More on Moreno; Swimming back in action; Track to being indoor season

Above are head men's basketball coach Ron Holmes' comments on Robert Moreno being selected as one of nine finalists for the Bob Cousy Award. Also, if you missed the press release on his candidacy, click here. Moreno had eight assists and five steals in an overtime loss to LeTourneau Thursday night. So far in his career, he has 388 assists and 147 steals.

One note from Thursday night's men's game:
• I had initially written in the press release that LeTourneau's win Thursday was the first ever at Kimbrell Arena. However, I was sorely mistaken, the Yellow Jackets' first win came in Dec. of 2007 making it now two-straight wins over McMurry at Kimbrell Arena.

Swim Teams Gear Back Up
• Head coach Bev Ball and crew will head to Sherman Saturday to swim at Austin College and face three other NCAA Division III schools and NCAA Division II UT-Permian Basin. Then, McMurry will play host to two meets on Jan. 16 and 23.

Track and Field starts Jan. 16
It's hard to believe, but it's already time for a little track and field action with the indoor season beginning in Lubbock at the Texas Tech open next Saturday. The men's team, coming off a second-place finish at the NCAA Division III Outdoor Championships in June, will begin life without Hanneus Ollison who was a staple for McMurry track for four seasons. Ollison led McMurry to the first team national championship of any kind in 2008 when McMurry took the outdoor title. Assistant coach Brad Parris said he was excited, among other things, about the large number of talented pole vaulters on both the men's and women's side. As far as men's sprinters who will have big shoes to fill when it comes to Ollison, Parris said head coach Barbara Crousen "always has irons in the fire" and expects them to be solid once again.

Check the McMurry Track & Field Schedule here.

Stay tuned ...
--KR

Leach, Mumme and more

It's been a little more than 50 days since I've blogged last. So, a New Year's Resolution should be to keep this thing a little more updated. So here goes ...

Unless you've been sleeping under a rock, you know that Texas Tech head coach Mike Leach was fired under extremely controversial circumstances last week. If you are a McMurry fan, you also know the connection between Leach and McMurry head football coach Hal Mumme (Click here for a previous blog post with audio from Leach | Click here to view an article on mcmurrypsorts.com).

The Abilene sports media was able to take a very local angle on the Red Raiders' personnel. The Abilene Reporter News' sports editor, Greg Jaklewicz wrote an article on Mumme's view of the Leach situation, view that here (and have fun with the extremely "intelligent" user comments at the bottom of the article). Then, KTAB and KRBC got Mumme's take on the situation, click here to view the video.

In other Mumme news, the Iowa Hawkeye, a newspaper from Burlington, Iowa, caught up with the former Iowa Wesleyan head coach and talked about the "Air Raid" Offense and Mumme's battle with cancer a little over a year ago. Check the article written by Matt Levins here.

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On to basketball ...

• McMurry men's basketball player Robert Moreno (Sr., Brownsville, Texas) was named to the list of finalists for the Bob Cousy Award, which honors the best point guards at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels. Moreno, led the American Southwest Conference in assists last season, and so far in 2009-2010 he leads the ASC in assists per game and assists-to-turnover ratio. He is one of nine finalists for the NCAA Division III Award, for the complete list, click here.

The Abilene Reporter News' former McMurry beat writer, Marc David, writes a weekly college notebook despite living in Chandler, Ariz. He's done a particulary good job this year of keeping up with former college athletes from Abilene Christian, Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, Tarleton State and McMurry. His latest article featured former McMurry women's basketball player and all-American Symbri Tuttle. Click here to read Mark's article.

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I hope that this post gives McMurry fans a more inside look at the athletics program in some respects, please continue to check back for more updates.

Stay tuned ...
--KR

McMurry falls

Sorry for the radio technical difficulties, McMurry loses 88-72 to No. 15 Wheaton, we'll try to have our issues figured out for the radio doubleheader Saturday in Pineville, La. Women's game tips off at 1 p.m. and men at 3 p.m.

Wheaton builds keeps insurmountable lead

With under four minutes to play McMurry trails by 15 points at 80-65 to No. 15 Wheaton College.

Need a spurt in the worst way ...

McMurry has been able to string together consecutive buckets in the second half a couple of different times, however, Wheaton is always there to counter. Now, with under 10 minutes to play, the Thunder still have a 14-point lead and McMurry desperately needs stops on defense as well as quality shots on the offensive end, which haven't been coming easy.

Wheaton 68 McMurry 54 with 9:11 to play ...

Back to basketball ...

Wheaton is continuing its dominance over McMurry in the Lee Pfund Classic in Wheaton, Ill. Trailing by 12 points at half, the Thunder haven't missed a step and McMurry can't gain any ground, especially with their dismal shooting effort from the free-throw line (3 of 15 so far). McMurry trails 60-46 with 13:13 remaining in the game.

Lee Driggers

One of the great things about the men's basketball trip to Wheaton, Ill. has been reconnecting with former McMurry baseball coach Lee Driggers. Driggers re-birthed the baseball program in 1996 and coached the first 13 years leaving following his fourth ASC title in 2008. Driggers compiled more than 300 wins at McMurry and will be known for his work and commitment to the school and the program. He took the head coaching job at Wheaton College following the 2008 season, and it worked out well for he and his wife Sharon because their son Austin had just agreed to play football at Wheaton from Abilene's Cooper High School.

Everywhere Drigers has gone as a baseball coach including a AA coaching stint with the Pittsburg Pirates, he's been a winner. So it was no surprise last season when he not only took the Thunder to their first ever conference tournament appearance, but took them to the championship game as well.

Driggers admits advantages to both places when he's compared Wheaton and McMurry. Wheaton's facilities overall are incredible and the athletics facilities are top grade. However, as far as baseball is concerned, it would be hard to beat Walt Driggers Field on McMurry's campus because it is one, if not the, premiere NCAA Division III baseball facility in the nation. However, Driggers has already begun fund-raising work to help improve the baseball facilities, much like his efforts to build the field named after his uncle in Abilene.

All in all, Driggers is a good man, and he now carries his influences to the students, faculty and staff at Wheaton.

Good luck coach, it's been good to catch up, and you have been missed.