
Bergman wins Coach of the Year
March 15, 2005 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1)
Great Lakes Storm News Release
Birch Run, MI (March 14, 2005) â The Continental Basketball Association announced today that Great Lakes Storm Head Coach Russ Bergman has been named the 2004-05 CBA Coach of the Year. It is the first such honor for Bergman, which is voted on by CBA General Managers.
"First of all I would like to thank my owner Greg Van Boxel for hiring me and giving me a chance to coach in the CBA again," stated Bergman. "I would also like to thank the players for their sacrifices and hard work throughout the season. The team faced a lot of adversity this season with injuries to key players and NBA call-ups, but through it all we still managed to obtain the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs as the regular season Eastern Conference champions. I would also like to thank my Assistant Coach George Turner for helping me put this franchise in the postseason for the first time ever."
Bergman led the Storm to a 28-20 record this season, winning the Eastern Conference regular season title with 189.5 quarter-points, finishing 11 quarter-points ahead of the second-place Rockford Lightning (178.5). He also earned Coach of the Month honors for the month of January after leading the Storm to a 9-2 record (5-1 at home, 4-1 on the road) and a 5.1 quarter-point average (56.5 total).
During the season, the Raymond, Illinois native helped his players receive a league-high nine Player of the Week awards and two CBA-to-NBA call-ups (Jackie Butler â New York Knicks; Jermaine Jackson â New York Knicks). Throughout his career as a CBA head coach, a total of 27 CBA players have now been called-up to the NBA under his direction.
He currently ranks 14th on the CBA's All-Time Coaches Winning Percentage list at .537 (160-138), while he ranks 15th in CBA Playoff victories (17), and 13th in Playoff Winning Percentage (.515).
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The Storm's next game is on Tuesday, March 15th at home against the Rockford Lightning. Tickets are now on sale for the 2005 CBA Playoffs. For details call a Storm representative at (989) 624-4665.
Continental Basketball Association 1 Stories from March 15, 2005
- Storm wins playoff thriller - Great Lakes Storm
- Billy Thomas named CBA Newcomer of the Year - CBA 1
- Bergman wins Coach of the Year - Great Lakes Storm
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
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