Richards, Reibel receive nominations for Bob Cousy Award
Great guard play wins basketball games.
That's particularly evident at tournament time.
If you can find somebody who looks to set up teammates for scoring, rather than just scoring themselves, you have a potential MVP.
They're not easy to find at any level.
"No one wants to set the table anymore," Mount St. Mary's Coach Milan Brown said last March during the NCAA men's tournament. "Everyone wants to eat."
That's why college basketball has emphasized the value of the point guard with a prestigious postseason award.
The Daily Herald area has two candidates for that award.
Jason Richards (Barrington) of Davidson College and Jonny Reibel (Hoffman Estates) of Rollins College have been nominated for the 2008 Bob Cousy Award that annually recognizes the top point guard in men's college basketball.
Reibel was one of just two Division II players nominated.
Candidates for the award distinguish themselves on and off the court and are selected by a committee of the media and former coaches and players.
Cousy was an NBA legend at point guard who is in the Basketball Hall of Fame. He was on six NBA champions with the Boston Celtics and named to 13 all-star teams.
Acie Law IV of Texas A&M was the 2007 Bob Cousy winner from a pool of over 60 candidates and 17 finalists from NCAA Division I, II and III schools across the country.
Soccer
Kristin Rukhaberlen (Hoffman Estates), who battled through two ACL injuries in high school, is off to a fast start as a freshman for Elgin Community College. After 9 games, she ranked No. 7 in NJCAA scoring with 21 goals and 4 assists. She had 4-goal games against Oakton Community College and South Suburban College.
• Michael Zaino (Elk Grove), midfielder for Taylor University (Upland, Ind.), scored 2 goals against West Virginia Tech to preserve a 3-3 tie and then added his 5th goal of the season against Goshen College.
• Shawna Becker (Wheeling) of Cornell College (Mount Vernon, Iowa) picked up her 12th career shutout in a 2-0 victory over Simpson College.
• Saint Xavier University senior forward Lissa Coby (Grant) was named the NAIA Women's Soccer Offensive Player of the Week. This is the second time Coby has received the national recognition in her four-year career. She played a vital role in the Cougars' pair of league wins by scoring 2 goals and 4 assists.
Coby is Saint Xavier's leading scorer with 12 goals and 9 assists and has been awarded the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor three times.
• Freshman Kelly Blenner (St. Viator) is the top scorer for Western Michigan with 2 goals, and senior Megan Blenner (St. Viator) of Carroll College now has 6 goals for the season and 20 for her career. Carroll is undefeated in conference play.
• Keri Hess (Schaumburg) of Carthage College had 7 saves in goal in a 1-0 win over Augustana.
Volleyball
Jessica LeClaire (Carmel) of Millikin University was named the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Setter/Defensive Player of the Week. She had 9 kills, 61 assists, 3 aces and 23 digs in three games.
Cross country
Jay Renaud (Prospect) finished as the sixth man for the University of Iowa and 35th (25:54) overall in the 8,000 meters at the 21-team Loyola Lakefront Invitational. Iowa finished second.
Tennis
Carthage College's Beth Kaufman (Barrington) won the No. 2 singles title in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with a 6-3, 1-6, 7-6 (3) win over Shannon Hale of Wheaton College.
Baseball
Two weeks after earning an award for his defensive work at second base this summer, Joe Bonadonna (Stevenson) of the University of Illinois was named the Rawlings Offensive Player of the Year at second in the Northwoods League. Playing for the Duluth Huskies, Bonadonna topped the team in hits (59), runs (41), walks (48) and stolen bases (45). He played in 68 games, making only 7 errors.
Jack Leese tribute
Jack Leese, who coached East Leyden to the Class 5A state football championship in 1977 with a 13-0 record, will be honored on Saturday, Nov. 24 at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont.
The reception and dinner will be held from 6-11 p.m.
Friends of the football program, fans, coaches, faculty, staff, students and all athletes from 1964-78 are welcome to attend.
Cost is $80 per person. Reservations must be made by Oct. 15 to guarantee a seat at the dinner.
For information, e-mail to info@leesetribute.com or call (847) 612-0624.
Wrestling
The Arlington Cardinal Wrestling Club will hold an informational and sign-up day from 7-8:30 p.m. on Oct. 18 at Prospect High School. For information, call Ken Zintak at (847) 259-0937 or e-mail to zintak@comcast.net.
Practices begin Oct. 30
• Northwestern head coach Tim Cysewski and his assistants will host the 15th annual coaches' clinic at 1 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 20 at Conant High School.
Registration will be $50 in advance, $60 at the door and will begin at 12:30 p.m. on the day of the event.
Following the clinic, all attendees are welcome to join the coaches at Papa's Pizza Place to eat and watch football games.
Complete information and a registration form can be found by visiting NUsports.com.
Coaching clinic
American Sports Education Program (ASEP) will hold coaching clinics in Willowbrok on Oct. 13 at Velocity Sports Performance and in Rockford on Oct. 14 at the Quality Suites.
The clinics are available to anyone interested in becoming certified to coach middle or high school athletics.
The successful completion of the ASEP progam is required by the Illinois High School Association for all non-faculty coaches.
For more information or registration on these meetings or future clinics, contact Jeff Kyle at (217) 586-4799 or thekyles@mchsi.com.