UND92,96

I was actually on the same flight with that kid from Minneapolis to GF on Monday. I figured he was a hockey player and I thought he looked strangely familiar even though I don't follow the USHL at all. The next day there was an article in Herald about him and of course I then knew why he looked so familiar! Unfortunately, I couldn't tell whether he had any of his freakin' toys with him.

These are really huge games this weekend against Augie and Duluth. A sweep is imperative to keep UND in a good position to win the league. The thing I'm a little worried about is that this is a Friday-Saturday series, and on Saturday UND will be playing a rested UMD team coming off a week to prepare for the Sioux as they don't play another game this weekend. Another poor job of scheduling by the NCC as it could easily have been a Thursday-Saturday series, particularly with no hockey this weekend, but obviously there's nothing that can be done about it at this point other than just go out and win. If the Sioux can sweep this weekend, and then win two of the last three on the road--and the games at Vermillion and Mankato appear very winnable--UND will finish no worse than in a tie for first. That would be quite an accomplishment in basically a rebuilding year.

Another 40-plus point game for Kimbrough last night as she scored 43. I believe her season average is now over 35 ppg. According to the Herald, the B-G-MR team has lost some regulars to injury which has resulted in them relying on Kierah even more than previously.

That's really an incredible performance. Her 55 points were apparently just 3 points away from the state single-game record: link (click on Girls Indiv Game link).

I have the utmost respect for Professor Lee both as a professor and as a person. He is a brilliant man, but is also completely down-to-earth and just a fun guy to talk to. I don't think anybody in my class would have a bad word to say about him. He and his family are definitely in my thoughts and prayers.

Both UND and NDSU have lost in Crookston in recent years, but not this year. None of the UND-UMC games in Grand Forks have been very competitive.

This really doesn't have much to do with Koenig, but for anyone who wants to simply judge him solely by his stats, I happened to look at what Jamel Staten's stats were at Northern Illinois his sophomore year, which was his last year there prior to transferring to Mankato. They were nearly identical to what Koenig is doing now. Anybody who has seen Staten play can attest that he's a big-time talent. My point is not that Koenig would put up Staten-like numbers at UND or NDSU, because that would be tough for anyone to do. But for anyone to believe that he wouldn't be a big contributor to either program if he were to transfer is simply foolish. He's listed at 6'8", 250, he can shoot the ball, and he's quite athletic for his size judging by his football accomplishments as a receiver/defensive back. I'd take him on my team in a heartbeat. The fact that he'd have to sit out a year if he were to transfer to NDSU may be important from his own perspective since some players wouldn't want to have to do that, but from Miles' perspective it would probably be irrelevant. It's not like there's any pressure for NDSU to win big immediately, anyway. Particularly with a team comprised primarily of freshmen like next year's team will be.

LaPier has been in business for a long time in Fosston, so I think he knows what he's doing. By the way, I just filled up today at University Station for $1.83/gallon. It looks like nearly everybody else in town is at $1.90.

The new regional poll is out: North Central 1. Regis (Colorado) 13-0 14-3 2. North Dakota 10-3 16-4 3. Minnesota State Moorhead 10-3 15-3 4. Augustana (South Dakota) 9-3 18-4 5. Concordia-St. Paul 8-4 11-6 6. St. Cloud State 8-4 14-5 7. Minnesota Duluth 7-4 13-5 8. Metropolitan State 11-3 14-3 9. South Dakota 8-5 12-5 10. Fort Hays State 8-1 13-2 It seems bizarre to see Moorhead up that high! They looked horrible the night the Sioux played them, but obviously they do have a good record. I just hope there's somebody in the RMAC who can hang at least a couple of losses on Regis.

I agree. In a way, it's too bad he didn't get a red-shirt year which would have made this his freshman year. But apparently the coaching staff felt they needed him immediately last season.

Has anybody seen the 6'10" sophomore from Williston play, I believe his name is Brian Qvale? I would think he would be a pretty good prospect in a couple of years.

I'm not sure if people noticed or not, but about a month ago when gas prices in GF dropped by 10 cents, it was because University Station opened and they had gas at that price first. In the past, gas was always priced 5-10 cents per gallon lower than GF in places like Mentor and Fosston. That shouldn't be the case anymore, thankfully.

NDSU's biggest crowd last year was about 5000--against UND. While I think a game against a "name" opponent would draw as well or better than that, games against teams like Denver or Missouri-Kansas City likely will not because these schools are simply not recognizable to the average fan. Perhaps the first game or two against a dI opponent will draw better than the caliber of opponent would suggest they should, a la the Valpo football game. But I certainly wouldn't expect attendance to typically be better than what NCC opponents drew in Fargo unless the opponent is a fairly big-name school, or perhaps a team like Montana, Northern Iowa or Creighton. I just don't see people who aren't loyal enough fans to go to games this year showing up for a game against a Mid-Continent or Sun Belt team. Time will tell.

If Mahlum really has lost her confidence--and judging by her play this year I'd agree with that assessment--I would hope Gene wouldn't start her anymore regardless of matchups. If a player doesn't have confidence in herself, she shouldn't be out there. With Hensley injured perhaps Augie is a little smaller at the guard position, but last year they were one of the teams that really tried to exploit Mahlum's lack of size on defense.

From the Forum:

The average right now is about 2570, which is very slightly more than last year's average. With only 2-3 home games remaining, the number probably won't change much but should go up a little. Of course, the fact that this year's attendance is going to actually be more is quite impressive in and of itself since obviously the NDSU and SDSU games are no longer on the schedule, and those games generally drew some of the biggest crowds.

It would certainly appear that the people of Fargo are staying away from NDSU basketball games in droves. 800-something people showed up last night for the game against SW St., and they are averaging a little over 1300/game on the year. I realize it's a poor home schedule, but I can't imagine Taylor and company were expecting attendance to drop off quite this much.

I think it may depend on who the new a.d. is, and who the new g.m. of REA is. I believe the coaches would prefer to play all the games at the Betty. It much more closely replicates Hyslop in terms of a homecourt advantage. I think a primary reason the conference games are played at the Ralph is to cater to the luxury suite tenants in the Ralph (most of whom don't go to or care about basketball, anyway), and the fact that concession sales are probably far higher at the Ralph. It's also quite a recruiting tool. But unless attendance grows to the point where 4000 is far too small, I believe ultimately the Betty will be where all but the biggest games will be played--providing there's no opposition from the a.d. or the new REA g.m., of course.

I'm afraid there are just too many things she doesn't do well to be the starting point guard on a good team. She's a defensive liability in the half court because nearly everybody over about 5'3" can post her up; she doesn't break down a defense by penetrating to the basket; she's only a scoring threat from behind the arc, but her outside shooting is wildly inconsistent; and she's not a particularly good ball-handler for a point guard. I like the fact that she's a hard worker and she can be effective at times by harrassing the opposing point guard in a full court press situation, but I just don't think she's capable of being a starter anymore due to the aforementioned deficiencies in her game. Demoting her does mean that there's not a real scoring threat off the bench the way there was when Maffin was a sub, but I think the positive's outweigh the negative's by playing Jahner at the point and moving Maffin into the starting lineup.

It was interesting that Roebuck took Mahlum out of the starting lineup on Saturday. I don't think he really had any choice in the matter. Aside from a couple of games where she was able to hit several 3's, Amy's really struggled for most of the season. I think that if the Sioux are going to be able to win the NCC, it will have to be with the starting five playing a lot of minutes--probably more than in past years. I really hope Roebuck can find the scholarship money to sign a point guard in the spring. The best case scenario would probably be a transfer with the ability to contribute immediately next season. Jahner has looked so good at the 2 that it would be nice if she didn't have to play the large majority of the minutes at the point next season the way I'm afraid she'll have to the rest of this season.

It was great to see the Ryp of last year this weekend. He scored over 50 points on the weekend and was nearly unstoppable. The Sioux are just a different team when he's playing at his best. Perhaps the most impressive statistic about the Sioux right now is the 6-1 record against teams ranked in the north central region poll.

My god, were the Sioux women horrible tonight. It's hard to fathom how they could play that poorly at home for the second time this year. A win is a win, but they simply can't play like that and expect to beat anybody.