UND Fan

There is a good chance that UND will get an answer from the point guard they are recruiting as early as tomorrow. Right now it looks quite favorable unless he decides he wants to transfer to another DI college. He started four games for a pretty mediocre Missouri Valley team this last year, averaged 18 minutes a game, 7.5 points, not a whole lot of assists. He played more as a freshmen and had a few games in the 20's. It appears that the team brought in another really good point guard so this guy lost time at the point and played more of the 2 some of the time. He will have two years of eligibility left. He averaged 30 points his senior year at a Chicago HS so he does have the ability to score. He is listed as 6' in college but was 5'10" in HS (?). Hopefully, we will get good news tomorrow. DMB

Quite a week for UND basketball!! There was a rumor (well-founded) out of New Orleans that they were going to pick Jerome at No. 18. Of course, that set the expectations quite high and everyone was disappointed when that didn't happen. Then, it appeared that Dallas would take him at No. 29 (last pick of the 1st round - a guaranteed contract). In fact, Dallas called Jerome to apologize after they took Josh Howard. Apparently, there was a lot of a controversy within the Mavericks organization with many feeling that Jerome should have been their pick. On the recruiting front -- UND is hoping to get a point guard transfer from a DI school in the Midwest. The 6'0" player is trying to decide whether he wants to stay in DI or move to DII. It appears he would be a very good player but definitely not a Myron Allen. He should make a decision by mid-July. If we don't get him, we likely won't bring anyone else in before the start of school. All of the holdovers are in GF this summer along with Aaron Austin and Jacobson. Jacobson is working hard on the weights and looking good. Austin definitely can shoot - I still hope he gives up on the football idea.

Who said no funding was in place? I simply said that no tax $ would be needed! The Board isn't going to approval any new building with out knowing exactly how UND plans to pay for it! Obviously, this will be a part of tomorrow's presentation to the Board. I simply can't give you the details - I don't know them! I know what the options were but I don't know what was decided upon. It is kind of nice to know that there were options (plural). Whether Engelstad $ were utilized nor not, I do not know. They easily may have been but it would be REA $, not the original donation from Ralph. You need to remember that REA is a very profitable venture with excess funds to be used for the benefit of all UND athletics. REA was very involved in this decision and plans to do a great deal to market the new addition and UND basketball. Therefore, making REA even more profitable!

No State funding will be utilized for the addition (any new construction needs to be approved by the Higher Education Board even if it State funds aren't involved.) After the announcement, I may have more insight into the details.

The State Board of Higher Education is expected to approve an addition to REA for BB and VB. The meeting is scheduled for Thursday followed by a press conference at UND. There has been a lot of debate about how many seats the venue should have. Apparently, they have decided on 3,600. Initially, they were talking about 3,200. While there is no point in making it too big, I wish they would have settled for 4,000. The Athletic Department's hopes to increase BB season tickets holders from 1,800 to 3,000 in the next few years. If they are successful (that will be a challenge) there isn't much room left for students and walk-up fans. This should help UND's recruiting tremendously. I beleive that construction will start very soon and they hope to have it ready to go by the fall of '04. I don't know how to attach the article but check out today's GF Herald.

Lake Region's Franklyn Ferguson has committed to Kentucky Wesleyan. While his talent would have been good at UND, his attitude may have been a problem. I expected him to go to NDSU due to the DI issue.

There has been a lot of debate and lobbying going on the last few weeks regarding some of the details regarding this announcement - I don't know what has been agreed upon. I realize many of you don't know what I am talking about, I will explain after the announcement.

As many of you know, the Herald's Kevin Fee writes a Sid Hartman type column periodically where he gives information regarding recruiting, injuries, what is going on at other NCC schools or with DII, etc. I have often sent him an e-mail with questions regarding such things as injury reports, what high school seniors are apt to be DII level athletes, who is staying in Grand Forks over the summer to work on their games, etc. He seems to like to hear from me with these types of questions as it gives him ideas/content for his articles. I have not had the time to send him a note lately. One of you may want to do so. Why don't we communicate here as to who will do so as he probably wouldn't want to hear similar questions from 8 guys. Questions that I am curious about (in no particular order of importance): -- Is Brennan expected to be back in school this fall? -- Who will be walking on with the Sioux football team? -- Which women BB players are staying in GF this summer playing together and working on their games? (We know that all of the holdovers and many of the recruits on the men's team are in GF for the summer). -- Is Coach Roebuck's recruiting complete or is he still trying to bring in another recruit this fall? Will he have any walkons? -- Has UND given up on trying to find a 11th opponent for the upcoming season? -- What is the latest on the addition to REA for BB and VB? (I think there will be an announcement soon.) -- Are there any North Dakota or NW Minnesota high school seniors-to-be capable of playing DII basketball (male or female)? This question would be better asked about the start of the BB season. -- What is the health status of UND football players Beatty and Miller along with anyone else who were injured last year or in spring ball? -- Is Lueck expected to be eligible this fall? -- At this point, have any UND FB players, who were expected back this fall, decided not to return? -- The UND womens track team has signed some very talented athletes for next season. Have the men signed anyone? -- Are any discussions going on internally within UND regarding moving to DI? - Any discussions about who else the NCC may be interested in inviting to join once NDSU and SDSU disappear? For those of us interested in these sports, you can see that the list of questions can be almost endless. And, for those of us that really care about all UND sports (not just hockey), the more "ink" these sports get the more interest there will be among current and future UND fans. Therefore, anything we can do to help create interest is a good thing!! Kevin's e-mail address is: kfee@gfherald.com

Thanks for providing us with the article on Beasley. It is good to see him saying positive things about UND. If he makes it, his feelings towards our program can really assist in recruiting, etc. I know Rich will try to take full advantage of his willingness to help the program.

I am confused about everyone's comments that Dean's salary should be much more than those of Lennon, Glas and Roebuck. I fully agree with this but his contract blows away what those three are making. I do not disagree that we should do all we can to retain Dean and that may mean negotiating with him in a much different manner than the other three. But those who are implying that he is in the same salary range as those three are very much misinformed. His outside income also blows away theirs from camps, etc. Again, I am not saying he shouldn't receive much more. The hockey program is DI and a huge money maker.

skateshattrick -- I also fully agree with your comments. Hopefully, we won't need to worry about this any time soon!

skateshattrick - Please don't misunderstand my statement. I certainly did not mean to compare Blais' recent performance to that of Gino in his last couple of years. There is no comparison! My implication was that many people were very upset to see Gino go and didn't think it was good for the program. Blais came in and has done a great job. I do not want him to leave. But, if he would, I don't think it would be the end of the world. There are some extremely talented candidates who would love the job. I fully realize that I was the one who first made this point - that we wouldn't need to tear down REA if Blais left. But, I think we should quick talking about it because I don't see it happening anytime soon.

At this point, they are looking at two JC transfers. Both were hoping to go DI but have recently learned that they don't have the grades. This is a similar situation as Myron Allen's but I am sure that we should even dream that we could land someone of his quality again. One of them could sign this afternoon or it may be six weeks from now.

I agree - a 6'9" jumping jack is very intriguing. He certainly will help on the defensive end where Rypkema and Lindahl have their challenges. I think Jahner is a good backup at the point but I don't know how good we will be if he is "the" guy at that position. Hopefully, the guy they are looking at will commit. Looking at all the new faces along with the returnees, it will be a very interesting year. It appears that there is an awful lot of talent there, good size, better outside shooting, etc. But there are many questions. Regarding better outside shooting, I sure hope Austin gives up on his plans to play football. If he doesn't join the team until late November/early December, that will not be good. The current roster looks like this: Bradley 6'4" Jr. G Walkon Dahl 6'1" Sr. G Walkon Jahner 6'1" Sr. G Johnson* 6'6" Jr. G Austin* 6'3" Jr. G Doyle* 6'1" Fr. G Leikas 6'1" Fr. G Walkon Hoy 6'1" (?) Fr. G Walkon Lindahl* 6'10" So. F Stoute* 6'8" Jr. F Parks* 6'5" Jr. F Wells 6'9" So. F Walkon Jacobson* 6'6" So. F Gutter* 6'8" Fr. F Franklin* 6'9" Jr. F Rypkema* 6'11" Jr. C I'm not sure if Wells is coming back or not. A couple of the guys noted as "Walkons" may or may not be getting a little assistance. I put an * by those that could be real contributors as early as next year. Quite a few *'s and I did not include Jahner and Leikas. Rich doesn't plan on making any decisions about redshirting until practice starts next year. I would guess he would like to hold Doyle and Gutter out of competition. It would be a nice surprise if they were so talented that he wouldn't do so. An interesting year upcoming....

WYOBISONMAN - You haven't answered my question yet. I would expect that we will have an honest answer to that question before we see any more posts from you in this Forum.

The 6'9" JC transfer who signed a couple of weeks ago was announced this morning. He is Derrick Franklin. Originally from Chicago, he weighs about 220 and is known for his defense - although he does have some decent offensive skills. He has long arms and can jump out of the gym. When he was up for his visit, during warmups he dunked and hung on the rim -- not with his hands but by the inside of his elbows. He was hurt for the first half of last season which affected his stats. Obviously, there is the comparison with Jerome. Both about the same size coming out of California without not great stats. But, let's not get our hopes up. He may be a pretty good ballplayer but he isn't a Beasley. The Herald article says Glas might sign one more player. They actually may sign two if they can get the right guys.

WYOBISONMAN - While I disagree with your assessment of Ralph (I knew him to some degree), I respect your freedom to make such a comment. He was certainly an eccentric with many odd traits including speaking exactly what was on his mind - but he was not a Nazi admirer. He was one of the more genuine and generous people there has ever been. Not because he gave a lot of $ to UND, because he "took care of" many, many people who had misfortune/loss of loved ones, etc. There are dozens of these examples that no one knows anything about. Very few hit the press other than his taking care of Joe Louis' widow. Again I respect your opinion. But, please give us an honest answer to this question: Would you have made that same comment had Ralph handed $100 million to NDSU? Remember, answer this honestly.

Very pleased to read this! Thanks for passing this on.

We certainly do not need to debate who would be the next UND coach. I certainly agree that there would likely be many credible candidates before Eades. I would think Sandelin would come back in a "New York minute" if offered the UND job.

Guys - I agree that the position of Head Hockey Coach is more important than any of the other Head Coaching jobs at the University- because it is our only DI sport and hockey is such an income-producer. I also agree that Blais is an excellent coach. However, he needs to grow up a bit and not always take his concerns to the press. Eddie Schultz was absolutely out-of-line in his comments about Dean a few months ago but it was ludicrous that Dean stooped to Eddie's level by crying about it in the press. The contract situation is a more important issue - but he handled it in a similar manner. Not very professionally! He has also been close to crossing the line with comments about recruits, etc. I personally don't want Blais to leave but there will come a time, probably sooner rather than later, when it is time for him to move on just like it was for Gino a few years ago. Replacing Gino was not a popular move but it certainly was a good one. I think Dean may be getting a bit complacent and bored with his job. If he left, it would not be the end of the world! I think Cary Eades or a number of others could do an excellent job as the Head Hockey Coach at the University of North Dakota.

UND was interested in Borom but did not actively pursue him for 2-3 reasons: 1) He is at most 5'9", probably shorter. 2) We may have a line on a much more talented point guard transfer. 3) With Leikas walking on, we may have more options at the point than earlier thought.

An update: Today is the last day of the spring signing period. However, this only means that any commitments made after today are not binding. Probably not a big deal, if a kid commits this late, he likely won't renege. UND will likely announce the 6'9" JC kid from California this week. He had an ankle injury early last season so only played about half the season. He came on pretty strong late in the year. He is another kid with raw talent but needs to add some weight and mature as a ball player. He has long arms and can jump out of the gym - he will block a lot of shots. UND has about a scholarship and a half remaining. They are recruiting a good point guard and another big man. If both become available, they may able to find enough $ to bring them both in. Both are JC ballplayers. With JC players just now getting their grades, etc., many are learning whether they qualify for DI. Some of the guys who were being recruited by DI now find themselves only eligible for DII. That is the case with both of these prospects. The Ferguson kid from Devils Lake has not committed yet. UND offer to him is still available but he continues to put a decision. My bet is that he will go to SU. All of UND's holdovers plus Jacobson and a couple of the JC transfers will be in GF over the summer. That is good news - will give them an opportunity to get used to playing with each other. Jacobson is working hard to gain strength and weight - and making some progress in doing so. Bottom line - UND will have a lot of new faces next year. There is alot of raw talent there but who knows how well they will mature and play together. The staff would like to redshirt at least a couple of them but that will not be determined until after practice starts in October. On the ladies front, I don't have the details but a talented girl picked the Bison over us in the last few days. She visited SU two weekends ago and was to visit UND last weekend. She committed to the Bison before she left Fargo. Not good!

It was just announced - Kilander, Britz and Hausauer! Somewhat surprisingly, they are all staying at UND. I thought Britz and Hausauer might try to play elsewhere!

It appears that UND will be announcing the signing of the 6'9", 230 lb kid who visited over the weekend. He is from Chicago and will be transferring from a California Community College. Appears to be quite talented. I will let the press release tell you the rest - not sure when it will be announced. The coaching staff is in the Cities watching Jerome work out for the Wolves.

A 6'9" kid is to be visiting this weekend - but was stuck in Mpls this afternoon for some reason. The were hoping that he would get into GF yet tonight and work out with some of the team tomorrow. Don't know anything else about him.