AJS

My comments were only about the freshman dman. I think both Shaw and Wolanin will be great college players. Both have shown flashes this year and I'd say Shaw has been our #2 Dman. Once Wolanin puts it all together, he's going to be a stud.

Agreed, Thompson wasn't bad (either was Ausmus). I've actually been pleasantly surprised with how the freshman this year have played (imo the worst defenseman has been Ausmus). I don't think however that any of the three have a high ceiling to be anything more than an ok college defenseman. Same with the group they have coming in next year.

I haven't, Stecher and Ladue were fantastic as freshman. I'll give you Thompson though. Stecher had "it" from his first game with the team.

I like Kennedy and I loved his message about wanting to support UND athletics at a championship level. He seems to be very supportive and really understands what a positive boost athletics brings to the University. That being said, I hated how he handled this earlier and how he didn't have the guts to make the cuts when they should have. Not saying it's an easy thing to do, but it needed to be done. My hope is that Kennedy cuts 2 or 3 programs and gets UND to a number that fits the size of the University.

I know you can't base everything on draft rankings and junior accolades, but I'm at a loss for words at what will be the last two defensive recruiting classes (this year and next). I know how it happens and every school has plenty of misses when you recruit young, but this coaching staff missed, bad, on everyone. I don't see an above average player in the group. The 3 that came in this year were all average, in juniors. That's not changing with the 3 coming in next year.

Is this the final weekend they are hosting recruits, or are they doing one next weekend as well?

First round WHL pick.

Now they are in the same position they were before the Union game, at 10th in the PWR, getting close to the cliff. Tonight has turned into a must win situation for them. I know it's been talked about to death, but what's so frustrating is they just can't seem to turn the corner. They come off a great weekend and then play awful at home. Get the win tonight and sweep Duluth and let's go from there. The only team that has more L's than them in the Top 20 is BC, they need another string of W's in a row.

Yes

I think they've only played 3 really bad games all year, Michigan State X2 and Saturday of WMU. In the rest of the loses, I thought they played reasonably well.

Agreed, this year there has been a lot of one step forward, one step back with their performances from weekend to weekend. This is the weekend to solidify themselves as a Top 8 team in the pairwise as well as for the first time since the very beginning of the season where I'd say they'd have a "good" record. Huge weekend!

Good luck to Chris going forward, the last week hasn't been great for our secondary.

Mismash (99) now tied for 3rd on the U18 team with 24 points (12G, 12A) in 34 games Adams (98)3rd in USHL with 31 points (17G, 14A) in 27 games Kawaguchi (97) tied for 6th in BCHL with 49 points (24G, 25A) in 35 games They will be a very good freshman trio next year. N. Jones (96) leading Penticton in points with 39 (13G, 26A) in 37 games I know this has been discussed before, but with no Seniors and only 2 spots (Boeser, Schmaltz) opening for sure, do we think any other forwards will be in this class? You could put Jost and Poganski as 50/50 as well. It would appear that Keane and Mattson would be pushed back to Juniors for another year. What's the word with Bast? He's only played 6 games this year after being hurt all last year. Also, Jonny Tychonick (00) seems to be doing well in his first year, leading Penticton defense in scoring with 17 points (3G,14A) in 27 games

Unbelievable!

Thanks! Interesting and definitely answers my Arnell question. Looks like the UND website was just optimistic listing him as a RS JR. Really hoping he gets the hardship waiver as he's a key player in the secondary.

I've been asking this question since the beginning of the year. I was always under the impression that he got a Medical RS last year. During the year, I saw him listed as both a JR and SR (on broadcasts), which was confusing. In his end of the year analysis, Tom Miller talked posted this about Arnell. "Lastly, I’ll look at the medical hardships of Zach Arnell and Clive Georges. The Arnell question is big. UND doesn’t have an obvious next man up at safety opposite Cole Reyes." As you said, he's listed as a JR on the UND website. What I can't understand is since the injury took place last year, wouldn't they have applied for the RS last year? It's a really confusing situation that I'd like clarified.

Does anyone have any insight what is going on with the budget shortfall that caused all this pandemonium with sports being cut / new conferences? I'm sure they are still looking into new conferences, but as Tom Miller wrote, the savings won't be as much as most thought. Has Kennedy taken care of the budget problem? If so, how? I'm just really confused as this was such a hot topic and now there's no talk whatsoever on it.

Kick coverage was basically solved at the end of the year by putting better players in for it. As depth / talent improves, so will the Special Teams coverage units. My concern with Special Teams is (1) Finding a guy that can catch the ball, without making it look like it's the most difficult thing in the world (i.e. no Siebel) on punt returns (2) What is everyone's opinion on the Freshman kicker? Taubs has a mediocre leg and can't put the ball in the end zone on a regular basis. Would you pull the RS from Leach if he can launch them into the end zone and use him only on kick offs? Or would that be a waste?

UND has offered T/NG Ronald Audette, 6'3", 310, Elk River, MN http://www.hudl.com/profile/3771094/ronald-audette

Faison and Kennedy need to realize this. Find the right coach that can raise the profile of men's bball. There's potential to be a lot of fun years ahead being a UND fan with hockey where it's at and Football on the rise. Now it's time to fix the bball program.

This is a tricky situation, where you know the program isn't where it can be if they went another direction. I look at it as a tough love situation. If we are doing hypothetical situations and this year it came down to keeping Jones if they made the title game and lost or going another direction if they lose the semi-final game, then I truly would prefer that they lose the semi-final game. Obviously we wouldn't know the outcome of the Final game, so you'd cheer for them to win the semi-final. This post won't be a like machine, but I've seen enough of Jones coached teams at UND. They Big Sky isn't a great basketball conference and even the years they have performed well, they are barely over .500. The mediocrity needs to end.

I agree with this. Let's take it one step further, what happens if this team finishes Top 3 and makes a run to the Big Sky Title game and loses? Or gets back to another semifinal and loses? I feel the same way as 95% of others do about Jones, but I don't think it's a slam dunk that he'll be fired.

I know Schlossman mentioned Casey as well in his game notes as a person who has really improved throughout the year. Coming into the year, this freshman D-core was definitely the least heralded I can ever remember at UND, from a "hype" or junior accolades position. Having both Poolman and Johnson step up this year is not only crucial to this years success, but also more importantly for years to come. I really like what I've seen from both lately.

I could be wrong, but when it comes to recruiting battles, I'd be surprised if the "size" of Fargo, or its location has anything to do with a recruits final decision. I mean shocked having lived both places. *Not saying GF would have the advantage, but it's a wash. I actually think for college GF is a much better town to live in, imo.

At the end of the season Bubba named 3 positions that had to be better for this team to take the next step. Offensive line: They were atrocious the first 4 games, replacing 4 starters and a TE. They really came together as a solid group by the end of the year. As mentioned before, they have 8 players returning that started games and only lose 1 (very good) player. Along with the 8 players returning, there are glowing reviews from 3 players who will be RS freshman next year. The O-Line will be solid and deep next year. Check Secondary: They gave up too many big plays this year and depth was an issue. They return 2 All-Americans and two CB's that I believe are the real deal in Hunt and Holm, both who played as freshman last year. They'll both get better with a year under their belt. If Arnell is granted a medical RS, they'll return all their starters. Stewart was picked up, which will help depth. Hopefully some of the younger guys like Canady, Randolph and Tucker will be able to push for a 2-deep spot. I really like this group. Check QB: Studsrud was inconsistent last year, looking great at times and bad others. I'll scratch the first four games, since the O-line was really bad in front of him. It's important to note too that when Georges went down, it left him with Stanley being the only returning WR that played the rest of the way. This year they return their top 4 WR's, Mercer came on big at the end of the year and TT / Wanzek were very good as true freshman. He'll have a lot of weapons this year. Zimmerman will need to be a player as a back up, which is still a question. Questionable Along with the three that Bubba mentioned, I also look for big holes that were created due to graduation. The only unit that was hit hard was the Linebacker unit, which will lose 3 starters and another off the 2-deep chart. LB: Return 4 off the two deep chart that played significant minutes last year. Losing 1/2 is pretty significant, so hopefully there's a handful that are ready to step up. There's no question this will be the most hyped team of the D-1 era, they are coming off their best year as a program and return so much. This should also be the first team that I'd say has true depth up and down their roster, with only one group that I'd call a true "work in progress". Can't wait for August.