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Latest moves on Agent market - May 23, 2016

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IGOR OBRADOVIC

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Cameron
Clark

Joe Smith (Next Life Sports) signed Cameron Clark (6'3''-F-93) out of Southwestern, KS and Christian Jones (6'6''-F) out of Culver Stockton
Mike Baron (M.A.C Sports Management) signed K.K. Simmons (6'3''-G) out of Pikeville
Darryl Tyson (TH Sports) signed Sharif Watson (6'6''-F) out of Ariz. Christian

Colby Blaine

Colby Blaine Named Head Basketball Coach at the College of Idaho - 19 hours ago

College of Idaho athletic director Reagan Rossi announced this morning that associate head coach Colby Blaine has been named the 16th men's basketball head coach in Coyote program history. Blaine replaces Scott Garson, who resigned after five seasons to accept an assistant coaching position at NCAA Division I Santa Clara University. 'I think the word excitement is an understatement,' the Boise native said upon taking the position. 'Pumped, stoked, eager, anxious - excited is definitely an understatement. Getting to work for Coach Garson has changed my life. What he has taught me over the last four years completely shaped my coaching style.' In Blaine's four seasons at C of I, including the last two as associate head coach, the Coyotes have advanced to three NAIA Division II national tournaments, reaching the national quarterfinals in 2015 and the national semifinals in 2018. The Yotes were a combined 101-36 with Blaine on the bench. 'We are excited to know that while transitions can be difficult, we have a tremendous leader in Colby Blaine ,' said Rossi. 'He has made an impression on this program from Day 1 and we are fortunate that we get the opportunity to watch him take the next step in his career as the head coach of the Coyotes.' Blaine, a 2009 graduate of Montana Western, began his coaching career at his alma mater under Steve Keller, before spending five seasons as an assistant at the College of Southern Idaho. At CSI, he helped the Golden Eagles win three Region 18 titles and the 2011 NJCAA national title, compiling a combined 137-33 record. 'I've now worked for four head coaches (Keller, Steve Gosar, Jeremy Cox, Garson) who have state championship experience, who have junior college national championship experience, who have NCAA championship experience and NAIA national tournament experience,' Blaine said. 'The four men I have worked for are incredible and they all taught me something different.' Coming off a 30-7 season and a Cascade Conference title, the Yotes return three starters and eight players for the upcoming 2018-19 season. 'This program is so healthy right now, as healthy as any program in the country,' Blaine said. 'I am excited to have returners coming back. It is going to help the transition in understanding not only what we are doing on the court, but the responsibilities off the court, along with the responsibilities of this program in the community and on the national stage. We just came off a fantastic season, with a style that we built together. I don't expect a ton to change in terms of who we are or how we present ourselves on and off the court. I certainly will add some twists and quirks on how we do things. I bring a different style as to who I am, but I don't expect much to change in terms of our depth and how we win games.' The Boise High graduate has coached with Select AAU Program for the past nine years, working with some of Idaho and Montana's top high school prospects. 'I've had a chance through AAU basketball to run a team, building that chemistry that is truly needed,' Blaine stated. 'Two years ago, I had the opportunity to take the Yotes for a weekend while Coach Garson celebrated the birth of his son Sidney, which was a great learning experience - showing me how excited I am to become a head coach - and that weekend in Seattle taught me that this is truly what I wanted to do.
Courtesy of: yoteathletics.com

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Jason
Christensen

NAIA tourney format up for debate - 7 days ago

A major shift in NAIA basketball is now official. On Monday, the NAIA approved the move to one division in both men's and women's basketball, effective for the 2020-21 academic year. This decision was voted on by the Council of Presidents (COP) at the NAIA Convention in Kansas City, Missouri. The merger calls for each program to offer eight scholarships. NAIA Division I can currently offer 11 scholarships, while Division II has six scholarships. Currently, basketball is the only sport with two divisions in the NAIA. Now that the merger is official, the format of the NAIA basketball tournament is the biggest talking point. Currently, there are 32-team tournaments in both divisions and for men's and women's basketball. In recent months, a Divisions in Basketball Task Force Committee drew up four different formats for the national tournament:
32-team final site: Option A: 64 teams, 32 opening round games
32-team final site: Option B: 48 teams, 16 byes to final site and 16 opening round games.
16-team final site: Option A: 64 teams, 16 opening sites and 4 teams each.
8-team final site: Option A: 64 teams, 8 opening sites and 8 teams each.

"There's just a lot of unknowns right now," Dakota Wesleyan University Athletic Director Jon Hart said. "We will make whatever adjustments we need to and try to remain as competitive as we can and hold our tradition." The details on host sites and tournament format will be determined at a later date. Midland University men's basketball coach Oliver Drake said coming up with the appropriate format is the next step. Drake sits on the 10-person taskforce committee. "Let's really try to be on the front end of it and try to make the format of the national tournament-which I think would be best for our association as a whole-let's just try to move forward with it and do the best we can to set it up where we don't skip a beat because I think NAIA basketball is outstanding," Drake said. "It's something we don't really want to mess with." Drake has been adamant about having 64 teams qualify for the national tournament and a 32-team final site event. "I think one of the things that we really fought for-me personally-on the task force, is to maintain 64 teams," Drake said. "When it's been two divisions, 32 teams have gone-32 in Division II and 32 have gone in Division I." He's received similar feedback when talking to coaches and other NAIA officials. "We want to see 64 teams in the tournament and we want to see 32 at the final site, however, that format gets to those final two points, I think our coaches as a whole would accept," Drake said. DWU men's basketball coach Matt Wilber has guided the Tigers to four straight national tournaments-three in Branson, Missouri and last March in Sioux Falls. Wilber has enjoyed the 32-team final site tournament. "It gives it a tournament feel and it doesn't reduce the student-athlete experience," Wilber said. "It's not taking away opportunities and you start talking, 'Hey we go to an eight-team end site, an Elite Eight or a Sweet 16 end site.' That's reducing student-athlete participation experience for what our kids are getting."
On the women's side, DWU women's basketball coach Jason Christensen said the Great Plains Athletic Conference and other strong leagues in the Midwest would lose their representation at the national tournament in certain scenarios. "I just don't like it because I don't think you are going to get your best teams in the national tournament," Christensen said. "That was definitely one of my concerns. They are still trying to look at ways of doing it the right way. I don't think they've got that part figured out yet. I just don't think it's a good thing." Currently, the NAIA Division I men's tournament is in Kansas City, Missouri, and has been since 2002. The Division I women's tourney is in Billings, Montana. Also, the Division II men's tournament was in Sioux Falls this past season after moving from Branson, Missouri. The Division II women's tournament has been in Sioux City, Iowa, since 1998. GPAC Commissioner and NAIA Division II women's tourney director Corey Westra feels strongly Sioux City would be in the running to host the women's tourney once the merger goes into effect. "I think our centrality of Sioux City certainly helps our cause and it's gone well for us, too," Westra said. "We've done it well and have a good reputation. I am not real worried about that part of it, to be honest. I have been very confident in what we've done with the tournament. I do feel that we will be the host-one way or the other." Westra added Kansas City would be the leading contender to host the men's tournament. Currently, there are 94 Division I men's and women's basketball teams. On the Division II side, there are 136 men's teams and 134 women's teams. In NAIA Division I, 34 percent of the women's and men's teams are going to the postseason. In Division II, 23.9 percent of men's teams go to the postseason and 23.5 percent of the women's teams go to the postseason. "It's a big decision for the NAIA," Westra said. "But I think as with all our decisions, we look at the data and at some point you have to decide what's best for the organization and hopefully these decisions are made with the thought of what's best for your future."
Courtesy of: mitchellrepublic.com

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