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Our Call: Wilson is deserving of Coach of the Year award Commentary By Joe Zavala Homer alert. Klamath Falls Herald and News sports reporter/columnist Steve Matthies doesn't think Southern Oregon University second-year coach Kevin Wilson should have won the Cascade Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year award last week. Four of the other nine CCC coaches voted for Wilson, leaving Oregon Tech coach Tom Loney tied for second and Matthies steamed. "For the last month, I have told more than one person that if Oregon Tech's Tom Loney is not the Cascade Collegiate Conference women's basketball Coach of the Year, the award should not exist," wrote Matthies in a Herald and News commentary last week. "Dump it � Any thinking person knows there was only one coach who could have won the award - Loney. Just because a team wins the league title is no reason to give someone Coach of the Year. More often than not, the coach of the league champions has more talent. Other coaches may work harder." Matthies goes on: "There are coaches in the Cascade Collegiate Conference who never will be able to explain their flawed, demented logic at not voting Loney Coach of the Year. "There really is no need to keep such an award. It means nothing. If what Loney was able to accomplish with his staff and his players this year do not merit Coach of the Year honors, probably nothing ever will." Whoa! Actually, something a coach accomplished this season did merit Coach of the Year honors. Wilson, in just his second year at the helm, led the Raiders to 12 straight league wins, 16 overall (16-2) and a runaway CCC title - only one of the most dominating regular season sprints in league history. He also coached the Raiders to their second straight NAIA national playoff berth. Yes, Loney led a first-year program to a second-place CCC finish, but c'mon Steve, the Wilson-led Raiders have owned this conference for over a year now. It's a no-brainer. OK, I know how to settle this. Wilson's Raiders will spot Loney's Owls a 10-point lead with about two minutes left (heck, I'll even throw in home court advantage for OIT, just because I love the drive). If Tech can hold that lead, Loney gets it. Whoops, that already happened. Maybe next year. *** The Ashland High girls basketball team already kicked off the Class 4A state tournament this afternoon against Redmond (1:30 p.m. tipoff), but win or lose, the Grizzlies' chances to place this week will most likely rest on their ability to avoid the costly turnovers that have haunted them all season. The Grizzlies have improved in that area of late - they had just 10 turnovers in the first three quarters of Saturday's sub-tournament win over Tualatin - but may be facing their stiffest test yet today. Grizz coach Steve Humann said in a phone interview Monday that Redmond, which beat Ashland 86-70 on Dec. 20, likes to press as much as Tualatin. The Grizzlies handled the Timberwolve's pressure swimingly until the fourth quarter, when Tualatin's scrambling "D" led to eight Grizz turnovers. Part of the Grizzlies' turnover woes stem from the fact that they start two sophomores in the backcourt. More damning, however, is Ashland's makeup. Only sophomore guard Alysse Carlson is capable of consistently breaking the press on her own. If Humann finds a way for the Grizzlies to overcome this, his team might just pick up its first piece of hardware since 1999, when Ashland took eighth. LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -