CONFERENCE OFFICIALS HOPE SKY'S THE LIMIT FOR CSUN.Byline: Brian Dohn Daily News Staff Writer Cal State Northridge was granted admission into the Big Sky Conference three years ago for reasons that could come to fruition in two months. Or so the Big Sky hopes. The Matadors have an opportunity to win the Big Sky, host the postseason tournament and reach the NCAA Tournament NCAA Tournament can mean: Men's Sports
The conference season begins today with four games, including CSUN's opener. The Matadors travel to two-time defending league champ Northern Arizona Northern Arizona is dominated by the Colorado Plateau, the southern border of which in Arizona is called the Mogollon Rim. In the West lies the Grand Canyon, which was cut by the flow of the Colorado River while the land slowly rose around it. for a 6:05 p.m. game. ``If Northridge could develop a program where they had good athletes, were good year after year and developed something there, it could really help us,'' Big Sky commissioner Doug Fullerton said. ``We'd love for them to go to the NCAA Tournament and do something because it would give them more exposure.'' In Missoula, Pocatello, and Ogden, among other places, the Big Sky Conference is as known as the Pacific-10 is in California. But in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. , introductions are still in order when it comes to the Big Sky. That's what the Big Sky wants to change. The belief at the conference headquarters, which is in Ogden, Utah Ogden is the county seat of Weber County,GR6 Utah, United States. A 2006 estimate placed its population at 78,086. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a (but you knew that), is that as CSUN CSUN California State University Northridge succeeds, so does the conference. But some of the Big Sky coaches aren't thinking that way. ``We want the best team in the league to represent the conference the best,'' Northern Arizona coach Ben Howland Ben Howland (born May 28, 1957 in Lebanon, Oregon) is an American college head coach of men's basketball. He has been the head coach of the University of California, Los Angeles since 2003, and recently signed a contract extension through 2013. said. ``I don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if (CSUN gaining exposure for the league) is the concern or not. It's who's the best representative.'' Fullerton, a former athletic director Athletic director (commonly, "athletics director") is a position at many American colleges and universities, as well as in larger high schools and middle schools, which oversees the work of the coaches and related staff involved in intercollegiate or interscholastic athletic at Montana State and the commissioner since July 1995, figured it would take a few years for the league's investment in CSUN to mature. He said the league received limited dividends from the football team's success, and he's optimistic basketball could accomplish something similar. ``They've been competitive, but I think they could possibly be more competitive in the future,'' Fullerton said. ``I thought it would take two or three years to get it going.'' Welcome to year No. 3 for the Matadors. At 8-4, it's the first time in nearly a decade they've ended the calendar year with eight wins. How CSUN handles being a contender isn't known. In their first two seasons in the league, the Matadors finished sixth and seventh. ``We can win it, and some people are expecting us to win it,'' CSUN guard Jason Crowe Jason Crowe (born September 30 1978 in Sidcup) is an English footballer. He currently plays for Football League One side Northampton Town. He plays at full back. He started his career as a trainee at Arsenal, although he was unable to break into the first team with veteran said. ``There's too much talent on this team not to.'' Even if CSUN were to bring the widespread notoriety only Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. can offer to the Big Sky, Fullerton said other issues need to be resolved. First, CSUN must address its gym. A recent renovation made it more aesthetically pleasing, but the capacity is still below Big Sky standards. The gym holds 1,600, 1,000 or so fewer than any other school. The seats could be added to the second level of the gym, but they may go largely unnoticed. And unused. The Matadors were last in attendance last season, averaging a paltry 858 per game. There's also the issue of electronic media coverage. The only time television cameras appear at the campus is when the Matadors play UCLA UCLA University of California at Los Angeles UCLA University Center for Learning Assistance (Illinois State University) UCLA University of Carrollton, TX and Lower Addison, TX , or when bad news hits. And CSUN lacks a radio package. BIG SKY CONFERENCE PREVIEW CAL STATE NORTHRIDGE Record: 8-4 Surprise player: Sophomore center Brian Heinle is averaging a team-high 14.2 points per game, and is scoring in the low post and from the outside. Outlook: Playing at Tennessee and UCLA should help when it comes to tough road games. But whether CSUN makes a move toward the Big Sky crown could depend on the health of power forward Rico Harris. He's talented, averaging 9.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, but he missed more than three weeks with a hip pointer A hip pointer is a contusion (bruise) on the pelvis caused by a direct blow to an iliac crest. Contact sports are a frequent cause of this type of injury. A hip pointer bruise usually causes bleeding into the hip abductor muscles, which move legs sideways, away from the . SACRAMENTO STATE Record: 0-10 Surprise player: Sierra College Sierra College, a California community college, has its main campus located in Rocklin, California. Rocklin is located in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, approximately twenty minutes from the state capital of Sacramento and 100 miles east of San Francisco. transfer Anthony Flood Anthony 'Anto' Flood (born December 31 1984 in Dublin, Ireland), is an Irish footballer playing with Shelbourne in the Eircom League of Ireland First Division. Flood is a tall and talented player and plays as a striker. is averaging 12.8 points and shooting better than 40 percent from 3-point range. Outlook: There's no denying Sacramento State is the death sentence for head coaches, which second-year man Tom Abatemarco is discovering. The Hornets have lost 27 in a row. The Hornets haven't won a conference game since the 1996-97 season and are 2-30 in their two years in the Big Sky. Oh, one other thing. The Hornets haven't won more than seven games in a season since 1990-91. EASTERN WASHINGTON
Record: 3-7 Surprise player: Sophomore forward Chris White has added an inside presence. His scoring from last year nearly tripled to 7.9 points per game and his rebounding doubled to 5.8 per game. Outlook: This could be the most important season in fourth-year coach Steve Aggers' building process. He was named the league's Coach of the Year after going 10-6 (Big Sky) but lost four starters to graduation. One thing working for EMU is its backcourt tandem of Deon Williams and Shannon Taylor. They're combining to average 23.8 points and 7.6 assists per game. IDAHO STATE Record: 2-8 Surprise player: Junior guard Kevin Sweetwyne, a transfer from Chabot College Chabot College is one of California's community colleges, located in the heart of the San Francisco Bay Area. The campus is in Hayward, California, just a few miles away from California State University, East Bay. , has been the only reliable offensive option. He's fourth among Big Sky players with 15.4 points per game. Outlook: The Bengals are glad Sacramento State's in this league, otherwise they'd be picked to finish last. First-year coach Doug Oliver stepped into a very difficult situation. Guard Erik Skinner is the returner from last year who played the most, and he averaged 22 minutes per game last season. Meanwhile, center Odell Stokes was the top returning scorer at 6.7 points per game. It's going to take some time. MONTANA Record: 7-4 Surprise player: Transfer Matt Williams, who played at Columbia Junior College, is averaging 14.5 points and leading Big Sky players with 9.5 rebounds per game. Outlook: The Grizzlies The name Grizzlies may refer to:
MONTANA STATE Record: 6-5 Surprise player: Freshman Aaron Rich has found playing time on a deep team and his 5.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game are a welcome addition. Outlook: If the Bobcats play strong defense, they could contend for the league title. MSU MSU Michigan State University MSU Mississippi State University MSU Montana State University MSU Minnesota State University MSU Morehead State University (Kentycky) MSU Montclair State University has two of the best scorers in the league. Senior center Nate Holmstadt is tops among Big Sky players in scoring (22.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (7.8 rpg) and is surely a lock to be named All-Big Sky for a third straight year. Guard Danny Sprinkle (14.6 ppg) is fifth in scoring. NORTHERN ARIZONA Record: 8-3 Surprise player: Junior forward Andrew Wolthers' 4.4 points and 2.6 rebounds are leaps and bounds ahead of last year's pace. Outlook: If you want to see the Big Sky tournament, book a room in Flagstaff Flagstaff, city (1990 pop. 45,857), seat of Coconino co., N Ariz., near the San Francisco Peaks; inc. 1894. Lumbering, ranching, and a lively tourist trade thrive in the region, where many ruined pueblos, numerous state parks, several lakes, and large pine forests . The Lumberjacks, who've won back-to-back regular season titles and advanced to the NCAAs last season, return 75 percent of their scoring and 79 percent of their rebounding from a team that went 21-8 last season. Ross Land (12.1 ppg), Dan McClintock (13.0), Casey Frank (12.1) and Michael McNair (11.1) present myriad problems for team defenses. PORTLAND STATE Record: 7-3 Surprise player: Junior guard Derek Nesland is nearly doubling his point production from a year ago. He's averaging 11.7 points per game. Outlook: The Vikings were granted a waiver of their eight-year waiting period and will play in the Big Sky tournament. The program, in its third year after being reinstated, has also made a splendid comeback. Thousand Oaks product Jason Hartman is a big part of that. He's third among Big Sky players in scoring at 20.3 points per game. Brian Towne (13.5 ppg), Nesland (11.7) and Reggie Ball (10.4) balance out the scoring. WEBER STATE Record: 9-4 Surprise player: Harold Arceneaux, from Midland Junior College, is averaging 20.6 points per game. Outlook: In a league where coaches either get fired or move quickly with success, eighth-year coach Ron Abegglen is content with being the dean of Big Sky coaches. He's 136-79 at Weber State and has never finished at .500 or below, either overall or in conference. Arceneaux and guard Eddie Gill were second team JUCO JUCO Junior College All-Americans last season. - Brian Dohn CAPTION(S): Box BOX: BIG SKY CONFERENCE PREVIEW (see text) |
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