H I X T h e H e p p n e r G a z e lle Tim e»
H e p p n er
O rego n
W e d n e sd ay . I l r c r m b f r l ( . IM S
tmling N ïw j
Power in West in Columbia Basin boys basketball
The 6'4" Hull la clearly the key to
Wasco's success, despite the fact
that everybody is back from last
year s l t d squad Hull led the league
in both scoring and rebounding last
year, and led the Bedsides to the
Regional tournament, where they
dropped back to b ark games to
Enterprise and Grant Cmon
"Both our offense and or defense
key off Je ff," says seventh year
coach Howie " I f he has trouble
coming back, we'd need to rely more
on quickness
We do have good
depth and balance, though."
Howie is hope lull that Hull will be
able to return in time for the start of
the league schedule He is counting
on a good" pre season schedule to
toughen up his troops for the league
wars
"Our goal is make it at least as far
as last year," says Howie
Even
with the stiff competition in the
Western Division, this would cer
tainly seem to be well within the
reach of Wasco Coutny If
Riverside
Bigger Is definitely better Well It
certainly is for Coach Larry French
as he prepares to lead the Riverside
Pirates into the Columbia Basin
Conference
As French begins his second
decade as skipper of the Pirates he
is counting on 6 4" seniors Brian
Byrd and Bryan Sheadel to carry the
load in a power game line up Along
with senior wing man Chris Stevens,
the big men give French a balanced
attack In the early going, each of
Riverside s key seniors were aver
aging around 12 points s game,
providing the balance that could
off*
In the East, it appears to he carry the Pirates a long way
The biggest key for Riverside is
anybody's ballgam e
No two
coaches in the league picked the for player<s> to emerge who w ill get
same combination of "teams to the ball to the big boys
"W e need for someone to
watch" In the East, and the only
agreement is that there is no real emerge," says French "We need
an assertive leader who ran take
favorite
Even the secret to winning the charge Right now there are three
East remains elusive
"The first or four guys, any of whom could fill
team to establish themsell could tie that role "
French is hopeful that the return
the team to heat.” stated Steve York
of Stanfield, while Pilot Rock men of the injured Jim Putman at the
tor Deacon Perkins observed "The point could lie the answer to his
needs
last month of the season w ill pro
"Right now we have to go with
bably decide the East It's totally up
whoever is hot. which may be a
for gratis "
We've
I >ne factor to consider in picking a different guy every night
done that before, but it's better to
winner should be the "football car
ryover" effect
At some schools have someone lake charge "
The Pirates will once again oper
football injuries have slowed basket
ate th e ir "o p p o rtu n ist running
hall development At others, basket
hall coaches w ill either try to game," taking the break at dear
capitalize on the success of the opportunities, but otherwise setting
football team or try to erase the up the offense
When asked about the team's
stigma of losing, as the case may be
"We just
The boys coaches of the CBC ure goals, French replied
as happy w ith the new bench rules as want to take It one step at a time "
were the girls coaches, lining up Eventually, the Pirates would love
to make the final eight in Pendleton
with a barrage of necessarily anony
"We have a g o o d size and good
mous comments "The rulemakers
want the coaches to do the officials experience, and we play good
defense." says French If some
job for them and " I don't under
stand w hy »5 percent of the coaches pieces fall into place for Kiverside It
have to pay for the mistakes of the could be a very "good" season for
other 5 percent" and " It cramps my Pirate fans
Wahtonka
style I can't coach properly from
“ One good team from the West
the bench The players can't even
won't make the District Tourna
hear me,"
Despite the complaints, the early ment " So says veteran Wahtonka
season indications are that the rules head roach Vic Kirchoffer as he
are being administered with an eye prepares his Eagles for what looks
toward common sense
Still the to be a tough battle wtih Wasco
County and Riverside in the CBC
doubt remains Stated one coach
" I f they 're going to back off the rule West
Early in the season, the Eagles
now . I hope they do It all season I'd
sure hate to get in a late season have fallen behind in basketball
game and get a " T " when they preparation, according to Kirchof
fer “ We got a late start because of
hadn t called it all season "
Kor the contenders, the pot of gold football, and the weather has cost us
at the end of the rainbow is that the some practice, also," says Kirchof
fer
District. Regional and State lour
Don't take the comment about
nevs are all set for the Armory in
Pendleton District 7A didn't have football as a lament, however, as the
any teams at the State last year, as Eagles are counting on their success
Wasco County and Stanfield both in foot ball iCBC champs i to carry
over into basketball
were knocked out at the Kegmnals
Depth is a major concern for the
Kor CBC coaches, the hope this year
Eagles in the early going, but
is for a reverse Horace Greeley,
hoping they can challenge the Kirchoffer hopes that the problem
powers of the Valley to "Come will be relieved at Christmas time,
when his team w ill receive some
East" to Pendleton to meet them
new players
W asco County
For now, the heart of Wahtonka's
If would probably qualify as the
byword for Wasco County Coach club is the only two players return
ing with significant varsity expen
John Howie as his charges prepare
ence S 'lI" senior John Shocker and
for the '85 '86 campaign
If All
Everything center Jeff Hull can 6'3‘ senior Randy Seibel are the only-
experienced returning Eagles, and
make a successful recovery from
knee surgery, the Bedsides could be Kirchoffer w ill count on them to
team w ith 6’2 " senior K urt
a contender for state honors If Hull
McConnell as the building blocks of
has trouble coming hack, the men
his club
from M.uipin could be spectators
Early reports from around the
come playoff time
league rate the Eagles as a solid
The Bedsides have gotten the
team, carrying excellent size
opposite treatment this year than
Kirchoffer w ill count
on those
they got last season, when they were
factors, plus he expects "defense
virtually ingnored bv the polls At
and rebounding" to hold the key to
one point Wasco was one of only two
his team's eventual success
unbeaten teams left in the State, but
From every indication, making
had not cracked the top ten This
the playoffs in the West is very much
year , only defending champ Gervais
a numbers game By season's end.
ranks ahead of Wasco Countv
Go West Young Man Horace
Greeley
It's doubtful that Mr Greeley had
the Columbia Basin Conference in
mind when giving advice to young
men of the 19th century, but hu
words nicely summarize the CBC
boys outlook for this season
In a surprising, display sf agrt.-
m rnt, the coaches of District 7 A see
the power of the conferences coming
from the Western Division, as Wasco
County, Kiverside and Wahtonka
are all draw mg raves as the pick of
the litter In both halves, however
the coaches see the races as too
close to call
In the West, defending District
champ Wasco County returns every
single player from a Cinderella
season that carried them to the
Regional final
Tall and talented
R iverside returns a substantial
nucleus of a playoff team from last
year, while the Wahtonka Eagle*
have opened a few eyes with their
early season play Even Sherman
County looks to be substantially
improved from a woeful I IS mark a
year ago
Much of the supense in the West
w ill center on the knee of league
MVP Jeff Hull. Wasco County cen
ter
Hull was injured in football
season, and as yet has not played for
the Kedsides this year Given the
strength in the West. Hull's knee
could tell the tale for W asco and the
rest of the division
" It's spooky," says Wasco coach
John Howie "We re the defending
Ihstricl champs, have everybody
hack, and may not make the play
Wahtonka hopes that it's number is
up
Sherman County
Sherman County is in the unenvi
able position of trying to makr up
ground from the toughest spot puss
ible the bottom of Ihe t'B< West
Ia s i year was disastrous for the
Huskies, as they could claim only
une win all year long
It would
appear that prospects are brighter
this year, and first-year head coach
Ron Townsend sees brighter days
ahead
"We re weak fundamentally but
we re working up." says Townsend,
who previously has served as head
coach at The Dalles High h M
"We're very small, but we'd still
like to run when we get the chance,
says Townsend "We II try to play
good defense and try to play a
pattern running game
The Huskies carry only three
seniors on their roster, and all
reports indicate that the underclass
men carry the promise of better
days ahead Townsend will count on
6'2" sophomore Bill Martin and
S'10" junior Tracy Fields as the
catalysts for his club
Sherman County has shown
marked improvement this year hav
ing already bagged more wins than
a year ago It's possible that the
Huskies could be the most improved
team in the league and still finish
last, given the competition But that
won t stop SC from causing a few
headaches for other teams before
the season is over
Stanfield
At first blush it would appear to be
a rebuilding year for Stanfirld.
coming on the heels of a 1» 4 season
which saw the Tigers advance to the
Regionals before being knocked out
by Grant Union
Not so. says
thud vear head coach Steve York
"Rebuilding doesn t really apply
when you have some continuity in
your program," says York The
infusion of some bright young talent
doesn't hurt either
In the early going. 6'5" sophomore
Tony Brown has been the most
talked about newcomer in the
league The addition of Brown could
help the Tigers rase the loss by
graduation of all but two rontn
butors from last year
York w ill count on those two
returners as keys to his ballclub.
looking inside to Jeff Walker i6'o"
seniori and outside to Howard Wag
nor • S' 11" senior!
There are some holes to fill for the
Tigers, however
York sees his
team as a little thin, and a little
small "Our depth is not good "
claims York, "and we re not very
big W e need to count on defense and
rebounding as keys "
York has been fairly well pleased
with his team in the early going
"We've played some decent ball so
far the defense isn't where it
should be. but the offense has been
okay "
Like every one else in the East. the
Tigers would love to qualify for the
District tourney
" It's a realistic
goal for all five teams, says York.
"It's not out of anybody's reach "
The reach of Stanfirld may well
depend on the reach of Tony Brown
and other youngsters
If they
develop, the sky's the lim it
Umatilla
Don't feel sorry for new head
coach Kingsley Way man when he
says that he doesn 1 know much
about the history of his ballclub
He'd rather not know
Way man left his post as assistant
roach at Eastern Oregon State
College to come to U m atilla
"because I wanted my own oppor
(unity "
He sees early growing
pains for his Vikings, but hopes that
the dividends w ill be later improve
ment
"The players are very weak on
fundamentals they seem to have a
lack of court savvy, but I can see
improvement." says Wayman
In attempting to improve last
year's mark of 8 12, the Vikings will
look to Wayne Sehman >6 3 senior
who Wayman says is "playing
well " Sehman w ill be expected to
carry the load while several players
heal from football injuries
(>nr
such player is senior Dan Kurtz,
whose shoulder injury is not football
related, but which has made him a
day t o - d a y ^ M ^ o j ^ w j ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^
Wayman feels that it w ill take
time for his players to adjust to a
new system, but he can see some
definite progress
"Hopefully we
can peak at the end of the season."
The carryover from football is
being counted on at Umatilla, also
"Everyone of our players played
football." says Wayman "There is
a good attitude carryover from
that " In setting goals, then, per
haps the basketball team could
look to the football team If they
reach the same level it'll mean
playoff time in Umatilla this year
Heppner
Heppner coach Brent F.ggers also
sees the CBC East as a dogfight, but
appropriately the Mustangs are
counting on some horses to carry the
day
Led by 6 2 seniors Todd Lindsay
and Keith Kennison. the Mustangs
will be able to employ some inside
muscle
The key then becomes
being able to flex those muscles
muscles
"Our biggest key coming into the
pre season games is to find a point
guard," says Eggers
Both of
Heppner s experienced point guards
from last year were casualties of
graduation and the Mustangs will
need to try to dev elop a court
general from among underclass
men
Eggers will also tie able to count
on 60" wing man Wayne Wilgers.
who is being counted on to supply the
outside atrillery needed to open up
the lane for the big men
The
Mustangs are also hoping for a
contribution from 6'2 " post up
player Tony Clement
Eggers is guardedly optimistic
about his ballclub
"They're a
hard working group of kids they 're
fun to coach " Considering that
Heppner has only been to the Ihs
trict tournament once in Ihe last ten
years half the battle may tie convin
ring the players that they have the
right stuff If Eggers ran do that , his
team may tie more fun to coach than
ever
Pilot Rock
The Kockrts have already suf
fered their biggest loss of Ihe year,
so from here on in it could gel better
in Ihe Rock
Everybody knows that Ken Keuhl
transferred to Pendleton that he
gave the Burkaroos one of the links
they needed to become a top 10 AAA
football team What they forget is
that Keuhl was also probably the
best basketball player in the CBC
East
Coach Deacon Perkins
accepts the loss of Keuhl. while
acknowledging that it hurts
"Those kind of kids only come
along once in awhile, says Perkins
Ills interests are in football, and it
was a good move for him ”
Meanwhile back at the ranch, the
Rockets will try to put a winless
football season behind them and
start anew But it isn t easy
" It s frustrating, says third year
boss Perkins, "the kids don't know
how to win they re playtng not to
lose
Pilot Rock has lost some dose
games early in the basketball sea
son. and Perkins sees it as part of
the learning process "M aturity and
consistency are our biggest keys
right now
The Rockets have faced a very
tough pre season slate so far. and
Perkins believes that it can only help
his team
The only returners for Ihe Rockets
w ill be counted on to carry the hall
They arc 6 3 senior Rob Sewell and
5'10" senior Gary Longhorn Per
kins is also hoping for help from
newcomer Rick Rasmussen, a soph
more
When asked to point out his team 's
strength. Perkins is hard pressed
"We're kind of in limbo we plav well
in spurts, but we re inconsistent
We'll count on pressure defense and
hustle and enthusiasm
At most schools, a comment like
that would be a tip off of a lean year
Talk to Ihe coaches around the
league, however, and they are ever
wary of The Rock and its solid
tradition In the wild. wild. East, it
would be foolish to count Ihe Rockets
out just yet
Ì*
This year, roach Larry Stevens
would like to see his club hit instead
of miss
"F ulfilling potential i> really the
key at thu level of play, xayt
Steven»
"Moat kids have more
talent than they exhibit, it's just a
matter of making it come out "
The TigerScots w ill count on depth
to make up for a lack of experience
Steven» feel» that he can go as many
as eleven players deep on hi» bench
which helps eliminate the worry of
foul trouble
Last year. Steven» third at WM,
was an exercise in frustration for the
TigerScots. who finished third in the
East-one game behind Pilot Rock-
despite whipping the Rockets th re e
times
This year, Stevens sees the East
as "a real toss up while conceding
that the Western Division holds the
power
In terms of his own team. Stevens
won t count on any one individual.
hut w ill strive for the team concept
"We don't have any real big
guns." slated Stevens, "we could
have any one of 6.7 or 8 kids as Ihe
leading scorer on a given night "
On a team showing a fair mix of
seniors and underclassmen, the
TigerScols hope to parlay "defen
sive teamwork" into a successful
season If they do it cojzizi-he plavoff
tune again in Athena Weston, after a
year's absence
_
S p jre ltm er,
D ecem ber l i
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