?

Jon Kasper: First off Mark, thanks for your interest. I’m always happy to answer questions from our fans. Most people don’t understand what exactly we do here, or don’t know that our offices are located on Historic 25th Street in beautiful Ogden.
My job title is Assistant Commissioner for Media Relations

WW: How long have you worked for the Big Sky?

JK: I started at the Big Sky in September in 2004, so I’ve been here about 4 ½ years.

WW: What are some of your general duties in your job?

JK: We have a small staff, so we are all involved in a lot of different things. My main responsibilities are overseeing the media relations department, which includes myself, Autumn Wehr and our intern Tanner Gooch. I’m the main contact for football, men’s basketball and women’s golf, and oversee the other sports, which Autumn and Tanner handle. Our duties include selecting Players of the Week, publishing weekly notes, updating the content on www.bigskyconf.com, www.bigskytv.org, as well as our blog. (www.bigskyconference.blogspot.com, and our new Twitter page. We’ve produced some video highlight packages this year. We also administer the All-Conference selections, handle the certificates that student-athletes and coaches receive. We have working relationships with all of the sports information directors in our league, and work with media who cover the Big Sky. I also help work with television networks that cover our league. I also oversee the golf championship, and assist at other championship events. It honestly seems like there is something new and different every week.

WW: Do you get to go to many of the men's basketball games around the conference?
JK: Because of the economy, I haven’t traveled much this year. We are very cognizant of money at all times in the Big Sky. I try to attend all of Weber State’s home conference games so I can see each team in person once. I’ve also attended one game at Idaho State and one Montana non-conference game while I was in Missoula for a playoff football game. I get the sports package on Dish Network, so I try to either watch or tape all of the basketball games featuring Big Sky teams. I also spend a lot of hours watching our teams on Big Sky TV.

WW: This year has been a very exciting season for Big Sky men's hoops. What are your thoughts on how it all played out, and what are your thoughts on how Weber State did?

JK: I guess I’m a little bit surprised at the success of Weber State, but who knew Damian Lillard was going to emerge like he has, and players such as Nick Hansen, Kyle Bullinger and Kellen McCoy were going to perform as they have. I think Randy is a terrific coach and always has his teams well-prepared and ready to play. With all of the talent Portland State has and especially after the upset of nationally-ranked Gonzaga, I think a lot of people felt like the Vikings were the team to beat. The Vikings are a very dangerous team, and I wouldn’t be at all surprise to see them win the championship next week. Yeah, I know Weber fans don’t want to hear that. The emergence of Anthony Johnson has been vital to Montana’s success. I was surprised to see Idaho State struggle like it did, especially early in conference play on offense. Idaho State played a brutal non-conference schedule, but I thought with the talent the Bengals had they would win a couple more of those games. Idaho State has found its groove at the right time, and could surprise a lot of people. I know that’s another thing Weber fans don’t want to hear, but I really think Idaho State is a talented club, and a tough matchup because of its overall size. It’s good to see Northern Colorado continue to improve and make it to the tournament for the first time. The Bears are another dangerous team playing well right now. Montana State isn’t playing very well right now, but let’s not forget that the Bobcats are the only team to beat Weber State and earlier in the season MSU won road games at Oregon State and Colorado.

WW: The quarterfinals are tomorrow and the rest of the Big Sky Championship will be on the 10th and the 11th in Ogden. Do things get more hectic around the office when the Big Sky playoffs begin?

JK: They don’t call this time of the year “March Madness” just because of the games on the court. This is very busy time of year. I haven’t slept much in the last couple of weeks. I spend a lot of time the last week of the men’s and women’s season trying to figure out the scenarios. All the teams want to know what they have to do to get in the tournament, get a certain seed, secure a home game, and host the championship. I was up until 4 a.m. one night working on men’s scenarios. Today started at 7:30 a.m. with a conference call. Commissioner Fullerton and I spoke with a member of the NCAA Committee who is responsible for overseeing our conference. We do our best to present information to the committee throughout the year to help our teams gain respectable seeds. We do all of the credentials for the tournaments, and that’s what I’ve been working on most of the morning. I’ve also been in contact with Altitude and ESPN, working with them to make sure they have everything they need. Saturday morning I’ll fly up to Missoula for the quarterfinal game featuring Montana and Montana State. Before that, I’ll watch the Montana-Portland State women’s game that will determine who hosts the women’s tournament. After the games, I’ll write up stories on both quarterfinal games, update the brackets, and begin working on the championship release. Sunday morning I’ll fly back to Ogden, finish up my release, and start doing the last-minute checks. One nice thing about having the tournament in Ogden is I get to sleep in my own bed and don’t have to travel on Monday.

Normally, I spend Monday traveling to the men’s site, and then go right from there to our women’s tournament on Thursday morning. At least I get a few more days at home this year. Our Associate Commissioner Ron Loghry oversees the championships, so he is very busy working with Weber State and potential women’s hosts. There is a lot of planning that goes into the championships. Teams have to select hotels, banners need to be made, and officials need to be selected and their travel has to be arranged. We want the championships to be a great experience for the student-athletes, coaches, administrators and fans.

WW: It looks like this will be a very competetive tournament. Any predictions on who will win?

JK: I’ve learned not to make predictions in this job. We’ve got nine schools and we love them all the same. It irritates me when fans think we favor one school over another. I see that all the time on the message boards. Believe me; if we favored one school over the other we wouldn’t have our jobs long. We want to see all of our student-athletes, coaches and universities succeed. When it’s a non-conference game, we’re always rooting for our teams. If it’s a playoff game – like the Weber State/Cal Poly football game – we were all ecstatic that the Wildcats won. At the same time it was disappointing because we knew that since Montana and Weber State were playing the next week, one of our teams would have to lose.

OK, I’ll bend a little bit. I think all of the four teams who advance here to Ogden have a chance to win the championship. (Now that’s going out on a limb.)

There is no doubt Weber State has the advantage of playing on its home court in front of the Purple Pak. Weber seems so focused. Weber had nothing to play for Tuesday against Montana State, but went and played like the No. 1 seed was on the line. If Portland State hits its 3-point shots the Vikings will be really, really tough to beat. If Montana’s outside shooters are hitting to help Anthony Johnson they are tough to beat, especially because the Grizzlies are playing so well on defense. Idaho State and Northern Colorado are also playing very good basketball right now.


WW: I know you are a UM guy, but your wife is a Weber girl. Who is your family pulling for during the tournament?

JK: It’s weird how the world works. My family is originally from North Dakota, and we moved to Montana when I was 14. I attended Montana and ended up living there for 10 years, working at the Missoulian as a sportswriter, where I learned to be very objective. I wouldn’t be in this position today if the conference didn’t think I could be objective. My mom, dad, brother and sister all moved to Ogden in 1996, so now we’re all back in the same city. My brother took many of his classes at Weber State, but his degree is from Utah State. My sister is a freshman at Weber State. My wife Mackenzie is close to getting her degree from Weber State. My father-in-law Bob Hunter is a Weber State alum and an adjunct professor. My father-in-law actually helped design the old “Go W” logo back when he was a student. I have a lot of purple in my family now, and most of them are probably rooting for Weber State. Some of them don’t care at all that there is a tournament coming up. Mackenzie takes a lot of photos for us, and does graphic design for us. Like me, she respects all of the teams in our conference. She’s developed friendships with many of the people in our league. I think she’s neutral, but I can’t control her. I know she knows a lot of you crazy Mountain Dew-guzzling Purple Pak guys from high school. She and our beagle Annie are excited the tournament is in Ogden so I will be home and not on the road. What I’m pulling for is the community of Ogden, the students of Weber State, and other sports fans throughout Utah to come out, support Weber State and support our tournament. I believe winning sports programs can really bring a community together and create civic pride. Tuesday and Wednesday night are a chance to forget about the problems of the world for a few hours and come out and support some great collegiate student-athletes. I know they would all love to play in front of 12,000 fans on Tuesday and Wednesday night.

The Little Bus That Could - By Eric Neff

Each time I step onto a Weber State bus two things automatically go through my head. First, will we actually make it to our destination, and second, are the cheerleaders coming with us? After our last road trip, an exasperating journey to White Trash Missoula for an FCS playoff game, I have doubted the ability of Weber State’s buses to get fans to their intended destinations. A night in Deer Lodge Montana will do that to you. Deer Lodge is not the most glamorous spot in Montana, hell in all honesty, I wouldn’t doubt if Montanans have erased it from off their maps. It’s very similar to a black hole, but not one that could hold back the stellar efforts of the GREYGOOSE!! However, last night that very same super bus, failed the students of Weber State. Granted, every superhero needs a night off once in a while. Unfortunately, that night was last night. As I stepped onto the bus, my thoughts automatically returned me to that fateful night in Deer Lodge: Jimmy was sick from eating too much candy, crazy lady slapped Bev, and worst of all Weber had lost the football game to the hated White Trash Grizz.

Throughout this week, which preceded the first road trip since that fateful event, I have been paralyzed by apprehension and fear. I am one who believes in facing my fears, and thus signed up for the annual road trip to the WSU/ISU basketball game. However, my fears wouldn’t easily subside, as the memory of the last road trip flooded my mind. But, to my utter most relief, once I arrived in the parking lot of the Alumni Center, I spotted the mighty Grey Goose, and realized that this Super bus was to be our transportation to Potatoville. The fear subsided, and the excitement mounted, as we were about to embark on our expedition to the first of two rivalry games with the ISU Potatoes.

Unfortunately, despair was to overcast our hopes and excitement. Willie Page and I both let out a sigh once the Grey Goose started faltering. If the mighty Grey Goose wasn’t able to get us to Potatoville, then what were the devoted students of Weber to do, besides, the Cheerleaders were with us this time (even though none of us had a chance with any of them), and it was after all ISU, our hated, despised, and easily beatable rivals. Even though the rivalry is practically once sides, especially in football, we all knew that tonight’s game would be huge, and that the boys in Royal Purple needed the support of their fans. Yet, the Grey Goose, though it tried, would not be taking us to Potatoville. Bemoaned by the inability of the Grey Goose, another hero would step up on the “BIG STAGE, though it had two fouls,” for the Cats on this fateful night…

Like the little engine that could, one of the regular shuttle buses was used as our transportation. This little bus couldn’t go over 67mph, didn’t have enough seats, was grudgingly chilly as cold air slipped in through cracks, and overheated in riverside; yet, it refused to be denied. At 7:10 the Shuttle Bus that Could entered the LOLT Arena parking lot full of fanatical Weber State fans. Because of the late arrival, the rabid fans were unable to express their appreciation to the little bus that could, but that didn’t matter, all the bus wanted was a Weber State victory on this normal, cold, dingy, and ugly Idaho night. Though small in number, this small group would be louder than the 3,200 ISU fans, and help drive the Wildcats onto victory in a classic Over Time game between the two rivals. By the way, the cheerleaders, especially the dancers, who were on the bus, were really hot! BVB is definitely one lucky duder.

After a long night of struggling, the little bus brought back those faithful and appreciative Weber State fans. On this night we had witnessed two of the greatest spectacles of in Weber State history: A come from behind win on our rivals’ court, and the shaping of a hero…in the form of the Shuttle Bus that Could.

Coach Rahe at the Wildcat Luncheon

Every other week Wildcat Club members and other Weber State University supporters meet inside Lagori’s restaurant in Ogden to listen to WSU coaches report on the teams they coach. Today at the luncheon five coaches addressed supporters. The coach that stole the show—Men’s basketball coach Randy Rahe.

I paid $6.75 for my lunch and to hear the coaches. I would have paid $10.00 just to hear Rahe, even if that price didn’t include a meal. Rahe was awesome. Besides reporting on the Wildcat’s improbable road victories over Portland State and Eastern Washington, he was chuck full of hilarity. Among other things, he shared a personal conversations he had with a referee during the road trip, and he also detailed for those in attendance the pathetic state of Portland State’s basketball facilities. (Last year the ‘Cats actually had to share a locker room with a bunch of naked PSU professors. Yikes.) He talked about his superstitions as a coach. He said he has a lucky road tie and a lucky home tie. “The guys are getting tired of seeing them,” he said. He also said he finally found a hotel to stay at in Washington as he will not return to a hotel if the previous time his team stayed there they lost.

Besides being quite hilarious, Rahe was also very impressive. He makes sure his team stays hungry, prepared and humble. During the lunch he said there are no stars on his team. “We just have a bunch of good basketball players who play well together,’ he said. He expressed concerns about his team getting too confident and comfortable with the recent road sweep. “We’re going to get after them these next two days to make damn sure that doesn’t happen.”

Rahe also said that he enjoys coaching in the Big Sky because for his team there is no margin for error. Any team can beat any team on any given night. That is, according to Rahe, what makes every week so much fun.

Good Week For Weber. Bad Week For Me.

What a depressing week it was for me! More specifically, what a depressing weekend it was for me! Last Saturday could have become one of the greatest Weber State sports memories of my life, but alas, it wasn’t and won’t be.
I had the chance to make two great memories for myself, but instead found myself buried under books and papers, trying to get caught up with my classes.

First of all, I could have made the trip with two of my brothers, several friends, and over 2,000 fans to Idaho State to see the Wildcats rip the Bengals to pieces, clinching their first Big Sky Championship if a very, very long time. As I watched the highlights on the news, read the stories in the papers, and watched Cheese’s highlight video on weberhoops.com (That video is seen below), I became irate at the fact that for some reason Weber State chose this year, when I’m too busy to even sleep, to be good at football! It just sucks. And it depresses me. However, there is some hope as Weber’s offense next year looks to return almost everybody and Mac extended his contract another four years. Maybe they’ll win the Big Sky next year at home and I will be able to rush the field like a mad man.

Since I wasn’t able to make the trip to Pocatello and was at home with my one-year-old daughter, I thought maybe if I could dig in and get my papers written, I’d have the chance of taking my daughter to see her first Weber State basketball game at the Dee that night. Unfortunately, that memory never happened. I just had too much to do. We will have to make that memory another day. The good news here is I did buy season tickets and I will have a whole month of no classes in December, where I will surely be able to take her to a game and witness the miracle of purple slowly filling her veins.

Victory Dew--By Rod Eyre

It was an unseasonably warm January night, in 2003. Fresh off another basketball victory, just one in a string of 17, a group of Wildcat fans gathered obsequiously in a circle by a tree with a small purple spot on it. The tree looked inconspicuous and common, but this tree was no ordinary tree, it was special. Much like the Liberty Tree, this tree signified reverence and awe, as it represented the achievements of Weber State and the common student.

Next to the tree sat a dilapidated red cooler, a circle formed round it, while a giant of a man, one of Weber’s most rigid and loyal, eagerly started plucking, what could have passed as manna to the Israelites, chilled cans of Mountain Dew. Fervently each fan gripped their dew, and keenly opened the can in the midst of the mild night air. Something great was on the horizon, one could sense it in the air, as a breeze of anticipation and optimism surged past them. Slowly each person heaved their green treasure upward into the night sky, as words of praise and approbation were uttered towards Supaman and the Pride of the Purple and White. With the toasts complete, and under the chant of “WEBER STATE, WEBER STATE, Great, Great, Great,” each fan with ravenous delight guzzled their Dew. A tradition had been born! The Victory Dew had arrived!

Zealously Weber fans assemble round the red cooler, at the conclusion of each home victory, as students, fans, and Dave Baker form a circle, in the hallow area in front of the Victory Tree, and salute the accomplishments of the WSU basketball team with words of adulation; devouring Dews. Under such humble beginnings this proud and lasting tradition was conceived. Since that time it has been erected into a lasting tradition treasured by numerous fans and devotees of the Purple and White. As the underlings of the Big Sky, Bengal fans, jealously watch in disarray and impotence. GO CATS!!!

Changes to Weberhoops Website

This year has been a big year of big (and hopefully good) changes for Weber State’s number one fan-run website. First off, as you have probably noticed, we changed our name from wsubball.com to weberhoops.com. This was an effort to come up with something easier to remember. Plus we wanted to get Weber’s name in the URL.

Weberhoops has also changed the name of Berger’s Blog to Wildcat Wall. This was done for two reasons. First, we wanted a name that would be more associated with Weber State. (But don’t worry. Though name is no longer in the title of the blog, I will still be providing my insight on Weber State sports on a regular basis.) The second reason for changing the blog name is because Weberhoopos has acquired the talent and insight of two new Weber State sports enthusiasts who will be contributing to the blog. Eric Neff will join me in blogging, and Phil (mostly known as Cheese) will be creating videos to include on Wildcat Wall.

I’d like to quickly introduce these two Weber Fans to Weberhoops’ visitors.

It is no exaggeration to refer to Eric Neff as the true Weber State insider. I challenge anyone out there who knows someone who is associated with Weber State to ask that person if he or she has heard of Eric. I can guarantee you if they don’t personally know him, they have at least heard his name, or know someone who has. Not only did Eric graduate from Weber, he was also involved in Student Government, the fraternity scene, and many other school organizations. We are very much looking forward to the news and insight he will be able to provide us through his many contacts on campus.

Cheese is one of the biggest Weber State sports fans I know. He is currently attending Weber State, pursuing a degree in Business Administration. He recently obtained a camcorder and began making videos, highlighting Weber State sports and Ogden, Utah. Here is a link to his first video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOXzDlcFHGw It’s a highlight of Weber’s recent trouncing of Montana. It will be great to not only get his videos on Wildcat Wall but to also see them available on YouTube.

I hope you enjoy the new entertainment and information available from Eric and Cheese! They should have plenty to write about and record as this is turning out to be the best football season in years and as WSU basketball is looking just as promising.