Reader comments
Salt Lake CC comes back, wins NJCAA championship

Joe Moe | 11:21 p.m. March 21, 2009

Awesome! A Utah basketball team that can compete nationally!

u of u lover | 11:25 p.m. March 21, 2009

Great now Salt Lake HAS a championship team - put them in the MTN and let the Utes play them.

Great job SLCC

Scotty | 12:15 a.m. March 22, 2009

Big kudos to Salt Lake CC! Their coach Norm Parrish deserves much credit. About 1987 Parrish was working as assistant coach at Northwest Nazarene College in Nampa, Idaho. He was well-liked and doing a great job, but was abruptly fired when some of the school's trustees discovered Parrish was a Mormon.

Looks like NW Nazarene's loss and blunder, was Salt Lake CC's gain. Great job Coach Parrish and team!

Comments continue below

Mike Benson | 12:22 a.m. March 22, 2009

Kudos to Coach Parrish, his staff, his players, and to President Bioteau and the entire SLCC Bruin Nation. What a wonderful accomplishment by these young men to bring back a national championship to Utah.

You've made us all proud! Hearty congratulations from your friends at Southern Utah.

The Big Gorilla | 12:37 a.m. March 22, 2009

I am proud of this team. Time for a parade.

TucsonUte | 12:48 a.m. March 22, 2009

I am an alumni of SLCC and just want to say congrats to the Bruins for a super season!

Bob2 | 6:23 a.m. March 22, 2009

Wow, being a college basketball fan in the state of Utah isn't anywhere near as embarrassing as it was a couple of days ago. Thanks Bruins and Westminster. Great runs!

wow | 7:31 a.m. March 22, 2009

congrats

Great Job Bruins | 7:58 a.m. March 22, 2009

I love it! The only national basketball recognition for Utah this year. How does the national JC championship the Bruins won compare with the California State JC championship tournament? Does anyone know? It would be interesting if a playoff would include the entire Jr. college network of schools.

Never say die! | 8:15 a.m. March 22, 2009

Way to go Bruins!! - you guys are a bunch of great men that never gave up-you deserve it. ENJOY THE RIDE!

Re:Great Job Bruins | 9:18 a.m. March 22, 2009

IMO SLCC is a much better team than any of the 120 or so JC basketball teams in California. North Idaho, CEU, and CSI are as well. California teams are limited in their recruiting, for the most part, to small geographical areas of Cal, and can't recruit outside of the state, which limits their access to D1 talent. And they are not allowed to give scholarships to players from outside of Cal. NJCAA teams, like SLCC, can recruit all over the country and give scholarships. SLCC, CSI, CEU, and N. Idaho will probably send 10 or more players to D1 this year. 6 have already committed. The 120 teams in Cal JC ball regularly send around 35 total.

HAPPY for Norma! | 9:50 a.m. March 22, 2009

I am a big SLCC fan. My daughter was a pitcher for SLCC the only year the softball team made it to nationals. She played for the greatest coach-Amy Hogue and played with the GREATEST teammates. ALL 14 girls played a role in us getting to Nationals. My younger daughter played on the first girl BB team to make it to Nationals. She played with the GREATEST teammates. SO- I can not be happier for one person at SLCC- NORMA CARR. She does it the right way and I am so happy for her. She is SLCC athletics!!!! What Larry Miller is to pro BB Norma is the exact same for women athletics in this state! From Lindsie and Adrienne and Jay congradulations to Norma Carr- Athletic directer supreme!

ccb1212 | 10:34 a.m. March 22, 2009

Congrats to Coach Parrish and the team! Years ago I used to write for the college news paper and would talk to Coach Parrish all the time for the sports page. He is a really great guy. I am so happy for him.

Palmer | 10:40 a.m. March 22, 2009

Wow, two years in a row making it to the National Championship game. First of all, not very many people out there really understand how difficult it is just to get to Hutch. Then to get through 4 games and into the Championship two years in a row. This could not have happened to a better coach and even better he can do all this and is still a great family man. Thank you goes out to Coach Marble as well.

magnus | 10:45 a.m. March 22, 2009

Congradulations SLCC! This was just an amzing team!

I listened to the game on the radio and two things just blew me away, first was the way they turned this game around. The announcers had been attending the tournament for something like 35 years and they both said that it was the greatest second half comeback they had ever witnessed. SLCC just locked them down defensively and executed their offense with such efficiency that John Wooden himself would have wept at the sight of it.

The second was that as they started to make their run the crowd just exploded for the Bruins, it sounded like a home game. Even the supposedly impartial announcers were cought up in it. I spoke with one of the players and he said that as the week went on more and more of the locals and fans of other tournament teams were comming up to them and offering their support and telling them that they were cheering for them.

Congradulations Coach Parish and SLCC!

You truly are the best there is!

Holy cow | 11:37 a.m. March 22, 2009

SLCC must have the best team in the state this year. Last week there were arguments about other teams being the king of the hill. Now we know. Congratulations. Give them a parade in downtown SLC. They deserve it.

What's up/ | 12:35 p.m. March 22, 2009

Great job SLCC!!!!! It will be great to see Bindall at USU next year where in state kids do well.

SLCC Alumni Association | 1:01 p.m. March 22, 2009

WAY TO GO SLCC! We're so proud of you!

Go Make Toast | 4:07 p.m. March 22, 2009

Congratulations Bruins! What an amazing accomplishment.

jim b. cedar city via fillmore | 4:39 p.m. March 22, 2009

Any news on where the young men on this team will be going on to four year schools to finish their eligibility?

Joe007 | 5:04 p.m. March 22, 2009

Way to go DJ Wright! Looking forward to watching you at Louisiana Tech very soon. Keep it up young man!

CALBLUE | 5:45 p.m. March 22, 2009

Congrats SLCC. Any of these guys get picked up by BYU, USU, U of U, WSU or did they miss out again.

chuckles55 | 6:15 p.m. March 22, 2009

With wall-to-wall coverage of our losinging men's teams, I guess there was no room for any word about SLCC until now. It would have been nice to have been given a head's up so we could have followed a winner instead of three loosers.

Lehi Alum | 6:43 p.m. March 22, 2009

Congrats Drew and Ben!

Sweet. | 7:00 p.m. March 22, 2009

I honestly didn't know that SLCC played hoops. I'll now watch for them next season.

Shame | 8:12 p.m. March 22, 2009

It's a shame that we have a team win a National Championship in basketball and they get just a little "afterthought comment" by all of our media outlets in Utah. Forget the Utes, Cougs, Aggies for just one day (they all got bumped in the first round of their tournament). SLCC should be the lead sports story on TV and in the paper. This just goes to show how out of touch our state is in the broad world of sports. Congrats SLCC!

The truth | 9:00 p.m. March 22, 2009

Norm Parrish is one of the best coaches in the state of Utah. When Utah State, Weber State, BYU or Utah open all these schools would be fools not to consider Coach P. I am so happy for Norm and his team.

Ute Fan | 9:12 p.m. March 22, 2009

I've seen every team in the state play this year and believe Westminster is the best team that nobody talks about. They may not have the most talent (they have very limited scholarship money) with the exception of the remarkable Geoff Payne, but they are very, very good. Ask SLCC. Westminster routed them in a scrimmage earlier this year. Great accomplishment for the Bruins though. Congratulations.

Josh | 11:12 p.m. March 22, 2009

As a SLCC Alumni and a fan of Bruin Basketball, I am so proud of this team. SLCC has had some great teams and to finally get the championship is awesome! Congrats SLCC and Coach Parrish!

bonafide | 11:49 p.m. March 22, 2009

Congrats! to Ricky and Logan. They are #1 on the court and off the court! We are proud of you!!!!

$NormaCarr$ | 2:31 a.m. March 23, 2009

She is tough and hard-nosed but also hoards money and makes things tougher than they need to be on the basketball team when it travels, including to national tournaments. I don't minimize her contributions but she is tightfisted with PLAYERS who should have the best of everything when at tournaments like this. The CC owes it to them to take great care of them while on the road.

I give more credit to Norm for dealing with her. Now, if only the students would go to the games in force they could build (and might anyway) a true dynasty.

Dnews covered them all season | 2:32 a.m. March 23, 2009

Don't blame the Dnews for no coverage, blame the students for not attending. Do a little research, Dnews had stories each day and also weekly ones all season.

Ross | 7:11 a.m. March 23, 2009

Great Job SLCC, next year SNOW will be there.

KARRL | 8:09 a.m. March 23, 2009

John wooden himself would have wept??? Yeah right MAGNUS! This is JC basketball. Ha ha my churchball team won after trailing the whole game. I bet he would have wept at that too

Congrats Team | 8:10 a.m. March 23, 2009

Thats the way to represent your school and State. I can't wait to see Bendall in the USU Aggie blue and white next season. Just what we needed to replace Wilkinson.

Me, Myself, and I | 10:52 a.m. March 23, 2009

Not to take away from SLCC's great accomplishment but the NJCAA represents only a handful of JC's accross the country. Just as I have a problem with Snow and Dixie when they were still a Juco claiming a National Championship when the best JC teams in the country don't even belong to the NJCAA. Once again congratulations on your great season and your NJCAA Championship!

FatCat | 11:19 a.m. March 23, 2009

The Deseret News is screening negative comments about the media coverage, but they allow their own comments. High School Sports gets more coverage, than SLCC. Let's go back and look at the articles written, some were in fine print. Here is a thought, create one page every week on the JUCO Review, One Page, just like you give high school sports.

What's next? | 6:30 p.m. March 23, 2009

Anyone know where some of these players will play next? Any of the Utah schools interested in any of these players?

Vid | 7:23 p.m. March 23, 2009

Nate Bendall is going to USU next year. That's as much as I know about it.

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4 photos

Travis Morisse, Associated Press

Salt Lake Community College's DJ Wright celebrates in the final seconds of the NJCAA national championship game Saturday, March 21, 2009, in Hutchinson, Kan. Salt Lake defeated Midland 67-60. Wright was named the tournament MVP.

Gallery (4 photos)