http://azdailysun.com/sports/basketball/article_39d28747-1042-5471-8030-8447cb2f214c.html
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Adras breaks down tourney
DANIEL BERK Sports Editor | Posted: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:00 am | (0) Comments
NAU basketball coach Mike Adras was finishing up some work last Wednesday night during the Big Sky Tournament championship game between Montana and Weber State.
Meanwhile, his wife, Maureen, was parked on the family's couch watching as Montana worked its way back from a 20-point halftime deficit. After putting his two daughters to bed, Adras joined his wife and watched as the Grizzlies' Anthony Johnson brought his team back one bucket at a time.
Eventually, Johnson scored 34 of his 42 points in the second half and Montana advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 66-65 win over Weber State.
"The best was my wife," Adras said. "She was like 'oh my gosh' after one shot. 'No he didn't' after another shot and 'are you kidding me?' after another play. She sat there and never moved. I got up to put the kids to bed and then came sprinting back down to watch the remainder of it ... That was one for the ages."
Now, Adras is prepared to watch Johnson and the Griz again this Thursday in the NCAA Tournament when they take on the No. 3 seed in the East Region, New Mexico. The two teams will face off at approximately 6:50 p.m. in San Jose, Calif.
NAU is one of just three teams in the country, joining UC-Riverside and Colorado State, that have played both Montana and New Mexico this season.
The Lumberjacks went 0-3 against the Grizzlies, with their final loss coming in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament, and lost to the Lobos 96-57 on Dec. 16 in a non-conference matchup.
Needless to say, having played both teams, Adras has some unique insight into the game.
"Montana is playing well, but Montana playing well is Anthony Johnson playing well," Adras said. "He single-handedly put them into the tournament with his performance against Weber. He's not going to single-handedly beat New Mexico in the NCAA Tournament.
"But, I also look at it this way. We played New Mexico at New Mexico. Montana isn't going to win there, but they don't have to win there. They have to beat them in San Jose, California on a neutral court."
Adras said he actually likes the matchup for the Grizzlies, especially on the inside where Montana has 6-foot-11 post Brian Qvale and 7-foot post Derek Selvig.
"I'm going to say New Mexico is the favorite, but Qvale and Selvig are better than New Mexico's bigs, I think," Adras said. "If they can show up and do something like they did against us in the Big Sky Tournament, that could give New Mexico some problems."
As of Monday, Adras hadn't heard from Montana coach Wayne Tinkle or New Mexico coach Steve Alford to get a scouting report on the other team. If Tinkle calls, Adras will be more than willing to help. However, if Alford calls, it would be a different story.
"I won't help New Mexico," Adras said. "I won't help someone beat a Big Sky school. I want Montana to win. I want the Big Sky to do well. That would be great because our league had a good year."
Adras said he'll definitely be tuned in to as many Tournament games as he can catch and loves this time of year with postseason basketball in full swing.
The 11th-year head coach listed five teams, Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas State, that he thinks can win the national title. His pick to win it all, though, is Kansas.
The Jacks last played the Jayhawks during the 2007-08 season when KU went on to win the national championship. The Jayhawks beat NAU in Lawrence, Kan., 87-46, leaving Adras to think the Jacks were KU's good luck charm.
"They wish they would have had us on their schedule this year. It's just, we're not going back there," joked Adras, whose teams were outscored 178-103 by Kansas in back-to-back matchups in 2006 and 2007. "If they want to come to Flagstaff, that would be a different story.
"But, I think Kansas is going to win it. I have no reason to think they won't win it."
Adras' star player, Cameron Jones, who led NAU in scoring this past season, agrees with his coach.
"I haven't really looked at the bracket closely, but I think Kansas is going to win it all," Jones said.
Jones also didn't miss Johnson's performance against Weber State and was happy for the Montana senior, who has had some good duels with Jones during the regular season.
"I watched it in the first half and thought it was going to be a blowout," Jones said. "Then I just kept hearing Johnson's name over and over again on the TV. Weber State was just in a daze. You could just tell. Anthony is a great player and he was hitting from all spots. He looked like the best player in the country."
Daniel Berk can be reached at [email protected] or 556-2251.
Posted in Basketball, Nau-lumberjacks on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:00 am Updated: 12:28 am. | Tags:
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Adras breaks down tourney
DANIEL BERK Sports Editor | Posted: Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:00 am | (0) Comments
NAU basketball coach Mike Adras was finishing up some work last Wednesday night during the Big Sky Tournament championship game between Montana and Weber State.
Meanwhile, his wife, Maureen, was parked on the family's couch watching as Montana worked its way back from a 20-point halftime deficit. After putting his two daughters to bed, Adras joined his wife and watched as the Grizzlies' Anthony Johnson brought his team back one bucket at a time.
Eventually, Johnson scored 34 of his 42 points in the second half and Montana advanced to the NCAA Tournament with a thrilling 66-65 win over Weber State.
"The best was my wife," Adras said. "She was like 'oh my gosh' after one shot. 'No he didn't' after another shot and 'are you kidding me?' after another play. She sat there and never moved. I got up to put the kids to bed and then came sprinting back down to watch the remainder of it ... That was one for the ages."
Now, Adras is prepared to watch Johnson and the Griz again this Thursday in the NCAA Tournament when they take on the No. 3 seed in the East Region, New Mexico. The two teams will face off at approximately 6:50 p.m. in San Jose, Calif.
NAU is one of just three teams in the country, joining UC-Riverside and Colorado State, that have played both Montana and New Mexico this season.
The Lumberjacks went 0-3 against the Grizzlies, with their final loss coming in the quarterfinals of the Big Sky Tournament, and lost to the Lobos 96-57 on Dec. 16 in a non-conference matchup.
Needless to say, having played both teams, Adras has some unique insight into the game.
"Montana is playing well, but Montana playing well is Anthony Johnson playing well," Adras said. "He single-handedly put them into the tournament with his performance against Weber. He's not going to single-handedly beat New Mexico in the NCAA Tournament.
"But, I also look at it this way. We played New Mexico at New Mexico. Montana isn't going to win there, but they don't have to win there. They have to beat them in San Jose, California on a neutral court."
Adras said he actually likes the matchup for the Grizzlies, especially on the inside where Montana has 6-foot-11 post Brian Qvale and 7-foot post Derek Selvig.
"I'm going to say New Mexico is the favorite, but Qvale and Selvig are better than New Mexico's bigs, I think," Adras said. "If they can show up and do something like they did against us in the Big Sky Tournament, that could give New Mexico some problems."
As of Monday, Adras hadn't heard from Montana coach Wayne Tinkle or New Mexico coach Steve Alford to get a scouting report on the other team. If Tinkle calls, Adras will be more than willing to help. However, if Alford calls, it would be a different story.
"I won't help New Mexico," Adras said. "I won't help someone beat a Big Sky school. I want Montana to win. I want the Big Sky to do well. That would be great because our league had a good year."
Adras said he'll definitely be tuned in to as many Tournament games as he can catch and loves this time of year with postseason basketball in full swing.
The 11th-year head coach listed five teams, Kansas, Syracuse, Kentucky, Duke and Kansas State, that he thinks can win the national title. His pick to win it all, though, is Kansas.
The Jacks last played the Jayhawks during the 2007-08 season when KU went on to win the national championship. The Jayhawks beat NAU in Lawrence, Kan., 87-46, leaving Adras to think the Jacks were KU's good luck charm.
"They wish they would have had us on their schedule this year. It's just, we're not going back there," joked Adras, whose teams were outscored 178-103 by Kansas in back-to-back matchups in 2006 and 2007. "If they want to come to Flagstaff, that would be a different story.
"But, I think Kansas is going to win it. I have no reason to think they won't win it."
Adras' star player, Cameron Jones, who led NAU in scoring this past season, agrees with his coach.
"I haven't really looked at the bracket closely, but I think Kansas is going to win it all," Jones said.
Jones also didn't miss Johnson's performance against Weber State and was happy for the Montana senior, who has had some good duels with Jones during the regular season.
"I watched it in the first half and thought it was going to be a blowout," Jones said. "Then I just kept hearing Johnson's name over and over again on the TV. Weber State was just in a daze. You could just tell. Anthony is a great player and he was hitting from all spots. He looked like the best player in the country."
Daniel Berk can be reached at [email protected] or 556-2251.
Posted in Basketball, Nau-lumberjacks on Wednesday, March 17, 2010 5:00 am Updated: 12:28 am. | Tags:
