A Battle of North and South in the Dakotas
Casey Owens begins head coaching career in Bismarck; Dave Joerger takes over in Sioux Falls.

<<Continued from page one

The fan base in Rockford will see some familiar faces on the 2004-05 Lightning squad as well, as head coach Chris Daleo has brought back a few former Lightning players, which is something he believes is good for the league.

"I think it is good for CBA fans to recognize players and have returning players," said Daleo, the 2002-03 CBA Coach of the Year.

"You know players like Jemeil Rich in Gary, Ronnie Fields in Rockford, and Sioux Falls has always had guys throughout the years that have come back, like a Randy Livingston. So I think that is good for our league, and from a fan standpoint it is good to have players returning instead of having new faces all the time."

Fields returns for his fifth season in the Lightning blue and gold looking to crack into the top 50 of the All-Time CBA Points Leaders list.

He currently has 3,383 points in his career, leaving him 206 points behind Ralph Lewis in 50th place. Fields is also the all-time points leader in Rockford franchise history with 3,210, and he holds the all-time team record for steals with 409, ranking him 19th on the CBA's all-time steals list with a total of 433 in his career.

Joining him this season are former Lightning guards Teddy Dupay and Carson Cunningham, along with 2004 CBA All-Star Stais Boseman, who played for the Great Lakes Storm last season. Signing players like Boseman and Dupay was an easy choice for Daleo.

"Stais Boseman always played hard night in and night out last year, and that is what impressed me," added Daleo. "So when he called me to come to Rockford, that was an easy decision. Then Dupay called me and told me that he wanted to come back. His style of play fits our style, so that was an easy signing too."

To help some of the returning players, the Lightning also brought in a few new faces like forward Brian Lubeck, who played for Great Lakes last season, as well as 6-foot-11 centers Guy Rucker, who played for the Steelheads in 2002-03, and Greg Clausen.

It is an effort to bring a new attitude to the run-and-gun style of basketball that the Lightning is known for.

"We have to be faster and more exciting than we were last year," said Daleo. "I was disappointed in my overall team play last year, so we have a harder camp and harder nosed players this year, and so far it is showing to be pretty productive."

That productivity in training camp is the first step in returning to the top of the league in many statistical categories, as well as the foundation for putting together a team that the Lightning hopes will earn its 12th straight postseason appearance.

Looking at rosters of teams around the league gives Daleo reason to believe it will not be an easy task this season.

"If you look at some of the names on rosters in our league, there are all these great CBA vets and NBA guys that are right there on that bubble," remarked Daleo. "Whether it is Randy Livingston, or Oliver Miller, or Billy Keys, or Snap Hunter and Jemeil Rich in Gary, I think this is the most talented I have seen the CBA in a long time.

"This is like going back to the CBA of old, and it is really going to be a tough, tough year."

 

Page 2 of 2

 

 

Top Stories | Business | Media | Basketball | Baseball | Hockey | Football | Your Takes | Editor's Rave | MLN Store | Maps |
| Jobs | Contact Us |

copyright ©2000-2004 MLN Sports Group LLC. All rights reserved. See our privacy policy.