The Demon basketball team arrived in Lubbock and immediately visited the beautiful 15,000-seat United Spirit Center to get the feel of the digs for Saturday afternoon's contest against Texas Tech.
The Demons worked out for two hours Friday morning in a gym on the Texas-Arlington campus before hitting the highway west to Lubbock. After a ride more than five hours, it was time to stretch the legs and get in some shots, but not spend too much energy 18 hours before tip.
That was left to others.
Coach Mike McConathy took the players back to the locker room for a little motivational message after about 20 minutes of shooting. It was a players and head coach only session, by design. Not that Coach Mike wanted to keep the rest of the staff outside, he just wanted to focus the team on the message he had.
Meanwhile, back on the court, a classic 3-on-3 matchup unfolded.
It was a runaway win for the "Six Million Dollar Boys" over the "Sless is Moore" threesome.
The family trio of assistant coach Bob Austin, his father Lou and Bob's younger brother Matt used superior everything to smack assistant coaches Mark Slessinger, Jeff Moore and student manager Rickey Doyle.
It was hardly full tilt basketball. It was pickup ball at its ... OK, it was a typical street clothes pickup game. And it was a blast to watch. Among the audience, Mrs. Lou (Joanne) Austin, who heckled her husband throughout.
I dubbed Team Austin as "The Six Million Dollar Boys" in tribute to their prowess and one of the best TV shows of my youth, showcasing Steve Austin, the "Six Million Dollar Man." No relation to these Colorado-based Austins, BTW. But let it be said that once Lou loosened up, he fit right in with his two sons.
"Sless is Moore," just a play on words leaving out Rickey, which is what happened on a lot of offensive possessions anyway. The rust on Slessinger and Moore was a pivotal factor. But the fun they had left us all chuckling, and it captivated the team as they returned to the court to pack up to check in at our hotel.
Hey, at least they were out there playing. Seeing as my knees have reduced my mobility to that of one of those stately oaks near the three columns on campus, I am a non-combatant in these sort of things.
On the other hand, Demon play by play man Patrick Netherton was meeting us at the hotel after traveling to West Texas with his dad, who has a hunting lease nearby. The 6-foot-4, Charles Barkley-esque (in terms of his build, not his game) Netherton was extremely disappointed he missed a chance to pound the paint, and doubtless will encourage another throwdown Sunday in Stillwater.
Life on the road ...
Doug Ireland, SID
Friday, December 28, 2007
Westward bound with the Demons
Heading west toward Lubbock on the year-ending Big XII Conference bus tour for the NSU Demons, who play Saturday afternoon at Texas Tech and Monday afternoon at Oklahoma State ...
... Movie selections are always key on bus trips. Two winners today: The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3, entertaining in vastly different styles, except both featured some exciting chase and fight sequences always sure to appeal to a bus filled with young men. Don't expect to screen "The Notebook" with this team, but it's a good bet on the Lady Demon basketball bus. I'll leave that confirmation to Matt Bonnette, who probably doesn't get a vote on the movie choices, but with a wife and two daughters, he's used to it!
... The Demons had a fullscale workout at 9 in Prather Coliseum Thursday morning, then pulled out about 12:45 heading north. A lunch break in Shreveport was the first of two halts in The Bourne Ultimatum screening. The second came at the Tyler Junior College campus, where the team had a shootaround. Head coach Mike McConathy believes a key to shaking out of the Demons' doldrums is getting the players more shots in practice, and now's the time before classes resume mid-January. After the shootaround, we enjoyed the conclusion of the third Bourne film and debated whether there will be a fourth (consensus is, absolutely, we hope so!) before graduate manager and movie maven Patrick Self loaded Rush Hour 3 into the DVD player for the drive to Dallas ...
... The vibe on the Demon bus, except when the team is headed to the games, is relaxed, as you would expect around Coach Mike. As we got into the DFW metroplex, he pointed out a LaQuinta Hotel that was the first road home for one of his teams, in his first year at Bossier Parish Community College (1982-83). The first road game was in the metroplex, and the BPCC team didn't even have uniforms yet, having to use the Bossier High School gear to play in the game ...
... Restaurant choices are sometimes settled in advance, but when there's no plan, it sure is nice to have the new "TomTom" GPS tracker that assistant coach Mark Slessinger got for Christmas. He located a nice restaurant row near Six Flags Over Texas and senior Colby Bargeman was asked to pick the spot - he chose Steak and Shake, in between a couple of mid-range steakhouses and a Chinese buffet. Most of the group went with Colby, Coach Mike and crew, but a few braved the light drizzle and chill to explore other options ...
... Friday's schedule includes a 9:30 workout on the stage at Texas Hall on the campus of Southland Conference cousin Texas-Arlington. Ironically, UTA will be the first SLC foe for NSU on Saturday, Jan. 5 in Natchitoches.
... After cleaning up following what figures to be a 90-minute workout, the team should head to lunch in the metroplex and then west for the five hour drive to Lubbock. More tomorrow night on this year-end road trip with the Demons...
Doug Ireland, SID
... Movie selections are always key on bus trips. Two winners today: The Bourne Ultimatum and Rush Hour 3, entertaining in vastly different styles, except both featured some exciting chase and fight sequences always sure to appeal to a bus filled with young men. Don't expect to screen "The Notebook" with this team, but it's a good bet on the Lady Demon basketball bus. I'll leave that confirmation to Matt Bonnette, who probably doesn't get a vote on the movie choices, but with a wife and two daughters, he's used to it!
... The Demons had a fullscale workout at 9 in Prather Coliseum Thursday morning, then pulled out about 12:45 heading north. A lunch break in Shreveport was the first of two halts in The Bourne Ultimatum screening. The second came at the Tyler Junior College campus, where the team had a shootaround. Head coach Mike McConathy believes a key to shaking out of the Demons' doldrums is getting the players more shots in practice, and now's the time before classes resume mid-January. After the shootaround, we enjoyed the conclusion of the third Bourne film and debated whether there will be a fourth (consensus is, absolutely, we hope so!) before graduate manager and movie maven Patrick Self loaded Rush Hour 3 into the DVD player for the drive to Dallas ...
... The vibe on the Demon bus, except when the team is headed to the games, is relaxed, as you would expect around Coach Mike. As we got into the DFW metroplex, he pointed out a LaQuinta Hotel that was the first road home for one of his teams, in his first year at Bossier Parish Community College (1982-83). The first road game was in the metroplex, and the BPCC team didn't even have uniforms yet, having to use the Bossier High School gear to play in the game ...
... Restaurant choices are sometimes settled in advance, but when there's no plan, it sure is nice to have the new "TomTom" GPS tracker that assistant coach Mark Slessinger got for Christmas. He located a nice restaurant row near Six Flags Over Texas and senior Colby Bargeman was asked to pick the spot - he chose Steak and Shake, in between a couple of mid-range steakhouses and a Chinese buffet. Most of the group went with Colby, Coach Mike and crew, but a few braved the light drizzle and chill to explore other options ...
... Friday's schedule includes a 9:30 workout on the stage at Texas Hall on the campus of Southland Conference cousin Texas-Arlington. Ironically, UTA will be the first SLC foe for NSU on Saturday, Jan. 5 in Natchitoches.
... After cleaning up following what figures to be a 90-minute workout, the team should head to lunch in the metroplex and then west for the five hour drive to Lubbock. More tomorrow night on this year-end road trip with the Demons...
Doug Ireland, SID
Friday, December 21, 2007
Recapping Razorback visit
There were several friends in the stands and around the NSU basketball team Wednesday at Arkansas.
Former baseball head coach Dave Van Horn (1995-97) brought an Arkansas hat to give to our buddy "Coach Black," Harris Ray Wilson Jr., and was the halftime guest interview on the Demon Sports Network broadcast. Van Horn's baseball program at Arkansas led the nation in attendance last year.
He enjoyed reliving his days in Natchitoches, offering up tales of players like Rob Landstadt, Matt Donner and Terry Joseph and taking pride in the pitching rotation that he and assistant Rob Childress (now Texas A&M head coach) built. That included three players -- Brian Lawrence, Brandon Emmanuel and Alan Davis -- who were still pitching for pay in 2007. That's talent.
Dave's wife Karen is keeping busy with their two daughters. She also worked on campus during their days in Natchitoches ...
Former assistant baseball coach Travis Janssen (2002-04) spent time with the Demons Wednesday and attended the game. Trav is assistant coach at Jacksonville State. He and wife Christy, a Fayetteville native, met when he was an assistant coach at Arkansas in 2000, and they brought their two children home for the holidays....
NSU alumni Ricky Walmsley and former football player Daryl Andrews were in the stands for the game. Walmsley instructed his 7-year-old son Connor that he was not to call the 'Hogs, this one time, because they were playing Dad's beloved Demons. Andrews didn't have his 14-year-old daughter with him, much to his regret -- "if it was a football game, she might have come," he said, but her social options were too varied to join Dad at a basketball game!
... Interesting to see a couple of Arkansas icons at the game. Retiring athletics director Frank Broyles was fetching a cold drink and a piece of pizza in the press room before the game. He is in his early 80s but has remarkable presence and is far from "retiring," continuing after he steps down from the AD post to work with the Razorback Foundation in fundraising (they're building him an office at the foundation building, which is located down the left field line at Van Horn's baseball complex) and he is striving for the benefit of Alzheimers Disease victims as a driving force in fundraising and awareness ...
... Right behind the Razorback bench was PGA and British Open golf champion John Daly, who stayed for the entire game.
Doug Ireland, SID
Former baseball head coach Dave Van Horn (1995-97) brought an Arkansas hat to give to our buddy "Coach Black," Harris Ray Wilson Jr., and was the halftime guest interview on the Demon Sports Network broadcast. Van Horn's baseball program at Arkansas led the nation in attendance last year.
He enjoyed reliving his days in Natchitoches, offering up tales of players like Rob Landstadt, Matt Donner and Terry Joseph and taking pride in the pitching rotation that he and assistant Rob Childress (now Texas A&M head coach) built. That included three players -- Brian Lawrence, Brandon Emmanuel and Alan Davis -- who were still pitching for pay in 2007. That's talent.
Dave's wife Karen is keeping busy with their two daughters. She also worked on campus during their days in Natchitoches ...
Former assistant baseball coach Travis Janssen (2002-04) spent time with the Demons Wednesday and attended the game. Trav is assistant coach at Jacksonville State. He and wife Christy, a Fayetteville native, met when he was an assistant coach at Arkansas in 2000, and they brought their two children home for the holidays....
NSU alumni Ricky Walmsley and former football player Daryl Andrews were in the stands for the game. Walmsley instructed his 7-year-old son Connor that he was not to call the 'Hogs, this one time, because they were playing Dad's beloved Demons. Andrews didn't have his 14-year-old daughter with him, much to his regret -- "if it was a football game, she might have come," he said, but her social options were too varied to join Dad at a basketball game!
... Interesting to see a couple of Arkansas icons at the game. Retiring athletics director Frank Broyles was fetching a cold drink and a piece of pizza in the press room before the game. He is in his early 80s but has remarkable presence and is far from "retiring," continuing after he steps down from the AD post to work with the Razorback Foundation in fundraising (they're building him an office at the foundation building, which is located down the left field line at Van Horn's baseball complex) and he is striving for the benefit of Alzheimers Disease victims as a driving force in fundraising and awareness ...
... Right behind the Razorback bench was PGA and British Open golf champion John Daly, who stayed for the entire game.
Doug Ireland, SID
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Razorback land
One person you don't expect to see in Bud Walton Arena at the start of the Demons' shootaround at 11 a.m. today ...
Houston Nutt.
Yes, the FORMER Arkansas football coach, now at Ole Miss, in the arena. He has a daughter on the Arkansas women's team, which wrapped up its morning workout just before the Demons took the floor.
Assistant academic advisor Brad Herman is a huge Arkansas fan, and he noticed Nutt sitting by himself in the stands. He took the opportunity to say hello and wish Nutt well in his new job. They did not call the Hogs. We'll see and hear that enough tonight.
More encounters with people we know, to be reported later today. Lunch beckons. Have to have my priorities...
Doug Ireland, SID
Houston Nutt.
Yes, the FORMER Arkansas football coach, now at Ole Miss, in the arena. He has a daughter on the Arkansas women's team, which wrapped up its morning workout just before the Demons took the floor.
Assistant academic advisor Brad Herman is a huge Arkansas fan, and he noticed Nutt sitting by himself in the stands. He took the opportunity to say hello and wish Nutt well in his new job. They did not call the Hogs. We'll see and hear that enough tonight.
More encounters with people we know, to be reported later today. Lunch beckons. Have to have my priorities...
Doug Ireland, SID
Monday, December 17, 2007
Catching up on loose ends
Apologies for the break in the blogosphere, so let's catch up on some notes and news ...
...Great visit Saturday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with former Demon football player Russell Roge. That's Capt. Russell Roge of the LSU university police.
Russell keeps very close tabs on Natchitoches, NSU and the Demons. Right now, he and his colleagues have the best and worst case scenarios. They are loving the football success, but the recent tragic double murder on campus has them working with a multi-jurisdictional task force -- all the way to the feds -- to solve the heinous crime. It's a reminder of what Russell constantly tells students, and especially athletes -- err on the side of caution, do not be confrontational, turn the other cheek, check your pride at the door and live to play another day.
Russell is the same gregarious fellow we all loved in Natchitoches, and he is highly regarded among his peers at LSU, that's easily seen in a few minutes around them. He deserves all the good things that come his way ....
... It's a matter of perspective. LSU radio announcer and NSU alumnus Jim Hawthorne was proud to attend Friday's commencement exercises at Prather Coliseum, watching his granddaughter become the fifth family member to earn a Northwestern degree. The whole bunch is from Anacoco.
Saturday night, Jim told me how very impressed he was with the ceremonies and the campus and how quickly it all went off ... I asked him if he had a long delay getting off campus, and he said no. Of course, when you are used to dealing with the traffic getting away from the stadium that Hawthorne faces each fall in 27 seasons of LSU football, it makes a packed Prather Coliseum crowd a lot less daunting ....
... Seen at the pregame alumni gathering in Baton Rouge at Walk-Ons Restaurant, former Demon football defensive coordinator and now LSU assistant coach Brad Peveto, known now as Bradley Dale Peveto. He gave a big shout out to all his Demon friends while hosting an LSU recruit at the restaurant ....
... The Lady Demon basketball team is headquartered in Vicksburg for its games Tuesday night at Alcorn State and Thursday night at Jackson State. Vicksburg is, among other things, the hometown of Lady Demon assistant coach Trina Frierson. The team will visit the National Civil War Battleground Museum during their stay, says head coach Jennifer Graf.
... The Demons are headquartered tonight in Conway, Ark., just past halfway to Fayetteville for their Wednesday night game at Arkansas. They will work out Tuesday morning at 9 at the arena at our Southland Conference cousins, Central Arkansas, then roll up to Fayetteville to set up shop.
There, we'll see a couple of former Demon baseball coaches. Dave Van Horn is the head coach at Arkansas. The Demons' head man from 1995-97 will be the halftime guest on the Demon Sports Network broadcast. It will be great to catch up with him.
Also watching the game, from behind the NSU bench, will be former third base coach Travis Janssen, now at Jacksonville State. Travis met his lovely wife Christy in Fayetteville, before he came to NSU on Mitch Gaspard's first staff in 2002. Travis was an assistant coach with the Razorbacks under the retired Norm DeBryan ....
...Assistant academic advisor Brad Hermann is on his second straight Demon basketball road trip. He went to LSU Saturday with the team, along with Dr. Bill Dickens, the venerable health and human performance professor. He's making this trip in part because he's a native Arkansan who does, in every other instance, love calling the Hogs ....
...Keep your eyes open, a revamped www.nsudemons.com is coming soon!
Doug Ireland, SID
...Great visit Saturday evening at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center with former Demon football player Russell Roge. That's Capt. Russell Roge of the LSU university police.
Russell keeps very close tabs on Natchitoches, NSU and the Demons. Right now, he and his colleagues have the best and worst case scenarios. They are loving the football success, but the recent tragic double murder on campus has them working with a multi-jurisdictional task force -- all the way to the feds -- to solve the heinous crime. It's a reminder of what Russell constantly tells students, and especially athletes -- err on the side of caution, do not be confrontational, turn the other cheek, check your pride at the door and live to play another day.
Russell is the same gregarious fellow we all loved in Natchitoches, and he is highly regarded among his peers at LSU, that's easily seen in a few minutes around them. He deserves all the good things that come his way ....
... It's a matter of perspective. LSU radio announcer and NSU alumnus Jim Hawthorne was proud to attend Friday's commencement exercises at Prather Coliseum, watching his granddaughter become the fifth family member to earn a Northwestern degree. The whole bunch is from Anacoco.
Saturday night, Jim told me how very impressed he was with the ceremonies and the campus and how quickly it all went off ... I asked him if he had a long delay getting off campus, and he said no. Of course, when you are used to dealing with the traffic getting away from the stadium that Hawthorne faces each fall in 27 seasons of LSU football, it makes a packed Prather Coliseum crowd a lot less daunting ....
... Seen at the pregame alumni gathering in Baton Rouge at Walk-Ons Restaurant, former Demon football defensive coordinator and now LSU assistant coach Brad Peveto, known now as Bradley Dale Peveto. He gave a big shout out to all his Demon friends while hosting an LSU recruit at the restaurant ....
... The Lady Demon basketball team is headquartered in Vicksburg for its games Tuesday night at Alcorn State and Thursday night at Jackson State. Vicksburg is, among other things, the hometown of Lady Demon assistant coach Trina Frierson. The team will visit the National Civil War Battleground Museum during their stay, says head coach Jennifer Graf.
... The Demons are headquartered tonight in Conway, Ark., just past halfway to Fayetteville for their Wednesday night game at Arkansas. They will work out Tuesday morning at 9 at the arena at our Southland Conference cousins, Central Arkansas, then roll up to Fayetteville to set up shop.
There, we'll see a couple of former Demon baseball coaches. Dave Van Horn is the head coach at Arkansas. The Demons' head man from 1995-97 will be the halftime guest on the Demon Sports Network broadcast. It will be great to catch up with him.
Also watching the game, from behind the NSU bench, will be former third base coach Travis Janssen, now at Jacksonville State. Travis met his lovely wife Christy in Fayetteville, before he came to NSU on Mitch Gaspard's first staff in 2002. Travis was an assistant coach with the Razorbacks under the retired Norm DeBryan ....
...Assistant academic advisor Brad Hermann is on his second straight Demon basketball road trip. He went to LSU Saturday with the team, along with Dr. Bill Dickens, the venerable health and human performance professor. He's making this trip in part because he's a native Arkansan who does, in every other instance, love calling the Hogs ....
...Keep your eyes open, a revamped www.nsudemons.com is coming soon!
Doug Ireland, SID
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