Columnist Dean Juipe: Great start has CCSN thinking big

Dean Juipe

Tuesday, March 28, 2000 | 9:43 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@vegas.com or 259-4084.

The question is posed to Tim Chambers on an increasingly regular basis.

"I bet I've been asked that 300 or 400 times in the past few weeks," he said Monday, sitting in his office at the Community College of Southern Nevada's Henderson campus.

But this time it was a reporter making the inquiry and Chambers elected to choose his words carefully.

"I wouldn't dare to answer that," he said before relenting and offering his appraisal on this singular subject: Could his junior-college team, his 34-6 Coyotes, defeat the 7-24 UNLV Rebels?

"I don't think it's a fair shake to either of us to make a comparison," he said, making a partial comparison nonetheless. "There's a world of difference in competition, especially in regard to the schedules each of us plays.

"We might squeak out a couple of games here and there if we played their schedule, but basically we'd be getting smoked.

"I'm sure they're much better than us."

Others who have seen his first-year team aren't so sure. CCSN not only has a glittering record, it is winning games by hefty margins and acting as if this is the beginning of what may well become an elite baseball program.

The Coyotes, who will host Elgin (Ill.) Community College for a 5 p.m. doubleheader today at UNLV's Wilson Stadium, are 4-1 versus teams that were ranked in this season's first and only poll. When the next poll comes out April 4, it's reasonable to expect CCSN to be listed.

"I'm a little bit surprised," Chambers said of his team's success out of the gate. "I thought there was a chance we could win 30 or 35 games, but I also knew 20 wins -- or maybe only 15 -- might have been where we were supposed to be."

With 16 games remaining his team will easily surpass even his loftiest goals.

"The flip side of doing so well so soon is that people are going to come to expect it," he said. "But, really, I expect us to become a powerhouse within three to five years."

They may get there sooner than Chambers thinks, although the eight-team Junior College World Series may be a tough nut to crack so soon. But with a roster comprised mainly of local players who once had to travel elsewhere to play, CCSN is in the process of crossing a promising threshold.

Twenty-one of the 28 Coyotes played their high-school ball in the Las Vegas valley.

"There's really not enough quality players in the state to field an entire team," Chambers said, "but there'll always be enough to form a good base."

Truth is, CCSN's tremendous initial season not only reflects well on Chambers and his players, it underscores the wealth and depth of talent that the area's high schools routinely provide. If CCSN had come out and gone 6-50 it may have signalled the junior-college program was an excess the community didn't need, but if it is going to have this type of success it has to be seen as worthwhile.

"Vegas seems to expect big things from its sports teams," Chambers said. "And the people don't respond very well to losing.

"But we're 34-6 and that says something."

It says the Coyotes have risen to must-see status, even if their coach would rather sidestep the issue of whipping up on the Rebels.