UND92,96

Totally agree. Last night was probably the biggest game UND has played in years, and with so much on the line Anderson and Webb played 36 and 39 minutes, respectively. Antwi only played 7, and Benton 6. What that tells me is that while Antwi and Benton were certainly valuable contributors during the season, in a one-and-done situation Jones wasn't willing to give them a lot of time. With Hooker, I think he potentially provides that third option at guard, and Anderson and Webb won't need to log quite so many minutes, which will hopefully make them even more effective.

To be perfectly frank, if Hooker isn't good enough to supplant a couple of the current bench players, then he's probably not as good as advertised. And I believe he is as good as advertised. The best players will play, regardless of age or seniority.

I definitely think Nash will have an impact, but what concerns me is his lack of bulk, and the fact that he's never really been a big rebounder at any level. He has some height, and apparently tremendous leaping ability, but hopefully he can put on 10-15 pounds or more in the off season because at 185 I'm not sure he'll be able to withstand physical play in the paint for 20-30 minutes every game.

Just wondering which newcomer/relative newcomer people think will have the biggest impact next year: Nash, Traylor, Hooker, Salmonson or some yet-to-be-signed player? I'm going with Hooker. He is averaging over 23 ppg, and led his team to a state tournament berth last night. I think he could have a pretty big impact while backing up Anderson and/or Webb.

Even if Traylor does not regain his eligibility, perhaps a lineup with both Brekke and Nash would be effective, with either Salmonson or some other new juco transfer as a backup at the 4-5 positions. My hope is that Nash can at least replace the production of Wilmer, but we will see. Wilmer far exceeded any realistic expectations this season.

Very proud of the effort tonight. Can't help but be excited for a possibly special season in 2013-14.

I think tonight was what many of us expected UND to be this year, before all the injuries took their toll. I'm just glad the team finally got healthy at the right time. Whatever happens tomorrow, at least we'll actually get to see whether UND can compete with one of the two best Big Sky programs when at close to full strength.

While I can't argue with at least questioning how UND matches up with the two top teams (should UND advance beyond the first game), it seems puzzling that the injuries weren't at least mentioned as a possible reason for some of the poorer performances. Huff was still nowhere near full strength and wasn't even starting yet at the time of the road Weber St. game, and Brekke didn't play at all. A relatively healthy UND team playing almost exclusively its top eight players could conceivably narrow the gap. Also, UND has proven to be one of the better road teams in the conference--which is something few of us could have ever predicted two months ago.

While obviously Jones is going to a high-major program, he does have a UND connection--his aunt is Darcy (Deutsch) Cascaes.

My concern is that Wayne Nelson tweeted something about him experiencing dizziness. Given how long Brekke was out after his concussion, I'm a little worried (not that we know whether Anderson actually suffered a concussion).

Good win, but more important is the prognosis for Anderson. If he's out for the next game, this win may turn out to be pyrrhic.

This may just be frustration talking, but with all the concussion or concussion-type injuries UND has suffered this year, is it just bad luck? I don't think I've ever seen three in one year for a basketball team before.

Sounds like Anderson has a possible concussion? This team just can't catch a break when it comes to injuries.

I don't think anybody is really saying that Brewster's job should be in jeopardy after one year. I believe it's more a case of pointing out that as the primary recruiter the past several years, he should be held somewhat responsible for the fact that, by his own admission, the talent level is not where it needs to be. It's not like when Jones took over on the men's side, where he inherited a team he had no part in recruiting. As a long-time fan, I am struggling to understand why the hurdles of the transition and nickname seem to have affected the women's basketball program more than the men's basketball or volleyball programs? Those programs struggled pre-transition, but seem to mostly be on the right path now.

Even though I suspect part of it can be explained by the fact that the high school girls basketball talent level has seemingly dried up in North Dakota and northwest Minnesota compared to the 80's, 90's and early 2000's, I am surprised at how far the UND women's program has fallen. I would have never thought the women's program would struggle more in recruiting than the men, but that seems to be what has happened in the past three years or so. I don't follow dII basketball anymore, but I'm curious--how would our perimeter players stack up against the best teams from the NSIC? Is it a matter of there just not being enough talented players in Minnesota anymore, or have we just made some recruiting miscalculations and failed to offer some quality 1's, 2's and 3's who are now starring in the NSIC and who could have helped us?

I believe this marks the first time a Jones-coached team has exceeded four road wins in a season.

It appears that way.

Dom Izzo just tweeted that Brianna Williams and Cy'erra Mills are transferring from UND.

Just out of curiosity, can anybody remember for sure the last time UND football went completely outside the ranks of current or former assistants when hiring either a head coach or coordinator? I'm thinking maybe when Randy Hedberg was hired as offensive coordinator towards the end of the RT years, but I'm not certain about that.

I think they still have the unofficial state indoor in Fargo.

The curves on the Hyslop track were tight. When I was in high school running a 400m there, I wiped out due to a little bit of sand from the long jump pit getting on the track, and scraped up my hip pretty bad. Not sure if it was just a coincidence or not, but that was either the last, or one of the last times the GF schools had an indoor meet there.

I think Hooker will back up both Webb and Anderson next year, and play a lot.

I have to admit that had you told me two months ago that UND would win as many as four Big Sky road games, I'd have never believed it. This has been a very pleasant surprise, particularly given how short-handed the team has been most of the season.

I just don't think he needed to be suspended, period. If a suspension absolutely was necessary, then I agree it should probably be announced. I just don't think one unfortunate choice of words that did not include any obscenities rose to that level.

I understand what you're saying, but the reality is that apparently almost nobody even knew anything about the post-game interview until the suspension was announced. Handling it internally was probably not going to result in any sort of outcry from anybody. If I were Faison, I have a behind-closed-doors-discussion with Ralston and Jones, let Ralston apologize, tell him it can't happen again, and be done with it. No suspension was really necessary IMO.