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Adams Rounds out Pronghorn Basketball Recruiting Class

trevor.kenney — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 21:02:58 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge men's basketball coach Dave Adams completed his revamping of the Horns squad today with the announcement of four more commitments for the upcoming season.

After three seasons with the Red Deer Kings in the ACAC, first team ACAC All-Star Randy Davis transfers to the Horns. The 6'4" wing averaged 17.3 points in 20 conference games last season, while helping the Kings finish second in the ACAC South Division with a 15-5 record.

"We are thrilled to have Randy join the Horns, as he brings scoring, coach ability and maturity," said Coach Adams.

A pair of versatile players will also join the Horns next season, as combo wing/posts Taylor Norum and Wes Chapman will don the blue and gold next season.

Norum, a 6'7" High River product, was a member of two medal winning Alberta Provincial teams and a member of Basketball Canada Centre for Performance. Taylor comes to the Horns after spending last year in Sweden.

"Taylor is a valuable addition to Horns Nation with his tremendous skill set for a big man," stated Adams.

Chapman, after impressing Coach Adams at the Horns spring ID camp joins the Horns after taking last season off from basketball. The Calgary native is a graduate of Lord Beaverbrook High School.

"We are excited to have Wes in our program next season," said Coach Adams. "He brings much needed size to the front end." Rounding out the Horns 2009/10 recruiting class is wing Jeremy Stanley. The 6'6" William Aberheart graduate will add much need size and depth to the Horns.

"Stanley will add athletic depth and bring an exceptional work ethic to our squad next season," said Adams.

The men's basketball with have seven new faces this fall, including the four announced today. Former Calgary Dino point guard Jeff Price and recent Chestemere graduates Sean McCormick and Kyle Wilson were announced earlier this off season.

The Horns will open their conference schedule October 31 in Edmonton versus the Golden Bears. The Horns home opener will be the following weekend, November 6^th and 7^th, when they host the Regina Cougars.FOR

Contact: Eoin Colquhoun, Sports Information & Events Coordinator, Pronghorn Athletics

eoin.colquhoun@uleth.ca / (403) 380-1851

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.

Adams introduced as new Horns coach

trevor.kenney — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 21:34:10 +0000

Dave Adams is the new man on the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge campus – again.

Adams, the one-time Pronghorn basketball player, U of L alumnus and now two-time coach, was announced as the new head coach of the men's basketball program, Friday. It will be his second tour of duty, after guiding the team in the 2001-02 season, and brings Adams back to a place that's always been in his heart.

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

Adams, an assistant coach from 1999 through 2001, previously served as interim coach between the Dave Crook and Mike Connolly regimes. Connolly resigned as Horns head coach earlier this spring after missing the playoffs for six consecutive seasons.

"It is exciting to have Dave back with the Pronghorn family, he brings a high level of enthusiasm and energy to the program," says Executive Director of Sport and Recreation Services Sandy Slavin.

Adams is quick to state his purpose as leader of the program and doesn't shy away from creating lofty expectations.

"I would not be here today if we did not set our sights on a national championship," he says.

In his only previous season as Horns head coach, the club finished third in the division and fell in three games to the Saskatchewan Huskies in the first round of Canada West playoffs. Connolly took over the roster and qualified for playoffs the next season as well. The Horns have failed to make the playoffs since.

"It is a great honour and humbling experience to be handed the torch of stewardship for Horns Basketball," says Adams. "We are thrilled to accept the exciting challenges ahead."

In addition to his coaching experience at the university level, Adams has been a fixture on the southern Alberta Basketball scene, coaching for more than 30 years at numerous levels.

His coaching career began at Catholic Central High School immediately after his playing career, before moving on to the Lethbridge College Kodiaks in 1984. In four seasons with the Kodiaks, Adams compiled a record of 104-28 including three one silver and two bronze ACAC medals.

A Lethbridge resident for 35 years, he also has extensive experience with provincial and national organizations, coaching with the provincial program from 1993-97 and with the Basketball Canada Centre for Performance from 2004 to 2006.

As the Head Coach of the Provincial program, Adams led Team Alberta to a silver medal at the Western Canada Games in 1993. He was also at the helm for silver and bronze medals for Team Alberta at the National Championships.

As a player, Adams suited up for 76 games for the Horns, from 1976-81, having his best season during the 1980-81 season when he averaged 11.9 points per game.

"We invite all those loyal basketball supporters in southern Alberta to join us in the creation of Horns Nation, and to support the Horns as we move into the future," says Adams.

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