Raider basketball continues the winning streak on the road The Men’s GRCC basketball
team continues to have great
success on the court, improving the record to 7-1 after defeating Oakland CC on Friday 84-79. In their last eight games the
Raiders have pulled off three
100 point or more victories
against their opponents, not
with a new offensive scheme,
but with a revived perimeter
game. 17th year Head Coach David
Selmon credits the successful
start to the year from changes
on and made off the court. A change in recruiting
mentality has given the Raiders
freshmen potential on the
offensive side of the ball. “We got real lucky in recruiting,
and found some perimeter
players that can really put the
ball up.” Selmon said. Selmon stated that when
recruiting for GRCC this year,
possible candidates were passed
on because of their “shady” academic
background. He stressed
the fact that students are in
school to learn first, and play
sports second. “When I recruit them education
is emphasized. That’s what
I am all about.” Selmon said. One player that has truly
emerged for the Raiders offense
this season is 3rd year
student and 2nd year shooting
guard Bylynn Hatcher. Selmon
strongly feels Hatcher has become
a key part of the team’s
offensive success, and pressures
him to not only lead by
his action on the court, but by
his action in the classroom, as
well as everywhere else. “I don’t tell him this enough,
but I really appreciate what he’s
done here.” Selmon said about
Hatcher’s performance in the
classroom and his leadership
on the court. There are currently 14
freshmen on the 16-man roster
for the Raiders this year. Hatcher
is one of two sophomores
on the team that has become a
leader by example. Selmon also credits his
coaching staff for helping him
get the players to where they are
right now and for helping them
build good team chemistry. Camp Menowalka is were
Selmon took four of his freshmen
players to, in the summer,
for team building exercises and believes it significantly
helped in the bonding process.“It was something I wish
every player could experience.”
Selmon said. Speaking defensively
Selmon said he’s got a “fast
paced up and down defense,”
which is what he wanted for
this year. “In high school you’re
kind of dealt the hand you get.
The great thing about college
is that you get to go out and
recruit.” Selmon said. It is clear, the molding
process has begun for the
freshmen Raiders, as they
get their fifth straight win in
the last six games. Selmon doesn’t believe
the team is quite where it
needs to be. “We’re not good, yet.” Selmon said. New pep band for games The Student Congress
budget committee’s approval
of pep band funding means
live music and spirit rallying
at five double-header basketball
games. Student Life Director
Eric Mullen, along with
Michael Gillan, a member
of GRCC’s music faculty,
requested $2,300 of Student
Congress’ reserve funding be
used to start a pilot program
for a pep band. “There had been interest
in the past but not enough
funding or momentum, so
when the reserve funds became
available, Mike and I
put this proposal together,”
Mullen said. Reserve funds are what
remain after Student Congress
allocates money to
recognized student organizations
at the start of the
academic year and fulfills the
Student Congress and committee-
operating budget. The budget committee
approved the proposal late
October, and Student Congress
voted to pass it during
their Nov. 15 meeting. The
allocated funds will cover
the cost of T-shirts for 20
pep band members, and each
band member will receive a
stipend of $10 per game.
Gillan said the stipend is
smaller than what universities
pay, but it still gives the
pep band members something
for their time and extra
effort. “The members of the
pep band are required to be
enrolled in MU190, Campus
Band, because we use class
time to rehearse,” Gillan
said. Campus Band, new this
year, is for non-instrumental
music majors and students
with a major outside of the
music department. There
are no auditions required,
and it is open to any student
experienced with band instruments. In the proposal, Mullen
said he felt the pep band
would support the goal of
Student Congress to “increase
student participation
in campus events, athletics
and increase school spirit.” Drew Peppel, who plays baritone for the pep band, agreed with Mullen. “It’s all about having fun with other band members,
getting the fans involved, and enjoying the basketball
games for free,” Peppel said. Shannon Barton, also a pep band member, said she
joined because of her love for music and the popular
tunes they get to play at the games. “Even though the money isn’t a deciding factor in
joining, it helps because it gives us deserved recognition
for the hard work and time it takes to prepare a pep
band,” Barton said. “I hope this band will expose the
GRCC community to the talent of our music
department here on campus.” The pep band will perform at
the double-header basketball
games on Jan.18 and 25, and
Feb. 1, 8, and 22 in the Ford
Fieldhouse. Women’s games
begin at 5:30 p.m. and the men
play at 7:30 p.m.
Admission is
free to
everyone. “ If
the pilot
program
goes well, we
hope to increase
funding to cover
performances at more athletic events, ” Gillan
said. Any student organization can find instructions for making a reserve- funding request online at the GRCC Web site. Coach expects promising tennis season GRCC tennis coach Bill
Goodspeed expects a promising
year for the men’s tennis
team. The team travels to
schools for local matches
including club teams at Michigan
State, Hope College,
Ferris, and at Grand Rapids
schools such as Aquinas,
Grand Valley State University,
and Calvin College. For the first time, GRCC
is hosting a tournament at
the GRCC fieldhouse. The
school playing against GRCC
are Spring Arbor, Alma, and
Huntington Indiana. According to Goodspeed,
Aquinas and Calvin College
are strong competition. Both schools are nationally
ranked, with juniors from
Aquinas under the age of
18, and Calvin with seniors
who have been playing for
four years. “We are doing as well as
we can,” Goodspeed said.
He keeps an upbeat attitude
despite odds of playing four year
universities. “The players are playing
well for playing against nationally
ranked universities,”
Goodspeed said. Every player on the
GRCC team has kept their
spirit of competition, yet
remains on good terms with
the other teams, according
to Goodspeed. “My team has respect for
our opponents and each other,
they get along,” he said. There is a strong return
from last season, including
Kyle Vynke, a sophomore
from Holland Michigan, and
Andrew Smith, a sophomore
from Deckerville. “Tyler is playing surprisingly
very well, very solid,”
Goodspeed said. He added
that Marcelo Souza, a freshman
from Brazil, and Bren
Nelson, a freshman from
Grandville are two players
with high hopes for their
season. “This class has helped me
in so many areas as well as in
other classes,” Nelson said. The freshman contributors
to the team include,
Jeff Karasinski, a freshman
from Comstock Park and
no. 3 player, Tyler Muller, a
freshman from Grandville,
and Zach Chapin, a freshman
from Caledonia. Other players include
Nick Hansen, a freshman
from Byron Center, Pejman
Kordbacheh, a freshman
from Grand Rapids, and
Patrick Snyder, a sophomore
from Westerville, Ohio. “Quite competitive new
talent. New talent is the majority,"
Goodspeed said. Out of the six top players,
four are new to the team this
season. The team will venture
out of state for four matches,
starting with Hilton Head, SC beginning Feb. 29. Goodspeed
said the school pays
for the matches, so he tries
to give his players a choice
for the location of out of state
matches. He makes sure to
schedule matches on flexible
terms with his players’
school schedules so they will
be successful off of the court
as well. Tryouts for next season
start in January, with nine
to 10 players as hopefuls.
About 12 players will be up
for next season with a couple
transfers. The next game will be held at Alma College on Feb. 2. For more information on tryouts call (616) 602-4910 or email at wqqspeed (at) comcast.net. Fantasy sports is my kind of game Fantasy sports are very addicting for
most sports buffs. It gives them a chance to
cheer for their players. Fantasy sports help
me cheer for my favorite
teams and gives me a
competing online game
with others. Whether it is football,
basketball, baseball, or
hockey it is something fun
to do. You can still cheer
for your team, yet you want your fantasy
players to do well. I enjoy doing it because
it gives me something to do and becomes
addicting. The more I have played fantasy
sports, the more involved I have become with
watching sports. Fantasy sports are things I can do with
my friends. I find myself talking with friends
about it on Monday night and on Sunday night.
I talk about how my players have done through
the week or that day. Some heated debates come about and
good discussions on my friends’ views
on players come about. With that, I have
developed friendships through playing
fantasy sports. Fantasy sports get people to watch
more sports. I know before I played fantasy
sports, I didn’t watch sports nearly as
much as I could have. With fantasy sports,
I know more about teams, which people are
injured, why teams are good and bad, and
overall rankings. Now that I am involved with them, I
don’t only watch my teams, but many exciting
games throughout the sports world.
Fantasy sports get people involved with
sports. Maybe they will start to pursue
them. Some say it takes up a lot of time, but
really it only takes a few hours a week.
It makes games between two lower
ranked teams more exciting, because you
see players from your fantasy
sports team playing, and doing
well. It makes you watch a game
that is not the focus. That game
could be the best played game of
the week. Fantasy sports are fun to do
with friends, because you can
be yourself. With your friends,
you can compete, have bragging rights, and
have an overall good time. I know when I first started, I really
didn’t know anything about it, and just
started to play having no idea what was
going on. I just played for fun, and people
who call it lame are missing out on a good
time. You can even do it by yourself, in public
leagues, and still have a fun time enjoying
sports. I think it is better to have friends
who are involved with it. They make it
more exciting. Friends helped me get more
involved with studying players and sports. However, I know from experience that it’s
just as fun not knowing and learning.
Over the years, you can become more
involved and play in more competitive
leagues. Fantasy sports change all the
time, yet remain entertaining. There are many different fantasy sports to choose from. There is golf, hockey, basketball, baseball, and football, which is the most popular. No matter what your favorite sport is; fantasy sports are easy to learn. I started out having almost no knowledge of players and teams, and still had fun. It is something where you can play and love, despite having no knowledge of it. Sports Briefs for Dec. 12, 2007 Lady Raiders still on the road P.C. police on sports names taking it too far If it’s a member of
the Latino Leadership
Alliance, you might be
called something offensive.
Of course, these
days everything is
offensive. Ask baseball
fans in Pennsylvania. The Phillies’ new
Class AAA franchise
just had a contest to
name its mascot. Since
the team is the Lehigh
Valley IronPigs, the
winner was PorkChop. Get it Pigs, pork? It sounded harmless enough. But the Latino Leadership Alliance said “Pork Chop” is a racist term for Puerto Ricans. The team quickly changed the mascot’s name to “Ferrous,” a term that indicates the presence of iron. Iron-headed reasoning, in this case. “We were really unaware of any negative connotations with the word `Pork Chop,’ “ General Manager Kurt Landes said. “If it offended a few, it’s a few too many.” By that reasoning, it’s time to ship almost every mascot off to the sausage factory. I’m certainly no expert on Hispanic slang, so I asked my friend George Diaz if he’d ever heard the term“Pork chop” used as a racial slur. Speak Out! Have something to say? Sound off to The Collegiate at grcc_collegiate@yahoo.com for your tips or views on the current news, sports, arts & entertainment and opinion. |
|
Designed by CHRIS W DESIGN
616-234-4157 • 143 Bostwick Avenue, NE Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503 (Room #339 Main) © 2007 The Collegiate