UND92,96

It's pretty impressive that Nobles was good enough to have earned a scholarship to a Big 12 school out of high school, even if it wasn't to one of the stronger programs around. My only question is why he didn't play anywhere last year? Perhaps he didn't have any more juco eligibility but he was still trying to become academically eligible to play dI? If I'm not mistaken, fellow Sioux recruit Keith Parks didn't play last year either, so both will likely have to shake off some rust. On paper, UND could be pretty loaded if everybody plays up to their potential. I can see a starting lineup of Nobles at the point, Austin and Johnson at the wing, Franklin and Rypkema inside, with Parks, Jacobson, Lindahl, Stoute and probably Jahner also in the rotation. Who knows what the team chemistry will be like, but there appears to be a lot of talent.

SDSU fan, a.k.a. h5322rsh, appears to be back under the name CRH in the "Jackrabbits aren't leaving..." thread. Maybe he's going for the rare three-peat of being banned.

DeSautel reminds me of Kelly Howe in terms of size as a safety. He also has some good blood lines in that ex-Viking safety Kurt Knoff is his uncle. I'm not saying he'll have a career as good as Howe (or Knoff), but he does appear to be a very nice prospect. I don't personally know what type of speed he has, but since he was all-metro as a db I have to assume it's at least decent. If it doesn't look like he'll make an impact at safety, he could easily put on 25 or more pounds and play tight end--a position where he was a first team all-stater. It wouldn't surprise me if that position change ultimately happens because I believe the need for a pass-catching tight end is greater right now than for another defensive back. I wouldn't mind seeing a tight end tandem of DeSautel and Drew Thomas in a year or two.

Dan Aagard was a first team AP all-state defensive back at Edina last fall. I had not heard he was coming to UND until I saw his name on the roster. He is a very nice addition to an already very good recruiting class. With Alexander, Wenzel and Aagard from this year's class, along with Hoffschneider, DeSautel and Greenwood (among others) from last year's class, that's an outstanding group of young db's.

The Sioux men signed a juco point guard today: UND press release Any info on him, DMB?

I suspect most fans of established dII programs share the same opinion regarding the addition of these sorts of schools--it's not a good thing. Unfortunately, the NCAA seems to have absolutely no problem with tiny schools with virtually no athletic budgets moving to dII.

I believe Virg made a mistake with regard to UND's NCC schedule in '04. The article states that the Sioux have three home games and five road games in '04. However, in reality UND would likely have three home games and four road games, since everyone will play a total of seven conference games again next year, with UMD taking NDSU's place. The article also states that non-conference games against Central Washington and Mesa St. are scheduled in GF, and a road game at New Haven is also scheduled. That leaves one more non-conference game to hopefully be scheduled, and that would most likely be a home game. From the standpoint of playoff positioning, UND would be better off playing one of the top NSIC teams, since all the other non-conference games are against out-of-region opponents.

Sicatoka- I don't necessarily disagree with you that it's a little presumptuous that we UND fans, along with NDSU fans, are predicting that our respective teams are going to all of sudden return to glory after very poor 2002 seasons. But with UNC gone, and UNO also coming off a mediocore year without a lot of proven talent returning, and Mankato, USD, Augie and SDSU all having issues of their own, I almost think UND and NDSU have to be picked in the top 3, along with SCSU, by default. UND has questions with its running back situation, lack of consistency at kicker, and in the middle of the defensive line. NDSU has questions with its offensive line, lack of a consistent running game, and a defense that gave up an average of nearly 29 points per game last year. But I'm not sure there's going to be anyone else in the NCC, other than SCSU, who is any better on paper. Plus, UND does have a very favorable home schedule, if they can take advantage of it.

I'd be very surprised if UNO finished as high as second. With Pat Behrns at the helm, they have enough trouble winning when they have exceptional talent, and I don't see the talent level on next year's team as being any better than average. They weren't particularly good last year, and lost several key players, especially from the offensive line. Their defense appears quite suspect, after giving up 30 or more points in a game five times. They also have to travel to both GF and Fargo this year. With relatively mediocre talent and the usual lack of discipline that Behrns' teams generally exhibit, it may be long year in Omaha.

UND 6-1 (9-1) SCSU 6-1 (9-2) NDSU 5-2 (7-4) UNO 4-3 (7-4)

I'm assuming that Austin will only stick with football if it's clear that he will see considerable playing time in the near future. Since he's already a proven commodity in basketball, I can't believe he would jeopardize that just to be a deep reserve in football. He certainly has the size and athletic ability to be a very good receiver. But it would be something of a surprise if he can leap-frog over a number of receivers already in the program who have been playing football all along, whereas Austin hasn't played in several years and has a rather limited football background.

The announcement will be made late this week (I believe Friday).

The NCAA has released the attendance figures for the 2002-03 season for mens basketball. UND was third in division II at 3,423 per game, ranking behind Nebraska-Kearney and SDSU. The rankings can be found here: 2003 attendance rankings

I actually think Mankato may be worse than last year, or perhaps about the same as they were. They lose quarterback Shea who was a pretty decent player, the juco wide receiver Fonoimoana who had a huge game against the Sioux last year isn't returning (I don't know why), and they lost Tippens who was by far their best d-lineman, among other losses. They do return a pretty decent running back and most of the o-line, however. Perhaps most significantly, they haven't recruited particularly well the past few years. They will rely heavily on juco transfers, which has not traditionally been a recipe for success in the NCC. I would look for them to finish no higher than about 5th or 6th in the NCC, behind SCSU, UND, NDSU, UNO and perhaps SDSU.

Just curious, Pirate, do you feel UND will have trouble scoring next year due to lack of talent, an ultra-conservative scheme, or some other reason?

I don't have any inside knowledge as to Brennan. I certainly hope he does return, but at this point, based on the fact that he didn't practice this spring, I have to assume his return is unlikely. I am also ASSUMING Lueck is eligible since he did practice this spring, and if necessary he should be able to go to summer school. Again, I don't have any inside info on this.

I see UND returning to at least near the top of the NCC next year. A lot of experience returns on the offensive line, Bowenkamp is a pretty capable qb for the most part, solid receivers with a potential star in Lueck, and a very solid and deep defense with something to prove. Question marks are how much the loss of Mahmoud will hurt and whether Miller and/or Beatty can stay healthy at running back, whether Glas can kick consistently, and possibly whether anyone will emerge at nose guard to replace Blue and Brennan. While UND's record last year was clearly sub-par, I don't believe too many people who follow the program closely feel that lack of talent was the problem. A combination of bad breaks (loss of Klosterman in particular) and apparently some complacency following the 2001 season caused some breakdowns which resulted in losses that should never have happened on paper, i.e. Mankato, Augie and arguably UNO. With regard to the NCC as a whole, St. Cloud will almost certainly be the favorite, but a very difficult road schedule will make a repeat of last year's performance very difficult. UNO lost quite a bit from last year's team so whether they will improve their record is questionable. NDSU has apparently upgraded itself in the coaching department, at quarterback and possibly receiver, but the running game must improve itself (both in terms of backs and line), and the defense is a pretty big question mark. I doubt any of the rest of the teams will be serious contenders. All in all, I would say that the NCC is probably not going to be as strong next year as it has been, at least on paper.

The most recent mock draft from nbadraft.net has Jerome going to the Knicks as the 30th pick. The thing that sticks out to me is that only five college seniors are predicted to be picked ahead of the Beas. I also noticed that Rick Rickert's stock is falling fast. Jerome is now predicted to be drafted well ahead of Rickert, as well he should in my opinion.

This guy sounds like a very intriguing prospect. In one of his last games of the year, he had 30 pts, 17 boards and 4 blocks. He led his conference in blocked shots, as well. This is the type of big guy that really nobody else in the NCC has been getting--tall AND athletic. We'll see how he turns out, but kudos to the coaching staff for this signing. With all the new faces, I'm sure it will take awhile for the Sioux to gel. But in terms of pure talent, and in particular across the front line, UND could be as good as anyone in the league. There should really be some stiff competition for playing time. At this point, point guard is the one position I have some questions about, although Jahner probably won't hurt the team playing there. I would look for Doyle and Leikas to both red-shirt unless no juco point guard is signed by August.

Thank you for the article. I am very proud of all the work Erik has done the past several years. Best of all, he's actually doing something to help current and future Indian students with his program to encourage entering the coaching/teaching profession. Regardless of one's position on the Fighting Sioux name issue, it seems quite clear that Erik is not all talk. He's doing something beneficial for Indian people, in stark contrast to all the hot air coming from some of those on the other side of the issue who seem to enjoy publicity just a little too much, i.e. Lucy Ganje, and yet never seem to accomplish much of anything.

That's possible, but in Ferguson's situation it doesn't seem to make any sense to stay at Lake Region, or any other juco for that matter. My understanding is that because of NCAA rules, he's not eligible to play division I ball so even if he came back to DL and scored 30 a game next year, it wouldn't change the fact that he's ultimately going to have to play division II if he wants to continue his college career. Since he's already highly sought-after by some strong division II programs, and I believe he's already in his mid-20's, there doesn't seem to be any obvious reason to play another year in DL instead of at UND, NDSU, Kentucky Wesleyan, etc.

If I'm not mistaken, May 15 was the last day of the late signing period during which recruits could sign a letter of intent for next season. Of course, that doesn't mean that players can't still verbally commit for next fall, but it certainly creates some uncertainty about how Rich Glas is going to use the last 1 or 2 scholarships for next year. Additionally, I imagine there's still the possibility of a transfer from a division I school over the summer. Does anyone know what the deal is with Franklyn Ferguson? I'm assuming at this point that he's not coming to UND, but he apparently didn't sign with anyone else, either. It seems odd that he wouldn't have signed with somebody before the May 15 deadline.

I always thought that UNC was a geographical misfit in the NCC. But you have to scratch your head at the idea of joining a conference where you'd be flying from Colorado to Illinois, Indiana, Missouri and Louisiana, among other places.

According to today's Herald, Leikas is actually walking on at UND. Also, Jimmy Hoy from West Fargo is planning to walk-on, as well.