Christmas is nearly here, so I guess it's time to make known my wish list for UCO athletics.
• That UCO's new football coach, whomever it may be, will be able to get the Bronchos out of the mire of mediocrity that has plagued the program recently. UCO has had only three winning seasons in the 2000s and that's unacceptable for a program with such a long history of success. Nearly 600 wins (593) more than any other Oklahoma college team besides OU. Thirty-eight seasons with seven-plus wins. Thirty-one conference/division championships. Two national titles. UCO and winning football should go hand-in-hand.
• That the UCO women's basketball team suffer no more injuries. It's downright amazing how many crucial players coach Guy Hardaker has lost this season to injury. Three, including senior starters Courtney Allen and Alyssa Fuxa, went out before the season even started. Another senior (Kasey Tweed) was lost three weeks ago. And then last week in Las Vegas, freshman stud Paiten Taylor tore her knee up. Allen, Fuxa and Tweed played in 249 combined games for the Bronchos, experience and leadership that can't be replaced. Yet, somehow, UCO is 9-4.
• That the new UCO volleyball coach, whomever it may be, will continue the winning tradition established by Mark Herrin in 1990 and continued by Jeff Boyland. The Bronchos have had 19 winning seasons since 1990 while being guided by Herrin (1990-02) and Boyland (03-11), winning 25-plus matches seven times and making four Division II national tournament appearances. The next coach will have some big shoes to fill and here's hoping they will step right into them.
• That UCO's perennial powerhouse wrestling team gets back in the championship hunt. The Bronchos have won 15 national championships in their storied history, including 12 under 30th-year head coach David James. But UCO's last title came in 2007 and the Bronchos have finished sixth, sixth, 15th and 13th in the four seasons since then. This year's squad is still a young one with only one senior starter, but there's plenty of talent and the potential is there. Helping UCO's cause this year will be hosting the Super Regional Two Tournament at Hamilton Field House on Feb. 25-26.
• That the senior trio of Shane Carroll, Brent Friday and Tyler Phillips make a second semester push in leading UCO's men to yet another national tournament berth. The threesome has played in 294 combined games, scored 2,685 points and appeared in the post-season every year of their careers. Phillips was part of the 2008 team that made it to the Elite Eight before missing the next season with injury when Carroll and Friday joined the program. That 2009 team went to the Division II playoffs again, as did the 2010 and '11 teams the trio played on together. The 8-6 Bronchos will probably need a significant second-semester rally to get back in the national tournament, but the three amigos are ready to lead the charge.
• That all the UCO teams that have yet to start enjoy successful seasons, sprinkled with many wins and - hopefully - a few championships.
• That everyone enjoy a wonderful Christmas along with a safe and prosperous New Year!
Thursday, December 22, 2011
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
Tough-luck Kid
Kasey Tweed has never been one of Central Oklahoma's big stars on the basketball court. A career scoring average of 4.4 points a game is proof positive of that.
But the senior guard has played a vital role in UCO's success throughout her career in a myriad of other ways. Tough, hard-nosed defense. Leadership. Shear competitiveness. A tipped rebound here, a knocked away pass there. Contributions that sometimes don't show up in a box score.
And now, sadly, it appears Kasey's career is over.
I honestly didn't expect her injury-ravaged right knee to hold up the entire season, especially considering the fearless way she plays on the court, but certainly there was hope that it would.
Kasey tore her ACL in that right knee as a freshman in high school, then again as a sophomore at UCO and then again as a junior. She sat out the entire 2010-11 season rehabbing that knee, even using a personal trainer last summer to get it ready to go for one last go-around.
It actually was holding up pretty good, though there were plenty of days that Kasey couldn't practice much because of the soreness. She averaged 5.9 points a game and had a team-high 15 steals through UCO's 7-2 start and gave the Bronchos a gritty toughness they needed.
So, of course, it wasn't the right knee that went out on Kasey. It was the left. She felt something give in the second game of the season, didn't tell anyone for fear of not being able to play and then tweaked it again during practice last week.
The early diagnosis wasn't bad, but a doctor's visit revealed a partial ACL tear. Rehab it for a few weeks and she might be able to return, though the ultimate result of that would undoubtedly be a full tear and another surgery. Which means that Kasey Tweed has played her final game.
"I've played since I was five years old and just didn't want to give it up," Kasey said. "Now I'm done forever."
How do you measure a player's heart? Their passion? Their love of the game? You watch someone like Kasey Tweed.
But the senior guard has played a vital role in UCO's success throughout her career in a myriad of other ways. Tough, hard-nosed defense. Leadership. Shear competitiveness. A tipped rebound here, a knocked away pass there. Contributions that sometimes don't show up in a box score.
And now, sadly, it appears Kasey's career is over.
I honestly didn't expect her injury-ravaged right knee to hold up the entire season, especially considering the fearless way she plays on the court, but certainly there was hope that it would.
Kasey tore her ACL in that right knee as a freshman in high school, then again as a sophomore at UCO and then again as a junior. She sat out the entire 2010-11 season rehabbing that knee, even using a personal trainer last summer to get it ready to go for one last go-around.
It actually was holding up pretty good, though there were plenty of days that Kasey couldn't practice much because of the soreness. She averaged 5.9 points a game and had a team-high 15 steals through UCO's 7-2 start and gave the Bronchos a gritty toughness they needed.
So, of course, it wasn't the right knee that went out on Kasey. It was the left. She felt something give in the second game of the season, didn't tell anyone for fear of not being able to play and then tweaked it again during practice last week.
The early diagnosis wasn't bad, but a doctor's visit revealed a partial ACL tear. Rehab it for a few weeks and she might be able to return, though the ultimate result of that would undoubtedly be a full tear and another surgery. Which means that Kasey Tweed has played her final game.
"I've played since I was five years old and just didn't want to give it up," Kasey said. "Now I'm done forever."
How do you measure a player's heart? Their passion? Their love of the game? You watch someone like Kasey Tweed.
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