By: Brian ‘Shifty’ Schiff

In the NCAA Tournament:

Tennessee:

Bruce Pearl, Head Coach

USA Open Maccabiah ’09 (Head Coach)

Steven Pearl – 27 games, 10.7 min, 1. 4 pts, 1. 3 rebounds

USA Open Maccabiah ’09

Villanova:

Jason Donnelly: Assistant Coach

UC Santa Barbara:

Jordan Weiner — started 10 games, 14.3 minutes, 3.0 pts

Siena:

Adam Chaskin, Assistant Coach

Greater Washington Maccabi; USA Open Maccabiah ‘97

Duke:

Jon Scheyer — started all 34 games, 36.6 min, 18.6 pts, 3.6 reb, 1^st team all ACC, 2^nd team Sporting News All American

Syracuse:

Bernie Fine: Associate Head Coach

USA Open Maccabiah ’93 (Head Coach)

Pitt:

Jordan Marks: Assistant Video Coordinator

USA Youth Maccabiah ’09

Temple:

Carmel Bouchman

Florida:

Larry Shyatt: Associate Head Coach

Rod Tishman

California:

Gregg Gottlieb: Assistant Coach

Cornell:

Jon Jaques: 6.9 pts, 2.6 reb

Los Angeles Maccabi

Eitan Chemerinski

Greater Washington (DC) Maccabi

************************************************************

Here is news on Jewish College Players who had impact years:

Bryan Cohen, Bucknell

Philly Maccabi; USA Juniors Maccabiah ’05; USA Open Maccabiah ’09.

A sophomore, Bryan was named the 2010 Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year. He started 28 of 31 games, averaged 29.5 minutes, 8.8 pts and 3.4 rebounds.

Jake Cohen, Davidson

Philly Maccabi 2007

A freshman, Jake was named the 2010 Media Southern Conference Rookie of the Year. He started 24 of 31 games, played 22.7 minutes, led Davidson in scoring with 13.3 pts, and was 2^nd in rebounding with 5.1 boards.

Derek Glasser, Arizona State

Los Angeles Maccabi

Glasser started 30 of 32 games, played 32. 8 minutes, scored 10.3 points, 2.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists

Alex Rubin, Illinois State

St Paul Maccabi; USA Juniors Maccabiah ‘05

Alex started 30 of 32 games, averaged 27 minutes, 5.0 pts & 1.5 rebounds

Zach Rosen, Pennsylvania

Clifton (NJ) Maccabi; USA Open Maccabiah ’09

Zach was named 1^st team all Ivy and led the Ivy league in scoring. He started 27 of 28 games, played 37.1 minutes, scored 17.7 pts, 3.3 rebounds and registered 124 assists.

Michael Gruner, Lafayette

Greater Washington (DC) Maccabi; USA Youth Maccabiah ’05

Michael started all 32 games, played 24.9 minutes and averaged 7.0 points and 2.7 rebounds

Jared Mintz, Lafayette

Toronto Maccabi; Maccabi Canada Juniors ’05 and Youth ’07.

Jared started 29 of 31 games, played 27.7 minutes and led the team in scoring with 14.1 points and 5.7 rebounds.

Brett Harvey, Loyola (Md)

USA Open Maccabiah ’09

Brett started 22 of 27 games, played 29.5 minutes and led the team in scoring with 12.7 points and 2.7 rebounds.

Mitchell Kates, MIT

Monmouth Maccabi; USA Juniors Maccabiah ‘05

Mitchell was the New England Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. He started all 27 games, played 33.0 minutes, scored 13.2 points and tallied 112 assists.

Travis Warech, Saint Michael’s

MetroWest Maccabi; USA Juniors Maccabi (Chile ’07); USA Youth Maccabiah ‘09

Travis was named to the Northeast-10 Conference all rookie team. Stared all 25 games, played 33.2 minutes and led the team in scoring with 16.8 points and 4.4 rebounds.

Richie Polan, NYU

Los Angeles Maccabi; USA Juniors Maccabiah ‘05

Richie played 21.7 minutes, averaged 9.2 points and led the team in rebounding with 7.4 per game.

FYI: Bryan Cohen, Alex Rubin, Mitchell Kates and Richie Polan all were members of the 2005 USA Junior Maccabiah team.

To college basketball fans, the recent hardwood battles between the University of Tennessee and the University of Memphis has been the stuff of legend. Most notably, the 2008 game pitted #2 Tennessee against #1 Memphis, in which the Volunteers snapped the Tigers 47-game home winning streak on the way to their own #1 ranking.  A battle royal between two tradition rich programs led by the larger than life personalities of head coaches Bruce Pearl and John Calipari, the Volunteers and Tigers have put together some of the most memorable games in recent college basketball history.

However, with the recent departure of Calipari to the University of Kentucky, many in the college basketball world believe that the match-up has lost much of its luster. This year, a loaded Tennessee squad faces off against rookie Memphis head coach Josh Pastner, whose young team has been largely untested other than an early season match up against #1 Kansas. Yet what the casual fan may fail to realize is that the Tennessee vs. Memphis match-up has taken on an entirely new dynamic that transcends the game itself; both teams’ coaches are of the Jewish faith.

No longer will the match-up be just a simple game of basketball, but rather a testament to how far American culture has progressed in the last quarter century.

Jews in the game of basketball have had remarkable (if often unrecognized) success.  Although Jews make up less than 2% of America’s population, almost a third of NBA franchise owners (including Mark Cuban and Micky Arison) are Jewish.  The greatest coach in the history of the game, Red Auerbach, along with the NBA’s long time commissioner, David Stern, are both Jews.  Nevertheless, for all the success that Jews have had on the professional levels of the game, that success has not been as nearly pronounced in the college level. Today, only 10 of some 341 Division I head coaches are of the Jewish faith.  The numbers amongst the ranks of assistants are equally comparable.

That is what makes Josh Pastner’s ascendancy into the college basketball realm even more significant. Pastner, at the ripe age of 32, has been seen as ray of hope not only for the Memphis basketball program, but for the Jewish population and the coaching profession as a whole. Not only is Josh one of the youngest coaches on the Division I level, but he is by far the youngest head coach of a major program in recent history. He joins Bruce Pearl and Virginia Tech’s Seth Greenberg, as only the 3^rd Jewish head coach of a major college basketball team.  Through tremendous work ethic, an exceedingly charming personality, and an unyielding passion for the game, he has been able to tread new ground in an archaic profession.

Pastner not only carries the flag of his faith, but that of his generation too.

More significant is the fact that the two major universities in Tennessee, a state known for its long history of anti-semitism and racist undertones, have Jews leading their basketball teams.  No longer will the Volunteers and Tigers simply battle for bragging rights; they will silently become witness to a progress that many thought unimaginable only a few decades ago. Pastner and Pearl are proof that one’s religion, or race for that matter, makes no difference in the success one is capable of achieving. If anything, Pastner himself proves that the teachings he has learned from his religion; hard work, dedication, loyalty and passion, are the foundations for what is needed to succeed in the coaching profession at a young age.

The battle for the Volunteer state will, for the foreseeable future, have far more meaning to it than a simple basketball game. It will evidence that even in a world as competitive as sports, people have begun to put aside their differences in the pursuit of a common success.

Hardwood glory will never have meant so much to so many, and for that we should all be grateful.

The Jewish Coaches Association took a big step in its development today as they unveiled the first design of the association’s logo. The first official logo design in the JCAs brief history looks to reflect the mission, values and services that meet the needs of coaches involved with the association.

The logo is an uppercase version of the JCA letters in a light blue coloring with an ‘A’ that is sketched to intertwine with the Jewish Star of David and the association’s full name written underneath the design. The new logo draws strong inspiration from the Israeli flag and is effectively animated for its use throughout various media platforms.

“Developing our overall brand is of upmost importance to the association. We want our members and constituents to connect with what our brand and organization stands for - loyalty, passion, commitment and a value-rich culture. By combining both a contemporary design with one that gives a clear nod to our heritage, we help create an important visual foundation for the growth of the organization,” said Jason Belzer, Executive Director of the JCA.

The new logo makes a bold statement about the strengths of the association as a non-profit group and will now become one of its most important assets. In addition to the new logo, the JCA’s brand identity includes some of the most prominent college coaches in the nation who assist in the execution of the association’s mission and day-to-day affairs.

The Jewish Coaches Association was founded in 2006 as an advocacy and outreach group for Jewish basketball coaches. The organization’s mission is to utilize the teachings of the Jewish faith in order to foster the growth and development of coaching, program building and leadership skills amongst its members. The association also aims at creating networking opportunities for members around the nation and the overall support of Jewish basketball.

Sunday October 11th, 2009

Temple Concord

There are many fans in central New York of basketball both for Syracuse University and the NBA. Temple Concord is honored to have one of the greatest 50 NBA players of all time as a member – Dolph Schayes. His son, Danny, played for the Syracuse Orange and was in the NBA for 18 years. Both Dolph and Danny have been part of a rich history of Jewish-Americans in basketball. In fact, the first person to make a basket in the NBA was a Jewish-American. There is a new documentary about the influence of Jewish-Americans on basketball. The special event will feature this film “The First Basket” and the guests of honor, Dolph and Danny Schayes.

Purpose

Creating the planned Schayes Community Fund. Dolph, Naomi and the Schayes family have been major supporters of Temple Concord and the Central New York community. The Schayes Community Fund will honor the family for their contributions. This debut event will benefit the fund and this year support the Food Pantry at Temple Concord. Other events for the Schayes Community Fund are planned for the future. This year’s event will give attendees a chance to see and hear how Jewish immigrants came to the United States, using basketball to assimilate into the American society. The program is a tribute to Jewish-Americans in basketball – past, present and future.

Format

The evening with Dolph and Danny Schayes will start out at 6:30 p.m. with a meet and greet buffet dinner. After dinner, the program will begin 7:45 p.m. with Master of Ceremonies, Bob Snyder, veteran sportswriter and currently a commentator on Syracuse University Basketball radio broadcasts. Bob, who is also a Jewish-American, will host a panel with Dolph and Danny discussing their experiences as Jewish-Americans in basketball. Also invited to participate on the panel is Bernie Fine, associate head basketball coach for the Syracuse Orange. There may be other guests added to the pael as well. Questions will be taken from the audience too. After the panel discussion, the documentary film “The First Basket” will be shown at 8:45 p.m. followed by a dessert reception at 10 p.m. Attendees have two options: Enjoy dinner, the program and the dessert reception or attend just the program and dessert reception.

Audience

The event is open to the general public. We expect basketball and sports fans from the Jewish and non-Jewish community attending as well as the Central New York community who’d like to support Dolph, Danny and the Schayes family.

Promotion and Visibility

The even will be promoted to the members of Temple Concord through email and in the temple bulletin, as well to the general Jewish community with invitations, ads and articles in the Jewish Observer along with announcements to Jewish organizations and other synagogues. We are also planning to have media marketing through TV, radio and print with articles, features and advertising to the general public. Sponsors will have recognition in the program book & at the event. Sponsors receive benefits depending on their donation.

Tribute to Jewish-Americans in Basketball Flyer -

The 18th World Maccabiah Games were held this past July in Netanya, Israel. The games are held every four years in a similar fashion to the Olympics. It is an international Jewish sporting event where any Jewish person is eligible to compete at three different levels. They are “Open,” “Juniors,” and “Masters.”

The event is the world’s third-largest international athletic competition where over 9,000 Jewish athletes from more then 50 countries compete.

This past summer Bruce Pearl, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers Men’s Basketball Team was elected to be the head coach for the Maccabi USA’s Open Men’s Basketball Team. “We are pleased and delighted to have a coach of Bruce’s caliber join us for the 18th Maccabiah,” said Ron Carner, General Chair, USA 18th World Maccabiah Games Organizing Committee.

Recruiting efforts and getting ready for the 2009 Tennessee season took a back-seat for Pearl in order for him to follow his dream and get involved with the Maccabiah Games. Bruce has been eying the games for a while and was finally recognized while coaching at Tennessee. “Quite frankly, they weren’t interested in a Division II coach,“ Pearl said, noting his career path. “It took my being successful at Milwaukee, at Tennessee to do it.”

The team, which consists of Jewish college players from teams including Bucknell, UPenn and Tennessee, began training camp at La Salle at the end of June in preparation for the tournament. Some of the players have a lot of ties to former NBA players and coaches. Dan Grunfeld, son of former Tennessee Volunteer, and Steven Pearl, son of head coach Bruce Pearl. Pearl and his team displayed a convincing 94-32 win in an exhibition game against Canada.

Not only is this a great honor for Pearl and his players to go visit the homeland and play against some great competition, but it also is a treat for the Israeli players. Pearl mentioned the exposure that this brings to Israeli players like Omri Casspi, who was a first-round draft pick this year by the Sacramento Kings.

In addition, to his attempt to bring home a gold medal at the Maccabiah Games, it would also be beneficial for Pearl to make some connections with the Israeli basketball players. “I would love to have a couple of young Israeli players at Tennessee,” Pearl said. There is a lot of talent in Israel and the professional Israel Basketball League has been improving the level of play each year. Yaniv Simpson, a former member of the Under-19 Israeli national team, currently plays at Monmouth University.

After posting a 3-1 record in pool play, coach Pearl led Team USA to the medal round. Their only loss came to Russia with a last second basket that gave the Russians a two-point win.

Pearl and company entered the medal round with a match-up against Canada. With solid play from Dane DiLiegro, Bryan Cohen and Steven Pearl, Team USA showed that their exhibition win over Canada was no fluke. The win over Canada, earned the Americans a spot in the gold medal game against the home favorites and defending gold medalist, Israel.

Israel dominated all of their opponents up until the final game against the Americans. They beat Argentina by over 50 points, when the USA only beat Argentina by eight points. Israel also benefited from having the luxury of having home-court advantage during the gold medal game. In addition to the home crowd, Israel also had a number of players who were playing professionally.

The game turned out to be a fantastic game. Grunfeld put together a nice three-point play with under 30 seconds left to tie the game in regulation and send the game into overtime. Once the Americans got the Israelis into overtime, it was all Grunfeld who had six points to lead the Americans to a 95-86 victory. The clutch performance earned Grunfeld MVP honors.

It was the third gold medal that the USA has won in the last 24 years. Coach Pearl was finally able to accomplish one of his long-time goals and bring home the gold. “This is one of the highlights of my career,” Pearl said. Now the focus is back to getting Tennessee ready for their 2009 season and hitting the road recruiting.

Courtesy - UTPA Sports Information Department

Ryan Marks has been named as the Broncs head basketball coach, announced Ricky Vaughn, interim athletic director. A formal press conference will take place late next week officially introducing Coach Marks.

“I am extremely happy that we were able to come to terms with Ryan Marks. I feel he is exactly what we are looking for in a coach,” said Vaughn. “He brings a winning attitude and a winning tradition. Marks has been the head coach at universities where he has turned them around from not being successful programs to being highly successful programs and going to national championships in their division which speaks volumes for his coaching abilities. Marks gets his student-athletes in involved in the university and in the community and that is exactly what we are looking for in a coach.

Marks comes to UTPA after serving as the head coach for the Hilltoppers of St. Edwards for the past five seasons. While at St. Edwards, Marks compiled a 91-54 record, which includes three trips to the NCAA Division II basketball tournament. Prior to his arrival, the school had never been to the NCAA basketball tournament. This past season marked their fourth consecutive winning season, a feat that hadn’t been accomplished since 1959-1962.

“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to coach at a place like the University of Texas-Pan American that has a storied athletic history and a great reputation as a national institution,” said Marks. “I am tremendously appreciative to Dr. Sober, Dr. Edwards and Coach Vaughn for their faith in me in taking on this ambitious endeavor.”

Before joining St. Edward’s, Marks spent three seasons as the men’s basketball head coach at Southern Vermont College in Bennington, VT. Under his direction, the Mountaineers posted a 57-29 overall record and a 37-12 Great Northeast Athletic Conference record. In his first season at the college, the team experienced a 12-game turnaround, making them the second most improved Division III team in the NCAA. Marks then guided the team to its first NCAA Division III Tournament appearance in the 2002-2003 season, and first 20-win season (24-6) in the school’s history. The Mountaineers captured their first-ever regular season and conference tournament championships and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament — an achievement resulting in most improved Division III Team honors by the Northeast Basketball Coaches Association.

In 2003 to 2004, Marks continued his winning ways, posting the school’s third straight 15+ win season (18-11) and leading the Mountaineers to their first appearance in the Eastern College Athletic Conference Championship Tournament.Before coaching the Mountaineers, Marks helped lead the Northern Illinois University Huskies to the 1996 NCAA Division I Tournament as an assistant coach. Prior to that, he spent two years as an assistant at Central Missouri State University, where the Mules advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament both seasons, including a run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 1995.

Marks received his bachelor’s degree in Public Relations from the University of Southern California. While a student, he spent three years as the player personnel assistant for the Los Angeles.

Just days after being named a finalist for the Clair B. Award, Radford head men’s basketball coach Brad Greenberg was presented the 2009 Red Auerbach Award at the American Jewish Coaches Association Annual Breakfast and Meeting Saturday morning.

The award is presented annually at the Final Four to the most outstanding Jewish American Basketball Coach of the Year.

“Red Auerbach won more NBA championships than anyone in pro basketball history,” commented Coach Greenberg. “It is a privilege and an honor to receive this award.”

This year’s finalists as selected by the Jewish Coaches Association were Brad Greenberg (Radford), his brother Seth Greenberg (Virginia Tech) and Bruce Pearl (Tennessee).

“Auerbach was a role model and inspiration to all coaches, especially Jewish ones. It is especially meaningful to be honored by the Jewish Coaches Association which recognizes the need to mentor, develop and befriend Jewish coaches across the country.”

In just two years on the bench of the Highlanders, Greenberg has guided his club to a number of school and Big South records.

This past season Greenberg led his club to the biggest turnaround in league history, earning him 2008-09 Big South Coach of the Year honors. After finishing seventh in 2007-08, Radford claimed its fourth Big South regular season title and just its second tournament crown in school history.

The 2008-09 season began with a feel of the past as Greenberg’s Highlanders played their first nine home games in the 500-seat Peters Hall, before concluding the campaign in front of a school-record 20,226 fans in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Greensboro, N.C.

Just after leading his club to the 2009 NCAA Tournament, Greenberg was tabbed the Richmond Times Dispatch State Coach of the Year.

Along with leading the Highlanders to their seventh 20-win season in school history, Radford tied the conference record for league wins in a season with 15. Greenberg’s Highlanders also won a school-record nine-straight games away from home, which is currently the second longest streak in the nation.

Also a finalist for the Hugh Durham, Greenberg is the first Highlander head coach since 1991-92 to earn conference coach of the year.

To go along with Greenberg receiving the coach’s honor, Duke’s Jon Scheyer received the 2009 Dolph Schayes Award, given to the most outstanding Jewish American Player in 2008-09.

via Radford University

It’s not unheard of to find Bruce Pearl, the men’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, somewhere in public screaming with his shirt off — be it as a spectator rooting on the women’s basketball team with his portly belly painted orange and sporting a giant V for Volunteers, or onstage rapping at a school awards ceremony.

Last week, though, at the Grand Hyatt in Manhattan, the gut stayed covered as he donned a tux to emcee a fund-raising gala for Maccabi USA.

Pearl will be among the 9,000 participants from more than 54 countries in the Maccabiah Games in Israel July 12-23, when he serves as the head coach of the United States men’s basketball team.

Organizers of the Olympics-style competition for Jewish athletes, held every four years since 1932 in Palestine and then the State of Israel, say it is the third largest athletic gathering of any kind.

For Pearl, participating in the games is about fostering Jewish identity — his own, as it will be his first visit to Israel, and other young Jews who otherwise may not have a connection to their people and land.

“The biggest thing that we can do is help them with their direction, help them know who they are — and they are the leaders of our futures,” the coach told an audience. “This experience will be with them for the rest of their lives.”

For Pearl, it had been a busy week, as the gala fell on the last day of an eight-day open recruiting period for NCAA coaches during which he crisscrossed the country looking for the next class of Vols. Pearl said he had made similar efforts in recruiting his 2009 Maccabi squad, as he is dedicated to bringing home gold.

“We have to strengthen our bonds with the State of Israel. When I went out and recruited, that is what I sold them on — the opportunity to go back to their homeland,” he said.

The event boasted a few other big names, including former NBA center Danny Schayes, WNBA commissioner Donna Orender and Survivor: Africa winner and former professional soccer player Ethan Zohn.

Orender, who played on the 1985 U.S. women’s basketball team, said her experience as an athlete truly did shape who she is now, even though it did not end in a clear-cut victory. The United States was set to face Israel for the gold medal, but the Israelis decided to boycott the final to protest the fact that the women’s title game was slated for a substandard gym while the men’s basketball finals were given center stage in Tel Aviv.

“We could have showed up and won by forfeit, but we honored their protest,” Orender said. “What was a gold medal when we had issues to address with our Israeli sisters?”

It is testimonies like those from Orender and Pearl that the officials of Maccabi USA, which pays for the American squad of more than 900 athletes, were hoping would inspire others to help them pay for the games.

Scratch at least one athlete from the list of those heading to Israel, though not because of any cash crunch.

Pearl told the crowd that he tried to recruit his star forward at Tennessee, Wayne Chism, to play for him in Israel. The coach joked that he had Chism, who is not Jewish, on board — until he mentioned that he might need to undergo a circumcision to make the team.

via Washington Jewish Week

At first glance, Josh Pastner might not look like much.

He’s just 31 years old but recently landed the head coaching job at Memphis after one of his mentors, John Calipari, jumped ship to Kentucky. His coaching experience isn’t something that is going to knock you out of your computer chair, but the longevity of it doesn’t compares to what he’s been able to do in his short period as an assistant coach.

Memphis fans should be thrilled to have him.

Pastner hit the coaching world a-running at the University of Arizona after walking on as a player for Lute Olson. A member of the 1997 National Championship game, Pastner, was known for his ties to Houston. Pastner quickly brought players from the city to play for Arizona and was largely responsible for Nic Wise, Fendi Onobun and Garland Judkins all signing on with the Wildcats.

After serving under Olson, Pastner moved to an assistant job at Memphis this past season before taking over as head coach for 2009-2010.

Why does this move help Memphis? Pastner is a known workaholic who enjoys recruiting and has the brain for coaching. Pastner’s father was a local AAU coach in Houston and taught Josh everything he needed to know about the game. Pastner is also a fairly sharp kid, finishing his degree in just two-and-a-half years.

If Calipari brought credibility to Memphis, Pastner brings hope and longevity.

Anyone that has spent a few minutes around the guy knows he is legit. He isn’t the type to say one thing and do another. He will help continue the recent success of Memphis, even with Calipari far from the FedExForum. Pastner has seen the Final Four as both a player and coach, and that means a lot when you walk into the house of a top recruit to tell them you’re the guy who will take them to the promised land.

He might not be a big name, but he’s a guy who can do big things. The Tigers are facing a talent drain as top recruits Xavier Henry and Nolan Dennis and Memphis-lean John Wall are all re-considering their options, while DeMarcus Cousins has already committed to Calipari’s newest team. But Memphis should remain on the list for any blue-chip talent. Josh Pastner could quickly become the next big thing in college coaching.

via AOL FanHouse