They Still Call Him Coach
On the surface, Mike Divilbiss’ life is much like it was in previous years when he traveled to Chicagoland’s annual USJN-sponsored Battle of the Programs.
And yet, it’s his vantage point which has changed following his May resignation as associate head coach of the women’s basketball program at the University of Illinois.
He spent the weekend at the Rec Plex on the sidelines as a staff member of Dan Lesoing’s Nebraska-based Cornhusker Shooting Stars travel team. In previous years, Divilbiss was restricted to the balcony which surrounds the eight courts and was surrounded by other collegiate coaches but removed from contact with parents and the athletes.
His departure from the Illini staff didn’t diminish Divilbiss’ enthusiasm for basketball.
“I’m a coach. That’s what I do,” said Divilbiss, who has declined most media requests for interviews since leaving the Champaign-Urbana campus. “I knew in seventh grade I wanted to be a basketball coach.”
For the CSS program — which has more than 200 participants and is looking to add to that total — Divilbiss works with players from fourth grade through high school seniors. One player on the weekend travel team, junior Taylor Kissinger, is the sister of a player (Brooke Kissinger) whom he recruited for Illinois, where she is now a sophomore.
The level makes no difference to Divilbiss.
“I love when an 11- or 12-year-old looks me in the eyes and says, ‘Teach me,’ or ‘What do you have for me today,’” Divilbiss said. “It’s fun watching them grow, excel and get better.
“They’re embracing what we’re teaching.”
Lesoing said it was a no-brainer to add Divilbiss.
“Mike and I see the game the same way and go about it the same way,” Lesoing said, “and my kids thought he’d be a good fit.”
When the Bison are in action, Divilbiss doesn’t take a passive role on the bench. He jumps to his feet, shouting instructions or encouragement.
“Am I helping if I’m sitting back where it’s safe,” Divilbiss asked.
Lesoing is thankful to have Divilbiss’ assistance for as long as he’s available.
“I expect him to be gone in April and I hope he’s gone because that means he has a (college) job,” Lesoing said.
“I love what I’m doing. I love helping others,” Divilbiss added. “I hope to be back (at the college level). God willing, it will happen again.”
Intensity In Iowa
The roster of the Iowa-based Venom Sports 14 team features four girls who are eighth-graders. Their teammates include an assortment of freshmen and sophomores.
The youthfulness of the team doesn’t make Acie Earl more of a babysitter than a coach.
“I’ll break ‘em down and coach ‘em hard,” said the 45-year-old Earl, a former Iowa Hawkeye basketball star. “I tell them, ‘If you can do it, you’ll play and if you can’t, you won’t.’
“That’s more for parents (to provide nurturing encouragement).”
Earl said his coaching style reflects his upbringing in the game.
“I was coached hard,” he said, but he acknowledges, “not everyone can take it.”
Most of his eighth-graders have participated in the program since second or third grade.
Earl finds a “different mindset,” between parents who themselves were Division I athletes and those who were not.
“In nine years, we’ve had three parents who played Division I sports and none of them were basketball,” Earl said. “Half of these girls miss homecoming.
“That’s the norm if you’re Division I. You miss stuff. Some parents don’t understand that.”
Paige Rocca and Taryn Scheuermann are two of the eighth-graders who started for Venom in a 39-32 win against the Illinois Hoop Dreams 14 Fall team.
Rocca’s mother — the former Paula Richert — was an outfielder for Drake’s softball team in the late 1980s. She believes her daughter is fortunate to be in Earl’s program.
“I’ve never met another individual who has the knowledge base he has,” Paula Rocca said. “He is able to break it down and treat it like a chess match.
“In his practices, he makes them correct their errors. He is the toughest coach she has had, but probably the most loved.”
Earl didn’t originally sign on to be a coach.
“I was a trainer at first,” he said.
He worked with his daughter, Kenya, who is now a junior at Iowa City High School.
Once is daughter began playing on traveling teams, Dad’s duties increased. “I added coach,” he said, “and now you’re in it.”
Working with a child required a period of transition.
“There are times she doesn’t like me as a coach and times she doesn’t like me as Dad, but we do better at it now,” Acie Earl said. “You have to separate the roles.
“Every time you see them, you can’t be, ‘When are you going to shoot?’ You have to have other conversations.”
Kenya Earl has a scholarship offer from Western Illinois University and interest from Missouri/Kansas City, Southern Illinois University and Wisconsin/Milwaukee.
While Acie Earl sometimes raises his voice and implores his players to do better, it’s all a part of the process.
And Paula Rocca understands and accepts it.
“I’m a teacher and I believe the best coaches are teachers,” she said. “Sometimes you teach them they can do more than they think they can.”
Junior On The Big Stage
Claudia Kunzer has half of her high school career to play. In about six weeks, she’ll start her junior season at Illinois’ Lombard Montini Catholic.
The 5-foot-6 point guard is uncommitted, but more than 160 collegiate coaches were on hand at the Rec Plex to watch Kunzer and her Illinois Lady Lightning teammates play.
For Kunzer, the 11th-annual event was just another day. There was no extra pressure because of the eyes that might have been focused on her.
“I’ve played all my life and when I step on the court, I don’t think about anything else,” Kunzer said. “I want to play my hardest.
“I want coaches to think of me for how hard I work.”
Her coach with the Lightning, Michael Seberger, said Kunzer excels in areas that aren’t revealed in the box score.
“Her biggest attribute is her energy,” Seberger said. “She gets us five to seven extra possessions a game by getting loose balls and rebounds in a crowd.
“I’d rather have her than someone who’s 3 of 12 from three-point range and does nothing else.”
Seberger has been Kunzer’s summer coach for six years.
“Now she’s a legit Division I kid,” he said. “Two years ago, it was too early to tell.
“She’s a blue-collar kid who plays the game with energy. Her teammates love her. Next summer will be her third year on our No. 1 team.”
Kunzer hasn’t yet settled on a college major nor has she started to eliminate schools from a list that thus far includes Boston College, Drake, Eastern Michigan, Illinois State University, Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis and St. Louis University.
“I like to be the girl who gets the big stop or the defensive rebound and pushes it up the court,” Kunzer said. “It has always been a dream of mine to play in college.”
Playing – Coaching – Parenting
Keith Van Horn played nine years in the NBA and scored more than 9,200 points.
His background in basketball didn’t totally prepare him to continue in the game as a coach.
“There are certain things you can only learn by coaching,” Van Horn said, “a lot of things you don’t recognize as a player, a lot of the nuances.”
It’s starting to become second nature. Van Horn is now in his fourth year coaching the Colorado Premier 15 team, which split its first two games in the 11th USJN Elite Oktoberfest event last weekend.
“It’s all about developing kids,” Van Horn said, “helping kids get to be as good as they can possibly be and achieve at the highest level.”
All 10 players on his roster — including his daughter, 6-1 Noelle Van Horn — are high school sophomores.
“A lot of them are starting to get interest (from colleges),” Keith Van Horn said. “We’re been fortunate to place a number of kids at the Division I level (over the years).
“It’s satisfying to know you’ve helped in their development.”
His introduction to the world of girls’ basketball was eye-opening.
“It’s a totally different game with girls,” he said, “from relationship management and dealing with individual players.
“You can coach a lot of boys in a similar manner, but girls you can’t.”
He has made it a point to maintain harmony within the family.
“There have been a few issues, but we’ve been able to make it work,” he said. “I error on the side of not creating a situation on the court that leads to issues at home.
“Even though I’m her coach, my No. 1 priority is still to be her Dad.”
Quality From The Queen City
The Cincinnati Swish brought a special group of players 5 1/2 hours to the Elite Oktoberfest event. Coach Doug Portmann combined rosters from his two elite programs, bringing a team of 10 uncommitted seniors.
“We knew there would be a lot of (college) coaches here and a lot of good competition,” said Portmann, whose Swish squad won their first two games, including a 73-32 conquest over the Indiana Lady Gym Rats 17 Tan team.
Staying behind were athletes from the Swish who had made their college choices. Portmann made certain to follow Ohio’s high school association rules that stipulate no more than two players from any high school can be on the same travel team. The Swish had representatives from nine schools.
The coach had no problem mixing up his roster.
“I’m lucky that these girls are very unselfish,” he said.
One of his players is his daughter, 5-10 Hannah Portmann.
“I’ve had her since she was little,” Doug Portmann said. “She’s pretty mellow and thoroughly enjoys spending time with me.”
Fred Kroner covered girls’ high school basketball for nearly 35 years for the Champaign-Urbana News-Gazette. He selected All-State teams for 28 seasons and was a voter for The Associated Press state rankings for 15 years as well. He resides in Illinois with his wife.
