If you were in Fresno in the mid to late 1990s and you thought of Fresno State Basketball, one name comes to mind: Chris Herren, the basketball prodigy from Fall River, Massachusetts. At the time, he played under legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian, who won the NCAA National Championship in 1990 at UNLV and was commonly referred to as “Tark the Shark.”
People in the Central Valley are odd when it comes to their perceptions about the Valley. This is an area where the youth beg to leave to experience life whether it be going to college, traveling, finding a career, and the list goes on. They have good reasons to depart, and no one really enjoys the heat much. But yet, at the same time, no matter how long people are a way from the area, people always find a way to come back. Whether to visit or move back. The famous line is true, “There’s no place like home.” And for Demetrius Porter, he would agree.
So, had star forward Meghan Cronin tried to throw the first round game? FBI Special Agent Dawna Shepherd was ninety-nine percent convinced the answer was no. Meghan hadn't intended to miss those free throws last night in the NCAA Women's Basketball Championship playoff against Oregon State.
There's a special buzz around Immanuel campus, especially with regard to the basketball teams. With four talented transfers on the girls and seven on the boys, the games are producing a gargantuan amount of school pride. Between both teams beating Kingsburg and the girls leaving Minarets behind by over fifty points, the school is definitely rising up to the occasion, both teams wishing to obtain a Valley title.
Looking back on the year in sports is always a little difficult. Not because there's not much to talk about, but because it's hard to remember everything that happened, especially events from the beginning of the year.
This year's Immanuel Boys Basketball team has acquired new members to their staff and team. Josh Justin (Immanuel Biology teacher) and Nate McClurg are new additions to this year's varsity head coaching staff. The team has also acquired some new players: C.J. Dodd: Point Guard and Chris Baily: Guard, Forward Lance Henderson: Forward, Guard.
Saturday, December 18th, 2010 was a pretty normal day for Laine Brown. A week before Christmas in her junior year at Immanuel High School, Laine was playing in a basketball game at the Farmersville tournament. As was always the case, she was hustling up the floor, ready to knock the ball away from an opponent, when the opponent suddenly stopped, and they collided.
Immanuel High School has a rich sports tradition, and the school’s basketball program has been especially successful in the past decade. Any coach who steps into the head coaching spot for Immanuel is stepping into high expectations, and C.J. Haydock is the new man on the hot seat.
I remember clearly the first time I saw Todd Croissant on a basketball court. It was probably 1991 or 1992 during warm-ups for a game at the Immanuel High School Gym. Todd was a freshman, playing on the varsity—a very rare thing then, as it is now. My first impression was, “this guy belongs on a basketball court.”
