Bears Hoops Teams Ready To Hit The Court
PHOTOGALLERY: Men's team practice #1
GREELEY -- The madness doesn't start until March, but the Bears' quest to join the dance begins tonight.
Jaime White and Tad Boyle are coming off their best seasons at the helm of their respective Northern Colorado basketball programs, and they're both excited to unveil their 2008-09 teams tonight with their first practices of the season.
White will start things off with a 5-7 p.m. practice inside Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion, and Boyle's men's team will follow up with a 7-9 p.m. practice inside Butler-Hancock.
Both practices are open to the public -- as are all Northern Colorado practices.
For White, tonight's practice will begin a journey to build on the success of the 2007-08 season. The Bears finished 14-16 overall and 8-8 in the Big Sky Conference last season, and that was good enough for a berth in the Big Sky Tournament in the team's first year of being postseason eligible at the NCAA Division I level.
And the cupboard's not bare for White's Northern Colorado team.
Danielle Hagen, last year's leading rebounder and scorer, has graduated, but a four-headed monster returns in senior Whitley Cox (20.1 points per game last season before suffering a season-ending injury), senior Jamie Schroeder (13.4 points, 6.3 rebounds), sophomore Kate Kevorken (10.8 points, 70 three-pointers last season) and sophomore Courtney Stoermer (10 points and a team-leading 115 assists).
On the men's side, a definite buzz is beginning to build around Boyle's Bears. Northern Colorado finished 13-16 and 6-10 in the Big Sky last season, but that was a marked improvement over the team's 4-24 and 2-14 marks the year before.
Leading scorer and rebounder Jabril Banks (13.2 points, 5.8 rebounds) is back for his senior season, as is senior Robert Palacios (5.8 points, 5.7 rebounds and a team-leading 45 steals), and juniors Jefferson Mason (9.4 points, 5.5 rebounds) and Will Figures (7.5 points).
It's shaping up to be an exciting winter at Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion this season -- come on out and take a look at what Boyle and White are building.
TAD BOYLE'S MEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON SCHEDULE
- Friday, Oct. 17: 7-9 p.m. (Butler-Hancock)
- Saturday, Oct. 18: 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
(Practice facility)
- Sunday, Oct. 19: 7-9 p.m. (Butler-Hancock)
- Monday, Oct. 20: 4:15-6:30 p.m.
(Butler-Hancock)
- Tuesday, Oct. 21: 3-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Wednesday, Oct. 22: OFF
- Thursday, Oct. 23: 2-4:15 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Friday, Oct. 24: 4-6:30 p.m.
(Butler-Hancock)
- Saturday, Oct. 25: 9:30-11:30 a.m. (Practice
facility)
- Sunday, Oct. 26: OFF
- Monday, Oct. 27: 4:15-6:30 p.m.
(Butler-Hancock)
- Tuesday, Oct. 28: 3-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Wednesday, Oct. 29: 4-6 p.m.
(Butler-Hancock)
- Thursday, Oct. 30: 3-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Friday, Oct. 31: 3-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Saturday, Nov. 1: Exhibition vs. Black Hill
State -- 7:05 p.m. (Butler-Hancock)
JAIME WHITE'S WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PRESEASON SCHEDULE
- Friday, Oct. 17: 5-7 p.m. (Butler-Hancock)
- Saturday, Oct. 18: 8-10 a.m. (Practice
facility)
- Sunday, Oct. 19: OFF
- Monday, Oct. 20: 2-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Tuesday, Oct. 21: 2:30-4:30
(Butler-Hancock)
- Wednesday, Oct. 22: 2-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Thursday, Oct. 23: 5:30-8 a.m. (Practice
facility)
- Friday, Oct. 24: Scrimmage, 4-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Saturday, Oct. 25: 8-10 a.m. (Practice
facility)
- Sunday, Oct. 26: OFF
- Monday, Oct. 27: 2-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Tuesday, Oct. 28: 4:15-6:30 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Wednesday, Oct. 29: 2-5 p.m. (Practice
facility)
- Thursday, Oct. 30: TBA
- Friday, Oct. 31: 2-4:15 p.m.
(Butler-Hancock)
- Saturday, Nov. 1: Exhibition vs. Regis -- 2
p.m. (Butler-Hancock)
