UND Fan

Anyone know Kleinsasser's injury status? Will he be 100% by the start of camp?

I can assure you that Rob fully understands that the relationship and cooperation between the Athletic Department and the Ralph must improve. I am sure that, for political reasons, he isn't going to mention it in his comments but I am also sure that is what he would say if he was asked that question.

I would agree - that should be at the top of the list!

If someone has a lot of time on their hands, it would be great it if they posted the depth charts here. I could not find it on the Herald website.

Are you telling us that Lee G. has moved back to receiver or that you think he will? Any other observations? How are all the new faces on the offensive line looking?

Good point - I will do some research and give you my thoughts on them soon. Obviously, they are the two front runners for the job!e

I have not met either McCarthy or Molde but here is my assessment of their strengths and potential weaknesses (some of this information came from inside the Athletic Department): McCarthy Strengths: High energy, presents himself well, has been quite successful at Lynn - many teams in the Top 10 nationally. Challenges (real or perceived): Has had no AD experience with hockey or football, not familiar with this area, probably has higher aspirations so he might not be here too long. Molde Strengths (real or perceived): A great deal of experience - currently overseeing 23 sports at Gustavus, has experience with a Division III hockey program, a "decision-maker", very familiar with our area, very well respected, would be at UND until he retires as he likely does not have higher aspirations. Challenges: May be considered older than some would like, no DI hockey experience. Bollinger Strengths: "Bleeds green", very familiar with program, well-respected, already "knows" what should be done to improve athletics at UND (including the development of a better working relationship with the Ralph), could be "up and running" quickly. Challenges (real or perceived): No AD experience, little true administrative experience (a very important function of the job), hockey faction may associate him too much with football, Kupchalla may associate him with being pro-DI as the FB coaches would like to move to IAA tomorrow if they could (I think Rob is taking the right approach - do our due diligence NOW to see if a move up makes sense in the future), the administration may want a "fresh face" with new ideas, Rob is too valuable to lose as the primary fund raiser for athletics. These are just observations by either myself or shared by others. This is not meant to be argumentative so don't "tear this apart". While there are factions that feel as noted, I do not agree with everything above.

Somewhat concerning comments regarding Blackwell from the WS Rivals website: user profile Post #15 Re: Jesse Blackwell of LaCrosse Reply -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Very Overrated... prolly the biggest headcase in the state!!! He thinks hes much better than he really is. ******************************************************************* Post #68 Re: Jesse Blackwell of LaCrosse Reply -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yourwrong is being a little harsh. Jesse has immense talent. He can be a little of a head case, but part of that is his coaches have made no outward attempt to force him to tone it down. (I of course don't know about practice etc.) If he finds a coach who can get him to committ to play basketball without all of the antics and hysteronics he could be a great player. He is strong, can jump out of the gym, is a decent ball handler and has great range. If he can overcome the mental parts of his game UND is getting a GREAT player.

Yes, Gutter is likely to be back. Supposedly, he has his head together and is ready to get serious about both school and BB. If that is fact, he could be a contributor very quickly. He is a big physical player. If he has not matured, it could be another real distraction for the team. My understanding is that Miller approached UND rather than the other way around. He will likley get a little $ but not much - more or less a walk on! We were after 2-3 other very talented players, hoping to sign one of them - one HS, two JC players. Not sure if any of them committed. I am sure Roebauck doesn't have any scholarship $ available - unless a current player or two aren't coming back. Anyone know if we have had any propects in visiting campus?

Outstanding!!!!!!!!

It will likely be announced in the next few days - not nearly as exciting as Ewing!! It may or may not be a good thing!

It appears Grant Gunhus has accepted the scholarship to the Colorado School of Mines!

The top three candidates to be interviewed are John McCarthy, AD at Lynn University, in Boca Raton, Florida; Al Molde of Gustavus and Rob Bollinger.

Cratter - as I said, we will just "agree to disagree". As a loyal UND fan and booster, I sincerely wish that I was wrong on this issue and you were right! Let's end our debate but I am curious how you think you or I would have a better sense of all this than UND coaches. They are the ones doing the recruiting and needing to put competitive teams on the field/court!

You are a true-blue (or should I say "green") "Gopher Hater"! My hats off to you!!

Look at the rosters of those teams. Once in a while we get someone from somewhere other than ND, MN or WS but not often. Fortunately, we get a few (Crouse, for instance) due to our aviation program. The reason I mention Hakstol is obvious, we have had a top notch hockey program for many years with the best facility in the country. Lennon - I think we have the quality of program, coaching and facilities to easily to very competitive in I-AA. But if you look at last year's roster, you will see only 8 kids not from ND, SD, MN or WS. They are from CO - 4, Alaska - 1, Canada -2, and CA - 1 (transfer from Michigan Tech). Not many from warmer climates! If you look at this year's recruits, they all came from ND, MN and WS. That being said, we have not really recruited too many other areas (other than CO). I do think, due to our staff, facilities, etc., that we could bring in some FB players from other parts of the country. NDSU has has been quite successful in doing so - especially since they have the full ride scholarships to offer. SU also has a couple of black coaches which certainly helps in the recruitment of young black athletes. Not a racist comment but fact! Roebuck - Again we have a tradition, good coaching and a great facility. Two of our current players are not from ND or MN (one from Iowa and one for IL). This area simply produces a lot of very good female BB players. Many more ladies from our area are capable of playing DI or DII BB than their male counterparts. Plus, the average female appears to be more interested in playing close to home than the guys. Bottom line - it is difficult to get kids to UND from out of the area. It is a long ways and expensive for parents, girlfriends, etc. to come and see their loved ones play. There are many other alternatives nearer them or in more "sexy" climates. Other coaches "sell" against us due to location, weather, us being a "hockey school" etc. Some of this is absolutely offset by UND being a great academic university, having a very good reputation and having above average facilities (both athletic and non-athletic) but it remains difficult to get young kids to commit to somewhere a long ways from home and "north" of where they live. Cratter - I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this but I am curious which top notch athletes from out of the area (not from MN, ND, SD, WS or Canada) you are referring to? We get quite a few swimmers from other parts of the country but I am not sure if they would be of DI quality. Again, I would suggest that you ask any of those coaches (including Roebuck - he doesn't want to go DI) regarding their confidence in our being successful at the DI level. I do not believe that you will get any positive responses. NDSU92 - I appreciate your comments - especially about the wait before becoming eligible to compete for championships. Some of the above applies to your comments as well.

I appreciate your positive attitude but how do you expect a talented young guy or girl golfer to opt to go to UND where the weather is such that it is difficult to play much of the school year. If you were a talented kid who loved to golf and you got a scholarship offer from UND and most any DI college south of GF, which would you take? I am sure you would go where you could play the most golf. I really doubt we would have much luck bringing in DI quality swimmers. We have an awfully good program but not many DI-quality swimmers. Even with more scholarship $, I am not sure that we could land many DI swimmers - they would have to come from other parts of the country. Kids who are talented enough to get scholarships would likley go somewhere a little sexier with better weather. Heck, we have great basketball facility and a pretty good tradition but we have trouble recruiting talented players because of our remote location and weather. If you disagree with me, please ask any of UND coaches other than Hakstol, Lennon (he has this problem to some degree) and Roebuck for their thoughts on this.

I know that every one of the coaches for UND's non-revenue sports does not want to move up. They don't feel that they can be competitive - and I think they are right! If FB scholarships are cut, we will have to make the move to DI and I will endorse it but it will be the "kiss of death" for all other sports with the possible exception of women's BB where we could be competitive!