UNews - Dave Crook

Hansen named Horns men's head coach

trevor.kenney — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 21:45:05 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns Athletic Department announced that Mike Hansen (BA '96, BEd '99, MA '09) has been named the new head coach of the Pronghorn men's basketball program Friday, becoming the 10th head coach in the program's history.

Hansen replaces Dave Adams, who resigned Feb. 25 after his fourth season with the program to pursue an international teaching opportunity.

"We are excited to welcome Mike back to the program," says Executive Director of Sport and Recreation, Sandy Slavin. "His track record at the college level speaks for itself and his connection to the basketball community in southern Alberta is equally important."

Hansen returns to the 'Horns program after suiting up for the blue and gold during the 1990s. He played in 74 games for the Pronghorns over four seasons under the program's all-time winningest coach, Dave Crook, and graduated after the 1994 season.

"It is such an honour to be able to lead the Horns program," says Hansen. "Dave Crook and Dave Adams have been two of the most influential mentors in my life. I have a huge sense of responsibility to live up to the standards they have set for this program, and I hope I can have the same impact on my players that they've had on me."

Coaching at both the college and high school level in Alberta, Hansen comes to the 'Horns with a wealth of experience. Over five seasons in the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference (ACAC) with Lethbridge College and NAIT, Hansen compiled a 68-30 conference record and a 114-47 overall record. Hansen reached the playoffs in all five seasons in the ACAC, including bronze medal finishes in 2009 and 2012 and a silver medal at the 2011 ACAC Final Four Championship.

After leading Lethbridge College to a 17-1 record and a CCAA silver medal, he moved on to NAIT for one season and finished with a 16-4 record. He resigned from NAIT after one season due to the inability to relocate his family to Edmonton.

In addition to his college experience, Hansen spent 10 years as a local high school coach, winning three league titles, four zone championships and attending the provincial championships six times, including this past year when he led the Chinook High School Senior Girls team to its first 4A Zone championship and a fourth place finish at provincials. He has also been involved in Alberta's provincial program, serving as an assistant coach and winning a bronze medal at the 2001 Canada Games.

Hansen will have instant familiarity with the current 'Horns roster, having coached a number of the current 'Horns at Lethbridge College.

Adams resigns as Horns' head coach

trevor.kenney — Mon, 25 Feb 2013 22:50:33 +0000

Following a 12-win season, the most the program has achieved since the 1999-2000 season, Dave Adams has resigned as the head coach of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball program to pursue an international opportunity outside of coaching.

Hired April 17, 2009, Adams finishes his second tenure with the program with a 46-60 career won-loss record, the second best winning percentage of any Pronghorn men's basketball coach. He also guided the Horns to three post-season appearances. His first stint with the 'Horns was as interim head coach for the 2001-02 season, following the departure of Dave Crook.

"One door is closing and another door is opening both in Horns' Nation, and in my personal life," says Adams. "My journey has been greatly enriched by the wonderful experiences as a player, assistant coach and then head coach at the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge, but both my family and I are excited about this new endeavour and exciting opportunity overseas."

Head coach Dave Adams, seen here during a timeout, leaves the Horns after one of the team's most successful seasons.

Also an alumnus of the men's basketball program, Adams suited up for 76 games for the Blue and Gold from 1976-81, having his best season during the 1980-81 season when he averaged 11.9 points per game.

Adams has accepted a position as Principal/ Superintendent for the Alruwad International Schools in Muscat, Oman. There are four new schools set to open under the Alruwad International schools umbrella that will be offering Canadian curricula education in addition to sports academies. Two of those areas are close to Adams's heart - basketball and triathlon.

"I'm happy for Dave, I can't imagine a job that would be more perfect for him," says Executive Director of Sport and Recreation, Sandy Slavin. "He has done a great job for us these past four years, he's moved the program forward and is leaving it in great shape for the next coach. We will all miss the enthusiasm and excitement that Dave brings to Pronghorn Athletics."

Pronghorn Athletics will begin the process of searching for a new coach immediately.

Horns men's basketball to host coaching clinic

trevor.kenney — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 17:46:41 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball is hosting its Southern Alberta Coaching Clinic Saturday, Oct. 2 at the 1st Choice Savings Centre gymnasium.

The clinic sees the return of former Pronghorns head coach Dave Crook as one of the keynote presenters. He'll join current head coach Dave Adams, along with assistant coach Brad Karren. All three coaches have won national coaching honours.

Registration for the clinic is $90 per participant, which includes an Adidas Horns t-shirt (first 50 registered people) and a ticket to the Alumni game that night. Receipts will be issued to educators for PD reimbursement.

To register, call the Customer Service Centre at 403-329-2706.

Following is the itinerary for the clinic.

8:30 a.m. – Registration
9 a.m. – Opening remarks. Session #1: Individual workouts for your players (Dave Adams)
10 a.m. – Session #2: Man-to-Man Defense (Dave Crook)
11a.m. – Session #3: Fastbreak into Man-to-Man Half-court Offenses (Brad Karren)
Noon – Lunch
1 p.m. – Session #4: Zone Attack (Dave Crook)
2 p.m. – Session #5: Zone Defenses in the Full-court and Half-court (Brad Karren)

Alumni Game

The Horns will hold their annual Alumni Game later that evening, with tip-off scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Crook will coach the Alumni squad (Bob White, Remington Stemler, Rob Cooper, Mike Myers, and Tim Rollingson Jr. have confirmed their participation) as it battles the 2010-11 edition of the Horns.

After the Alumni Game, a short Meet the Players event will be held in PE 264, followed by the first Friends of Horns Men's Basketball AGM.

Celebrating a memorable season

trevor.kenney — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 21:11:38 +0000

They sold out a gym in 12 minutes. Their act played throughout western Canada for six months and concluded with a command performance in Halifax, N.S. before disbanding. Now, 10 years later, they'll be back on centre stage at the 1st Choice Savings Centre gym.

No, it's not a rock band reunion, although they did play a tune on almost everybody they met that season. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns 1999-2000 basketball team will be honoured at the final Horns regular season basketball games this season, Feb. 13, when the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos come to town.

It's a huge game for the current edition of the Pronghorns as they need a win to grab the final Canada West post-season berth and look to finish the regular season at 10-10 in the year. If they hit double digits in the win column, they'll be the first Horns team to reach that mark since the magical 1999-2000 season.

The night will also feature a fundraiser for the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation that will see the women's basketball team raise money through the 50-50 draw as well as pink t-shirt sales and the buzzer beater halftime competition.

Game times on Saturday night are 6 p.m. for the women and 8 p.m. for the men.

The 1999-2000 Horns advanced to the national semifinal game before losing a heartbreaking 80-75 decision to St. Francis Xavier. Head coach Dave Crook was prophetic in his post-game analysis.

"Right now it's very difficult to swallow, but in 10 years they're going to look back on all the positives," said Crook at the time. "We didn't win in the end, but it doesn't take anything away from them as people. I'm just so proud of the way they represented me, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ and the community."

Now, 10 years later, we can all celebrate their accomplishments.

Adams assumes leadership role

trevor.kenney — Wed, 13 May 2009 21:08:54 +0000

It's not as though Dave Adams (BEd '82) was looking for a job – it just so happened that the job came calling for him.

The new head coach of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball program has been a teacher, a principal and a business manager but those roles only masked what Adams felt was always his destiny.

"My life was blessed with parents who instilled in me a work ethic and more importantly, a courage to follow my passions and my dreams," says Adams. "Most people are going to shake their heads at this, taking a risk, making a career change. To me, you have to follow your heart, your dreams and your passion. This was the right time and place."

He was in the right place once before but the timing was off. A one-year stint as the Horns interim head coach in 2001-02 didn't last when he was passed over for the full-time position for Mike Connolly. When Connolly resigned that position this spring, Adams again threw his hat into the ring.

"It comes down to being a proud alumni, a proud former player and a proud former coach," says Adams. "Experience helps me understand the essence, the spirit, the heart and courage of being a Horn. It's a calling, and even though it's a piece I didn't see coming back in my life, here I am, once again."

A Pronghorns player from 1976-81, Adams made the most of his BEd degree, delving directly into teaching at Catholic Central High School. He also started a second basketball career, this time as a coach. He would continue to teach by day and coach by night, eventually taking the helm at Lethbridge College and leading the Kodiaks for four successful seasons (including an ACAC silver medal and two bronze medals).

Eventually, Adams would find his way back to the U of L, assisting Dave Crook from 1999 through 2001. Along the way he would work with the provincial basketball program (1993-97) and get a shot at the national level, working with the Basketball Canada Centre for Performance from 2004 to 2006. All the while he was a school principal (St. Francis Junior High School) and most recently, executive director of Lethbridge Family Services.

It might look like a circuitous route but the touchstone over time has always been the U of L. It's a legacy Adams wants to share with his fellow alumni to help reengage what he terms "Horns Nation".

"We're sitting on 39 years of teams here. One of the big things we need to do is go back to 39 years of Pronghorns and say come on guys, come on back to the table and sit with us, and let's do this together," Adams says. "Dave Adams, in isolation, the Horns, in isolation, will never reach that dream of winning a national championship, it must be us collectively as a Horns Nation that does that."

There's an effusive energy about Adams that invites grand ideas, and the new coach does not shy away from his goal of bringing a national title to southern Alberta, despite taking over a program that has missed the playoffs for six consecutive seasons.

"I would not be sitting here today if my goal for Horns Nation was not to win a national championship," he says.

"To me, it's a challenge that the U of L has reached in several sports, those are proud moments in our history and there's no reason for me, at this point in my life or career, to come here for any other reason."

GET THE FACTS

• Adams averaged 11.9 points per game playing for the Horns in the 1980-81 season. He totalled 76 games in a Pronghorns uniform over his career

• An avid distance runner, Adams trains for both marathons and triathlons. He is currently the national champion for his age group in sprint distance and is a six-time Canadian National Triathlon Team member. He is currently training for the World Triathlon Championships in Gold Coast, Australia.

• Adams' U of L ties run deep. He is married to Assistant Dean, Field Experience, Faculty of Education, Dr. Pamela Adams. Their daughter, Brittney, is a second-year political science student at the U of L

• Adams has the endorsement of his players. "I'm excited, his style of coaching is something I really feel good about," says guard Quinn Van Gaalen.

Coaching search process goes public

trevor.kenney — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 21:23:42 +0000

The search for a new ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Pronghorns men's basketball team head coach will go public tonight when three short-listed candidates give public presentations on campus.

Mike Hansen, Richard Bohne and Dave Adams are scheduled to present for 20-30 minutes each in Room PE261. Hansen will take centre stage at 6:30 p.m., followed by Bohne at 7:30 p.m. and Adams at 8:30 p.m.

Hansen (BA '96, BEd '99) is a former Pronghorn player who played under former head coach Dave Crook. He coached at the high school level and has been coaching the Lethbridge College Kodiaks of the Alberta Colleges Athletic Conference.

Bohne is a Raymond, Alta. native and one of the best players ever produced by southern Alberta. He starred for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Calgary Dinos and has most recently been coaching high school basketball in the United States.

Adams (BEd '82) is a former Pronghorn player who also took a brief turn as Pronghorn head coach for the 2001-02 season. He served as a transition between Dave Crook and Mike Connolly, who recently resigned as head coach after seven years with the program.

Tonight's session is open to all.

UNews - Dave Crook

Hansen named Horns men's head coach

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