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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 20, 2013)
g $ P R IN T : Sports Wednesday, Feb.20,2013 Not so 3 lucky lottery picks Wrestling with fate: Cougars eye Nationals A.M« / SPORTS Andrew Milibrooke Sports tditoi The NBA draft lottery has not been kind to the Portland Trail Blazer franchise over frie years. O f course frie firsL ftfo ^ | that conies to mind is when the Blazers took Sam Bowie over. Michael Jordan in the 1984 draft. ' Then they did it again by draft ing another injury plaeued b f e man (Greg Oden) instead o f the NBA’s biggest rising star (Kevin Durant) in 2007. The Blazers most recent lot-; tery pick was right on the money, though, a jackpot winning pick at the number six spot. Former Weber State guard Damian Lillard has virtually sewn up the NBA rookie o f the \ ear award hallway through the season. Lillard has won all three Western Conference Rookie o f the Month awards this season and is looking to join an elite group o f players that have swept the rookie o f" the month honors to begin their careers. The list o f players that have swept the Rookie of the Month voting is short and loaded with Hall o f Famers and some o f today’s greatest stars. Lillard-.' would join H o u sto rg ^ ^ g f e Sampson, San Antonio’s David Robinson and Tim D uim S h S s Cleveland’s LeBron James, Denver’s Carmelo A nthon5|l New Orleans’ Chris Paul a n B the Los Angeles Clippers’ Blake Griffin. Lillard leads all rookies in scoring (183), assists (6.5) and minutes played (38.4) per this season. He has been a steady ' influence on a short-hand t t g Blazer team and a major reason they are still in the playoff hunt. ■ Lillard has shown the ability to hit the 3-pointer consistently and... is fearless taking the b aftto S B basket Lillard stepped up late in theff game numerous times and his game-winning 3-pointer against New Orleans in mid-December | will be remembered for a w time in the Rose Garden. Lillard has showed some signs o f grow ing pains, as he leads all rookies in turnovers per game (3.0), but to be fair he plays more minutes and handles the ball more than any other rookie. j k Lillard is getting most o f the publicity nationally and o f course locally in most o f the rookie o f the year discussion, but a few* other first year playas are prov- ing to be solid NBA players. ■ . | I Number one draft pick Anthony Davis o f New Orleans has come back from injury to lead all rookies in rebounding ( ^ .5 ) ,' steals (12) and blocked shots (1.9). Davis is also averaging12 points per game, and as Blazer fans saw last week, his stellar defense held Portland’s leading scorer LaMarcus Aldridge to points on 2 o f 11 shooting in the Hornets 99-63 win. Davis finished with 21 points and II rebounds. Cleveland’s Dion* Waiters and Washington’s Bradley Beal, future stars at the “two-guard” position, have each earned start ing spots and shown flashes of brilliance this season. Waiters is averaging 14 pointe, 3 2 assists and 2.5 rebounds in almost 30 minutes per game. Beal is aver aging 132 points, 3 2 rebounds and 2.5 assists in a little ova* 30 minutes per game. Both have shown tremendous athleticism and the ability to score around the rim, but each has struggled with their 3-point shooting so for. While none o f these play ers look capable o f beating out Lillard for Ihe Rookie ofthe Year, they all have shown 1he ability to be future stars in the NBA. Let’s just all be happy that the Blazers got it right, for once at least > || I ’i« gonnajake first and I think w can as a team.” Jacob Mitchell No. 2 ränked heavyweight Trent Noon secures a takedown against Kyle Sweedman to solidify his place at next week’s nationals. Noon and the rest o f the wrestlers have been working hard this season and have the accomplishments to prove it. A heat wave originating in Oregon City will blast east this week as the Cougar wrestling team prowls toward another NJCAA championship title shot. The NJCAA National wrestling tourna ment takes place Feb. 22 and 23 at Richard O. Jacobson Exhibition Center in Des Moines, Iowa. It will be the biggest challenge o f the year for eight outstanding Clackamas team members. “It’s been an up and down year for the team, but that’s not a good indicator for nationals,” said head coach Josh Rhoden, “I like all our spots in the brackets.” The Cougars won the 2011 NJCAA title and fin season,” said Mitchell, in between rounds in the mat room last week. The fearless Cougar looks forward to the upcoming national competi tion with optimistic enthusiasm for himself and teammates. “I’m going to take first and I think we can as team,” said Mitchell. “Me, C.J. and Trent, I think will be national champs and a lot of people could place higher or win it.” Fueling the team fire this season has been Steve “The Heater’ ’ Conn in the 184 pound .division. “Steve was on the heater and just kept winning,” said Mitchell o f his teammate’s performance. Conn won in dramatic fashion at Pacific University in Forest Grove last month. “The match versus Pacific, I was losing 8 to 2 and I pinned the guy. The whole team went huts after I Rhoden is impressed with Conn’s work ethic and . improve m ent “Steve Conn has come on really strong as o f late, he figured out how to get wins and be success ful,” said Rhoden. “We could easily have eight All-Americans this year.” Speaking o f All-American wres tlers, Trent Noon, the No. 1 ranked wrestler at 174 pounds will descend on the competition Friday. Noon sets a good example for the team and team chemistry seems to.be in good supply at Clackamas. “During wrestling season it’s just school and practice,” said Noon. “Everyone on the team is really close.” Wrapping up an impressive personal wrestling season, Noon looks forward to nationals with high hopes. “My only losses this season were them.” He sees victory in the cards •for the team as well. “We’ll get the win as long as everyone keeps their heads down and gets to it,” said Noon. On Friday the weigh-ins start at 7:30 a.m. and the first matches begin at 9:30 a.m. and continue throughout the day. Saturday the weigh-ins start at 9:30 a.m., with competition starting at 10:30 a.m. and going until awards and final presentations later in the evening. The Cougars will have an action packed weekend and are sure to stand out among the other teams at the competition. The full team this weekend with weight classes includes: Sage Ornelas at 125, C.J. Palmer at 133, Beau Roberts at 149, A.J. Ballard at 157, Trent Noon at 174, Steve Conn at 184, Jacob Laden at 197*and ish e d fourth last season. ' “ATWy&rHtiTg We WCflt tw b 'arid' pin n ed the guy, it w as nice to cel ebrate as a team ,” said C onn. “T his to one ju n io r College g u y an d th e others Were D iv isio n I w restlers,” Jaco b M itchell a t 285. T h e stacked sq u ad w ill h e a force to reck o n w ith three as a team,” said heavyweight Jacob Mitchell about last month’s Western Wyoming Duels. “Last practice is highlight o f the is my first time going to nationals in the lineup. I’m hoping to go All- American. I’m just going to take it one match at a time.” said Noon. “I learned and gained a lot as a wrestler. I plan on taking it one match at a time. Everyone has to beat me, I don’t have to beat this weekend as they are fired up for victory. A video feed will be avail able the day o f the event at www. njcaatv.oig. David Beasley Associate Sports Editor Fitness center: No pain, no gain! Continued from Page 1 One floor below the gym you’ll find the weight room, a necessity for athletes needing a competitive edge or anyone who wants their shirts to fit better. A wide variety o f free weights, weight and car- dio machines and other miscella neous fitness doodads are contained in this room, usually with some upbeat workout-style music going strong in the background. “We work out three times a week,” said Megan Malvick, a member o f CCC’s softball team. “We train every term throughout the school year.” Across the hall are the athletic training and locker rooms, where students can ease a troubled ankle or stow their belongings, and if you’ve forgotten a padlock or a clean towel, both can be checked out free o f charge using a student “I’ve been coining down here about seven hours a week to do rehab work on my hamstring,” said Kael Kealoha-Lindsey, a freshman on the track team. “I just moved here from Oahu. I went to small floor, former home o f the music department I f you happen to be a fan o f weekend afternoon karate movies, there are several different schools o f martial arts being taught and practiced in Randall. And if you aren’t sure o f what you’d like to do or even what your schedule is like during the week, there’s a program for that too. The cross training program allows stu dents to design what sort o f work out works out best for them. These students log their workout times into a computer system using their student ID, and their workouts can be done on their own time. So if you’re the type o f person who makes a point o f feeling that cleansing day-after soreness on most mornings, why not earn a few credits while you’re at it? Lutheran high school that didn’t have a weight room. So this is a big up for me.” If you’re looking to earn some credits with your workout, it shouldn’t be hard to find a class in Randall that tickles your fancy. If you’ve signed up for a swing danc ing class, you’re probably familiar with the dance room on the second Got Acne? ...GetALA-P//W iw vw.ym i-F/flf. C O M Ingrid Bergmann and Taylor Ballard prepare for pole vaulting for the up coming track season in the Randall’s fitness center open to all students.