Greeley and Lawrence, Kan., are far apart — not only in miles, but in college basketball history. But Northern Colorado coach Tad Boyle’s plan is to shorten the distance on the court.
Skeptics might offer a facetious “good luck” to anyone attempting to bring tiny UNC anywhere near mighty Kansas, despite the Jayhawks’ getting upset by Northern Iowa in the second round of the NCAAs on Saturday.
The Bears aren’t in the tournament, but Boyle’s 2009-10 team made history by winning a school-record 25 games. They’re also fueling a flicker of light in the otherwise postseason darkness of college basketball in the Colorado-Wyoming area. None of the Division I schools — Colorado, Colorado State, Air Force, Denver, UNC and Wyoming — made either the 64-team NCAA field or the 32-team NIT field.
But UNC’s season continues Monday night in Greeley against Pacific in the College Tournament. The Bears advanced out of the tournament’s first round with an 81-73 victory Wednesday night over Portland in Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion.
“It’s hard to win games in March because you’re going to be playing somebody good, no matter what tournament you’re in,” Boyle said. “There are good teams in this tournament, just like there are in the NCAA and NIT.”
Colorado State made the College Basketball Invitation tournament but lost 74-60 at Morehead State on Wednesday.
While it might seem a road too far for UNC ever to be on Kansas’ level, Boyle knows firsthand what it would take. After leading Greeley Central to a state title in 1981, he played four years for the Jayhawks, including the last two under coach Larry Brown.
“I was involved in a pickup game before school started my freshman year and found myself guarding Jo Jo White,” Boyle said of facing one of Kansas’ all-time great players. “That makes an impression on you when you’re 18 years old and from Greeley. You realize pretty quickly that just playing good isn’t good enough.”
Boyle believes the combination of community excitement and team success is a big factor in the prosperity of the Kansas program. He believes the same combination could make Greeley a good college basketball town.
“The one thing that Northern Colorado lacks is a strong basketball tradition,” Boyle said. “We’re getting started from the bottom up.”
Four years ago, UNC’s program began moving from Division II to Division I and into the Big Sky Conference. The Bears made the postseason in their third year of full Division I status.
“We don’t want to be a one-hit wonder,” Boyle said of the future. “All of my players this year came to the program before we started winning. They said they were going to help to turn the program around and danged if they didn’t.”
As for the status of college basketball in the area, Boyle said he sees all the programs on the upswing.
Irv Moss: 303-954-1296 or imoss@denverpost.com
