UND92,96

I'm speechless. I absolutely never expected Lennon to leave for another FCS job. I guess there was more to his flirtation with the Montana State job than just a strained relationship with Buning. Now I'm not sure there's any realistic alternative but to promote Mussman. If not, we could be looking at having to hire an entirely new staff.

Can we at least wait until UND has played some NCC games before we proclaim them no better than a fourth-place NSIC team? You can't just look at one game in isolation--in this case the UND vs. Northern game--and draw definitive conclusions about how good or bad teams are. I think Jones more or less has the UND program on the right track. I would have liked to have added a bit more immediate help in the off-season, but in general the team has been playing pretty well since the awful 0-3 start. I have no problem criticizing the scheduling, but I think you're off-base if you think the team is under-achieving right now. BTW, excuse me if I'm not super impressed with Southwest. They won at home vs. Augie and a suddenly struggling SCSU team (who lost by nearly 30 at Mary), and won on the road vs. a pretty bad UMD squad. I think UND can and will do the same. As for Northern, I will give them credit for having won at Augie and at Southwest. Of course, they also got smoked by 27 on their home court by Winona, so who knows how good they really are? Not sure how you can "guarantee" that they're better than last year at this point. That seems as premature as saying UND is no better than a fourth-place NSIC team.

Someone on the northdakotapreps board is reporting that 6'3", 293 pound Minot offensive lineman Mitch Haugeberg has committed to UND.

UND can't compete with Northern? Since when? The Sioux are 6-4 vs. Northern since 1998, and obviously that time period hasn't exactly been the glory days of UND men's basketball. UND nearly beat Northern last year in GF (lost by four in OT), and I doubt Northern is that much better this year than they were last year. Northern also very nearly lost at home to Jamestown, who definitely isn't that good. I think it was probably a fluke that Northern struggled to beat Jamestown and Black Hills, and I think it was a fluke that they beat UND by as much as they did. And Concordia-St. Paul? Please. They lost to UMC at home, and are just 1-3 vs. the NCC. I'm not sure why you think UND is so bad. Winona is better, but IMO UND, Northern and Southwest State are all pretty comparable.

It's kind of interesting that Montana State's leading scorer is a transfer from Lake Region--Rebecca Mercer. I recall thinking a couple of years ago that UND should have recruited her, but I have no idea whether or not they did.

I understand your frustration with regard to the home schedule. It's been bad. But at least UND is beating the teams they are supposed to beat. Obviously that hasn't always happened over the past several years. As for how UND would do in the NSIC, I'd say probably second or third. I think the Northern game was a bit of an aberration for a couple of reasons. One, it was on the road shortly after a long and difficult trip to Colorado. Two, the new offensive scheme simply wasn't being run very well at that point. I think UND would beat Northern if the two teams played now at the Betty, but I guess it's a moot point. In terms of athleticism, UND is probably as good or better than anybody in the NCC or NSIC. It's the lack of size and interior scoring that will likely prevent them from reaching the post season.

UND has apparently offered running back Bradie Ewing from Richland Center (WI): link. I'd be very happy if UND gets either Ewing or Mitch Sutton, as both appear to be very good running backs.

Do you really think Lennon hasn't had multiple opportunities to move on since 2001? Remember Montana State last spring (for example)?

I'm skeptical of this rumor for a number of reasons. I'd be concerned if there was anything in the media, or if one of the "in the know" posters on this board corroborates it. Short of that, I can't see Lennon bolting for another FCS job now, particularly during recruiting season.

According to this Mankato Free Press article, both Chris Mussman and John Kelling are interested in the Mankato job.

UND, NDSU, SDSU and USD were all apparently recruiting this kid from Sioux City who recently committed to UNI.

Well, this one may be beyond even OUR control, but it would be nice to have officials who don't feel the need to call a foul EVERY time down the court. Those guys last night were brutal!

On the bright side, the ball boys weren't shooting hoops during every stoppage of play last night!

I'll re-phrase--if he wanted to join his brother in Brookings, perhaps he should have just walked on there and hoped to earn a scholarship instead of taking a scholarship from somebody else who UND could possibly have recruited last spring?

If true--and at this point it looks as though it probably is--he could have done everybody involved a favor and signed with SDSU out of high school. I believe they offered him.

UND has received a commitment from Millard West (Nebraska) defensive end Ross Brennemann. link

Carlos Silva is worth $12 million a year? link

He's still listed on the roster, but I don't know anything beyond that.

Herald [url="http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=61107

I'm quite sure you are correct about that. On the minnesota preps board, Erik Lofdahl, who runs the site, stated again that Edem had a scholarship offer from Ohio U.

Bakken blog: Thoughts? I think he's being a little harsh with the men's team. Mayville isn't a bad team, and they shot lights-out in the first half. I suspect Mayville is getting some players who are in NAIA not because of lack of talent, but due to the less stringent eligibility requirements. Playing/shooting like they did last night, I'm not sure anybody in the NCC or NSIC would have beaten them by 40. And regarding having to replace Little and Youmans, it won't be easy, but if I'm not mistaken, doesn't UND still recruit under dII rules at least through the end of the school year? If so, that would seem to make the possibility of signing a couple more juco studs easier than it will be in the future.

Bakken blog: Thoughts? There's not much question that the shooting and the margins of victory aren't what we're used to seeing.

A little recruiting info (from the St. Cloud Times):

You can view a number of Tracy highlights from his junior year here.