Great Lakes' Bergman named CBA Coach of the Month
February 1, 2005 - Continental Basketball Association 1 (CBA 1) News Release
Boise, ID (February 1, 2005) â The Continental Basketball Association announced today that Great Lakes Storm Head Coach Russ Bergman was named the League Coach of the Month for the month of January. The award marks the first monthly coaching honor of the season for Bergman, who is in his first season with the Storm.
For the month, the Louisiana State University alum led the Storm to a 9-2 record (5-1 at home; 4-1 on the road) and a 5.1 quarter-point average, capturing 56.5 of a possible 77 total quarter-points. Great Lakes also posted the longest winning streak in franchise history, as they won nine straight games from January 6 through January 29. The winning streak pushed the Storm into first place in the Eastern Conference with a current 4.2 quarter-point average, which is also good for the best quarter-point average in the league.
Bergman joined the Storm with an impressive coaching resume that included success in both the college and professional ranks. He began as an assistant coach at Appalachian State, before he was named Head Coach at Coastal Carolina in 1975. During 19 seasons at Coastal Carolina, he compiled a record of 306-246 (.554), and is ranked second on the Big South Conference's All-Time Wins list with a record of 149-112 (in eight seasons after moving from NAIA to NCAA Division I). He also earned Big South Coach of the Year honors on three different occasions, and twice led the Chanticleers to the NCAA Tournament (1991 and 1993).
In 1994 Bergman left Coastal Carolina to become the head coach of the CBA's Oklahoma City Cavalry. In three seasons with Oklahoma City, Bergman took the Cavalry to the CBA playoffs all three years, reaching the conference finals in 1995 and capturing the CBA Championship in 1997 (defeating the Florida Beachdogs in six games). Bergman was named Head Coach for the National Conference All-Stars in 1996 and led the team to a 121-106 win over the American Conference All-Stars.
The Raymond, Illinois native later took over as Head Coach and Director of Basketball Operations for the Idaho Stampede prior to the 1998-99 season. He led the Stampede to the playoffs in his first season with the franchise, while also helping his players combine for a record 10 CBA-to-NBA call-ups during the 1998-99 campaign.
Other coaches receiving consideration for December Coach of the Month honors were the Idaho Stampede's Joe Wolf (4.0 quarter-point average, 8-6 record), and the Yakima Sun Kings' Paul Woolpert (3.6 quarter-point average, 8-7 record).
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