EternalOptimist

I see this as a possibility. Let's say this happens and the 3 graduate. The twins leave, but A3 stays, and you have a couple scholarships for the coach to play with (hoping he can get what is needed). Would you take this scenario with a 4 year extension of Sather? Or would you prefer Sather was relieved of his position and let the chips fall where they may for a rebuild? I'm not sure which way I land based on history, but im curious as to what others think and why.

USD is in a tough spot due to thw injuries. With them in the position they are in, UMKC in a free for all with a coach that's been fired, and Oral Bob, who is just bad, maybe UND can finish above the bottom 4

???? He seemed fine on Thursday. I'm sure yesterday's practice was mostly film and light. That's crazy

LOL - No, I don't want that. What I would have liked is for them to recruit a big that can contribute because after last year's season, it was pretty obvious we needed one, and instead we got Jones.

I guess we will have to agree to disagree. Jones is a back to the basket 5 man - Bothun is a stretch 4 converted to a 5 and he has been sparingly used to pick and pop. Again, it's not apples to apples. Comparing rebounds doesn't work, and I've gone over the shooting (Donte DiVincenzo for the T-Wolves went on a stretch where he was 4 for 30 from 3 earlier this year - sometimes it happens, especially when you get pulled after the 1st miss). I'm not saying Bothun is the answer - you brought him up. All I am saying is I don't think Jones deserves the time he is getting based on his stats, and the coaching staff hasn't really tried anything else seriously. Heck, try Marley Curtis at the 5, try Erickson, just try something. Outside of Guga, our frontcourt isn't producing, our guards can penetrate - try getting that defending big out of the lane - even a low percentage for a 5 is better than a scouting report that says let their 5 shoot from anywhere except the paint - sag and stop the drive. Unfortunately, this should have all been tried before the Summit League games started, not now, but here we are - just another one of the issues with coaching. On a side note - I like talking about basketball and this team. In no way do I wish to convey any negative or combativeness in what I say. I welcome talking about it and understand I am not always right. I hope there is no negative feelings by what I say. I know sometimes forums get a bit tense - I just want a good conversation/debate to sharpen my thinking.

Guga should average more minutes - and should be starting. We can disagree on the role of a starting center, I don't think the role is "eat up minutes and be physical". What we need is someone to come into the game to relieve Guga, and contribute while in. The context of what I said was in reference to odd subbing along with short leashes vs longer leashes. It's my opinion that Jones's stats and play shouldn't allow him the extended minutes he gets. It seems your opinion is that we have no other option - which is fine to have. I think however, its a bit unfair to compare a player like Bothun in this situation to Jones. Bothun's playing time up until that NAIA game, was 1-2 minutes a game, and like Wylee was pulled instantly for missing a shot (which really helps the confidence as a shooter). You don't have to believe me, but once he got meaningful minutes (because of the foul trouble of Jones and Guga), he went 5-5, scored 15pts, was the player of the game. Sather basically said he is not a good shooter, he is a great shooter, and he does it in practice. It would be interesting to me to see what increasing his minutes would do to this team. I'm probably in the minority with this opinion, but I would like our 5 to spread the floor and allow our gaurds to penetrate. I actually think both Erickson and Bothun could get 3.2 ppg and 3.5 rpg with even less minutes than Jones gets, and I think the guards production would go up as well. I agree - offense isn't everything, and maybe the defense would over-ride it, but Jones defense isn't great, and he is tied for 2nd on the team in turnovers. Again just my opinon, and observations based on the stats I see.

I can't go with you there. I'll buy into Guga not being able to play 40 minutes, but Jones is our starting 5. He averages 3.2 ppg, 3.5 Rpg, and 3.5 fouls per game. Any one of the guys on the bench could do that with the minutes he gets - no matter their size. Our offensive productivity actually goes up when he is out because his defender isn't clogging the lane for our guards.

Another thing that is troublesome about the subbing - all those coaches on the bench, and when a player makes a mistake and is pulled, nobody says anything to them. Every once in awhile, Sather will say something, but most of the time, it's high fives from everyone and right to a chair to allow them to figure it out themselves. No "next time" speech, or "I have confidence in you but you need to..."

Subbing and play time seem odd most of the year. I don't think Sather is doing the subbing, but you'd think he would watch film and have a knowledge of what's happening during the game. The Wylee situation last night bothered me to. I believe the plan for him was to redshirt. He works hard, and they pull the redshirt tag part way through the year. He does fairly well in some games, but then checks in and gets instantly yanked after what I thought was Guga's issue. And he is done. Just kill the kid's confidence. They have done this kind of thing before, while others have long leashes. Also, I wonder if Karson Ouse is happy they pulled his redshirt as well - the kid hasn't seen any time for a few games. Doppler started a game, now doesn't play. Bothun struggled then had 15 and was a player of the game in a game, and hasn't played since. I do get that not all those guys should be playing meaningful minutes, but it's just the way it's playing out. On the flip side, it seems they really want Marley to play so they tolerate poor decisions and bad shots. And their starting center, after 21 games, now has a total of 64 points and 73 fouls. That's 3.2 ppg and 3.5 fouls per game. Crazy

A3 played great in the 1st half, then as he is prone to do, the ball gets sticky in his hands. If he can figure out that moving the ball will increase his opportunities rather than decrease, he'll be better. Learning

I think that's a fairly accurate number. You don't have to look much further than this site and the posts about each sport

🤣

This is interesting - I wonder what the advantage is to announcing this now? I can't imagine a benefit to the current team, or recruiting.

I like the 3-1 start. But as I've mentioned before, I'm not ready to drink the kool-aid yet. Oral Bob and KC were predicted to be bottom 4 teams, so beating them is good, but I don't know if it puts us in the top 4. SDSU was a very good win. St Thomas, from what I have seen, should win the conference, so the game on Thursday will be a good indicator on how good we are. As far as Sather staying and the portal - time will tell. I think Ty Danielson is mostly responsible for the success of this team so far this year. I still think UND moves on from Sather. I also think the domino effect will be real, and there will be some that hit the portal. I don't know if that's a bad thing though.

The 1st person to get thanks for a 3-1 record should be coach Ty Danielson. Unlike years prior, our defense is what is causing other teams fits and helping our offense.

I'm still scratching my head, trying to figure out what the coaching staff was thinking with 58 seconds left and our ball, they have Jones, a 40% FT shooter not only IN the game, but he is the guy receiving the inbounds pass. What the heck is that?

Ouch, open tryouts in the season. That's a program in a tough spot.

I really want to believe. I really want this season to end in a top 4 and do well in the tournament. I was at the last 2 games and the SDSU game was awesome. The OR game was a bit of a roller coaster. I do think Ty Danielson has a LOT to do with the success we've seen, and the enjoyment of watching. I also agree with Good Good with the state of the Summit League. I'm not willing to say Sather is doing his best work quite yet. Their have been times in the last few years I jumped on the bandwagon, only to see the wagon turn over and burn. Again, I hope a top half finish in the Summit is on the horizon, but im not convinced. I'll still be cheering, enjoying, and hoping, but it's too soon to know.

Bottom 4 in no particular order. UND, Oral Bob, KC, USD (injuries looking like it may take a toll on them)

Just my observation and hunch, but it seems like the coaches have a style of play they want to play, and don't deviate from it. They want a big to be physical and control the paint. It doesn't matter if Jones has more career fouls than points, he's a big body, so we stick with it even if he is 0-5. Same with Reggie and A3. Reggie does what he is told, and will give max effort. A3 has more upside and if handled correctly could be really good, but he's also a bit of a wild card emotionally and hard to control, so they continue to put their thumb on him to control it rather than to figure out how to make it flourish. It's the same thing that's happened with the twins. You can probably argue both sides of it, but at the end of the day the coach brings guys in. I think they do a good job of it, but then they want to control the situations and the players to suit what they want, often times destroying confidence in players and changing what made them good. Some players can handle being put in the coaches box, others cant. Good coaches work with players to make them more confident and better. Bad coaches put players in a decided box.

Guga played well, Garrett played better than he has. Eli played well, Grayson had higher turnovers than normal. Marley did well picking up 7 rebounds. Jones only picks up 1 foul, albeit within the 1st 30 seconds of the game, but doesnt score. We had a 17pt lead at the half and found a way to make it close. Coaching unable to make any changes. A win is a win, even if it's ugly, but boy, some of that was really ugly.

Another 20+ turnover game. It's going to be difficult to win any games in the Summit with 20+ turnovers.

When I heard Dakota State gave USD and SDSU a good run, I thought we have some issues. Not having their best player hurt Dakota State, but UND did what was needed to get out, and stay out to a considerable lead. I wouldn't say we played out best basketball, but a W is a W - take it and get ready for Summit League play.

Please help me understand how the process works. Normally, if a coach gets an extension it usually happens before the start of the last year of the current contract. This gives the most stability to the program as the future is understood. In the case of UND, it It is now getting close to 2026, and roughly half way through the season of the final year of the coaches current contract. I assume the renewal of the contract would be public so we'd know either way. Is the renewal of the contract dependent on some level of success, or other markers? Is every week that goes by an indicator there won't be a renewal? Help me understand what is going on with the contract - or what we can read into the delay. Thanks

Agreed - The college basketball climate has changed. It used to be you bring in HS kids and work with them expecting them to learn year 1 & 2 and produce year 3 & 4. With the portal and ability to hop around, it just seems like if you want to be competitive now you need to recruit the portal for experience. Either go out and find really good D2 kids with experience and are ready to make the jump, or possibly solid high major kids that just are not seeing the playing time they would like to see, but understand college basketball and the work it takes. This year UND brought in 4 freshmen (A3, twins, Ouse). Sure, there have been bright spots and the talent seems to be their, but A3 went through some issues (and may or may not be done with them). One Curtis twin hasn't been with the team for weeks, and the other has gone from being a starter to not playing. Ouse still looks lost and confused, and despite what Sather says, is fairly unproductive. UND should have re-shirted them and allow them to figure it out. Instead, because he already has a few that are not working out for him for whatever reason, he has had to rely on them and it hasn't gone well. Last night's game was awesome and a pleasant unexpected surprise. I don't think we have turned a corner and will now be a contender in the summit league. It's the bed that Sather has made, the question is, can he overcome all the challenges he has created for himself? or will they part ways with him.