Rumor Mill: Speed torn ACL

Straight from the rumor mill...

According to Nafis Ricks, sophomore basketball player, teammate Kyle Speed has torn his ACL.

On his Facebook it states, "we just caught a big blow from my team my main man SPEED went down wit (sic) a torn ACL that means I'm going to pick up the slack and run the point and win nationals."

This has not yet been confirmed. Stay tuned to this blog for the details as they become available.

Shows to return to team

This just in...

Danielle Shows, who had earlier said she was leaving the team to join the military has now decided to return this season.

She said she will not be joining the military for the time being.

More details to come...

Lady Cavs speak out about new coach

Early indications indicate Benjamin Conrad is the perfect fit to lead the Lady Cavs.

Sophomore Amanda Dittmer said she thinks he will be a welcome addition to the club.

"He has been great so far about getting in contact with each of the girls and he has met with some of our parents," she said. "He seems really excited for this upcoming year to work with us girls and start somewhere new. I am very excited about the upcoming year."

Fellow sophomore Ivy Morrison said she hasn't met Conrad yet.

"But he should be coming up here sometime very soon," she said. "I will get a chance to be introduced to, and to speak with him."

Incoming freshman Megan Cook said she is excited about the new coach.

"He seems like a young guy that really wants to be here and feels very strongly about his new position," she said.

Cook said she's under the impression that Conrad wants to be here.

"This is where he wants to be and feels privlidged to be here. He seems very passionated and intense about the game," she said. "He is going to push the team very hard and it is my assumption that we will be very successful under his coaching."

Conrad began his career in 1996 as a coaches assistant at University of Northern Iowa. After three seasons at UNI he spent one year as a graduate assistant at Iowa State in 2000-01. That year the Cyclones advanced all the way to the Sweet 16.

After receiving his Bachelors in Political Science from UNI (1999) and his Master's in Exercise Science from Iowa State (2001) he spent one season as an assistant coach at Graceland University (2001-02). In 2002 he accepted his first head coaching job at Des Moines Area Community College . Conrad spent three seasons (2002-05) at Des Moines going 71-27.

In 2005, Conrad accepted the head coaching position at Upper Iowa University, an NCAA Division II school. Upper Iowa's won-lost record in Conrad's first season (2005-06) is unavailable. In 2006-07 they joined the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference and went 9-19 (5-13 in conference). Last season Upper Iowa went 7-23 (3-15).

New coaches introduced at Trustees meeting

Story by Corey Thibodeaux, reporter The Campus Ledger

The head Track and Field, Women’s Basketball and Women’s Volleyball coaches left some big voids to fill in the off-season.

The Johnson County Community College Board of Trustees announced on June 19 the replacement for three of the college’s Head Coaches.

Mike Bloemker will inherit the title of Head Track and Field Coach. He served as the Women and Men’s Assistant Track Coach and the Head Cross Country Coach for the past ten years.

The new women’s hoops coach will be Benjamin Conrad, the only newcomer to the college. He coached women’s basketball as a head coach since 2002 at Des Moines Arena Community College then Upper Iowa University.

Assistant Volleyball Coach Jenny Ei will be promoted to Head Coach. Ei has history of coaching club and high school Volleyball, she has not head coached at the college level.

The new coaches’ one-year contracts become effective July 1, 2008.

Ricks selected as NABC/State Farm All-American

Story by Tyler Cundith

Pulled from www.jccc.edu

OVERLAND PARK, Kan. -- Johnson County Community College freshmen guard Nafis Ricks of Philadelphia, Pa., has been named to the 2008 State Farm Coaches’ All-American Team as selected by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC). He is the first player in team history to earn this honor.

Earlier this year, Ricks became the 11th player in JCCC history to earn All-America accolades, and the second to earn first-team honors. He joins Chris Lollar as the only two first-team All-Americans in Cavalier basketball history.

Ricks also earned second-team East Jayhawk Conference honors, was voted the East Jayhawk Conference Freshman of the Year and selected as a first-team All-Region VI performer. He is the first player in team history to earn Freshman of the Year.

Ricks helped JCCC to a 21-12 record, a No. 14 ranking in the final NJCAA Division II poll, a Region VI title and a runner-up finish in the District 10 Championship. The team’s 21 victories are the most since 2001-02, and tie the second-best season total in the 17-year tenure of head coach Mike Jeffers.

Ricks led the team in scoring (15.4), rebounding (7.4) and steals (87). His 87 steals tie the fifth-best season in school history. Ricks led JCCC in scoring in 16 games, was the top rebounder 18 times and game leader in assists six times.

He scored in double figures in 27 games, and had six double doubles of points and rebounds. Twice Ricks was selected the NJCAA D-II Player of the Week. His first honor came the week of Nov. 28.

The freshman guard led JCCC to a pair of victories over Cloud County Community College and Hutchinson Community College at the Hutchinson Thanksgiving Classic last weekend.

Ricks scored 12 points and grabbed seven rebounds with three assists and two steals in a 60-54 win over Cloud County. He then netted 14 points with eight rebounds and five assists in a 80-68 win over Hutchinson. Ricks’ second honor came the week of Feb. 6 when he averaged 28.5 points and 10.5 rebounds in JCCC two games that week.

He had 26 points, 10 rebounds, three assists and three steals in leading the Cavaliers to a 75-61 road victory over Highland. He followed with a career-high 31 points, along with 11 rebounds, two assists and two steals in a near upset of Division I nationally ranked Independence.

Located in Kansas City, MO, the NABC was founded in 1927 by Phog Allen, the legendary basketball coach at the University of Kansas. Allen, a student of James Naismith, the inventor of basketball, organized coaches into this collective group to serve as Guardians of the Game. The NABC currently claims nearly 5,000 members consisting primarily of university and college men’s basketball coaches.

All members of the NABC are expected to uphold the core values of being a Guardian of the Game by bringing attention to the positive aspects of the sport of basketball and the role coaches play in the academic and athletic lives of today’s student-athletes.

The four core values of being a Guardian of the Game are advocacy, leadership, service and education. Additional information about the NABC, its programs and membership, can be found at www.nabc.com.

Former JCCC baseball player drafted

Story by Tyler Cundith
Pulled from www.jccc.edu

OVERLAND PARK, KS -- Former Johnson County Community College catcher Ryan Arp of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, was recently drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2008 Major League Baseball Draft.

He was selected in the 45th round and was the 1,356th pick overall. He is expected to report to a Dodger rookie league team in in either Florida or Utah.

Arp played for head coach Kent Shelley in the springs of 2005 and 2006. His sophomore season, Arp hit .303 (33-for-109) with nine doubles, two triples and 20 RBI. For his career, he hit .287 (45-for-157) with 12 doubles, three home runs and 33 RBI.

Arp continued his athletic career at Upper Iowa University. He is the first player in the program’s history to be selected in the Major League Draft.

Jackie Hoyt leaving to go to Central Christian College

Jackie Hoyt is leaving Johnson County Community College for Central Christian College in Macpherson, Kansas.

She said she chose to leave the college because she didn't have fun.

"Because it was too big to make a lot of friends," Hoyt said. "I didn't like the season, because I wasn't havin fun. I sat on the bench a lot."

Hoyt said she will have a lot more fun at Central Christian College.

"I chose there because I like the coach," she said. "I liked the christian environment and people and I feel I would get more of a college experience."

Hoyt looks back fondly on her experience at the college.

"I dont regret going to JCCC. I enjyed my time there. It just feels right to go to CCC."