UND92,96

There will be no Sioux-Bison games next year for either mens or womens basketball according to this article. This should go over like a lead balloon in Bisonland.

Wayne Nelson had an article in the Herald today regarding next year's football season. Not surprisingly, Lennon listed the offensive line as the primary area of concern due to the loss of three starters and the top reserve. Red-shirt Mitch Braegelmann from St. Cloud was listed as an offensive line newcomer to watch next year. Other newcomers singled out as potential contributors were offensive linemen Brett Bauer and Andy White (who was listed as an outside linebacker on the roster), tight end Drew Thomas, receivers Rick Presthus, Troy Ott and Michigan Tech transfer Jeff Weber, defensive linemen Alex Cadwell and Jordan Muro, and defensive back Donovan Alexander. The article also stated that talks with Grand Valley St. about a possible regular-season game next year are still ongoing.

I believe Dressler is visiting UND this weekend. I saw him and a number of other potential recruits at the basketball game tonight. The only other one I recognized was the kid from Carrington whom I referenced in a previous post.

I think that so long as the current strength of schedule numbers are in place, UND will not be playing any I-AA's. But I'm still a little confused as to whether NDSU's game against UC-Davis this year counted as a loss to a I-AA independent (6 points), or a loss to a I-AA non-automatic qualifying conference opponent (1 point)? Not that I think the game will take place anyway, but if NDSU is considered a I-AA non-automatic qualifying conference opponent, as it appears they would be, the game would count for practically no power points whether it was won or lost so it would really be a no-win situation for UND.

I hope they do utilize this kid on returns, but what makes me a little leery about trying him on offense is that there's nothing in his media guide bio to suggest that he ever played offense in high school. That would seem to be a big adjustment to go from a Canadian high school defensive back to an NCC back or receiver.

If Carney comes back I believe he'd have two years of eligibility left. He red-shirted in 2001 and was the third-stringer in 2002 before he transferred to the juco where he played this year. He should probably consider playing hoops, as well, as he may get more playing time there.

He left school in October for "personal reasons." Now, he's apparently coming back to UND for the spring semester and will play basketball.

It's good to hear that Ranson is back. I recall seeing his picture on the Alerus jumbotron prior to games (when they showed everybody on the team's picture), but I had forgotten about him. Does anyone know if Alkins is even still in school?

offensive line returning starters Barry Smith, guard, 6'8", 319 Chris Kuper, guard, 6'5", 316 non-starters who saw some playing time Matt Buisker, tackle, 6'7", 319 Andy Hendrickson, guard-center, 6'3", 285 Tyler Storhaug, center, 6'0", 270 other possibilities John Bronson, tackle, 6'5", 300 Don Doescher, guard?, 6'1", 300 Andy Hoffelt, tackle, 6'4", 295 Justin Muscha, guard-center, 6'2", 260 Brett Bauer, tackle, 6'6", 310 (red-shirted) Nick Bonnet, guard?, 6'3", 250 (red-shirted) Mitch Braegelmann, guard?, 6'2", 265 (red-shirted) Andy Soll, guard?, 6'3", 280 (red-shirted) I'm guessing the starting lineup will be Hendrickson at center, Smith and Kuper at guard, and Buisker and Hoffelt at tackle. Average size of 6'5 1/2", 307 pounds.

I certainly hope you continue to post updates. You seem to have a connection with someone "in the know" as to the mens basketball program. I'm also very curious as to the identity of the juco player coming in for a visit whom we may have heard of.

Plus, he has a broken collarbone so even if he wanted to play, the season would be about over before he would have been physically ready to go.

Hey, I have no prejudice against I-AA football, but if you think that it's held in some sort of high regard by the national media or the public at large, you're in a serious state of denial yourself.

Stattelman? Really? Wow, I would have thought it would be freshman Troy Ott from Dickinson, who was a Mr. Basketball finalist last year.

Might this just be a case of differing opinions between you and the coaches regarding who was truly better, as opposed to a case of "discrimination" against walk-ons? Speaking of walk-ons, didn't Tony Stein come to UND as a walk-on? I would think that if a quarterback walk-on can actually earn a starting spot, then any position player probably could do the same if he was good enough. Off the top of my head, I think Ryan Grant and David Wisthoff from this year's team both were once walk-ons, also.

I don't think the respect from the networks or the public at large is much if any better for I-AA football. Most people lump anything other than major college football, i.e. anything other than the BCS, as "small college" or some other not-so-complimentary name.

Thanks. I doubt we'll see too many freshmen playing next year, in large part due to the large number of returning starters and other players who saw a lot of playing time this year. I did hear that wr Rick Presthus had a good year. With the loss of three senior receivers, I imagine he'll have a chance to play some next year. Also, with the loss of two senior defensive ends, I wouldn't be surprised to see a freshman get into the rotation there also, most likely Alex Cadwell from Stillwater. Although there are three tight ends returning who saw action this year, I imagine Drew Thomas might get into the mix. I'll be interested to see Donovan Alexander in the spring game. He is said to have a lot of ability, but with two returning starting corners, plus Jamaal Franklin, it will be tough to crack the lineup. With regard to recruiting, I haven't heard much yet. I did post some names in a different thread, but that was pretty much all speculation on my part. I really hope the Sioux can sign Rory Manke, as I think he's probably the top recruit in the area. I think the top priorities would be running back, speed at wide receiver, offensive line, defensive end and maybe a kicker. I'm sure all positions will be recruited, but some are really well-stocked right now with young players, i.e. quarterback, tight end, linebacker and defensive back.

UND fan: What's the deal with Stoute? I know he has a pretty limited basketball background, but it seems pretty strange that he only plays about 6 minutes per game considering the lack of depth the team has. I'm assuming he's on scholarship, and with his size and athletic ability it's hard to believe he can't beat out walk-on Jared Wells for playing time.

If he dropped out in the first semester for "personal reasons," but re-enrolled for the second semester, wouldn't he be eligible immediately? I recall Josh Siembida transferring in at semester break a few years ago and being eligible immediately for hockey, and I don't think he was in school anywhere for the first semester. I'm not sure what the difference would be in this situation.

If there is some turnover on the defensive coaching staff, there are some ex-UND defensive players coaching high school ball in the area who may be candidates for position coaches if Bubba and/or Dosch were to leave and Tibesar moved up to the coordinator job. Eric Schmidt has done an excellent job at Crookston High School, Alex Starcevic has done a nice job at Larimore, and Mike Mannausau was a recent grad assistant at UND who just finished his first year as the head coach at GF Red River. With that said, I'd still selfishly like to see Bubba stay!

I think jonnyboy makes some good points, but the thing is that Mussman himself obviously aspires to be a head coach. It's not as though he's being forced out--he evidently wants a new challenge. He was also a finalist at MSU-Mankato last year. While it may be somewhat selfish of us as fans to hope that it is Mussman instead of Schweigert who leaves (at least as it pertains to the UMD job), it makes a certain amount of sense since Schweigert has probably played a larger role in the success of UND football, and for a longer time, than has Mussman. In any event, it's a moot point since our views and wishes are not going to affect the UMD hiring process anyway. On the other hand, I certainly don't wish any bad luck to Bubba in terms of his interview(s) if he also aspires to be a head coach. He's one of the top dII assistants in the country, and if he wants a head coaching job, he has earned it. And with Tibesar waiting in the wings, at least there's an heir apparent to the defensive coordinator job, just as it was Schweigert who took over for Lennon when he left for UMary.

Along those same lines, I almost died at the womens game on Saturday when certain UMD fans were belly-aching about getting "homered" by the officials. I guess they forgot about last year's game in Duluth when UMD shot an unheard-of 48 free throws in the game!

Well, ol' Richie may not be much of a coach, but at least he's not a crybaby like this guy: This guy is putting together a real stable program. He "only" has ten juco transfers on the roster. I guess he doesn't understand that if you're going to take a shortcut in an attempt to win as many games as possible in a short period of time so as to get a better job, you're supposed to actually be good. He's recruiting all transfers, and his team is STILL mediocre. You can go 5-6 with local guys, too, coach.

The strange thing is that UC-Davis really didn't have a very good year, at least by their standards. A 6-4 record, with four of the six wins being over dII teams.