orts
Wednesday, Nov. 25, 2009
the clackamas print 7
Ihehales Tapscott chooses PSU
become a contributor.
Geving said, “We expect him
to come in and have an immedi
ate impact for our team. He’s
extremely skilled; he is ready to
compete right when he walks in
the door. So, we’re expecting
big things out of him when he
gets here.”
Wegner also sees him as
being an instant impact player
for the Vikings, saying, “He is
going to make them better. He
could be in their starting lineup,
I’m convinced.”
Geving also agreed, saying,
“He has a great chance to come
in and start if he continues to
work hard and continues to
work hard when he gets here.”
Neither Tapscott nor Wegner
see Portland State as. his last
stop, though. Both think he has
the ability to take his career to
the next level and play over
seas.
Wegner said, “He’s got a
chance to be bigger than that.
He’s got a legitimate chance to
play overseas and make some
money playing basketball for a
long time.”
His physique also helps his
case. Coming in at 6’5” 205
pounds, Tapscott’s size makes
him a force to be reckoned with
on the court.
Wegner added, “He’s got the
kind of body that I think is
going to handle the pressures
of basketball for a lot- of years.
Some guys’ bodies start to break
down after a few years but he’s
got a different kind of body.”
Five years of organized com
petitive basketball, that’s all
Chehales Tapscott has under his
belt. That’s all he needed. For
one of Oregon’s most sought
after high school recruits and
one of Clackamas’ best play
ers to wear the red and blue, it
has been a long journey of hard
work and perseverance, a jour
ney that has paid off.
kACC All-Star
hales Tapscott
Is skills at
Lamas and signs
Portland State
lersity
Ry Mark Foster
I Sports Editor
Las a McDonald’s All-
Lan nominee and an
[ 5A first team All-State
|n coming out of Century
ISchool. Now he has
|one of the best players
Icome out of Clackamas
jnity College. Next stop
kales Tapscott: Portland
diversity.
■someone who did not
■playing
competitive
led basketball until his
Ln year in high school,
It has accomplished a lot
Ide quite a name for him-
Icaught the attention of a
leople during high school,
Illy shined and improved
hie at Clackamas. In his
Erst outing as a Cougar,
It off for 34 points and 22
Ids.
Ithat was not a typo.
Id coach Clif Wegner was
|hed at the show his high-
|d freshman recruit put
Lgner said, “It was like
■you didn’t even notice
■was just so steady on
|ng”
■ was just the first of
Lrformances of this cali-
[Tapscott.
tapscott’s first season as
Lar. Wegner doesn’t think
| saw his star forward
less than 1 0 points and 10
Ids in a game. He went so
Io say, “I believe he had a
Bouble every game.”
I year, Wegner doesn’t
[to see anything less. He
I to see a lot more. He
[at Tapscott still has room
L and hasn’t reached his
[tential yet.
Icott feels that, com-
I Clackamas and playing
Wegner, he has been able
|e huge advances in his
[really helped me out
B before I used to be a
Bio could attack the bas
il now I’ve added more
handling and shooting so
| I’m ready to go now,”
Bit said.
|s been able to showcase
[lents on the court and
[he deserves to make the
[oplayD-1 basketball.
John Shufelt Clackamas Print
Chehales Tapscott, who was a McDonald’s All-American nominee in 2008, earned NWAACC All
Tournament MVP honors last season leading the Cougars to a conference title.
He’s also very happy that
he is going to be a Viking next
year. The proximity to home and
his father made the choice that
much easier, although PSU was
his first choice.
About Portland State being
'his first choice, Tapscott said,
“Yeah, it-was because it’s close
to home, close to my father, and
I actually like the coaching staff
there too.”
Not a bad choice seeing as the
Vikings have made the NCAA
tournament the past two years.
Head coach Tyler Geving
is ready for Tapscott to arrive
on campus and believes he can
Cougars basketball Pre
Season:
Nov. 27-29: Red Devil
Classic at Lower Colum
bia College
Dec. 4: vs. Clark College
at CCC
Dec. 13: vs. Columbia
Basin College at CCC
Dec.
18-20:
Clark
NWAACC Crossover at
Clark College
Dec. 28-30: Clackamas
Holiday Tourney at CCC
men’s soccer doesn’t reach goal, lose in first round
By Mark Foster
I Sports Editor
® a season comes to an end
than expected, one word
[to mind: disappointment The
fougars soccer team’s season
[short in the first game of the
fon by an opponent they felt
R better than.
[ust the seventh minute,
[ Grow of Spokane put in
[ould be the only goal of the
fne crucial moment of the
Rt cost the Lady Cougars
■son.
[homore Allison
Riggs
acknowledged that they got lucky,
referring to the goal scored by Grow.
She said, "... they got lucky. They
got past one of our defenders; they
got that break away. I don’t think
Chelsea [Gray] had any way of
stopping it It was a-one-on-one with
the keeper.”
From that point on, they needed
to hold Spokane, and that is exact
ly what they did. Unfortunately,
Clackamas could not get as lucky as
their opponent The Spokane keeper
held them at bay, blocking every
thing that came her way.
Riggs said, “We had shots all day
long and they were great shots, our
offense was in their face.”
Coach Tracy Nelson also agreed
that not being able to end what they
started contributed to their downfell.
“We couldn’t finish our opportuni
ties. We dominated the game, but
struggled to finish off the game,”
said Nelson.
They knew going into the game
it was going to be tough and that it
was either win or go home. Prior to
the postseason, Nelson pointed out
that the weakest part of their game is
scoring and finishing.
Leading up to the game against
Spokane, she said, “We have strug
gled to score this season. We have
been working a lot on finishing
in the final third for the past two
weeks.”
Riggs attested to the rigorous
practices Nelson has put them
through, saying, ‘Tt was frustrating
because we worked our asses off
and were definitely the better team
and it just didn’t show at the end.”
After an early exit, there isn’t
much for a team to do but learn
from their mistakes and look to the
future.
Despite the negatives, Nelson
did take some positives from the
game. She hopes that this game is
something that will stick with her
freshman and they will remember
during the off season and going in
to next year.
Nelson didn’t seem satisfied with
the season as a whole and thought
she shared the same feelings as her
players, saying, “We had a lot of
expectations going in to this season
and our goal was to win another
NWAACC championship. I think
everyone was disappointed with the
way the season ended.”
For a team with an abundance of
talent, a push for another NWAACC
title run is not an unlikely feat, but
for now the Lady Cougars must wait
another year for their shot