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Inside-outside balance has this flock ranked among the favorites
in Region IX

Take a trip by the Casper College athletic department and you will see a sign on the men’s locker room door: “73-70.” The same signs are on the coaches’ doors.

That was the score of last year’s Region IX championship game. Joel Davidson’s Thunderbirds came up one possession short in their quest for a trip to the national tournament, falling victim to a hot-shooting Otero Junior College team.

It marked the third consecutive year that Davidson’s teams had reached the Final Four of the tournament only to come up agonizingly short. Still keenly aware of how long it has been since Casper has hung a men’s championship banner (1996), the coaching staff decided to remind themselves (and everyone else) each day what the score was a year ago.

“The bar is still as high as it has been,” says Davidson, who enters his fifth season at Casper.

Some key players, of course, are gone from that 2012 team. Denzel Douglas and Tyler Larson, perimeter players who have gone on to the University of Idaho and South Dakota respectively, were all region and all tournament caliber players. That leadership and presence on the floor will be missed, according to Davidson. Sam Johnson, Deninson Burguillos and Cobi Eskew have moved on too.

Such is the life of a junior college coach. Each year, if things go according to plan, the program loses half its roster.

The good news for T-Bird fans is that four key players from that 25-9 campaign do return. Couple that with a good recruiting year – at least on paper – and one can understand why fellow NJCAA coaches helped place Casper in the Top 15 in the preseason national rankings.

Remi Dibo, who as a freshman showed promising range and some reluctance to bang inside, decided to return for a sophomore season. Dibo had redshirted the previous year and could have signed with a 4-year school last spring. Instead, he came back and has already shown tremendous strides.

“Obviously Remi is one of the first players you notice,” Davidson says. “He is highly talented and highly recruited, but we have three other sophomore leaders who will be important to our success.”

Dominique and Demetrius Lee, twin brothers from Compton, Calif. will finally play a first season together since high school. Dominique redshirted a year at Utah before transferring to Casper. He then broke his leg the fall of his freshman season. Meanwhile Demetrius played a year, redshirted, and is back for his sophomore year. Both are 6-4, athletic and talented.

Austin Kofoed, the quiet sophomore from Evanston, earned a lot of praise from his coach this fall. “Austin is off to a good start shooting the ball and he is so solid defensively. He does the dirty work. You hope that rubs off; if we could get everyone to do the dirty work like he does we would be pretty good.”

When you lose a two-year starter like Douglas at the point, that was obviously an area of concern going into the off-season. Casper caught a break when Corey Spence, a point guard from Baltimore who played his freshman year at South Plains College (Texas), decided to transfer. Davidson had recruited Spence out of high school. The 5-10 bullet would have been sharing duties at the point in South Plains and wanted to play more minutes his sophomore season. He has been electric at times but Davidson is hoping for more consistency. He likes the fact that his point guard has “been around the block.”

Ryan Madsen, from Wheatland, is another newcomer who has had an immediate impact. Madsen poured in 28 in his first road game at Cheyenne and started in the home opener. “We have thought all along that (Madsen) was a steal,” Davidson says.

Madsen and Jonathan Blythers, a 6-2 guard from Rochester, N.Y., give the T-Birds a zone-stretching double threat on the outside. Blythers, according to Davidson, “can score in a hurry.”

Lew Evans (Salt Lake City) and Jake Johnson (Reno. Nev.) give the Thunderbirds some big men who can shoot. Both 6-10ers, when settled in, should give Casper a legitimate inside option.

The roster is deep and talented, and that should be an advantage to Davidson, who loves to play 94 feet. This is a team that is versatile and tough to guard. There are some shooters and some “bigs.”

This year, the north sub region winner hosts the men’s Region IX tournament. Winning the north, then, has become a primary goal.

The pieces are there. The goals are in place. And so is that sign on the doors, reminding these T-Birds of last year’s score.

Dan Russell
Head Coach

307-268-3305

Russell, 27, was introduced by Athletic Director Bill Landen, who told members of the media that the former Thunderbird player and longtime assistant coach for Joel Davidson was “a natural fit” to take the reins of the program. Davidson resigned last week after five years with the Thunderbirds to accept an assistant coach position with the University of Northern Colorado.

Russell is a native of Casper. He graduated from Natrona County High School, where he was a two-sport all-state athlete for the Mustangs. He played two years at Casper College (for Bill Johnson and Doug Stewart) and is among the top 10 Thunderbirds all time in 3-point field goals made during a career. He is eighth all time in career field goal percentage.

Russell earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Wyoming. While in Laramie he worked on Heath Schroyer’s staff as a graduate assistant. He spent the past five years as Davidson’s assistant. Under him and Davidson, the Thunderbirds averaged 24 wins per season the past four years and finished as Region IX runners up in 2012. He helped recruit two NJCAA All-Americans and 12 Thunderbirds will have signed Division I scholarship offers.

“Dan has earned this opportunity,” Landen said. “It is nice to have someone of his caliber right here. And it is nice that the program is in a position to simply make this transition. We know what this means to Dan and we know he will be a great coach.” “"Having been a ball boy here, and assistant coach here, this is a dream come true. We are going to work very hard to make sure the Thunderbirds are successful,” Russell added.

Russell becomes the 13th men’s coach in the school’s history, dating back to 1945.

Dan's sister, Jill (Russell) Vance, also played for the T-Birds (1998-2000). His oldest sister, Jennifer (Russell) Alvar, played for the University of Wyoming (1994-98). Both are currently teaching in the Natrona County School District. Dan is the son of Jim and Judi Russell.

Kasey Riley
Assistant Coach

Coach Riley is entering his second season with the T-Bird program. The native of Rock Springs, WY., who played for Davidson at Sheridan College from 2005-2007. While playing for Joel at Sheridan College, Kasey and his team won 57 games and two Wyoming Conference Championships. In his career at Sheridan College he averaged eight points and six rebounds per contest. As a freshman, he was a part of a team that won a school record 30 games as well as a Region IX Championship. Kasey then transferred to Lewis and Clark University after his junior college career.

Kasey helps out with all facets of the program, but a majority of his work is done with skill development for the post players as well as stregnth training and study tables.

Bill Landen
Athletic Director

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Bill Landen took over as athletic director six years ago, but he is not new to those who have been around Casper College and its athletic programs.

Bill has spent the past 26 years at Casper College. Prior to accepting his current role, Bill served as Director of College Relations for 18 years.

Since his arrival in the athletic department, his focus has been on community and student involvement in the college’s four sports programs. Bill has worked with the T-Bird Booster Club and the Foundation to establish a permanent endowment for athletics. He has also been instrumental in support of the college's rodeo program.

T-Bird fans may recognize Bill from his days as the radio play-by-play voice of the T-Birds in the 1980s and ‘90s. Along with serving as the voice of the T-Birds, Bill spent 18 years in marketing and information for the college. He has earned numerous awards during his professional career, including twice being named Wyoming’s Sportswriter of the Year by the national association of sportswriters and sportscasters. He was named Rosenthal Outstanding Administrator at Casper College in 1997. In 1993 he was honored by his peers as Communicator of the Year by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations.

Along with his duties at Casper College, Bill serves in the Wyoming Legislature as State Senator for District 27.

Bill’s wife, Robyn, is the Director of Financial Services/Controller for Casper College. They have three children: Nick, Zack and Hailey.

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• 2003-2004 Season Statistics
• 2002-2003 Season Statistics

More About the Programs:
Casper College has a national reputation for excellence in many academic programs. Business, music, nursing, art, theater and radiography are among the programs with national accreditations. Casper College is also noted for the strong and varied science programs. Students who complete their academic work at Casper College transfer to universities thought the county. For students not intending to pursue a four-year degree, Casper College offers more the 30 career and technical programs like automotive technology, diesel power, electronics, welding and machine tool technology. These programs are designed to prepare students for the technical workplace.

More About the Campus:
Casper College overlooks the city from the south. Beautiful red-rock terraces surround the campus. The Gertrude Krampert Theatre is a popular attraction for the community. The Goodstein Foundation Library is one of the finest of its kind in the Rocky Mountain Region. There is also a modern student center on campus, three residence halls and a fitness center.

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