Journalism is a team endeavor. Reporters are only as good as their editors, and editors are only as good as their reporters. In this era of economic constraints, we have fewer of each, so each does more.
This week is case in point. Justin Couchot, our one-man sports staff, took an overdue vacation. His time off overlaps with playoffs for local college basketball teams, most notably Butte College’s bid for a state championship. Coach Wolcott looked down his bench and signaled for an undersized veteran to check in as a sub.
Last time I covered community college sports, Tyler Newton was the only member of the Roadrunners program who’d taken a breath. He was in grade school then, and the internet was new — a far cry from now, when he’s head coach of a powerhouse with games livestreamed over the web.
I hung out with him and the younger youngsters early Wednesday morning as the Roadrunners boarded their bus to Southern California for the state championships. Thursday, they played in the Elite Eight for the third straight year and ran past Long Beach City College with a spot in the semifinals on the line. Butte came into the tournament ranked No.1 in the state, following a season in which they reached the title game but fell seven points short.
Newton is a self-described “junior college guy”; he played at Antelope Valley and Shasta before University of the Pacific and pro ball. Turns out, we have something in common, a two-degrees-of-separation person.
One of my more riveting assignments was Mt. San Jacinto College at Antelope Valley. MSJC had a legendary coach, John Chambers; AVC had a legend in the making, future NBA star Isaiah Rider, then known as J.R. Rider. The game was in Lancaster; the internet tells me it was Feb. 2, 1991.
The internet also refreshed my memory about some of the details: Despite AVC leading the conference and MSJC entering with a losing record, the visitors posted a 74-72 upset sealed on free throws awarded for a technical foul on Rider. (That “T” was a harbinger of his tumultuous pro career.) MSJC beat AVC in their first meeting, too, and was the only team to hold the Marauders under 80 points until the playoff loss that ended their season.
What I remember most is the energy in the gym. Rider drew crowds. The place buzzed with excitement throughout the game. It was big-time basketball, even if the stands held only a fraction of the fans at a major college game.
Newton knows of Rider. He played for the same coach, Newton Chelette, who told him about that year with Rider, who transferred to UNLV the next year to play for another all-time coach, Jerry Tarkanian. (George Tarkanian, his son, was an assistant on Chelette’s staff.)
I haven’t told Newton my Tyrone Thomas story, but I’ll get to it, assuming he doesn’t read it here first. Thomas coached College of the Desert, a conference rival of MSJC, during that same period in the 1990s. I can’t recall the opponent, but I know the game was in Palm Desert and the other team had a sharpshooting guard who was the focus of Thomas’ defensive game plan.
First possession, the sharpshooter found himself wide open and drained a three-pointer. Never had I’d seen a coach call timeout 30 seconds into a game until Thomas did so. Everyone — and I mean everyone — in the gym heard him upbraid his players, punctuated by an immortal line: “What do I have to do, put a bell on him?!?” (He bellowed an expletive before “bell” that’s not suitable for all audiences.)
I doubt Newton berates his players considering the rapport they have among themselves and with their coaches. Well before dawn Wednesday, they all arrived relaxed and ready for a long day’s journey. They looked like a group heading to summer camp, as opposed to the state championships.
Whatever the team’s fate this weekend, Newton has secured his reputation as a giant in his sport — and not just because he’s 6-foot-10 and looks like he still could mix it up in the post. He’s taken three teams in a row to the quarterfinals, with the most two as different as they could be. Butte College adapts — what better compliment for a coach and a program?
Reach weekend editor Evan Tuchinsky at etuchinsky@chicoer.com
