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1979 Team: Where are they now?
(June 6, 2003) - A listing of varsity and junior varsity players, coaches and staff from the
1978-79 North Park men's basketball program, which won its second straight
NCAA Division title.:
- Rus Bradburd, a junior varsity player in 1978 and a reserve on the 1979
title team, now coaches the Tralee Tigers in a professional basketball
league in Ireland. He had previously coached at New Mexico State University
and the University of Texas El Paso and had been a basketball scout for a
time. A physical education major in college, he recently earned a Master of
Fine Arts degree from New Mexico State and has become
a fiction writer as well.
- Jim Boures, a reserve on the 1979 team, could not be reached. His
whereabouts are unknown.
- Jim Clausen, a reserve on the first title team, became a starting
forward and an Academic All-America player at the school before graduating
in 1981. He lives in Minneapolis and attends Bethlehem Covenant Church. A
sales engineer in the audio/visual industry, he and his wife, Lynette, have
three children.
- Wally Coots, a graduate assistant coach for North Park's 1978-79
championship teams, served as a longtime Covenant youth pastor before
recently moving to Kenya, where he teaches at an international school and a
bible college under the auspices of Africa Inland Mission. He and his wife,
Donna, have two children.
- Bosko Djurickovic, an assistant coach for the 1978-80 national
championship teams at North Park, eventually served as head coach of the
Vikings and won national titles in 1985 and 1987. He is now the head
basketball coach at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Carthage
finished third in last season's Division III national championships. He and
his wife, Rebecca, have three children and live in Pleasant Prairie,
Wisconsin.
- Andy Farrissey, a reserve on the 1979 national title team at North
Park, is a physical education teacher and a track and field and football
coach at Stevenson High School in Lincolnshire. A resident of Lake in the
Hills, Illinois, he and his wife, Laura, have two children.
- Keith French was the sixth man for North Park's 1979-80 title teams and
was eventually drafted by the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball
Association after his senior year. He left the school with a nursing degree
and served in that profession for five years. He now works for Merck and
Company, serving in marketing for the company's sales headquarters in
Philadelphia. He lives in Audubon, Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Carol,
have three children.
- Grant Grastorf, a starter on North Park's 1979 and 1980 title teams,
currently works in sales for an electronics company in Hoffman Estates. He
lives in Naperville. He and wife Ann have four children.
- Gregg Gierke, a reserve for North Park's 1978-80 title teams, served as
an assistant coach for the 1981 squad before graduating from North Park. He
now coaches at Florida Community College in Jacksonville, Florida. He and
his wife, Jeanne, have three children and live in Jacksonville.
- Modzel "Bud" Greer, a star forward on North Park's 1978-80 championship
teams, played professional basketball in Europe for a time and now coaches
in Holland. Once drafted by the Chicago Bulls of the National Basketball
Association, he was one of the better players in Holland during the 1990s,
starting in Haarlem from 1991-96, according to eurobasket.com records.
Greer may have been best known in Europe for his performance with the RICOH
Astronauts in Amsterdam (also known as Finish Profiles Amsterdam), helping
his team make the league finals in 1995-96 and win the league title in
1996-97. According to team records, Greer's basket during the waning
moments of the final game helped the Astronauts beat perennial power Den
Bosch. Greer finished his playing career with a team in Amsterdam in
1998-99. He later became an assistant coach with the NTNT Haaglanden
Tornados and briefly served as the team's head coach before the team folded
due to financial troubles.
- Scott Groot was a reserve guard for the 1979 and 1980 title teams and a
starter on NCAA playoff teams in 1981 and 1982. He also played football and
baseball at the school before graduating. A former All-Conference
quarterback at North Park, Groot currently serves as sales manager at
Allstate Insurance, based in North Carolina. He and his wife, Karen, have
three children.
- Michael Harper, an All-America center with North Park's 1978-80 title
teams, now owns a State Farm Agency in Portland, Oregon. After playing with
the Portland Trailblazers of the National Basketball Association, he began
working for the team in community relations. Harper has played for a
Trailblazer alumni team for many years and has continued his community
work, serving the Arthritis Foundation of Oregon and his local Rotary Club,
among other places. Married to wife, Lisa, Harper is the father of three
children. They reside in West Linn, Oregon.
- Tom Leiding, a manager during the 1979 season, now serves as vice
president for Transilwrap, a plastic manufacturer. He lives in Barrington,
Illinois, with his wife, Toni, and three children.
- Dennis Mahone, a reserve on the 1979 title team, is living in Maywood,
Illinois, his hometown.
- Mike Martin, a reserve on the 1979 title team, could not be reached.
His whereabouts are unknown.
- Dan McCarrell coached the Vikings to the school's first three Division
III national titles. A 1961 graduate of North Park, he eventually coached
17 years at the school. During the 1978-80 national title years, his teams
were a combined 83-10. After leaving Chicago, McCarrell spent 17 years as
coach for Minnesota State University of Mankato before retiring. He won 579
games during his college coaching career. He currently lives in Mankato and
attends the North Mankato Covenant Church with his wife, JoAnne.
- Brian McCaskey was a trainer for North Park during the team's 1979
championship. A 1982 graduate of North Park, he is currently director of
business development for the Chicago Bears professional football team. He
and his wife, Barbara, have two children and live in Island Lake, Illinois.
- Bill Murphy, a reserve for North Park's 1979 and 1980 title teams,
lives in Evanston, Illinois.
- Jerry Noreen, a reserve on North Park's title teams in 1978-79, works
for a cable company headquartered in the Twin Cities. He and his wife,
Karen, have two children. They live in Minneapolis.
- Tim Naughton, a trainer for the 1979-80 title teams, became an
All-Conference baseball player at North Park and helped the Vikings win a
conference title. He lives in the Chicago area, according to classmates.
- Dennis Prikkel was the Director of Sports Information at North Park for
the school's five national championships. He now works for the
Chicago-based Evangelical Lutheran Church of America Foundation. He and his
wife, Christy, have two children and attend Northwest Covenant Church in
Mount Prospect.
- Mike Sexton, a junior varsity player in 1978 and a varsity reserve in
1979, now lives in Rolling Meadows with his wife and six children. He works
in a family business.
- Michael Thomas, the point guard for North Park's 1978-80 title teams
and MVP of the 1980 Final Four, became the Vikings' career scoring, steals
and assists leader before graduating in 1981. He entered the military after
being cut from the Philadelphia 76ers of the National Basketball
Association. He currently serves in Fort Riley, Kansas, having played for
All-Army basketball teams for part of his 20-year career. He and his wife,
Lisa, live in Junction City, Kansas.
- George Touras, a reserve during North Park's 1979 and 1980 championship
seasons, is executive vice president for Equity Properties & Development,
LLC in Chicago. He lives in Lincolnwood with his wife, Lynn.
- John Wojdyla, a team manager during the 1978-80 seasons, currently
lives in Chicago and sells export and import freight for a local company.
Copyright © 2008 The Evangelical Covenant Church. |
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