UND92,96

I think there may have been an article about his commitment to UND written by Erik Lofdahl on the minnesotapreps site, but it was a subscription article and I don't know exactly what it said. In any event, it's not a huge deal either way. It's not like UND is in need of another kicker until the 2010 season, anyway.

Yes, recruiting juco players this spring will be crucial to being able to field a competitive team next year, even considering the likely very weak schedule we'll have. Besides Travis Bledsoe, there will be very little proven scoring coming back.

The odd thing is that the kid apparently hasn't even taken his recruiting visit to NDSU yet. According to him (on the minnesotapreps board), he's visiting there this weekend.

St. Cloud has been pretty bad on the road, so I think that's winnable. Maybe UMD and UNO at home? I think it will be very tough to beat Augie. Had they not gotten the Iowa State transfer, maybe. But he's really good.

I too like Jossy, and would like to see her get more consistent minutes at the point. Of course, I'm not at practice so I don't know who does what and who earns the minutes. It's kind of too bad that Karla Beck isn't really the ball handler you need at the point, because she is actually the team leader in assists, and has by far the best assist-to-turnover ratio on the team.

True. Western Oregon is the only win against a dII with a .500 or better record.

UND is currently 11-7, with a minimum of 10 games remaining (nine regular season games plus at least one NCC tournament game). Do people now expect them to finish at, above or below .500? I'm going to guess 14-14. Up until the USD performance, I had really thought that at a minimum, we would win all of the home games except USD, and maybe win one or two on the road. Now, with two of the first three NCC games being very poor performances, I'm not so sure that's realistic. Thoughts?

I agree. I could see him as a nice fullback.

I'm not sure, but I'd say the chances are good. I have a feeling UND will sign a couple more offensive linemen, and Jordan Anderson and Andrew Anderson (Crookston) would appear to be good candidates to fill out this already nice group. That's strictly a guess, however.

According to a poster on the minnesotapreps board, Sims has committed to USD. It will be interesting to see whether they project him as a RB, because I believe UND was recruiting him as a DB.

Ditto. I would love to see Bruce Smith get the job.

According to Erik Lofdahl of minnesotapreps.com, Glencoe-Silver Lake QB-DB Matthew Muenchow is going to either UND or NDSU.

Some more superlatives for UND women's basketball from the WBCA: link

Probably this week. Last year's first poll was released January 24.

Speaking of point guards, I can't help wondering why Andrea LaFrance didn't red-shirt? Considering how little she's played (presumably due in part to injuries), it seems like kind of a shame that she's using a year of eligibility this year.

I believe he's a walk-on.

I don't know whether UND will need a new stadium in the foreseeable future or not, but people really need to quit focusing on playoff attendance as a barometer of interest in the program. Playoff attendance tends to be far different from regular season attendance not just at UND, but at many other schools, as well. There are a variety of reasons for it that have been discussed ad nauseum. The regular season average this year was 10,790, which I believe would have been a record at UND. I think it's reasonable to assume that once the home schedule gets to the point where we have several home games against strong opponents every year, that will increase. Whether it increases to the point where the Alerus is simply too small, we'll have to wait and see. In any event, if a new stadium is built, I think it's safe to say that it will be a result of a Engelstad-esque donation, and if a person (or people) want to make that kind of donation for a stadium, then more power to them.

I only saw him play a little bit at the state tournament last year, but I thought he looked like he had some potential. He certainly has the size. Wasn't he kind of a late bloomer? A big late growth spurt or something?

I can't help but be a little frustrated that Augie's Tom VerDouw of Bismarck is averaging roughly as many points per game as Benter, Koenig and Lehnertz combined. Regardless of whether it's a 6'5" or 6'11" guy, we absolutely need to find somebody in the off-season who can be both a scoring threat and a physical presence in the post. Benter could get there in a couple of years, but we clearly need some help in the meantime.

UND out-rebounds USD by 21, AND shoots a higher percentage from the floor, and loses? Stat of the day has to be USD only turning the ball over four times. I'm not sure I've ever seen that before.

Hartzell would be an outstanding candidate.

Former UND player Harry Boyce has transferred to MSU-Mankato. link

I'm not a rivals subscriber, so I can't read this entire article, but I don't like the sound of this...link As some may recall, UND had a verbal commitment from a kid by the name of Cody Rose last year, but then he ended up going to Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on. Hopefully history isn't going to repeat itself. EDIT: Never mind--false alarm.

New commit--Jason Obarski, kicker, Apple Valley. Named all state by the Pioneer Press and "special mention" all state by the AP. EDIT: Does this count as confirmation so as to add his name to the wiki list? link

MSU-Mankato names four finalists for its head football coaching job: link UND co-defensive coordinator John Kelling had been mentioned as a possible candidate.