UND92,96

I'm still wondering what she's been doing the past three years. That information seems to have been conspicuously absent in both the Herald and fightingsioux.com.

1. Yes, quickness can be improved, especially by participating in acceleration programs and using other training techniques designed to improve quickness; 2. UND can be successful in dI women's basketball without dramatically expanding its recruiting territory, IMO; 3. Jenna Gillett from Dakota Prairie is a senior-to-be who has verbally committed to UND; Ashley Privatsky from Devils Lake is another senior-to-be who almost certainly is being recruited; I don't know of any others, but there certainly could be some; 4. UND currently has 10 scholarships; I believe the dI max is 15.

I guess somebody has been telling him about this site, since I highly doubt he'd ever know about it otherwise.

I'm not sure whether it's a coincidence or not, but according to Brian MacPherson's blog at the St. Cloud Times web page, Sam Laudner is possibly looking to transfer from NDSU to St. Cloud State. Maybe that's where NDSU would be coming up with the scholarship money for Backowski?

The rumor I heard a couple of weeks ago was that Johnson was strongly urged to apply, and told he had a very good chance of getting the job. Urged by whom? I don't know, but common sense would seem to suggest that it would have had to have been somebody in a position of authority or considerable influence. Johnson's current job is simply too lucrative for him to apply for a job unless he's encouraged to do so by somebody in a position to know that he is a strong candidate. Granted, the process isn't over yet, but if he isn't even granted an interview, I'd certainly like to know what transpired behind the scenes, because I have to think there were some influential people with strong UND hockey ties lobbying hard for him. EDIT: From what I've heard today, don't count out Johnson yet. I still think he's going to get the job.

If Steve Johnson isn't granted an interview, I would be very surprised and disappointed. Nothing against any of the other candidates, but either I have been hearing inaccurate info or something has changed recently. It seems hard to believe Johnson would have even applied (considering the big pay cut he'd be taking) if he hadn't been encouraged to do so.

We'll see. The NSIC is a tough league, and about to get a lot tougher with the probable additions of UMD, SCSU, Mankato and Augie. I'd be interested to know whether any other NSIC programs were seriously recruiting any of Mary's commits other than perhaps Kick? That would probably be a pretty good indication as to whether anybody besides Pintar actually considers these kids to be legit dII prospects. I'm as big of a proponent as anybody when it comes to giving local talent a chance, but when you consider how few North Dakotans have really been impact players in the NCC and/or NSIC over the past decade, it makes a person skeptical to think you can put all your eggs in that basket and still succeed, especially when you consider that in all likelihood, these kids weren't seriously recruited by either UND or NDSU.

Kick supposedly committed to Mary. I have no idea whether UND ever actually offered him. It's kind of interesting to me that Mary is apparently going to try compete in the NSIC with team comprised almost entirely of North Dakotans. I don't see that working very well, but more power to them if it does.

Pat Mitchell, a 6'7" forward from Des Moines, signed last fall. Mike Mathison from North Border and Tate Kick from Dickinson are possibilities. I would expect that either one or two jucos will be brought in for immediate help. Also, 6'8" Derek Benter from Divide County red-shirted this year and has a lot of potential.

This can be updated again as SCSU has released their schedule and they are indeed playing at UND on November 3.

From a column in the Kearney paper today:

Agreed. If it's going to happen, my money would be on Saporu.

With Steve Alford taking the job at New Mexico, I would think the chances are pretty good that UND will be making a few trips to Albuquerque in coming years.

I have to think Derek Malner is the heavy favorite to emerge as the starter at strong safety. At the other corner, the competition may be a little more wide open. I expect Drake Otto to ultimately win the job, but Brandon Jordan is another viable candidate, and I'm not sure what the status of Tyler Weigelt is. He was apparently injured early in the season, but entered the year as Hoffschneider's backup. I tend to agree that the quarterback job is Freund's to lose, but then again, as was shown with USD last year, it's not out of the question for a freshman to ultimately win the job. Not that I'm wishing any ill will towards Freund, but if another quarterback is better this spring--be it Landry, Konrath, Gudmunson or Setness--I hope that person gets a shot.

UND assistant Chris Johnson will be interviewing for the Dickinson State head coaching job. link.

NDSU will name Saul Phillips as their new head coach today, per the Forum. It's kind of interesting that Phillips' experience is very similar to that of Brian Jones. Prior to coming to NDSU a couple of years ago, he was director of basketball operations at Wisconsin for three years.

Honestly, I'd have to watch the tape to get a better idea of exactly how much of Gulf Coast's shooting percentage can be attributed to having open shots, i.e. poor defense, and how much was due to just making a lot of tough shots. Seeing it in person, it seemed like the defense was poor, but with no replays it's hard to say for sure. Part of what makes the last couple of years so disappointing is that it really seemed like a title was there for the taking. I don't feel like either Grand Valley State last year, or Southern Conn. (or Gulf Coast) this year were at the level of some of the teams UND has seen at past national tournaments, such as Southern Indiana in 1997, Emporia State in 1998 and 1999, or Cal Poly Pomona in 2001. It seems like while there's more parity between the regions today, the top teams aren't as good as they used to be. That's my perception, anyway. By way of comparison, I've felt that the losses to end the past couple of years in women's basketball have been far more frustrating than in football, because in football I don't believe UND had a clear talent advantage by any means over GVSU, or over the 2004 Pitt State team. I've felt the past two women's basketball teams did have a clear talent advantage over the teams they've lost to. Coming into the Elite 8, I felt that all the Sioux had to do to win was have a shooting percentage somewhere in the 40's, don't turn the ball over more than 20 times and play decent defense. Unfortunately, against Gulf Coast only the first "requirement" was met IMO.

I agree to an extent, but a couple of recent examples show that it can be done. Kearney shot absolutely lights-out against the Sioux in the first half. Some defensive adjustments were made, and they fell off considerably in the second half. Also, in the Gulf Coast-Clayton State game, Gulf Coast shot a very high percentage in the first half to jump out to a big lead. However, Clayton State switched up defenses in the second half, and Gulf Coast struggled badly. Clayton State easily could have won that game, and they were not a very good team IMO. It was a combination of some poor defensive play, great shooting by Gulf Coast and a very poor job of taking care of the ball by the Sioux that caused the big first half deficit. The problem was, nothing improved in the second half. I didn't expect to come back and win after being behind by that much, but I did expect to make a run to at least cut the lead to single digits at some point.

FYI, that guy is a Bison fan. I don't think any UND fans are going to be bad-mouthing the caliber of play in dII football.

After seeing the other supposedly best teams in dII in person, there's no question in my mind that UND certainly could contend for a title next year. I don't think it will happen without a few changes, however. For one, Roebuck needs to install a zone for certain situations. At least against teams with limited outside shooting, and for teams that don't have a player who Ashley can realistically be expected to guard away from the basket. In this day and age, there are more and more teams out there without a true post player, so your choices are to live with Langen and Kimbrough trying to guard people one-on-one far from the basket and getting burned, sit one or both down and struggle offensively, or switch up defenses now and again to hide that weakness to the extent possible. UND did start out in a zone briefly against Gulf Coast, but that's not something you can install that late in the year and expect it to be effective. Secondly, how to run the offense against teams that overplay on the perimeter has to be a bigger point of emphasis. I'm sure it's worked on, but clearly not enough judging by how the Sioux looked against Regis and Gulf Coast, in particular. We need more players who will look to take the ball to the basket. Unfortunately, we typically don't have many of those slasher-type players. That would be the one area of criticism I'd have with Roebuck's recruiting. I believe Ashley Privatsky of Devils Lake would be a good example of that type of player who can get to the basket. I think Seay can be that kind of player if she'd get more confident and aggressive. Guinn also has some one-on-one ability. Also, I think we need some more consistent 3-point shooting. Bagaason is generally going to shoot a pretty good percentage. Guinn, Beck and Bergan can knock them down, but are a bit more streaky. Hopefully Youngblut can step in and provide another 3-point threat. This year, it kind of seemed like either everybody was hitting, or else nobody was. There are only so many things that can change in one year with limited personnel changes. It's not like the overall team quickness is going to improve dramatically. But I firmly believe that the talent is more than sufficient to win it all. But after so many disappointing ends to seasons, it's hard to be more than cautiously optimistic.

IMO, Florida Gulf Coast clearly shot far better than normal against UND. I guess the question is, was it due more to just great shooting, or poor defense? Here's how Gulf Coast finished up the season: FGCU 50, Valdosta St. 41 shot 36.8% FGCU 57, Delta St. 44 shot 42.6% FGCU 83, UND 64 shot 56.4% FGCU 61, Clayton St. 57 shot 41.5% FGCU 45, Central Conn. St. 61 shot 30.5% It seems pretty clear which game was the aberration. However, I seem to recall a lot of wide open 3's, and easy layups. A lot of teams can make those if you give them up. I don't think I'll ever change my opinion that the manner in which the Sioux lost that game was inexcusable, particularly when you really look at how FGCU seemed to play against the other ranked teams they faced in the tournament.

Yeah, the way to beat USD is definitely by throwing the ball, and obviously that's not a UNO strength. I still would kind of expect UNO to find a way to win that one at home, though.

Not if UNO takes care of business when they play USD in Omaha. You can generally count on USD to drop one road game against a team they shouldn't, so that, coupled with a loss at Omaha, would likely keep them from winning the NCC (at least from winning it outright).

In case anyone's interested: Southern Conn. St. 61, Florida Gulf Coast 45. Final. I guess Clayton State and Southern Conn. both saw from watching the Sioux game what not to do against Gulf Coast, as both teams completely held the Gulf Coast offense in check. Not a good day for undefeated teams in dII championship games.

SDSU's players are primarily from South Dakota and southern Minnesota. It can be done. When Minnesota went to the final four a few years ago, I don't believe they were the most athletic team around, either (not that I'm saying that the final four is ever going to be a realistic goal for a mid-major program). Assuming Roebuck retires within the next few years, I believe you need a coach who combines Roebuck's recruiting, and Ruley's ability as a bench coach. That's what SDSU apparently has right now.