STMA Showcase: Notes from the seats

by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
(updated 7/20/2009)

The last of the Breakdown Summer Showcases took place this weekend with several varsity and junior varsity divisions being played at St. Michael-Albertville High School and Middle School. Some new talent was on display yesterday although the results were fairly similar as once again Spring Lake Park and Champlin Park walked away victorious. The following are player and team notes taken from yesterday’s action.

• After three years of competing for the state tournament behind Nick Haugen, Rockford fell to .500 this past year. However, if yesterday’s performance from sophomore-to-be Nick Monseen is any indication, the star power is back in Rockford. After averaging about five points a game last year Monseen should be able to break out as a sophomore. He’s a good athlete at about 6-foot-3 who is comfortable handling the basketball already with good skills. Rockford beat Monticello 44 to 22 in the final game and Monseen’s late scoring expanded the lead from strong advantage to blow out category. Monseen is a crafty scorer who can get to the line time and time again. His touch looked solid allowing him to hit most of his several free throw attempts.
• The Windom Area Eagles went 17-11 with a lot of youth in their line-up last year and expectations will be higher out west. There is a lot scoring ability throughout their line-up but the guys that get the most attention are freshman twins Jake and Lee Holt. I believe wearing 45 was Jake Holt who showed off a nice left-handed shooting stroke from the elbow. Meanwhile, on the inside Lee Holt scored on the block using crafty moves, good footwork, and a strong upper body to finish plays.
• Be prepared to see the name Derek Sprang from Irondale as one of the top scorers in the Twin Cities the next couple years. As a sophomore he led the Knights with almost 14 points a game while earning all-conference honors. Yesterday Sprang broke open a close game with Windom by hitting four field goals late including a slashing score that was tear-dropped over Jake Holt and then a cold blooded triple from the corner.
• Maple Grove post Sam Schwalbe has been impressive at a pair of Breakdown Summer Showcases now. Fighting in the post Schwalbe is like a bulldozer clearing space for the initial pass and he’s finishing a high percentage of his attempts.
• Champlin Park won yet another Summer Showcase this time defeating Maple Grove in the final. The game was close for a while but the Rebel athletic ability was to much in the end for the Crimson. Seniors D’Andre Williamson and Kyle Zimmerman and junior T.J. Okafor had their way around the basket catching lobs for scores, running the floor to produce, and scoring on several second half putbacks. The depth and athletic ability of Champlin Park should make the state contenders in a year where there is no clear-cut favorite and it was the difference in the 61 to 38 win over Maple Grove. The Rebs also have some youth in Davis and Anthony Hill who could play as underclassmen.
• Yesterday Apollo beat Henry Sibley by three points in OT, Sibley beat Forest Lake, and Forest Lake beat Apollo in pool play. So how did they break down who played Spring Lake Park in the title game? Points given up. With three seconds left Apollo had given up 100 points through two games and Forest Lake 101. Knowing they needed to win by a ten point margin to list higher in the pool Zach Riedeman raced to the other end to dunk at the buzzer giving Forest Lake a one point advantage and a higher ranking. As it turned out Henry Sibley had given up the least and they would play for the title but it was an interesting end to the game nonetheless. Forest Lake beat Apollo 58-48.
• Spring Lake Park defeated full strength Osseo and Buffalo teams yesterday then defeated Henry Sibley, who had the majority of their players on the floor as well, in the championship. Elijah Sabah had his share of troubles with Jake Kreuser who blocked four of Sabah’s shot attempts. After a struggle to produce for most of the game Sabah did help put Sibley away 49-47 in the closing minutes.
• The Breakdown noticed it forgot about Sean Scott when it produced a top 50 2012 list last week and Scott’s work ethic against Sibley screamed oops. He battled a bigger but now 15-pound lighter Mike Rostampour (because of mono) neck and neck. Also, lightning quick point guard Derek Dahl was blowing through the Sibley lane all game and Steve Bailey was the loud vocal leader who had his team playing defense from start to finish.
• Sibley’s Jordan Jackson is going to be a big time scorer next year. He had dunks, tear-drops, and acrobatic lay-ins scoring about half of Sibley’s points yesterday. With size and athletic ability Sibley will most definitely have a backcourt scoring option next year and even though they have such productive size Jackson may be the top scoring option.
• The point guard battle of the day was between STMA’s senior-to-be Jack Mooney and Big Lake’s Michael Stephens. Mooney has Stephens in size and experience but for the first part of the game it was Stephens who had the upper hand. He beat Mooney to the basket with a hard drive right then extended to finger roll of the glass over the bigs. Shortly after Stephens used a hesitation dribble to get Mooney leaning and to shift the defense and as all that happened Stephens exploded to the rim for a score. And when Mooney looked frustrated with his team behind he took his eye off the ball and in that time Stephens picked his pocket for an easy lay-up. Just when you wanted to say that Stephens was picking Mooney apart, the tide turned towards the veteran. Mooney used his size advantage and some quick dribble drive moves to take Stephens to the bucket four times late in the game. But in the end, Stephens and Big Lake emerged with the victory.
• Wearing number 33 for STMA was an the athletic Joe Carpenter standing about 6-foot-3 with athletic ability and a very nice touch. That combination of talent will most certainly introduce this player to some recruiting looks down the road from colleges. Watch out for this athletic shooter on STMA.

STMA Summer Showcase

The Showcase has been moved to STMA from Rogers due to facility sprinkler system repair in Rogers. Please note, games scheduled at Big Woods Elementary have all been moved to Fieldstone Elementary. Please check back periodically for any updates to the Showcase...it is recommended that you print final brackets/schedules on Friday due to possible changes.

STMA Boys - July 19:Games at St. Michael Albertville High School, Middle School, and Fieldstone Elementary

(MAP)

Boys Varsity Yellow (St. Francis, Braham, STMA, Big Lake, Mahtomedi, Anoka, Delano, Hutchinson)

Boys Varsity White(Becker, Monticello, Perham, Rockford, N. St. Paul, Rush City, EVW, Sartell)

Boys Varsity Red(Apollo, Osseo, Forest Lake, Buffalo, Henry Sibley, Spring Lake Park)

Boys Varsity Green(Princeton, Holy Family, Zimmerman, Maranatha, Chisago Lakes, Virginia, Howard Lake Waverly, Warroad)

Boys Varsity Blue - UPDATED(July 16th)(Rogers, Irondale, Champlin Park, Maple Grove, Elk River, Windom, Mpls SW, Cooper)

Boys JV Orange ( Irondale II, STMA, Zimmerman, Virginia, Delano, STMA)

Boys JV Black (Holy Family I, Apollo, Spring Lake Park, Irondale I, Maple Grove, Mahtomedi, Forest Lake, Big Lake)

Duberry Creating Interest At Wesleyan

Duberry Creating Interest at Case Western

Champlin vs Forest Lake @ The Breakdown

Kyle Zimmerman, Dylan Hager and D'Andre Williamson are part of a very solid Champlin Park team which competed this past weekend at the Breakdown Event held in Rogers, Minnesota. All three player joined MinnesotaPreps for a post-game audio visit and talk about their success at the Breakdown tournament and their hopes for the coming varsity season.


CP Head Coach, Mark Tuchscherer has high hopes for his squad as well. He noted in a brief discussion following his team's win over Forest that he feels this is one of the best Champlin teams in several years. The team has size and depth, and many of the players have years of experience playing together on the AAU circuit.

The Forest Lake Squad gave the Rebels a run for their money as they cut a 20 point deficit to just a few point loss. Their intensity is apparent in the game slide show.

Hit the links below and learn more about the CP squad as Prep's Michael J. Much visits with several of the players. Check the slide show link for the game in pictures too.


Click here for a visit with Kyle Zimmerman, Dylan Hager and D'Andre Williamson. from Champlin Park.

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Visit our www.mnphotonet.net for hundreds of high resolution game pictures for home delivery.

BSTM July 2009

Rogers Summer Showcase: Stars shine in all divisions of huge tournament

by Ryan James
The BREAKDOWN
posted 06-29-2009


The Breakdown Summer Showcase is held in Rogers twice during the year because of the outstanding facilities and location. This year the demand for teams was so big that one community could not hold everyone for one day and the towns of St. Michael and Albertville were called upon for help. In all nine divisions were put together this weekend so junior varsity and varsity teams could get time on the floor.

Four of the divisions were played at Rogers High School and Sebeka, Irondale, Pequot Lakes, and Champlin Park won them. Sebeka won using their experience as they bring back all but two points per game from last year’s team. Irondale used an Iron Five for much of the tournament but still beat some good big school teams including Maple Grove for the early session title. Pequot Lakes used their combination of size, strength, and depth to defeat several big school teams including Anoka for their division championship. In the top division at the event Champlin Park defeated Forest Lake, Buffalo, and Tartan (41-37) in a five hour span to take home the championship t-shirts.


There were several impressive player performances throughout the day. Some stars shined brighter than before, some players look like they have turned the corner, and this weekend a couple new stars may have been noticed for the state to see.

THE STARS SHINE

The St. Cloud Tech Tigers took the floor with a new group but there was one fresh face. Alex Hanks led his team to two victories this weekend and even though the workload was much more than what Alex had to do this past season the results were still overly positive. Alex made some threes and he did a nice job of breaking opponents down off the dribble either scoring at the rim, getting to the foul line, or creating for others. Hanks has been given a much bigger creation role and after the first weekend of play he looks to have passed the first test with two thumbs up.

Sebeka 6-foot-4 forward Joey Cuperus was a standout as usual finishing in the paint, grabbing boards, and being a defensive presence. Joey also hit a three a couple times this weekend. In the title game against Hutchinson Joey dominated as Sebeka built a near 20-point lead. Hutch came back but there was too much Joey and Sebeka finished the day undefeated with a 56-52 win.

Forest Lakes’s Zach Riedeman was the highlight dunker at Rogers High School. He posterized somebody in the Champlin Park game plus had several other jams in transition. Riedeman scored 17.3 a game last year and can do more than dunk but his jams were the part of his game on display yesterday.

Jasper Duberry was a steady force Sunday running the show and keeping the ball in the hands of the Rebel playmakers. Jasper made teardrops in transition for scores and his passing in the lane was an important factor as Champlin Park beat Tartan for the top division championship. I also thought Jasper was better with his on ball defensive pressure yesterday than he has been in the past.

While Aaron Anderson may be one of the more explosive shooters out there he used his dribble attack in transition and in the halfcourt set to score yesterday against St. Cloud Apollo and Tartan. Anderson used his quickness to create space and his mobility to finish in the lane over bigger players. This type of ability combined with his shot has impressed schools as Aaron recently picked up offers from North Dakota and UM-Crookston.

TOP PERFORMANCES

In the STMA game against Fridley a three point shot was made with seconds to go to tie things up at 47. But at the buzzer a driving pull-up score was made by Tiger senior to be Devin Hemmerich who justifiably was excited and ran to the corner mobbed by his teammates.

In addition to Cuperus, Sebeka’s John Clark (who averaged 13.8 points and 7.4 rebounds as a sophomore last year) was also an active force all over the floor. In many ways Clark is similar to Cuperus but he shoots the ball a little more crisp and more consistently.

Maranatha Christian Academy was up here this weekend and all I keep hearing about is this dunk that Josh Hanson had on Zach Vraa recently. Hanson scored 15.2 last year as a junior and a big senior year should follow.

Mankato East big Sami Onsomu is a raw prospect at 6-foot-6 but he has a very good frame and he moves all right. Sami’s offensive moves are coming along and he’ capable of scoring from 12 feet and in in several ways. He just has to become more consistent with it. Overall Sami is an interesting prospect who should have a strong year in the Big Nine.

Best offensive rebounder at the event? Forest Lake’s Doug Sewell and it wasn’t close. Sewell is a warrior on the glass who just finds his way to loose caroms. It seemed every time I walked by one of his games Doug was either grabbing o-boards or at the foul line.

What about Kyle Zimmerman of Champlin Park? Yes Kyle is right there with Sewell although Doug got the better of the match-up when Forest Lake came back, but Champlin still won. Then CP went on to beat Tartan who didn’t have an answer for Kyle’s crafty play in the paint in the second half of the title game.

Tartan wings Troy Klingsporn and Tim Lubke each had some memorable performances yesterday. Lubke knocked down four triples and scored 18 points in the Titan win over Osseo in front of coaches from Southwest State, St. John’s, UW-Eau Claire, and St. Cloud State. Those coaches were also on hand to check out Manani Beavers of Tartan as well as Aaron Anderson from Osseo.

Klingsporn scored 17 points in the loss to Champlin Park. Troy nailed two deep three-point attempts, he scored in transition raising over traffic, the 6-foot-3 Klingsporn scored strong in the paint in the halfcourt set, and he made his free tosses.

Hassan Abdulkadir of St. Cloud Apollo made a game winning three-pointer as Apollo beat Forest Lake yesterday. After losing initially to Osseo, Apollo came back to defeat Fargo South and Forest Lake winning two of three.

One of the toughest players at the event was Ben Figini. As a sophomore Ben scored 12.7 a game and college coaches say that the thing he is missing is a jumper. Guess what? At one point I watched Ben for about five minutes and he nailed a three, a jumper, and two free throws in that quick time span. Moments later I later I peeked back around a corner to see Figini bump an opposing big to the floor, grab the board, score, and look down at the player like he should not have entered Ben’s domain.

Irondale may not have the most talent when they take the floor but nobody outworks this team. Yesterday Irondale assistant coach Joel Andrychowicz and five Irondale players (for part of the day) traveled north to the showcase and beat Cambridge-Isanti, Sauk Rapids-Rice, and a Maple Grove team that had 12 players who were bigger, stronger, and in cases faster but Irondale outworked them. Down the stretch Irondale guard Danny Blumberg put Maple Grove away with several key free throws as well as some important decisions with the ball in his hands as the Knights went on to win 58-54.

BIG LAKE READY TO BREAK OUT?

Are people out there looking for a sleeper point guard? I think we have found one and his name is Michael Stephens from Big Lake. The left-handed 5-foot-10 Stephens scored five points a game last year for the Hornets as a sophomore but if he plays his junior year like he did this past weekend at the Breakdown Summer Showcase big things should be expected. Against Sebeka there was no stopping Stephens from getting past the first line of defense and into the lane for production. He was able to hang in the air to complete penetrating plays while being fouled and Stephens showed some range making two long jumpers including one trey. Stephens also sat down and was a pest defensively from baseline to baseline.

Big Lake has another couple interesting players in 6-foot-1 shooting guard Chaz Miller and 6-foot-8 big man Tyler Hansen. Both will be seniors next year and both have some ability/potential. The Mississippi 8 is a tough league and the Hornets only won four games in it last year but with Stephens, Miller, and Hansen returning they should be better. That 9-17 overall record should be better too. And we didn’t even mention juniors to be Anthony Saavedra and Micah Sickman who were the 3rd and 4th leading scorers on last year’s team and the top returning scorers for this year’s bunch.

Big Lake had very strong wins over Albany (with Zach Noreen) and Virginia this weekend earning 3rd place. Their lone loss was to Sebeka by seven points.

DRASTIC IMPROVEMENT

This past year I was able to see a couple Delano games and in those contests 6-foot-7 sophomore Mike Yahnke was pretty much ineffective. My oh my has there ever been some work put in by Yahnke as he is easily the most improved player that I have seen over the past couple months.

Sunday I was able to see Mike play two full games against Mankato East and Jamestown (ND). The level of footwork, shooting touch, moves and counter moves, and physical play in Yahnke’s game is increased several levels. Against East big Sami Onsomu, Yahnke scored several times including drop step scores, jump hooks, a face-up jumper, and an elbow jumper. Then against Jamestown the 6-foot-7 Delano banger dominated the game with his scoring and rebounding. At one point he scored four straight field goals including a play where he ran the floor and was rewarded in transition.

Mike has gone from a player that looked very raw to a certain scholarship prospect level player with good footwork. His offensive repertoire is much expanded and he’s learned not only moves and a touch but also counter moves where he finishes with that touch.

Breakdown Summer Showcase Thoughts

My thoughts from Sunday at Minnetonka for the Breakdown Summer Showcase

Blue Pool A
Big Lake wins the pool with wins over GFW and Austin. Austin without Connor Gunderson despite Glory's 1st round playoff lost in Mankato. GFW with 5 points in the 1st 25 minutes of that game vs Big Lake. 38-22 final in an ugly one. 6'8 Center Tyler Hansen for Big Lake is an interesting player. Lanky athlete and can shoot a little. He played well.

Blue Pool BLoaded pool here.
Delano with Darius Clare and Mike Yahnke held off New London-Spicer who had Jayme Moten and Erik Tengwall 57-55. NLS then had too much inside for MACCRAY in a 69-53 win. Seth Hinrichs with 11 in the 2nd half but Shaun Condon only 3 FTs and 2 FG attempts. Condon finishes with 15. Hinrichs in a tough spot having the game of a perimeter player but having to defend the top post player. MACCRAY held off Delano in the last pool game 55-51. MACCRAY up 27-24 at half behind 16 points from their star Shaun Condon. In the 2nd half, when Delano would get close, Condon would make a play. He finishes with 28 in the win. Mike Yahnke with 15 points for Delano. So that means all 3 teams finish 1-1. Delano and NLS finish with the same points allowed so despite a head-head win, we go to the coin flip which Delano thankfully wins.Delano couldn't generate any offense in the championship game vs Big Lake and the Hornets get the surprise championship.

Red Pool A
Apollo with all 3 of their stars from the class of 2011 on hand but it didn't matter vs a loaded Hopkins squad. Hopkins wins 72-49. Zach Stahl really made a case for that 5th spot with his play in this one. Only Riley Dearring missing, but Marvin Singleton, Siyani Chambers, DJ Peterson and Joe Coleman all on hand for the Royals. Cameron Selmer was the only kid from Mankato who made the trip back. Champlin Park shorthanded as Kyle Zimmerman and Jasper Duberry weren't available. But they gave Hopkins all they wanted. CP had a late lead thanks to a Josh Pella steal and layup but a Hopkins 3 and a Dillon Hager miss allows Hopkins to survive 44-40.

Red Pool B
Sibley rolled through Pool B despite not having Jake Kreuser and Jimmy Ryan (2 key components of next year's team). Interesting that Kreuser didn't play on Sunday in Mankato with what appears to be a bum knee.

Red Championship (Hopkins vs Sibley)
This one had some intensity to it. Interesting to hear Hopkins talk smack about Jordan Jackson transferring to Sibley. I found the irony rather humorous. Then the game was chippy at times too as there was some chirping going on. 26-20 Hopkins at the half with Mike Rostampour scoring 8 points and Jordan Jackson with 6 points on 2 circus field goals. Sibley comes out with 9 in a row to start the 2nd half before a DJ Peterson 3 breaks the run. Rostampour on the bench to end the run as he has 4 fouls. But he returns with 9:30 left in a surprise move. 33-31 Hopkins with 8:30 to play. Siyani Chambers runs out for a pair of layins to push the lead to 6 with 4:20 left. Marvin Singleton with a 3 point play and then Chambers for 3 for a 12 point lead with 2:45 left to conclude a 10-0 run. But DJ Peterson misses a front end with 32.7 seconds left and Chambers misses another front end at 20.5 and Sibley is only down 2 with a chance to tie. But they turn it over with 12.1 to go. Chambers seals the 49-45 Hopkins win with 2 FTs. Mike Rostampour with 17 and 10 as Hopkins had trouble with him inside. Jordan Jackson with 10 points but his shot selection more than once left something to be desired. Jackson is still adjusting to the new style, but coach Dasovich is going to have to determine if he's a 1 or a 2 next season. He's a scorer in a PG body but his athleticism is a major plus. DJ Peterson with 15 points, Siyani Chambers with 12. Marvin Singleton did see plenty of perimeter touches during the day, but he's the guy who's going to have to be an interior presence for them in 09-10.

Duberry Creating Interest at Valley City

BSTM June 2009

Duberry & Zimmermann Creating Interest At Coe College

Catching up with Brandon Marquardt

Last Saturday I was able to take in a high school section baseball game between Champlin Park and Blaine. Champlin was able to come away with the win. During that game Champlin Parks Brandon Marquardt was 4 for 4 with 2 solo homeruns.

Click here to read the rest of the article.

Duberry Creating Interest At Columbia

AAU Super Regional Action - Express Over TC Elite

It's AAU Super Regional time again and that meant it was time for a trip to Champlin Park to catch some action in this TNL sponsored event. In Saturday afternoon play at the 17U level TNL Express faced and defeated the TC Elite squad in overtime.

This was a very close game with the exception of a couple of solid runs by the TNL squad. Elite quickly closed the gaps made by those runs and took the game into overtime.

It was pretty much all the Express in overtime. They put up some points and then defended the ball very well. TNL defeated the Elite at the Spring Jam tournament at the Colin Powell Center earlier this season and these teams really went after each other on Saturday.

Check out the game in pictures and visit the Preps resource page for rosters and players numbers.

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Duberry Creating Interest @ Augustana University

Former Penn Coach Chuck Daly Passes Away at Age 78

Chuck Daly was head coach for six seasons at Penn.

Courtesy: University of Pennsylvania
Release: 05/09/2009

PHILaDELPHIA - Chuck Daly, a true basketball luminary who made the University of Pennsylvania one of his early head-coaching stops, passed away on Saturday, May 9. He was 78.

The Associated Press reported that he died in Jupiter, Fla., with his family by his side. Prior to that, in March, the NBA’s Detroit Pistons -- which he coached for many years -- announced that the Hall of Fame coach was being treated for pancreatic cancer.

Daly came to Penn to serve as head coach prior to the 1971-72 season. In six seasons at that position, he led the Quakers to an overall record of 125-38, and went 74-10 in the Ivy League with four titles. During what many consider to be the heyday of Philadelphia Big 5 basketball, he led Penn to a 19-5 record and four city championships.

Penn’s 1971-72 team, his first, went 25-3 overall and 13-1 in the Ivy League (he would have three teams go 13-1 in the Ancient Eight). That Quaker squad advanced to the NCAA East Regional final before losing to North Carolina.

"As long as I knew him, Chuck was the same good coach and good guy," said Penn Athletic Director Steve Bilsky, who played basketball at Penn and graduated just before Daly's arrival on campus. "That was true whether he was coaching high school, college, the pros, or at the Olympic level."

"I speak for the entire Penn basketball community when I say that we are saddened to hear the news of his passing," said Penn head coach Glen Miller, who recently completed his third season with the Quakers. "He coached this program to some of its greatest successes, and whenever he spoke of Penn and the Philadelphia basketball community he spoke of it fondly. However, such was his stature that this is a loss not just for Penn and the city of Philadelphia, but for the entire basketball world."

"Chuck was the consummate coach and teacher," said Bob Weinhauer, who spent four years as an assistant under Daly at Penn and succeeded him as the Quakers' head coach. "For those of us who had the privilege of working with him, it was exactly that -- a privilege. I know that my coaching career would have been nothing without the mentoring and guidance that he gave me at Penn and throughout my career. I was fortunate enough to be able to express that to him about a month ago, and for that I am grateful."

"Coach Daly was a great representative of basketball thoughout his years, from his time at Penn and in Philadelphia right up to his NBA and Olympic success," said former Penn and current Temple head coach Fran Dunphy. "One particular memory for me is that, following one of my seasons at Penn, he sent me a hand-written note to offer congratulations and words of encouragement. At the time, he was coaching the Pistons. I have that letter framed, and it is in a place where I keep my treasured items."

Later, of course, Daly coached the United States “Dream Team” to the Olympic gold medal in 1992 after winning back-to-back NBA championships with the Pistons. In 1996, he was voted one of the 10 greatest coaches of the NBA's first half-century, two years after being inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was the first coach to win both NBA and Olympic titles.

Daly was renowned for his ability to create harmony out of diverse personalities at all levels of the game, whether they were Ivy Leaguers at Pennsylvania, Dream Teamers Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, or Pistons as dissimilar as Dennis Rodman and Joe Dumars.

"It's a players' league. They allow you to coach them or they don't," Daly once said of the NBA. "Once they stop allowing you to coach, you're on your way out."

"I think Chuck understood people as well as basketball," Dumars told The Associated Press in 1995. "It's a people business."

Doug Collins, a former Pistons and Chicago Bulls coach, learned the intricacies of the game from Daly.

"He was a man of incredible class and dignity. He was a mentor and a friend," Collins said. "He taught me so much and was always so supportive of me and my family. I loved him and will miss him."

Daly had a golden touch at the Barcelona Games with the likes of Magic Johnson, Jordan, Larry Bird and Barkley, using a different lineup every game.

"I played against Chuck's teams throughout the NBA for a lot of years. He always had his team prepared, he's a fine coach," Bird said shortly after Daly's diagnosis became public.

"Chuck did a good job of keeping us together," Bird said. "It wasn't about who scored the most points. It was about one thing: winning the gold medal."

Daly humbled the NBA superstars by coaching a group of college players to victory in a controlled scrimmage weeks before the Olympics.

"I was the happiest man in the gym," Daly said.

Daly also made the right moves for the Pistons, who were notorious for their physical play with Bill Laimbeer and Rick Mahorn leading the fight, Rodman making headlines and Hall of Fame guards Isiah Thomas and Dumars lifting the team to titles in 1989 and 1990.

"Chuck Daly was so much more than a basketball coach," said Thomas, the former New York Knicks coach and president who now coaches at Florida International University. "He was a mentor, a father figure, someone we all looked up to in everything he did. I can't explain in words how much he gave me as a player and a man. This is an immeasurable loss for the NBA and the entire basketball world."

Former Piston John Salley gave Daly the nickname Daddy Rich for his impeccably tailored suits.

Daly had a career regular-season record of 638-437 in 13 NBA seasons. In 12 playoff appearances, his teams went 75-51. He left Detroit as the Pistons' leader in regular-season and playoff victories.

"Chuck left a lasting impression with everyone he met both personally and professionally and his spirit will live with all of us forever," family and team spokesman Matt Dobek said.

Despite his success, Daly wasn't part of a Coach of the Year presentation until he handed the trophy to then-Detroit coach Rick Carlisle in 2002.

"This is as close as I've ever been to that thing," Daly said, looking at the Red Auerbach Trophy.

The National Basketball Coaches' Association is dedicating this postseason to Daly. Coaches and many broadcasters are wearing a pin with the initials "CD" during games and created the "Chuck Daly Lifetime Achievement Award," which will be given annually.

Born July 20, 1930, in St. Marys, Pa., Charles Jerome Daly played college ball at St. Bonaventure and Bloomsburg. After two years in the military, he coached for eight seasons at Punxsutawney (Pa.) High School and then spent six years as an assistant at Duke.

Succeeding Bob Cousy as coach at Boston College, Daly coached the Eagles to a 26-24 record over two seasons before arriving at Penn.

Daly left Penn to join the NBA coaching ranks as an assistant under Billy Cunningham in Philadelphia. His first head coaching job was with Cleveland, but he was fired after the Cavaliers went 9-32 the first half of the 1981-82 season.

In 1983, Daly took over a Detroit team that had never had two straight winning seasons and led the Pistons to nine straight. He persuaded Rodman, Thomas, Dumars, Mahorn and Laimbeer to play as a unit and they responded with championships in 1989 and 1990.

Far from being intimidated by the Pistons' Bad Boys image, Daly saw the upside of it.

"I've also had players who did not care," he said a decade later. "I'd rather have a challenging team."

After leaving Detroit, Daly took over the New Jersey Nets for two seasons and led them to the playoffs both times.

He left broadcasting to return to the bench 1997 with the Orlando Magic and won 74 games over two seasons, then retired at 68 because he was weary of the travel. Daly joined the Vancouver Grizzlies as a senior adviser in 2000. In retirement, he split time between residences in Jupiter, Fla., and suburban Detroit.

The Pistons retired No. 2 in 1997 to honor Daly's two NBA titles.

"Without you, there wouldn't be us," Mahorn told the coach during the ceremony.

Daly is survived by his wife, Terry, daughter Cydney, and grandchildren Sebrina and Connor.

Much of this information was pulled from Larry Lage’s Associated Press release, with contributions from AP writers Jim Irwin, Cliff Brunt and Tim Reynolds.

Duberry Creating Interest @ Pennsylvania

Duberry Creating Interest @ Wisconsin Eau Claire

New Macalester coach interviewed by D3hoops.com

New Macalester head men's basketball coach Tim Whittle was interviewed in a Q & A session with D3hoops.com. Coach Whittle, former assistant for two-time defending national champ Wash U, discusses what things have been like so far and his plans to rebuild the program.

Read the D3hoops.com interview

BSTM May 2009