UND92,96

Yes, he missed a whole bunch of free throws. It's been an issue all year. But come on, the guy was 13-19 from the field, scored 30 points, and averaged more than 25 over the last seven games! We're mad at him for not scoring 40? He's already shown more improvement during his career than anybody I can recall in the past 20-plus years of UND basketball. He went from being a seldom-used role player to all-conference and by far the best post man in the league. I predict that next year, he'll increase his free throw percentage to about 65%, will average 22 to 25 ppg on the year, and will have a very good shot at being NCC mvp.

That was a tough loss last night. St. Cloud shot the ball very well, but they are not exactly a well-rounded team in that they don't rebound well--the Sioux dominated the boards--and they have practically nothing in terms of post play, especially offensively. I can deal with allowing Carlson to go off since he's a very good player, but Miller? He was only averaging 12 ppg in the NCC coming into the game, so obviously he doesn't shoot that way very often. Jahner was clearly missed on the defensive end. It's hard to be too critical, however, when injuries have taken away the top two point guards. Nobody in the league has the depth to be able to withstand that kind of situation very well. Ryp was again solid with 24 points, even though he struggled more than usual from the floor. Lindahl shot very well and scored 26, and Johnson and Austin both played well, also, and scored in double figures. Generally, when you have two guys combine for 50 points, have two others in double figures, and dominate the boards, you're going to win. Unfortunately, St. Cloud just shot the ball very well, or at least two of them did. I'd still rather have a team where you have scoring threats both inside and outside, than a team where your only real chance to win is if your guards are hot from the outside. That doesn't leave much margin for error.

I have to admit that I don't follow high school hockey as closely as many of you, but does it seem like a highly-skilled kid from Grand Forks is more likely to forego his last season or two of high school eligibility in order to play junior hockey than a comparably skilled kid from, say, Warroad, Roseau or Moorhead? If so, why would that be? I can think of numerous GF players who have left early over the past 20 years. I believe Steve Johnson was the first, and it really seemed to have started a trend. I don't know if the same can be said of some of the other hockey hotbeds in the area. Maybe there have been and I'm just not aware of them.

Although I know that the NCC is very anxious for a presence in the Twin Cities, I'm a little wary of private schools, particularly those in large metro areas where they tend to get lost in the shuffle of larger schools and pro sports. For one thing, like Augie, neither St. Thomas nor Concordia-SP draw well at all for football. St. Thomas averaged just under 3000, while Concordia was significantly less than that. Perhaps playing at a higher level would help somewhat, but probably not too much. I also think it's just very difficult for private schools to compete well in football (at least at the division II level in the midwest) on a year-in, year-out basis because with tuition that is so much higher than public schools, it's very difficult to make 36 scholarships (assuming they even fund that many) go very far. At Augie, for example, I believe they offer mostly full scholarships, leaving them with very little depth and susceptible to having a few up years and many down years. I can see the same thing happening at St. Thomas and/or Concordia-SP, if they were to join the NCC.

I'm not sure if this is necessarily the best thread for this, but here's an article from the Sioux Falls paper regarding the loss of the SDSU-Augie and USD-SDSU rivalries. I thought it was interesting that the USD a.d. and football coach state that USD-UND could be a good rivalry. I would agree, to an extent, as far as men's basketball goes, as the two programs have had some classic games over the past 12 to 15 years. While the level of rivalry is certainly not the same, I think there have probably been more truly memorable games lately between UND and USD than between UND and NDSU, i.e. last year in Vermillion and the region title game back in about '93. Obviously, there's a huge gap between the two football programs, however, and I would doubt that the football game would be a true rivalry any time soon.

I'm not familiar with the loophole which would allow a team to claim a home game for what is in reality a road game so as to meet the minimum attendance requirements, but assuming such a loophole exists, I'm not sure I'd count on it existing for too long. It would be disingenuous--even for the NCAA--to enact a requirement which could so easily be artificially met.

Maybe I misunderstood, but I believe Glas said on the radio last night that Nobles is practicing again. However, there was no mention of him playing again this year. Does anyone know whether he's actually practicing, or just shooting free throws, etc.?

Nice job, star2city, that was impressive! Regarding Big Sky membership, how do you see Idaho fitting into the picture? I can't imagine they're going to be able to stay I-A for much longer.

Glas said on the coaches' show tonight that Jahner is out. It sounded like he went head-first into the wall of the upstairs gym at Hyslop. It doesn't sound promising that he will return. Dahl, Bradley and possibly Johnson will have to handle the point.

Yes, I will miss Hyslop too, even though it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing facility around. I first started going to games there when I was a little kid in the late 70's, and have gone to most home games ever since. The most memorable games for me were the two classic region championship games with Metro St. in the early 90's, and the women's national championship game against Southern Indiana in 1997. The crowds were absolutely deafening in each of those games.

There was an article in the Mankato paper last week in which the names of Aaron Johnson (SDSU) and Chad Lavin (USD) were mentioned as rumored candidates. I have no idea why either would be interested in moving. It seems doubtful that Mankato would pay better than what they're currently earning. In Johnson's case, possibly being against the dI move would seem to be the only reason for wanting to go to a program that is perennially one of the worst in the NCC.

I just hope that this will be the year we break our string of bad luck in Omaha. UND has three straight losses there--by an average of just five points. On paper, the Sioux certainly look to be stronger than UNO considering they lost their two biggest offensive weapons in Kammrad and Krause, several offensive linemen, and several of their better defenders. The most encouraging thing from my perspective is that UND will be an experienced team with a very strong defense. Those characteristics should translate into a team that can win on the road.

Is that hypothetically speaking, or have you heard something recently that would suggest that he is strongly considering a transfer to UND?

They are solid. They lose a number of good seniors from this year's team, and I would question whether they'll be able to replace some of the defensive players they lose, but I don't think they're a fluke. I think it will be very tough for them to be able to compete year in and year out with the NCC and the GLIAC in the playoffs, however, as long as they fund less than half the scholarships that those conferences do.

Don't forget about Winona St. They should have a very easy time winning the NSIC, particularly now that UMD won't be there anymore.

Does anyone know whether UND is still in the running for Brett Winkelman? It looks like UND is in a bit of a difficult situation recruiting-wise with such a large junior class right now. The positive is, of course, that having a senior-dominated team should pay dividends on the court next season. On the negative side, there will be a lot of roster spots to fill but I assume there's not much scholarship money available until after next season. BTW, is anyone else as surprised as I am that despite 61 points and 20 boards on the weekend, Rypkema didn't even get co-player of the week in the NCC?

Well said. Just so there's no misunderstanding here, I am most assuredly NOT saying that Mussman should be fired, demoted, or tarred and feathered. And I think Sic probably brought up a valid point in that it's quite possible that Lennon's conservative nature does have a bearing on Mussman's play-calling. Predictability is probably the most valid criticism, IMO.

Lay off? What exactly did I write that was out of line? My post was more complimentary of him than it was critical. I don't claim that I would be any better of a play-caller, but I'm hardly the only one on this board who has scratched his or her head about some of his decisions. If that makes me hyper-critical, then so be it. I appreciate the end results, i.e. the wins and the fact that the offense has typically been towards the top of the NCC in points scored. I personally would just like to see a little less predictability, which was a large part of what cost us the Mesa St. game this past year according to some of the comments made by their coaching staff and players after that game.

It will be interesting to see which Mankato team shows up next weekend--the one that took SDSU to the wire in Brookings on Saturday, or the one that lost to woeful Augie on Friday. It will also be interesting to see how Rypkema does against Mankato's center Whitfield, who is a pretty good defender and who leads the league in blocked shots.

I'm only mildly concerned about the offensive line, as there's a nice nucleus to start from with Smith, Kuper and Hendrickson. As for the other two spots, there will be some inexperience, but probably not a lack of talent. While I'm not always too impressed with Mussman's play-calling, he seems to have really done a nice job with the offensive line over the past several years considering how many good ones the Sioux have had recently. I can only assume that it's not all just a matter of having talent--it seems to have been developed nicely also. As for the defensive line, I think it looks really good. With the return of Ross Brennan, it should be just that much better if he can get back into shape. Duchscher had a very nice first year of starting at nose guard, earning honorable mention all-NCC. Brennan should be able to rotate in with him, along with possibly the younger Muro who was a heck of a high school player two years ago. Newhouse and Peterson both played a lot already as backups, and should be able to step into starting roles very nicely. I assume senior Mike Gruschalla should have the inside track for one of the backup defensive end positions, and there should be a group of freshmen who should contend for the other backup position(s), similar to how this past year's freshman class (Babington-Johnson, S. Brennan and Ullsperger) was able to contribute at the linebacking positions right away.

A very nice and unexpected win by the men last night in Vermillion. Rypkema is on fire in the second half of the NCC season, averaging just over 25 ppg. Not bad for a first-year starter, huh? The Sioux are also in a position to actually finish at .500 in the league with two home wins next weekend. I personally never thought that would be possible. Also, UND has a realistic chance to move as high as fourth (and even an outside chance of tying for third if NDSU stumbles twice next weekend at home), which would mean a home game in the first round of the NCC tournament. The biggest keys are, of course, winning twice next weekend, and USD losing at home to SDSU. If both of those happen, I believe the Sioux are assured of no worse than the fourth seed since UND swept USD and would therefore own the tie-breaker.

I would agree that Smith will likely move back to tackle, where he started the first few games of the 2002 season. I think the problem before was that his feet weren't quick enough to deal with speed rushers, but hopefully he's better prepared now. Regarding the quarterback situation, my concern with Carney, as well as my beef with Bowenkamp, is the lack of scrambling ability. I haven't actually seen Carney play enough to know for certain, but at his size it would seem unlikely that he's very nimble. Bowenkamp probably has the speed, but he has no elusiveness and seems to lack the instinct of when to run and when not to. Groeschl has certainly shown his athletic ability and he definitely can run. I'm pretty sure the same can be said of Manke. I haven't seen Bellmore play at all so I have no idea whether he can run or not. Having a quarterback who can get you a first down by running when the play breaks down is such a weapon, and unfortunately it's been lacking ever since Klosterman went down with an injury in 2002. Nothing against Bowenkamp since he's been very respectable for the most part, but I honestly hope he's the last immobile quarterback we have at UND for the foreseeable future. Fortunately, there are, as mentioned, some very mobile quarterbacks in the program right now, and it looks like recruit Dan Freund also fits that mold. Regarding Alexander, it would seem that with his speed he needs to see the field one way or the other. There's such a log jam at both defensive back and receiver that I'm not sure which side of the ball he would stand a better chance at playing next year. I'd be very surprised if he isn't the primary kick returner, at the very least.