My snap reaction after seeing the Douglas girls' basketball team for the first time this season last week was simply that if they can tie up a couple of loose ends, they should be in the running for the league title, if not more.
I was most impressed with their defense. When they run the full-court press successfully like they did against Galena for stretches of time Thursday night, they will be very difficult to beat.
On the whole, this is probably the fastest Lady Tiger squad I have seen so far (and I've seen just about every squad they've had since 1994 or 95), and that was without their fastest player, Katie Dry, who returned from a hip injury the next night at Lowry.
That type of speed will do wonders in the transition game as the season progresses.
Ally Freitas provides the Tigers a different look at the point than whay they had in four-year starter and three-time all-leaguer Bridget Maestretti in recent years. Not better or worse, mind you, but different. Freitas is an aggressive slasher who accelerates to the hoop when she sees the slightest seam.
I also like the play of the team's rangy wings. As a group, they'll provide coverage difficulties for opposing defenses in terms of their ability to swing inside and outside. You couple that with Jessica Waggoner, who I believe has an honest claim to being the region's top post player, and this group could put up some points when it needs to.
If they are able to find a solid rhythm in terms of their motion halfcourt sets, they will be very effective as the season progresses. This team is probably a couple weeks ahead offensively as compared to teams from previous years at this point of the season. If they can continue to develop that, there should be some good things that happen.
I was also impressed with the intangibles. They fought back from some pretty impressive deficits to make a game of it against the Grizzlies and didn't show any real signs of nerves when the game came down to the wire. There was some inexperience that showed, but not nerves. The good thing about that is inexperience is much easier to cure. You just give it time.
Again, just quick observations from one game. We'll know more as league play sets in.
- The Douglas High girls' basketball team is wearing yellow ribbons on their jerseys and on their warm-ups in honor of Joey Jacobsen, who was critically injured in a wood-cutting accident in late November.
- Douglas High public address announcer Tom Morgan just about succeeded in announcing the name of every single person in the crowd prior to the Douglas-Galena girls' basketball game on Thursday.
- Carson girls' basketball 52, Spanish Springs 50. This is one of the bigger upsets of the season so far. Spanish Springs is a legitimate Northern 4A power and Carson is coming back off a bonafide rebuilding year. I'm kind of leaning toward the Senators as my Sierra League favorites at this point.
- Fallon boys' basketball beats Douglas. I had Fallon in this spot last week for playing Faith Lutheran so closely, but the win over the Tigers and the subsequent win over Damonte Ranch two nights later had put Fallon on the radar around the region.
- McQueen boys 74, Spanish Springs 56. Things were a little bumpy among the High Desert League teams last week, but this was one of the more confusing outcomes to me. Spanish Springs gave Reno an honest run earlier in the week and then gets thumped by the Lancers to close the week out? What does that say about the Lancers? What does it say about Douglas losing at the buzzer to McQueen two weeks ago?
- Dayton boys' 64, Incline 61. Incline is sure trying to make a case for itself as one of the top 10 teams in the region, but Dayton sure trumped that campaign with this win. Dayton is a team that lost handily to Douglas, currently unranked, earlier in the year despite the Tigers missing a number of its top players.
- Not-so-much. Galena boys' basketball. This has kind of become the M.O. for the younger Grizzlies teams over the past several years -- start the year out with a brutal schedule, take a beating in the overall record column, and then come out to contend for the league title in January. The Grizzlies lost five games last week but still thumped Damonte Ranch in the league-opener.
If I had a vote for overall player of the year in the Northern 4A Regional basketball honors ballots (and I don't), this is what it would look like, based mostly on their respective performances over the last week:
Boys' Basketball
1. Austin Morgan, Reno; 2. Keith Feutsch, Manogue; 3. Zach Sanford, Reno; 4. Bobby Hunter, Manogue; 5. Taelor Marchbanks, Spanish Springs.
Girls' Basketball
1. Ashley Armstrong, Manogue; 2. Stephanie Rovetti, Reno; 3. Danielle Peacon, Reed; 4. Erica MacKenzie, Reed; 5. Jessica Waggoner, Douglas
The top athletes, regardless of sport, at Douglas High determined by production during competition, overall value to their team, ability to perform with consistency in routine situations, performance compared to others at the same position throughout the state/region, ability to come up big in clutch situations, versatility, attitude, sportsmanship, overall athletic ability, heart, potential at the next level, and a host of other intangibles (emotional leadership, role-playing value, work ethic, etc.) This is all, of course, just my opinion.
Winter Sports
1. Jessica Waggoner, basketball
2. Nico Barker, wrestling
3. Hillary Sapp, skiing
4. Crystal Rutledge, skiing
5. Taryn Williams, basketball
6. CJ Marcotte, basketball
7. Parker Robertson, basketball
8. Dillon Spates, wrestling
9. Dany Heidt, basketball
10. Eddie Kollar, wrestling
If there were more names on the list: Wes Peterson, wrestling; Justin Freeman, wrestling; Tyler Cook, wrestling; James McLaughlin, basketball; Michael Sepulveda, wrestling; Ally Freitas, basketball; Tim Rudnick, basketball; Zach Falanga, wrestling.
2008-09 School Year
1. Jessica Waggoner, volleyball/basketball
2. Tim Rudnick, football/basketball
3. Nico Barker, football/wrestling
4. Taryn Williams, volleyball/basketball
5. Parker Robertson, football/basketball
6. Dany Heidt, soccer/basketball
7. Ally Freitas, soccer/basketball
8. Luis Pina-Duarte, football/basketball
9. Niki Hamzik, tennis/basketball
10. James McLaughlin, basketball/football
- Most ironic thing I saw last week? Chad Pennington in his old Jets jersey making an appearance on Sesame Street and talking about always being prepared for anything. You have to love his chances to steal the division crown away this weekend against his old team.
- Why did all the grown-ups have such a hard time believing Mr. Snuffleupagus exists? They're the ones talking to giant yellow birds and angry trash cans.
Here are my picks with my original thoughts on the game and the results of the completed games. My running total so far? 3-2:
EagleBank Bowl
My pick: Wake Forest over Navy
(You know me, I'll go with the option team 9 times out of 10, but when a school gets a couple weeks to prepare a defense for it, well that would be time No. 10)
The result: Wake 29, Navy 19
New Mexico Bowl
My pick: Fresno State over Colorado State
(Never bet against Pat Hill)
The result: Colorado State 40, Fresno State 35
St. Petersberg Bowl
My pick: South Florida over Memphis
(The St. Petersberg Bowl? Seriously? More than half of the teams in all of Division I football playing in the postseason and this is one reason why. But that's a whole different column.)
The result: South Florida 41, Memphis 14
Las Vegas Bowl
My pick: BYU over Arizona
(There was a time when BYU was in the BCS picture, but losses to Utah and TCU ended that.)
The result: Arizona 31, BYU 21
New Orleans Bowl
My pick: Southern Miss over Troy
(Ever since Southern Miss ended TCU's run at the BCS in 2003, I've had trouble picking against them)
The result: Southern Miss 30, Troy 27, OT
Poinsettia Bowl
TCU over Boise State
(To me, this is one of the must-see games this bowl season and probably the best matchup outside of Oklahoma-Florida. Having attended TCU, I have to go with the Horned Frogs. The better defense in the postseason almost always comes up with the win, so logical the edge goes to TCU, right?)
Hawaii Bowl
Hawaii over Notre Dame
(There is no team that protects its home field better than the Warriors. That being said, if you're a Hawaii player, don't you feel a little cheated that you don't get to go somewhere else for a bowl game?)
Motor City Bowl
Central Michigan over Florida Atlantic
(This bowl has actually been pretty entertaining in the past. I like Central in this one because of the proximity to home)
Meineke Car Care Bowl
West Virginia over North Carolina
(Best bowl name since the Poulan Weed Eater Bowl - but seriously, why not just call it the Meineke Muffler Bowl? 10 times more awesome, if you ask me)
Champs Sports Bowl
Florida State over Wisconsin
(Again, I have to go with the team playing closer to home.)
Emerald Bowl
California over Miami
(I have a soft spot for Cal, and I'm not really sure why. Plus, did anyone else forget that Miami played football this year? Or was it just me?)
Independence Bowl
Louisiana Tech over Northern Illinois
(The Bulldogs are still stung over that last-minute loss to Nevada to end the regular season. Look for them to regroup in a big way.)
Papajohns.com Bowl
Rutgers over NC State
(Apparently you can only play in this game if your school colors resemble pizza sauce. Seriously, though, I like Rutgers. Again, I go with the better defense. Time will tell)
Alamo Bowl
Missouri over Northwestern
(Northwestern has an impressive record, but remember Missouri was in the thick of the national title picture earlier this year. Deep in the heart of Big XII country, don't expect the Tigers to falter here)
Humanitarian Bowl
Nevada over Maryland
(You can't go against the local team, but more so, the Wolf Pack actually looked pretty good the last time they played in this bowl game (2006 vs. Miami). Nevada has a certain QB that looked pretty good the last time they made the trip to Boise as well.)
Texas Bowl
Rice over Western Michigan
(A bowl so good, it didn't even make it to a regular college football network. How exactly does the NFL Network justify covering college football? You know, what with being the NFL Network at all.)
Holiday Bowl
Oregon over Oklahoma State
(Oklahoma State is probably the logical pick, but I like Oregon. I like their big-game potential. We'll see, but this is probably a dumb pick.)
Armed Forces Bowl
Air Force over Houston
(Much more interesting if this were Navy vs. Air Force, but still, have to go with the option offense)
Sun Bowl
Oregon State over Pittsburgh
(Really, the Beavers should have been in the Rose Bowl against Penn State. Instead, they'll be getting ready for Pittsburgh. Pitt is ranked, but how can you go against a running back called Quizz?)
Music City Bowl
Vanderbilt over Boston College
(Watching Boston College take on Virginia Tech Saturday, I was impressed with the Eagles' quarterback and not much else.)
Insight Bowl
Kansas over Minnesota
(This year, it is pretty tough to go against anyone from the Big XII)
Chick-fil-A Bowl
Georgia Tech over LSU
(I wrote about it recently, but I really like what Georgia Tech has in the works. Putting up a win over a very good LSU defense would be a statement victory for sure)
Outback Bowl
Iowa over South Carolina
(Really, who cares? Two good, but not great teams. I like Iowa's uniforms better.)
Gator Bowl
Nebraska over Clemson
(Just continuing the Big XII theme)
Capital One Bowl
Georgia over Michigan State
(Matthew Stafford leads a group of Bulldogs who could potentially be playing their last college game before bolting for the NFL. This could be a big game for them)
Cotton Bowl
Texas Tech over Ole Miss
(Ole Miss has the distinction of being the lone team to knock off Florida. Tech has the distinction over being steamrolled by Oklahoma. I pick the Red Raiders based simply on their offense)
Liberty Bowl
East Carolina over Kentucky
(There just aren't enough Pirates in college football)
International Bowl
UConn over Buffalo
(Possibly the most obscure bowl game of the year. This one is so good, it won't even be played in the United States. Sure Buffalo knocked off Ball State, but seriously, who else?)
GMAC Bowl
Tulsa over Ball State
(This is more me hoping to see the Cardinals' decision to decline an invite from Boise State backfire just a little bit more on themselves.)
Rose Bowl
Penn State over USC
(Penn State fan growing up, what can I say?)
Orange Bowl
Cincinnati over Virginia Tech
(Sure, Tech has the defense, but Cincy is actually really good)
Sugar Bowl
Utah over Alabama
(I'm a sucker for the idea of an upset. And make no mistake, this really would be an incredible upset - much bigger than Boise over Oklahoma two years ago)
Fiesta Bowl
Texas over Ohio State
(Seriously, how is Ohio State in a BCS bowl? Consolation for the last two postseasons perhaps?)
BCS National Champioship
Florida 35, Oklahoma 12
(I've gone almost exclusively with the Big XII teams up to this point, but Florida looked really, really good in beating Alabama and Oklahoma has really, really fallen flat in its BCS appearances over the past two years)
