KIRSTEN MOORE OVERCOMES ADVERSITY

The following excerpt is from Bill Plaschke's article in the L.A. Times about Kirsten Moore, the head women's basketball coach at Westmont College.  She recently led her team to the NAIA National Championship.  This story is an amazing example of perseverance and overcoming adversity.  Kirsten is a first-class individual and is well-respected in the coaching profession.  She certainly has a bright future ahead of her in the coaching world, but as you'll see from Plaschke's great article, it is her past which fuels her present and future.

For Westmont College women, sadness fueled an ardor on the court

The women's basketball team at the school south of Santa Barbara rallied around Coach Kirsten Moore and her baby after her husband died unexpectedly. Their crowning gift to her was an NAIA title.

Westmont College women's basketball coach Kirsten Moore and 9-month-old daughter Alexis, wearing the net cut down after the title game. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times / March 31, 2013)

 

By Bill Plaschke

March 30, 2013, 6:11 p.m.

MONTECITO — Her final pep talk wasn't a pep talk at all. Kirsten Moore was beyond pep.
Her final pep talk, given while surrounded by her Westmont College women's basketball team before the NAIA national championship game, was her chance to say thanks.

Moore thanked her team for keeping her soul alive. She thanked them for sitting in the third row for her husband's funeral, for playing with her infant daughter in the third row of the team bus, for sharing her pain and embellishing her joy. She thanked them for their patience when she was weeping at an unseen memory, or staring blankly into an uncertain future, or disappearing just before tipoffs to nurse her child.

"Thank you for loving me," she said.

By the time Moore finished talking, most of her players were crying so hard they couldn't see. They couldn't focus. They couldn't move.

They couldn't lose.

READ THE REST OF BILL PLASCHKE'S L.A. TIMES ARTICLE HERE ....

DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS

It has often been said that “Defense Wins Championships”. As a college basketball coach, I am certainly aware that there are a lot of factors that work together to contribute to a team winning a game and eventually a championship.  However, I am convinced that defense is the most prevalent common denominator when it comes to successful teams. As I recently served on the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) Women’s Basketball Tournament Committee, I got a first-hand view of the importance of defense. Time after time, we saw post-season games between nationally ranked teams that were in the 50’s, 40’s and even one was in the 30’s. Many of these teams were scoring machines during the regular season. They didn’t just forget how to score when it came time to play the national tournament. Instead, the defense was amped up to another level. If you were a good defensive team during the season, you were a great defensive team during the tournament. The old adage may seem too simplistic but there is no question that defense puts your team in a position to win any game that they are in.

In the four NAIA quarterfinal games, defense got it done as the four losing teams were held under their season scoring averages by 34, 28, 25, and 19 points. In the two semi-final games, the losing teams scored 31 points and 26 points below their season scoring averages. This might only be a small sample size, but the eight teams that we are talking about were the ranked #’s 1-8 in the final NAIA Coaches Poll. They are loaded with talent and know how to win. For these established teams with elite players to be held so far under their season averages cannot be a coincidence. Most of these teams are among the highest scoring teams in the nation. They are also among the best on the defensive side of the ball. When great offenses were pitted against great defenses, the defenses won…at least in this year’s NAIA women’s national tournament.

Other interesting facts about the composition of the eight women’s basketball teams in this year’s NAIA quarterfinals: 

• The nation’s top- 4 scoring defenses made the final 8 teams.
• 6 of the top 10 scoring defenses made the final 8 teams 
• The two teams in the championship game (Lee University with coach Marty Rowe and Westmont College with coach Kirsten Moore) were ranked among the top 10 scoring defenses.

Coaching Short List for Athletic Directors

 

This is the time of the year when there are a lot of open basketball coaching positions.  All great athletic directors should have some kind of a working list of potential replacements if they should ever have an opening in one of their sports. Yes, they can accept resumes but they should have some names and ideas of people that they might want to go after.  This is the same whether you are a DI athletic director or a small college athletic director.

After finishing up my second year of serving on the tournament committee for the NAIA Women’s Division I Basketball Championship, I wanted to highlight a few coaches that would be good options for an athletic director to include on their short lists. Realize that all coaches that appear in a national tournament have accomplished great things and done a good job of getting their teams to that point.  However, these are just a few of the great coaches that I observed over the last two years that I wanted to highlight.  Some coaches I didn’t put on this list because I know that they are completely entrenched in their current position and I wouldn’t be able to hire them away if I was an AD.  Others have left the NAIA already (like last year’s championship game coaches, Mark Campbell at Union and Rob Edmission at Oklahoma City) so they were not eligible to make this list.  

Kirsten Moore (Westmont University)
This is a no-brainer for any athletic director at any level.  She won the 2013 NAIA NationalChampionship.  She is the first female national championship coach since 2004 when Lori Carter led Southern Nazarene University to the title.  If you are a Division I athletic director with an opening, especially anywhere in the western part of the country, then you should take a strong look at her.  Kirsten is highly respected among her peers.  She is on the Board of Directors for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association.  She is enthusiastic, has Division I playing and coaching experience, and has a lot of head coaching success.  She coached an Olympian, who was the National Player of the Year.  What’s more, her staff (Selena Ho, Emilie Johnson and Meghan Gnekow) is extremely competent and seem to have bright futures. What makes her winning a title this year even more remarkable is the fact that she did it despite enduring a tremendous personal tragedy.  She has provided an amazing example to her players about perseverance and character this year.

Marty Rowe (Lee University)  
Ended the year with a 34-3 record after coming up short in the NAIA National Championship game this year. His record in 9-years at Lee University is an incredible 260-52 (28.8 wins per year).  He has been to the NAIA Fab-4 a total of three times with 2 different teams.  His 2004 Brescia University squad shocked everyone when they played their way into the National Semifinals before losing to eventual champions, Southern Nazarene.  His Brescia squads never had the resources that other teams did but he still managed to post a 131-65 record while he was there.  He is a great recruiter that has made a living of identifying potential DI kids early and then signing them before DI’s can really get going in the recruitment of them.  His teams score a lot of points, defend like crazy and are tough on the boards.  Basketball-wise, his teams have very few weaknesses.  Off-the-court, his teams exhibit a great deal of class.  In 2012, they won the NAIA’s Champions of Character Team Award.

Shelley Jarrard (Westminster University)
I do not know her personally and have only met her in passing.  However, I've been extremely impressed with the job that she does with her team.  All they do offensively is play team basketball, execute at a high level and get wide open shots.  On defense,they are prepared and play tough.  They are not afraid to mix it up.  She had 2 NCAA Division I and 2 Division II transfers on her roster so she certainly knows how to recruit.  She also is smart and secure in who she is as a coach.  This is evidenced by her luring long-time University of Utah head coach, Elaine Elliott out of retirement to be her assistant.  Coach Jarrard seems to be very passionate about her players.  You can tell by her interactions with her players that she has their backs.  It is obvious by her player’s behaviors and reactions that they are willing to be coached by her and respect her.  She was the 1989 Gatorade Player of the Year in Oklahoma before being an All-SEC First Team performer at Vanderbilt.  She coached for many years at Kansas State and Utah before taking over last year at Westminster.  In just two years as a head coach, she has already established herself as a top-notch leader.  Ironically, in both of her years as a head coach, Westminster has lost in the National Tournament to the eventual National Champs (Oklahoma City and Westmont). Her career record now stands at 79-16 (.831).  

Jeremy Lewis (Cumberland University)
After playing a brutal schedule last year and ending up 15-14, he went out and brought in 4 transfers.  Lots of coaches do this; however, what made this situation different was that most of his starters were still around.  He had 5 players this year coming off the bench that had been full-time or part-time starters at some point during their college careers.  It is remarkable that he was able to get all of his players to buy into playing for the team and not worry about playing time.  They went 33-3 this year and made it to the NAIA’s Fab-4 before losing to Lee University by 2. They played in the Mid-South Conference, which sent a total of 6 teams to the NAIA Tournament.  He lost only 3 games all year…by a total of 6 points!  For this special season, he was also named WBCA Region 5 Coach of the Year and is up for national honors, as well.  He has a special connection with his players, knows how to motivate and can absolutely get his team to play defense.

Bethany Miller (Biola University)  
I spent 10 days this year working side-by-side with her on the tournament committee.  I have never been around a person that was more astute and perceptive while watching basketball than Bethany.  There were a number of times that she picked up on things that teams were doing that I hadn’t picked up on….and they were teams that were in my own conference.  She spent seven years as an assistant at Biola being mentored and prepared by Coach Ken Crawford to take over.  She has a doctorate degree and could be making a lot of money in something other than small-college coaching, but she has a sincere love for the profession and really seems to desire the best for her players and team.  Can she coach?  This year she beat 3 ranked teams, while playing in the conference that included 2013 National Champs, Westmont.  Last season, in her rookie season, she led Biola to the Elite 8 after pulling off two giant upsets along the way including one against #7 ranked Lee University.  Watching her coach in last season’s tournament was impressive.  Getting to know her at this year’s tournament helped me to understand how she achieved so much success at last year’s tournament.

Best Basketball Not on TV

Westmont's Tugce Canitez vs. Sue Bird

March Madness is upon us and eyes are glued to the TV watching conference tournaments to see who’s bubble bursts and who’s dreams come true.  However, there is some madness going on in Frankfort, KY that is under-the-radar.  The NAIA women’s basketball national tournament is down to its’ final four teams.  The “Fab Four” games will take place on Monday.  Westmont (CA) University will join three teams from Tennessee: Lee University, Freed Hardeman University and Cumberland University in the Fab Four.  This tournament may be lacking UCONN or Brittney Griner but it certainly is not lacking excitement, talent or story lines.  In full disclosure, the title of this article "Best Basketball Not on TV" is a bit misleading since all of these games are online with actual announcers.  Plus the championship game will be broadcast by CBS Sports Network.  The name is just catchy and consistent with my article last year about the best basketball coaches not on TV.

With the tournament field consisting of only 32 teams, nearly every team in the tournament was a “ranked” team.  That leads to very close and exciting games.  This might not be the Division I tournament that ESPN broadcasts, but it oftentimes felt like you were watching something similar as there were 49 NCAA Division I transfers in the tournament.  This doesn’t even take into account, Tugce Canitez, who played in the recent London Summer Olympic games as she represented her native country of Turkey.  There were even two players, Mary Jackson and Janae Howard, that played in the 2009 NCAA Championship game for Louisville.  University of Kentucky coach Matt Mitchell was in attendance one day, as was long-time WNBA standout and former NAIA player, Taj McWilliams-Franklin.    McWilliams-Franklin’s daughter is Schera Sampson, who averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds this year for Robin-Hagen Smith’s Shawnee State squad.  Even FullCourt.com was on hand to provide regular updates via tweets and their website.

The NAIA held its’ first women’s tournament in 1981 (won by Kentucky State University), which happened to be one year prior to the NCAA starting their tournament.  It has produced great teams and players throughout its’ history.  Tennessee is oftentimes synonymous with women’s basketball, largely due to the on-court success and class demonstrated by the Lady Vols and PatSummit.  In recent years, Tennessee has represented itself well at the NAIA National Tournament.  Teams from the state of Tennessee have appeared in the NAIA Fab Four 16 times in the last seven years.  In fact, five of the past ten champions, have been a team from the Volunteer state.

The basketball talent alone should generate excitement and interest for the semi-finals of the NAIA National Tournament, but if that isn’t enough maybe some of the team’s storylines will catch your eye.

• Cumberland University’s record was only 15-14 last year.  Their coach, Jeremy Lewis, is as deserving as any for Coach of the Year honors.  He has 5 players coming off the bench that were starters (or part-time starters) previously.  They are 33-2 and playing in the Fab Four.  Think about that for a moment…5 players used to playing a lot and getting their names called during introductions are now coming off the bench getting significantly less minutes than they are used to.  He needs to write a book about chemistry and minimizing drama because this kind of thing would sink most teams.
• In addition to having an Olympian (and reigning national player of the year) on their team, Westmont University and Coach Kirsten Moore has overcome adversity in the past year.  Moore’s 31-year old husband passed away in May as a result of complications from surgery for Chrone’s Disease.  Six weeks later, she gave birth to a daughter.  She has provided an amazing testimony to character and faith during this year.  She is highly respected and has an amazing spirit.  It is impossible to completely root against her or her team.
• Maria Bagwell from Freed Hardeman University was the receipient of the 2011 NAIA Hustle Award.  She is a 5’7” post player…that’s right 5’7”, not 6’7” like Brittney Griner.  All she has done in her career is out perform bigger players with smaller hearts.  She has scored more than 1,000 points and grabbed 1,000 rebounds in her career.  She has also made over 50% of her shots…remember that she is a 5’7” post player.  She will look to help the #1 ranked Lady Lions to a 36-1 record and their first-ever National Championship.  Their only loss this year was a fluke loss, where they were up 9 with 40-seconds to go
• This is the third time that Marty Rowe, Lee University’s head coach, has taken a team to the Fab Four.  He also led the Lady Flames to the 2010 Fab Four and he led Brescia College to the 2004 Fab Four.  This year’s team is nearly the same team as last year’s.  That is important because that team went into last year’s tournament as the #3 ranked team in the nation but lost to unranked Biola University and a coach, Bethany Miller, who was in her first year as a head coach.  That loss has no doubt served as motivation all year long and throughout this tournament.

It is anyone’s guess as to who will win this year’s NAIA National Tournament.  Only Cumberland has played in a title game (2007), but this is Freed Hardeman’s 4th Fab Four appearance.  Westmont has the best player in the nation and Lee has a coach that is making his 3rd Fab Four appearance.  The teams are also all ranked in the NAIA’s Top-7.  The games will be exciting and memorable.  The fans will get a treat, not just because the basketball is good and the storylines compelling but because you can be assured that these college athletes will play their hearts out because this is what they’ve bled, sweated and sacrificed for…an opportunity to cut down the nets and say that they are a national champions

SWEET TWEET

ATTENTION CORPORATE TYPES: THIS is how you do "that viral social media relations thing the kids are talking about." Meijer's handle wasn't linked in any of these tweets, yet within five minutes they had responded in the most amazing and appropriate way imaginable. We don't need Harlem Shake videos. Your jingles are annoying. No one cares about your hashtag. Just find this dude and hire him. Unless you're Meijer, in which case you already hired him, but probably for way too little money. PAY THIS MAN.

What is "this" that is being talked about?  Who is "this" man that needs to get paid?  The above excerpt is from a posting on my second favorite blog in the world, MGoBlog (for the record, even though I am not an SEC football fan, Clay Travis' OutKick the Coverage is my favorite).  This is a posting about one of my favorite companies in the world, Meijer.  At the Walmart-esque Meijer, I can get all kinds of great Michigan gear and trinkets while buying inexpensive bottles of Faygo to wash down the fresh assortment of pies or deluxe mixed nuts.  Every time my wife and I go to Michigan to visit, we make repeated stops at Meijer but I digress!  Anyway according to this post on MGoBlog, Meijer demonstrated an acute awareness of how to stay relevant with its customer base and utilize social media in a practical way.  I highly recommend that you read the post especially is you use social media at all in order to sell something or enhance your brand.  It is also worth reading if you like the Michigan based Meijer or if you are a fan of Michigan Football.  

Read about the Meijer Tweet -- "THIS WEEK IN THE TWITTERVERSE"

The BEST College Football Coach

This past Saturday, did you watch ESPN and see the best college football coach in the country lead his team to another National Championship?  What, you say?  Nick Saban had the weekend off...  Alabama didn’t play.  I am not talking about the Crimson Tide or the Notre Dame Fighting Irish or any other BCS team.  No, I am talking about coach Larry Kehres and his Mount Union College Purple Raiders.  They won their 11^th NCAA Division III National Championship to complete their 20^th undefeated season.

I had been working on this post for a few days, but apparently I was scooped by Grantland.com (the former “Page Two” on ESPN.com).  Author Michael Weinreb is a former Akron Beacon-Journal writer (the major newspaper that would cover Mount Union).  I can’t believe that someone else (a professional writer on a website with millions of readers, no less) would dare write an article saying the same thing.  Actually, they aren’t saying the same thing.  They say that Larry Kehres is thebest coach you’ve never heard of (which is, no doubt, true).  What I am saying is that he is the best football coach, period (whether you’ve heard of him or not).  The other difference between the two posts (mine and Grantland.com’s) is that theirs is better.  I love reading Grantland.com.  It is always intelligent; often humorous.  But, you'll have that...maybe you'll enjoy my perspective on Coach Kehres, as well. 

The Influence of a Leader

With the recent death of Rick Majerus (25 years as a head coach at Marquette, Ball State, Utah, St. Louis and only had one losing season), story after story was devoted to retelling his life story and what kind of impact he had on others.  It certainly got me thinking again about what kind of influence we have on those around us.

Bechler Shares Tale of Last-Minute Delivery

This story originally appeared on www.GoRedHawks.com on November 19, 2012

Usually, five days is more than enough to prepare until a big game is played, a paper is due, or a special anniversary or holiday.

But how about having only five days' notice that you will be a first-time dad?

That was exactly the scenario Martin Methodist women's basketball coach Jamy Bechler encountered three years ago as he and his wife, Tabitha, received the call from Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency based in Nashville, Tenn., that they would have the opportunity to become parents.

"We had gone through the whole interview and background process that the agency puts couples through," Bechler said. "It normally lasts about a year so we were just waiting for a birth mother to like our profile and pick us. I had heard of crazy adoption stories of people having a day's notice and having to come back from vacation."

As fate would have it, however, that was not the case for Jamy and Tabitha.

"Tabitha assured me that we wouldn't be one of those crazy stories," Bechler said. "She was right. We had a whole five days' notice."

In addition to all of the logistical preparations for the baby's arrival, Bechler also had to shuffle plans in the middle of the season as head coach at Bryan College.

"When we got the call, I did a quick calculation and realized that we had a game on the day the baby was due and we had a conference game two days later. Luckily, I had a good assistant and we ended up winning those games. We also had nothing ready at home for a baby. Our Silverdale Baptist Church family was awesome in helping us at the last minute. They gave us so many things and provided help in preparing the baby's room."

On November 16, 2009, Jamy and Tabitha welcomed Jaylen into their lives. They had the great fortune of being on hand for the delivery. They spent that night and the next day with Jaylen at the hospital before being cleared to take him home. Former RedHawks assistant coach Cori Jones, then a player at Bryan, was the first of Coach Bechler's players to hold little Jaylen.

"When we met with the birth mother prior to birth, she mentioned that she choose us in part because she had just seen 'The Blind Side' and thought it'd be a great thing for her little boy to be adopted by us and be around sports and athletes all the time."

Jaylen celebrated his third birthday this past Friday surrounded by all of his big sisters on the RedHawks basketball team as the RedHawks wrapped up play in the Bethel University Classic. Players, coaches and parents all sang "Happy Birthday" as Jaylen blew out his candle on top of his birthday cupcake.

November is National Adoption Awareness Month and the RedHawk Women's Basketball team is raising awareness by wearing bright yellow "Superman was Adopted" shirts during pre-game warmups. The team is also selling these shirts and corresponding bracelets to raise money for Bethany Christian Services, an adoption agency that has locations throughout the world, including Nashville.

Shirts and bracelets will be available during Tuesday's home game against Crowley's Ridge College and the Nov. 28 contest against Talladega College.

Tipoff in both games is set for 6 p.m.

5-Year Old Boy Punished by School for Wearing Michigan Shirt

A five-year boy in Oklahoma wore a University of Michigan shirt to school and was forced to turn the shirt inside out.  It seems that the Oklahoma City public school district has a policy against wearing shirts that promote any schools other than Oklahoma schools.  Apparently this may stem from some gang-issues.  Seriously though!?!  A five-year wearing a Big-House t-shirt is probably not much of a threat to society, yet.   I thought that kind of stuff only went on in that state that is a four-letter word (O***).  There is a ray of sunshine to this story, however.  Dave Brandon, the Michigan Athletic Director, has offered young Cooper Barton tickets to an upcoming home Michigan game.  This kind of rule is probably something that the school district should look at changing (or at least revising) so that it is more realistic. Anyway, here's hoping to little Cooper continuing to "Hail to the Victors" and wearing his Maize and Blue shirts proudly.

Star Athlete Gives Back

Athletes often get a bad reputation for being selfish or doing stupid things so it is always refreshing to hear about an athlete that sets a good example, gives back or is a genuinely good dude.  Pittsburgh Steelers' linebacker (and former Michigan Wolverine) Lamarr Woodley is one such guy.  This week, he donated $60,000 to the Saginaw, Michigan school system to cover "Pay-for-Play" fees that all district athletes must pay.  For high school athletes, that amounted to $75 for the year.

Even though Woodley makes a lot of money doesn't mean that this is not a big deal.  The mere fact that it is news means that not enough athletes are making a difference and giving back.  Having 7 cars, 3 houses, 4 baby-mommas and a huge entourage seems to be the normal way for an athlete to spend their money.   An athletic director at the arch-rival school of Woodley's Saginaw High believes that "there are a lot of millionaires out there who make no impact on their community, but Lamarr Woodley has gone out of his way to make a tremendous impact on his community."