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48 °F Forecast | Road Cams Thursday, January 27, 2005 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Menu Guide How To Guide Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Real Estate Guide Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Passport to the Rogue Valley EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People Volunteer Opportunities Moving to Southern Oregon? MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend December 28, 2004 Abby’s teams get the royal treatment Prep Notebook By DON HUNT Mail Tribune On the court, South Medford High boys basketball coach Dennis Murphy hasn’t been the kindest host to other teams in the Abby’s Holiday Basketball Classic. His South Medford Panthers have won the tournament five straight times. But off the court, Murphy rolls out the red carpet during the holiday season to rival a certain Mr. Claus. The six teams that will join the two Medford schools for the three-day event that begins tonight don’t have to pay a tournament fee and they get two nights of lodging free of charge at one of six Medford motels. Not only that, but they’ll also be treated to a spaghetti feed at noon today and an all-you-can-eat pizza party Wednesday night, compliments of tournament sponsor Abby’s Legendary Pizza. Abby’s also hands out T-shirts to the players and polo shirts to the coaches. Bear Creek corporation chips in gift baskets full of delectable goodies for the coaches. Advertisement "We don’t have that sense of community in Portland," says Wilson coach Scott Aker, whose Trojans become the first Portland Interscholastic League squad to play in the tournament since its inception in 1990. "We’re really looking forward to coming down there." Murphy, a promoter and go-getter who could sell beach front property in Nebraska if his life depended on it, took over full control of the tournament eight years ago after South Medford and North Medford had split the responsibility. He talked motel owners into handing out five free rooms for two nights to the visiting teams in the hope that parents and other relatives and fans would also stay — and pay. The game plan has been a win-win. "I think we all know that most high school teams these days have to fund raise just to run their programs," Murphy says. "I don’t want the teams in this tournament to have to put out a bunch of money to come down here. "We want to treat them right." This year marks the third straight appearance for Crescent Valley coach Bruce Reid, and he doesn’t plan on switching holiday extravaganzas anytime soon. "Where else are you going to get what you get here?" he says. "I told Dennis (Murphy) to just pencil us in every year." This despite Reid’s Raiders getting blitzed by South Medford 82-63 in the title game two years ago and 88-49 in last year’s semifinals. Crescent Valley went on to make the state playoffs both years. "We’re not sleeping in our own beds, we’re not getting mom’s home cooking and the officials probably understand their footwork better than ours," Reid says. "But it gives us an opportunity to deal with adversity, and we think that helps us later in the season." Abby’s, meanwhile, views its sponsorship role as giving back to a community that has supported it splendidly over the years. The pizza chain, launched in Roseburg in 1964, has 31 restaurants in Oregon and two in Washington, and Medford ranks No. 1 in sales volume, Abby’s marketing director Doug Phillips says. "We don’t look at it as spending a certain amount of dollars and getting them all back," Phillips says. "We’re just happy to give back to this community and help out a good cause. And to be honest, there’s a PR value here." JOE WOLFINGER, the former Aloha center who used his 7-foot-1 frame to register 13 points, six rebounds and four blocked shots in the Warriors’ 63-36 state playoff loss to South Medford last March, has been offered a basketball scholarship to the University of Washington, Aloha coach Ken Yarnell says. Wolfinger has been playing at Northfield Mount Hermon, a prep school in Northfield, Mass. The school accepts high school graduates such as Wolfinger, a late bloomer whose best days are in front of him. "He was 6-10 and 180 pounds two years ago," Yarnell says. "Now he’s 7-1 and 230. He’s a diamond in the rough." Wolfinger was offered full rides by Georgia Tech, Cincinnati and Florida State, but chose the Huskies because of their amiable coach, Lorenzo Romar. "Joe’s a sensitive kid who can’t really take a lot of verbal pounding," Yarnell says. "Romar will be perfect for him. That’s a good fit." Wolfinger earned first-team, all-conference honors in the Metro League last season while helping Aloha to a 19-8 record. The Warriors got pounded by South Medford in the play-in game to the Class 4A state tournament, but Wolfinger had a strong outing and earned the Panthers’ respect. "He’s got good hands, which you don’t always see in a 7-footer, and he loves to play the game," Yarnell says. "I definitely think he can play at the next level." REX PUTNAM , ranked ninth in The Associated Press Class 4A poll, and Crescent Valley, which received votes, square off in what could be the best first-round game tonight at 6 at North Medford High. Crescent Valley showcases top gun Brett Casey, a 6-1 senior who was among the state scoring leaders last season at 22.1 points per game, while Rex Putnam features 6-4 wing Steven Vaughn, who already has scored 30 or more points twice this season. Crescent Valley has two other marquee performers in 6-5 senior post Mike Golden and 6-2 senior post Joey Lakowske, but Lakowske is in Texas this week on a baseball recruiting visit and won’t be back in time for the tournament. "He (Lakowske) was hurt during baseball season last year, but as a sophomore, he might have been the best player in the (Valley) league," says Reid, the Crescent Valley coach. Reid says Lakowske, whose mother is the head women’s golf coach at Oregon State, was ranked No. 1 nationally in racquetball as a 12-year-old. "He’s just an incredible athlete," Reid says. "He has great hand-eye coordination. I’m not sure he plays five minutes of basketball in the offseason, but he can come into a gym and start nailing shots in no time." Reach reporter Don Hunt at 776-4469, or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2005 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities Student Loan Consolidation Conference Calls - $50/Month Home Security Systems Trunks, Footlocker, Trunk, Footlockers