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Tuesday, November 10, 2009
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Raiders men have international flavor Central Lakes College men's baskeball preview Sports Editor Central Lakes College Raiders men's basketball coach Jim Russell might have to become fluent in two more languages.
Russell, whose team opens the season Tuesday night against Ridgewater at Willmar, has two players from Belgrade, Serbia, and three from Somalia.
Men's basketball
Head coach: Jim Russell, 12th season
CLC career record: 216-107 (.669)
2008-09 season: 13-1 Northern Division, 24-6 overall, third in MCAC state tournament
Volunteer assistants: Matt Moen, Mike Paulus, John Pecarich, Ben Seevers
Schedule
Nov. 10, Ridgewater at Willmar 8 p.m.
Nov. 13-14, at Madison (Wis.) Fall Classic
Nov. 17, St. John's JV at Collegeville 5 p.m.
Nov. 20-21, Central Lakes Classic
Nov. 27, at Anoka-Ramsey 7 p.m.
Dec. 4, Riverland at Austin, 8 p.m.
Dec. 5, at Rochester 3 p.m.
Dec. 8, St. John's JV 7 p.m.
Dec. 11, St. Cloud Technical 8 p.m.
Dec. 12, Fergus Falls 3 p.m.
Dec. 18-19, Central Lakes Winter Classic
Jan 6, Itasca 8 p.m.
Jan 9, Mesabi Range at Virginia 3 p.m.
Jan 15, Rainy River 8 p.m.
Jan 16, Hibbing 3 p.m.
Jan 20, Northland 8 p.m.
Jan 23, Vermilion 3 p.m. Jan 27, Fond Du Lac 8 p.m.
Jan 30, at Hibbing 3 p.m.
Feb. 5, Mesabi 8 p.m.
Feb. 6, Vermilion 3 p.m.
Feb. 10, Northland at Thief River Falls 8 p.m.
Feb. 13, Rainy River at International Falls 3 p.m.
Feb. 17, Fond Du Lac at Cloquet 8 p.m.
Feb. 20, Itasca at Grand Rapids 3 p.m.
Feb. 26-28, MCAC state tournament
March 5-6, Region 13 tournament
March 12-13, NJCAA D-lll tournament, Delhi, N.Y.
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CLC also has one player from Florida and three from Arizona to go with Caleb Nurnberger of Staples-Motley and Erik Peeters of New York Mills, the only players who return.
"This year's team has a lot of new faces," Russell said. "Not only that, we have a language barrier. We have two kids from Serbia, who just learned the English language and they might not understand the little Asian guy (Russell) so there's an English barrier there.
"Then there are some kids that I've never really dealt with before, from Somalia. We've had to learn about their fasting, their beliefs, what they can do, what they can't do during that time."
Nurnberger and Peeters played for a team that finished 24-6, placed third in the MCAC state tournament and played in the Region 13 tournament.
The 6-foot Nurnberger was one of the top 3-point shooters in the Northern Division, making 50 threes.
"Caleb came from a very successful program out of Staples," Russell said. "I have to give (S-M coach) Lynn Peterson a lot of credit for what he was able to do with Caleb, how much he helped Caleb on the basketball court. He's a high-energy kid who can be a big threat. He's got a knack for shooting the three."
Peeters, his team's leading scorer in high school and MVP of the Park Region Conference, was a role player at CLC.
"He won all the awards you can think of, then he comes here and ends up coming off the bench,"
Russell said. "It's a big sacrifice to do that, then to come back the next year and want to be part of this program says a lot about his character."
Milos Prijovic and Filip Vukasin are the Serbians. Prijovic is 6-7, Vukasin an inch taller. They transferred from Frank Phillips College in Borger, Texas.
"They're very respectful, thank you, no sir, yes sir kind of kids," Russell said. "They just love being here in Brainerd. They wanted to find a place like home, and boy did they find it. They've been very well received in the community, and on campus."
Yasin Jama, Mohamed Barre and Ahmed Farah are the Somalians. Jama is a 6-1 guard, Barre a 6-7 forward and Farah a 6-6 swingman, who played at St. Cloud Apollo. Farah red-shirted at CLC last season.
"Ahmed has become an unbelievable person," Russell said. "Maturity wise, he has grown up. Physically, he has grown. He's athletic, and long. He will help us in a lot of different phases of the game. We feel like even if he doesn't get to play a minute we've made an impact on his life."
Marcus McDonald of South Daytona, Fla., is a 6-foot guard that Russell spotted while he was coaching in the NJCAA women's golf tournament.
"He's fearless on defense," Russell said. "He has a great work ethic on the court, but also off the court. If you ask anybody on this campus they all know Marcus, the teachers, his classmates."
Marcus Ayala is a 5-11 freshman point guard from Phoenix, one of the three Arizonans who were recruited by Raiders assistant Mike Paulus.
"Marcus was heavily recruited," Russell said, "but he wanted an opportunity to improve his game, see what could come out of two years here."
Other highly touted players included 6-4 Nick Grewe of Bertha-Hewitt and 6-2 Nash Faulk of Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted.
Grewe is back in school after working last year.
"Nick's a very good athlete, very strong," Russell said. "He played football at Winona State before dropping out of school."
Faulk played for fourth-place HL-W-W in the 2009 state tournament.
"A lot of Division II schools were looking at him," Russell said, "but he wanted to come here and work on his game. He's fundamentally sound, a good athlete. He does a little bit of everything."
Russell said he and his coaching staff, which includes Paulus, John Pecarich, Ben Seevers and Matt Moen, was concerned about having so many players from diverse backgrounds.
"Bringing kids in from out of state is not one of our biggest philosophies, but we needed to bring kids in here that can compete at the level we would like to be," he said.
"Our coaching staff has said many times that all pieces of the puzzle are on this team," he added. "Our job is to put it together, and for them to bond. We have the chemistry. We're excited."
Raiders roster
Number, name, position, height, home
Sophomores
11-Caleb Nurnberger, G, 6-0, Staples
15-Erik Peeters, G-F, 6-3, New York Mills
43-Filip Vukasin, F, 6-8, Belgrade, Serbia
41-Milos Prijovic, G-F, 6-7, Belgrade, Serbia
Freshmen
1-Marcus McDonald, G, 6-0, FR, South Daytona, Fla.
3-Marcus Ayala, G, 5-11, FR, Phoenix
5-Eric Green, G, 6-0, Phoenix
13-Nash Faulk, G, 6-2, Howard Lake
22-Antonio Wigfall, G-F, 6-5, Minneapolis
23-Eric Bynes, G-F, 6-4, Phoenix
24-Yasin Jama, G, 6-1, Minneapolis
25-Cody Hofmann, G, 5-9, Cottage Grove
31-Ahmed Farah, G-F, 6-6, St. Cloud
33-Nick Grewe, G-F, 6-4, Bertha-Hewitt
44, Mohamed Barre, 6-7, Minneapolis
MIKE BIALKA may be reached at mike.bialka@brainerddispatch.com or at 855-5861.
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