Coach Oei leaves Douglas

went 21-0.

Garth

McLennan
sports editor

 
    
 

Ag guiding the Douglas College
men’s basketball team to a stirring
perfect season that included a national
championship, head coach Jamie Oei
has vacated his position to become a
new assistant coach for the University
of Idaho, home of the Vandals.

This is a huge opportunity
for Oei. It is a rare occurance when
BC coaches can find employment at
high-profile American colleges and

universities.

“It’s a pretty tough gig to get
into coaching down there,” Oei said
Monday. “It’s a bit of an Old Boys’
Club. Getting your
foot in the door is the
toughest thing. There
are a lot of good

“There are a lot

While Oei was the straw that

stirred the drink at the helm of the team,
his national championship drive was

definitely bolstered by
a talent heavy lineup,
including Bol Kong,
the Sudanese superstar

snd most don't ger OF SOOd COACHES re ris. year when
= opportunity like Jn Canada, and Ki ee ra
is. im from playing
‘I picked most don’t get Qh for an American

a good year to be ‘ . institution. In all
successful.” Oei said opportunity like likelihood, Douglas

in an interview with
the New Westminster
Record.

Oei led the Royals to twin
championships at both the provincial
and national levels. Along the way to
those accomplishments, the Royals

this.”

Oei and Kong next
season.
Kong’s role may have played
a bigger role than just on the court. All
of the scouts and NCAA personnel that
came to witness Kong’s game also gave

will be without both :

May 5, 2008

Oei a chance to establish connections.
Kong was awarded the CCAA rookie
of the year trophy in recognition of his
outstanding play this season.

Oei, 31, agreed to a five-year
contract in March with University of
Idaho. The Vandals are led by head
coach Don Verlin, and Oei will join
three other coaches in an assistant
coaching capacity.

Coaching isn’t the only job Oei
will take on in the coming year. He will
also assume scouting responsibilities,
overseeing potential prospects from
countries such as Costa Rica and
Panama, as well as Canada. °

After serving as the Roaysl
head coach for three seasons, Oei says
he plans to officially move on to his
new job this summer.

 

Where Are They Now?

By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor

 

 

   

 

 

Trent Klatt

The ex-Canuck played 14 years in the
NHL for five different clubs. Klatt
played five seasons in Vancouver
before signing with the Los Angeles
Kings in the summer of 2003.

Klatt served on the NHLPA’s
bargaining committee during the
2004-2005 NHL lockout that wiped
out that entire season. Klatt was a
major player in the negotiations that
eventually ended the lockout. While
Klatt was instrumental in restarting
the NHL and coming to an agreement
with league ownership, he officially
retired from professional hockey just
one month before the new season was
set to begin.

While Klatt pinned his
reasons for retirement on personal
family issues, there has been
speculation that, like Trevor Linden,
the arduous lockout took its toll on
him and sapped some of his strength.

Klatt now coaches bantam A
hockey in Grand Rapids, Minnesota
with Scott Kleinendorst, another NHL
alumnus.

 

 

   

Steve Austin
After Hulk Hogan, who is one of the
most recognizable wrestlers ever?
Stone Cold Steve Austin. The man
who popularized wrestling at the end
of the 90’s was forced to retire in 2003
because of long-lasting knee neck and
ankle injuries.

Since that time, Austin has
occasionally returned to the-world of
professional wrestling to make special
guest appearances, often utilizing his
signature “Stone Cold Stunner.”

Austin has published two
biographies and been the subject of
a number of WWE home videos. He
was featured on Punk’d in 2005 and
has guest starred on a large number of
television shows.

Recently, Austin has branched
out into movies. In 2005, he played a
guard in the Adam Sandler film, The
Longest Yard. He also played the lead
role in the 2007 action movie, The
Condemned, where he played a convict
on a deadly island.

 

 

   

Patrick Ewing
An NBA Hall-of-Famer, Ewing, now
45, played in the NBA from 1985-
2002. The bulk of that was spent

with the New York Knicks, where he
earned his legendary status, but he
also suited up briefly for the Seattle
Supersonics and the Orlando Magic.

After Ewing called it quits,
his number 33 jersey was retired
by the Knicks at Madison Square
Garden, the site of many of his
classic battles with the Chicago Bulls,
Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat. After
retirement, Ewing has served as an
assistant coach for both the Houston
Rockets, whom he resigned from in
2006, and Orlando, where he currently
serves under Stan Van Gundy.

Ewing will be enshrined in
the Hall of Fame as a leading member
of the class of 2008.

Outside of basketball, Ewing
has also made appearances in film in
bit roles. Along with several others
NBA greats, Ewing was featured in
1996’s Space Jam alongside Michael
Jordan and Bugs Bunny.

 

 

Muggsy Bouges
There are few people who can say
they have made a more unlikely
athletic achievement than Tyrone
“Muggsy” Bouges. Bouges, 43,
played 14 years in the NBA for four
teams at a superstar level. What is
truly exceptional was that Bouges
was just 5’3 and 136 lbs. In a game of
giants, that is truly remarkable.

After his retirement, Bouges
found work in the real estate industry
before accepting a head coaching
job in 2005 for the Charlotte Sting
of the Women’s National Basketball
Association, or the WNBA. Bouges
was the last coach in the franchise’s
history, as in January of 2007, the
team folded in the struggling league.

Like Ewing, Bouges also
appeared in Space Jam in 1996. He
has also appeared in several television
shows, such as Eddie, with Whoopi
Goldberg.

 

 

 

 

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