The Stark Truth

Some news and notes from Kennewick before today’s 2 p.m. NWAACC quarterfinal game at 2 p.m. between Olympic College and Highline:

* Up at 8 a.m., breakfast at 9 and a shoot-around at 11 at Kennewick High. That was the morning schedule for the Rangers.

* Here’s my game story from yesterday’s opener (an 80-75 OC win over Mount Hood) and my column on coach Billy Landram.

* Landram was able to spend some time with his uncle, Drew Landram, yesterday. Drew lives in the Tri-Cities area and was one of the basketball-playing Landram brothers from North Mason. There was the late Bill (Billy’s dad), Bruce, Drew, Glenn, George and Rudy. Drew’s son, Jeremy, coaches River Ridge. Drew was a highly-successful coach at Olympia and later at Burbank and Chewelah, small schools in eastern Washington.

* Today’s opponent, Highline, is coached by Che Dawson, an attorney who teaches law at the Des Moines-based school. The Thunderbirds bolted to an 11-1 lead against Columbia Basin and it looked like they would be in cruise control all day, but the host Hawks, relying on the 3-ball, kept making runs. They got to within 55-53 at one point in the second half before succumbing, 73-65. Coby Gibler, the 6-9 sophomore from Bainbridge, had 14 points and 10 rebounds. Among the schools showing interest in Gibler are Idaho and Northern Arizona.

* One more thought on Gibler: I still think he can make some money as a pro baseball pitcher. Gibler, some of you might recall, was Bainbridge’s top pitcher when the Islanders advanced to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pa. Gibler gave up the sport after his freshman year, opting to concentrate on basketball. If he went to a few tryout camps and showed he could throw strikes, I bet there would be a team out there that would sign him to a contract. Too bad he wasn’t a lefty. He shoots the basketball left-handed but he’s a right-handed pitcher.

* On today’s Highline-OC matchup: Look for the Rangers to play a lot of zone defense today. Rebounding will also be key. Highline’s the top rebounding team in the NWAACC. In addition to Gibler, Highline’s Shedrick Nelson, a sophomore guard from Wilson, and Kelly Edwards, a sophomore guard from O’Dea, are dangerous offensive players. The Rangers beat Highline 78-71 on Dec. 6.

* A lot of people still call him Coach J. OC athletic director Barry Janusch, who coached the Rangers to a sixth-place finish in 1995 and a fifth-place finish in 2000, is here along with his two sons. Janusch had a successful nine-year run at the college before stepping aside to concentrate on his duties as AD and Student Activities Coordinator.

* Janusch and OC assistant Gregg Guidi agree that the overall talent level in the NWAACC is probably down from what it used to be. They attribute that to the increased scholarship money now available at the NCAA D-2 schools in the Northwest.

* One thing I didn’t get in yesterday’s column on Landram was his career record. Here it is, year-by-year: 20-7 (this year), 6-19 (2007-08), 11-16 (06-07), 16-12 (05-06), 12-16 (04-05), 7-17 (03-04).

* The last OC team to win 21 games was Janusch’s 1997-98 club that finished 21-7. The Rangers didn’t make the NWAACC tournament that year, but the format was different then. Only the No. 1 seed earned a guaranteed spot and the Nos. 2-3-4s had to battle it out in a playoff for a second spot.

* OC’s best overall record came in 1948-49 when it was 32-2. That’s the famed team that placed fourth at the National Junior College Championships in Hutchinson, Kan.

* Olympic College with the Bremerton Athletic Roundtable providing the support, hosted the NWAACC tournament in 1973 at East Bremerton High School. Unfortunately, the host Rangers didn’t qualify. It was a big disappointment as big things were expected out of the Larry Jackson-led team. L.J., arguably the most talented player to ever wear an OC jersey, went on to play at the UW and professionally overseas. Several years ago, there was an unconfirmed rumor that Jackson, a 6-foot-10 forward who loved to shoot from the corners, was murdered in Brazil.

* All of the No. 1 seeds except Spokane advanced to the quarterfinals. Lower Columbia, the No. 4 seed out of the West, beat Spokane 69-43 and looked pretty impressive doing it. Since the NWAACC tournament moved to Kennewick in 2002, No. 1 seeds are 27-5 in first-round games against No. 4 seeds. Spokane, which tied with Yakima first win in the East, is the first No. 1 seed to lose a first-round game since 2005.

* The OC-Highline winner plays the LCC-Chemeketa winner in Saturday’s semifinals at 8 p.m. The bracket’s setting up pretty good for the Rangers. On paper, most people would tell you that the two quarterfinal games in the upper bracket (Yakima-Bellevue and Clackamas-Tacoma) feature the four marque teams in the tournament. The championship game is Sunday at 7 p.m.

* Go to NWAACC.org for more information and updates on the tournament. I’ve checked the rosters and, unless I missed someone, there are no local athletes playing on any of the 16-team women’s teams at the tournament.

Share on Facebook

Tweet This Post 

This entry was posted on Friday, March 6th, 2009 at 11:55 am and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.