With 900 full-time students, Northeastern Junior College is small, but its basketball players can go big, big-time.
Michael Harrison is the latest success story from Sterling’s Northeastern JC. He earned National JC All-America honors and the Region IX most valuable player award while leading the Plainsmen to the Sweet 16 of the National JC Athletic Association Tournament last spring.
Today, he’s Colorado State’s second-leading scorer, averaging 11.6 points for the Rams, who at 11-2 are off to their best start since 1997-98.
“He was well-coached in junior college and has adjusted quickly to our style,” CSU coach Dale Layer said.
Derek Wabbington also made the jump from small college to Division I, trading in a Plainsmen’s jersey for the Wyoming uniform he will wear Tuesday when the Cowboys come to town to play the University of Denver.
Brian Joyce, Northeastern’s fourth-year head coach and former assistant, has earned a reputation for teaching fundamentals and ensuring class attendance. His 13-2 team will play its only game in Denver on Saturday against Buckley Air Force Base. The Plainsmen trounced Buckley in their season opener, 111-51 in Sterling.
Tyler Smith, a transfer from DePaul who did not attend school last season, is Northeastern’s leading scorer, averaging 19 points on 45.9 percent shooting, including 40.3 percent from the 3-point line.
Smith, a Baltimore boyhood friend of Nuggets forward Carmelo Anthony, leads the Plainsmen in assists with 4.7 per game.
Freshman Nik Raivio, a 6-foot-4 guard, averages 11.8 points on 42.9 percent shooting and is the brother of Gonzaga point guard, Derek Raivio.
Reserve center Calum Mac- Leod appeared in only nine games for 15 minutes for Gonzaga last season. In an attempt to gain experience, the 7-footer from New Zealand transferred to Northeastern, where he averages 8.0 points on 65.9 percent shooting and 5.0 rebounds.
In his season debut against Buckley, MacLeod hit 10-of-11 field goals for 20 points.
The Plainsmen feature five Coloradans: Sterling residents Cory Fehringer and Shane Gertner, Kelvin Franklin from Aurora Central High School, and Tyler Wortham and Clyde Johns from Aurora’s Eaglecrest High School.
Around the rim
All gate and concessions proceeds from this weekend’s Jesuit Classic at Denver’s Regis University will be donated to Loyola-New Orleans women’s basketball. Loyola-New Orleans was scheduled to play in the tournament, but its schedule was abbreviated because of Hurricane Katrina.
Regis rolls on
With its 71-44 victory over Spring Hill College (Mobile, Ala.) on Saturday in the Jesuit Classic, Regis (12-2, 4-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) increased its winning streak to seven games and is 35-10 since the start of the 2004 season, including 15-2 at Regis Fieldhouse.
Footnotes
Spring Hill, which also was affected by Hurricane Katrina, received $65,000 from the Bush-Clinton Katrina fund Dec. 7. … The Metro State men committed a season-low seven turnovers in their 71-55 victory Friday over the University of Mary in the Metro/Mines New Year’s Classic at Volk Gymnasium in Golden. The Roadrunners shot a sizzling 68.4 percent in the second half, including 8-for-9 from the 3-point range. Freshman Marquise Carrington was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc and senior point guard Greg Muth hit 6-for-7. Metro State has won five straight and resumes RMAC play Thursday at Colorado State-Pueblo. … The University of Mary in Bismarck, N.D., is known for its unique guarantee: First-year freshmen can graduate in four years with a declared major; if they don’t, the fifth year is free.
