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) – 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 – New York Knicks; Jermaine Jackson – 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


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