thecourtpage7byTimDevaneybyTimDevaneyFriday,February27,2009TimDevaneypleaseseeROaRK,page7pleaseseeCO
1
e life of a fan isn’t all that fun. It’s dramatic for sure. But fun? Not quite. Unless you were a Chicago Bulls fan during the Michael Jor- dan era, your team is bound to disappoint you at some point, and that’s definitely not fun. Last year when the Cornerstone women’s basketball team lost in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament, it was completely devastating. e Golden Eagles did their best, but the true champion exploited their holes. Most fans have some type of championship taste, but few are blessed to cheer for teams that constantly win championships. At Cornerstone we remember the 1999 men’s basketball team that won the national championship. But that was a long time ago. It leaves fans questioning if they will ever win another champion- ship, and what their team must improve. ere are tons of theories out there and fans are always trying to nitpick at their teams to see which one fits the best. But at some point even impec- cable theories will fail. No team will play a perfect game each time out, and in a single elimination tourna- ment like the NAIA National Tournament, teams can’t afford any failure. But great defenses do break down against better superstars, and brilliant shooters have their off-nights. Hustle players come up short occasionally, and coaches make bad decisions sometimes. e women’s team looked poised to win the national championship aſter it beat then-No. 3 Davenport convinc- ingly on Jan. 21, but one week later Aquinas dominated them. You can’t guarantee when you will have a bad game, but you can guarantee it will happen at some point in every championship run, and the only way to cope with it is to be able to consistently win the ugly games you should lose. It’s the teams that have their heart broken, only to turn around and break the other team’s heart two seconds later that win championships. at’s what the women’s team did in its Aquinas rematch last Saturday when they gave up a go-ahead basket with 12 seconds leſt, and then Jenna Plewes came down the court and scored the game- winner seven seconds later. Championship teams are the ones that can take the punches and hang in there until the end when they find a way to win. Every team will have its off games, but champion- ship teams respond by win- ning those games when all the signs point toward a loss. Winning’s an attitude that says, “We’re going to win no matter what.” And then you go out and do it. at’s what Plewes did to beat Aquinas last Saturday when she said aſter the game, “I was just like, ‘We’re not los- ing.’ I just wanted to win.” Sometimes it’s easy. Some- times it’s hard. But champions always find a way to get it done. Sport: Cornerstone women’s soccer team. Double major: Exercise science Hobbies: Running, swimming, singing, dancing, watching movies, playing soccer, going to parties, reading, traveling, meeting new people, hanging out with friends. 1988: Born in Chicago, along with her twin sister, who also goes to CU and is on the soccer team. 1991: Started playing soccer at age 3. 1988-2007: Moved five times to four different states. 2007: CU Soccer team went to nationals in Florida. 2008: Went on a missions trip to Dominican Republic. S PORTS Friday, February 27, 2009 Ronald Bates is sneaky on the court PAGE 7 Track: WHAC championship meet results PAGE 7 MORE ... Y OUR Page 6 ATHLETE SPOTLIGHT: ASHLEY MORROW, SOPHOMORE Tim Devaney Your Sports Editor tim_c_devaney@ cornerstone.edu BIO BOX • Tim Devaney is a CU junior majoring in journalism. • He is from Fort Kent, Maine • He once caught a baseball with his knees to win the little league championship What it takes to win a national championship SPORTS PHOTOS MEN’S BASKETBALL SATURDAY: WHAC TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS TUESDAY: WHAC TOURNAMENT FINALS SATURDAY: WHAC TOURNAMENT SEMI-FINALS, 1 P.M. MONDAY: WHAC TOURNAMENT FINALS, 7:30 P.M. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL Photos taken by Herald photographers Robbie Scudder and Aleka Thrash. BY TIM DEVANEY Your Sports editor H e’s not the superstar of the bas- ketball team — or even on the roster. But Kyle Cohen takes his role — all 15 seconds of it — just as seriously as any member of the team. And without him, team captain Matt Kingshott would be lost. Cohen is his personal one-man-warm-up-squad. Before each home game, he’s the fan who runs out from the student section to shoulder- bump Kingshott in mid-air as part of a pregame introduction routine for the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer and rebounder. As the starters are intro- duced, Cohen shakes the jitters out, waiting for King- shott’s name to be called last. en he races several steps onto the court and leaps in the air to meet Kingshott near the free throw line three feet above ground level. “It brings a new level of intensity for me,” Kingshott said. “It gets me ready for the game mentally. is is just another way to get me focused.” For Cohen, it’s his one moment of glory — his moment of sheer joy and excitement. His 15 seconds of fame. And Cohen, a junior, wouldn’t miss it for anything. “I was late for work. I was like 15 minutes late,” Cohen said about the recent home- coming game. “I didn’t want to blow off Kingshott, and I thought that would show a sign of ... commitment. I don’t want him to get mad before a game, or discouraged.” Inspired is more like it. “at’s truly dedicated to the side-bump,” Kingshott said several days aſter the game when he realized Cohen showed up late for work to squeeze the side-bump into his schedule. “at’s impressive. “I just see Cohen as a dedi- cated Cornerstone basketball fan. I think it’s another way for him to get involved in the basketball games. He’s at almost all the games, and he’s always near the front row cheering.” Cohen spends all day preparing for his moment in the spotlight. “Yeah, it’s more like I have to focus mentally, you know? And have in my mind what I’m going to do, what it’s going to look like, and make sure I don’t mess anything up. “I almost did the game before last. My shoes were wet and I slipped on the floor. I seemed to regain my momentum, but it didn’t seem like as good of a shoulder- bump as I wanted it to be.” He analyzes each shoulder-bump to see how they can improve. “I noticed that every time we jump, he has his handout and Need a side bump? Roark: The champ who missed out BY TIM DEVANEY Your Sports editor Sometimes the best opportu- nities in life are just one step fur- ther. Too bad Lance Roark didn’t take that last step. It has been 18 years since Roark joined the men’s basket- ball program at Cornerstone University. He’s been a Golden Eagle for 17 of them, including this season. But it’s that one year gap that still haunts him — at least that’s the running joke on the team. e team won its only NAIA National Championship in 1999, but Roark wasn’t on the team — officially. He took the boys bas- ketball head coaching position at Sparta High School. Not a bad move — just bad timing, consid- ering he missed the only NAIA championship in team history. “We always tell him to take a year off so we can win another national championship,” head coach Kim “Coach E” Elders said. “Coach E always brings it up,” Roark said. “Coach E always rags me about it. e guys always tell me if they want to win another championship, then I’ve got to quit for another year. at’s the big joke.” e truth is, if Roark had real- ly taken the 1999 season off, the outcome may have been differ- ent. While he wasn’t receiving a paycheck from Cornerstone that season, he was still very much a part of the team. “I was involved with the team that whole year anyway,” Roark said. “I was still supportive of the team. I was still around all the guys. I would go to games and root them on. So I still felt like I was involved.” “I’m still a part of Cornerstone basketball,” he added. “at will never change.” e joke originally caught Roark off guard. “I didn’t even really think about it [at first],” he said about not officially being a coach. “Coach E’s the one who brought it up to me. [Soon aſter we won the championship], he said, ‘Yeah, it’s too bad you couldn’t be here the year we won it.’” But Roark was there on the sidelines — and they did win it. Please see ROARK, Page 7 Please see COHEN, Page 7 Herald/Robbie Scudder MATT KINGSHOTT: and Kyle Cohen side-bump during pregame introductions.
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Ronald Bates is sneaky on the court page 7 by Tim Devaney by Tim Devaney Friday, February 27, 2009 Tim Devaney please see ROaRK, page 7 please see COHen, page 7 bump as I wanted it to be.” He analyzes each shoulder-bump to see how they can improve. “I noticed that every time we jump, he has his handout and reading, traveling, meeting new people, hanging out with friends. Your Sports Editor tim_c_devaney@ cornerstone.edu MAtt KiNgshOtt: and Kyle Cohen side-bump during pregame introductions.
Transcript of thecourtpage7byTimDevaneybyTimDevaneyFriday,February27,2009TimDevaneypleaseseeROaRK,page7pleaseseeCO
The life of a fan isn’t all that fun. It’s dramatic for sure. But fun? Not quite.
Unless you were a Chicago Bulls fan during the Michael Jor-dan era, your team is bound to disappoint you at some point, and that’s definitely not fun.
Last year when the Cornerstone women’s basketball team lost in the second round of the NAIA National Tournament, it was completely devastating. The Golden Eagles did their best, but the true champion exploited their holes.
Most fans have some type of championship taste, but few are blessed to cheer for teams that constantly win championships. At Cornerstone we remember the 1999 men’s basketball team that won the national championship. But that was a long time ago.
It leaves fans questioning if they will ever win another champion-ship, and what their team must improve. There are tons of theories out there and fans are always trying to nitpick at their teams to see which one fits the best.
But at some point even impec-cable theories will fail. No team will play a perfect game each time out, and in a single elimination tourna-ment like the NAIA National Tournament, teams can’t afford any failure. But great defenses do break down against better superstars, and brilliant shooters have their off-nights. Hustle players come up short occasionally, and coaches make bad decisions sometimes.
The women’s team looked poised to win the national championship after it beat then-No. 3 Davenport convinc-ingly on Jan. 21, but one week later Aquinas dominated them.
You can’t guarantee when you will have a bad game, but you can guarantee it will happen at some point in every championship run, and the only way to cope with it
is to be able to consistently win the ugly games you should lose.
It’s the teams that have their heart broken, only to turn around and break the other team’s heart two seconds later that win championships.
That’s what the women’s team did in its Aquinas rematch last Saturday when they gave up a go-ahead basket with 12 seconds left, and then Jenna Plewes came down the court and scored the game-winner seven seconds later.
Championship teams are the ones that can take the punches and hang in there until the end when they find a way to win.
Every team will have its off games, but champion-ship teams respond by win-ning those games when all the
signs point toward a loss.Winning’s an attitude
that says, “We’re going to win no matter what.” And then you go out and do it.
That’s what Plewes did to beat Aquinas last Saturday when she said after the game, “I was just like, ‘We’re not los-ing.’ I just wanted to win.”
Sometimes it’s easy. Some-times it’s hard. But champions always find a way to get it done.
Sport: Cornerstone women’s soccer team.
Double major: Exercise science
Hobbies: Running, swimming, singing, dancing, watching movies, playing soccer, going to parties,
reading, traveling, meeting new people, hanging out with friends.
1988: Born in Chicago, along with her twin sister, who also goes to CU and is on the soccer team.
1991: Started playing soccer at age 3.
1988-2007: Moved five times to four different states.
2007: CU Soccer team went to nationals in Florida.2008: Went on a missions trip to Dominican Republic.
SportSFriday, February 27, 2009
Ronald Bates is sneaky on the court page 7
Track: WHAC championship meet results page 7
MORE ...
Your
Page 6
ATHlETE SPoTligHT: ASHlEy MoRRoW, SoPHoMoRE
Tim DevaneyYour Sports Editor
biO bOx• Tim Devaney is a CU junior majoring in journalism.• He is from Fort Kent, Maine• He once caught a baseball with his knees to win the little league championship
What it takes to win a national championship
spORts phOtOsMEN’s bAsKEtbALLsAtURDAY: WhAC tOURNAMENt sEMi-FiNALstUEsDAY: WhAC tOURNAMENt FiNALs
sAtURDAY: WhAC tOURNAMENt sEMi-FiNALs, 1 p.M.MONDAY: WhAC tOURNAMENt FiNALs, 7:30 p.M.
WOMEN’s bAsKEtbALL
Photos taken by Herald photographers Robbie Scudder and Aleka Thrash.
by Tim DevaneyYour Sports editor
H e’s not the superstar of the bas-
ketball team — or even on the roster.
But Kyle Cohen takes his role — all 15 seconds of it — just as seriously as any member of the team. And without him, team captain Matt Kingshott would be lost.
Cohen is his personal one-man-warm-up-squad.
Before each home game, he’s the fan who runs out from the student section to shoulder-bump Kingshott in mid-air as part of a pregame introduction routine for the Golden Eagles’ leading scorer and rebounder.
As the starters are intro-duced, Cohen shakes the jitters out, waiting for King-shott’s name to be called last. Then he races several steps onto the court and leaps in the air to meet Kingshott near the free throw line three feet above ground level.
“It brings a new level of intensity for me,” Kingshott said. “It gets me ready for the game mentally. This is just another way to get me focused.”
For Cohen, it’s his one moment of glory — his moment of sheer joy and excitement. His 15 seconds of fame. And Cohen, a junior, wouldn’t miss it for anything.
“I was late for work. I was like 15 minutes late,” Cohen said about the recent home-coming game. “I didn’t want to blow off Kingshott, and I thought that would show a sign of ... commitment. I don’t want him to get mad before a game, or discouraged.”
Inspired is more like it.“That’s truly dedicated to
the side-bump,” Kingshott said several days after the game when he realized Cohen showed up late for work to squeeze the side-bump into his schedule. “That’s impressive.
“I just see Cohen as a dedi-cated Cornerstone basketball fan. I think it’s another way for him to get involved in the basketball games. He’s at almost all the games, and he’s always
near the front row cheering.”Cohen spends all day
preparing for his moment in the spotlight.
“Yeah, it’s more like I have to focus mentally, you know? And have in my mind what I’m going to do, what it’s going
to look like, and make sure I don’t mess anything up.
“I almost did the game before last. My shoes were wet and I slipped on the floor. I seemed to regain my momentum, but it didn’t seem like as good of a shoulder-
bump as I wanted it to be.”He analyzes each
shoulder-bump to see how they can improve.
“I noticed that every time we jump, he has his handout and
Need a side bump? Roark: the champ who missed outby Tim DevaneyYour Sports editor
Sometimes the best opportu-nities in life are just one step fur-ther. Too bad Lance Roark didn’t take that last step.
It has been 18 years since Roark joined the men’s basket-ball program at Cornerstone University. He’s been a Golden Eagle for 17 of them, including this season.
But it’s that one year gap that still haunts him — at least that’s the running joke on the team.
The team won its only NAIA National Championship in 1999, but Roark wasn’t on the team — officially. He took the boys bas-ketball head coaching position at Sparta High School. Not a bad move — just bad timing, consid-ering he missed the only NAIA championship in team history.
“We always tell him to take a year off so we can win another national championship,” head coach Kim “Coach E” Elders said.
“Coach E always brings it up,” Roark said. “Coach E always rags me about it. The guys always tell me if they want to win another championship, then I’ve got to quit for another year. That’s the big joke.”
The truth is, if Roark had real-ly taken the 1999 season off, the outcome may have been differ-ent. While he wasn’t receiving a paycheck from Cornerstone that season, he was still very much a part of the team.
“I was involved with the team that whole year anyway,” Roark said. “I was still supportive of the team. I was still around all the guys. I would go to games and root them on. So I still felt like I was involved.”
“I’m still a part of Cornerstone basketball,” he added. “That will never change.”
The joke originally caught Roark off guard.
“I didn’t even really think about it [at first],” he said about not officially being a coach. “Coach E’s the one who brought it up to me. [Soon after we won the championship], he said, ‘Yeah, it’s too bad you couldn’t be here the year we won it.’”
But Roark was there on the sidelines — and they did win it.
please see ROaRK, page 7please see COHen, page 7
Herald/Robbie Scudder
MAtt KiNgshOtt: and Kyle Cohen side-bump during pregame introductions.
