By Bob Bakken
MaxPreps.com
Boys Basketball: Bardal Named New Coach at Cedar Falls
Former Waverly-Shell Rock boys basketball coach Tom Bardal has been named to replace the retiring Jerry Slykhuis in Cedar Falls, where Bardal currently works as a special education teacher.
Bardal’s background is extensive in high school and Division I college basketball. He took Waverly-Shell Rock to a state championship in 2007, and then resigned to take time away from competitive coaching.
Before that, he was a head coach at Waterloo West, and has also been an assistant coach at Iowa State and Northern Iowa.
Boys Basketball: Baseball VP to Lead Des Moines East
Des Moines East has announced that Jim Nahas will become the Scarlets’ new boys basketball coach. This will be a secondary position for Nahas, who works full-time as vice president of the Iowa Cubs, a Triple-A baseball franchise based in Des Moines. Nahas has been with the I-Cubs for 15 years.
Coaching basketball is not new to Nahas, who was an assistant coach at cross-town rival Des Moines Hoover for the past two seasons.
"I'm looking forward to being part of a great tradition on the East side,” Nahas told the Des Moines Register. “The basketball program has a great foundation that I hope to make even better."
Nahas replaces Andy Howard, who resigned after coaching the Scarlets to a 97-155 record in 12 seasons at the helm.
Girls Basketball: New Coach Named at Waterloo Columbus
Mike Lyons is the new girls basketball coach at Waterloo Columbus, replacing Mark Sinnwell, who resigned at the end of the season.
Lyons was a varsity assistant and head sophomore coach at Waterloo West before coaching at Janesville for one season this past year. He’s a teacher at West and said the chance to coach a larger program in Columbus was a great opportunity.
“It’s close to home for me, and they have a good reputation with the program they’ve had in the past,” Lyons told the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier. “I’m looking forward to the challenge.”
Football: Duvall Leaves Post at Davenport Central
Davenport Central will be seeking a new football coach with the resignation of Max Duvall at the eastern Iowa school.
Duvall was suspended for the final two games of last fall’s schedule, and he confirmed to the Quad City Times newspaper it was because he allowed an assistant to coach without proper certification.
Sophomore coach Darrick Reaves worked most of the season, saying he was certified through a course taken the previous summer, but the school did not receive the course transcripts.
Reaves left his job when the error was discovered, but Duvall said the issue went on even after the season was completed. Duvall finally said it was time for him to move on.
“My view of it is that because of what happened, my suspension wasn’t enough of a punishment,” Reaves told the Quad City Times. “I’ve tried for the last four months to get something done, and we couldn’t work it out. I think the whole situation was mishandled from both sides.”
Duvall will remain as an instructor at Central and will be an assistant coach at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. He was 3-15 in two seasons for the Blue Devils.
Central athletic director Chris Cartee didn’t comment specifically on the issue, but said he hopes to hire a new coach by the end of the school year on June 6.
College Commitments
* Spirit Lake junior forward Amber Kirschbaum has made a verbal commitment to North Iowa. She was a first team All-State selection this year, averaging 14 points and nine rebounds per game.
* Muscatine senior guard Jake Wagg will play basketball next fall at St. Ambrose University in Davenport. Wagg averaged 16 points a game and was the Mississippi Athletic Conference’s leader in three-point shooting with 45 treys. Wagg finished his career was 905 points.
* Others making college commitments recently included Bettendort ballers Troy Rorer and Peter Wessels going to Augustana College (Ill.)…Gabbie Binion of Davenport Assumption is headed to Southeastern Community College in Keokuk, Ill. …Kelsey Jipp of Pleasant Valley committed to the women’s basketball program at Coe College in Cedar Rapids.