twins15

I think the team looks solid and very reasonable... I love Huff's potential, but as of now Jamar is clearly the better player and would project to be the MVP in my book... but that is certainly reasonable.

Hi all, Just wanted to send out a link to my preview of the Big Sky. 9K+ words featuring my predictions for the regular season and tournament, my all-conference teams, first through sixth, top newcomers, some bold predictions for the conference and more! I would love it if you would check it out! http://www.bigskybball.com/2012/11/the-most-comprehensive-big-sky-preview.html Thanks a bunch and please let me know of any feedback!!

Hey, I am an accountant by day. I graduated from UND in Dec 2009 with an accounting degree, and live in Denver now. In terms of following the teams, it's not as hard as it seems... now that I have been blogging on the conference for a year, I know most everyone associated with the conference (coaches, reporters, fans, etc) so a lot of the news gets sent to me, or I can find it quickly. Looking through all the teams' message boards to see if there is any news takes 5-10 mins, so it's not too hard to stay plugged in that way. It helps with writing the articles too, most articles I can write quickly because I already know about the players/teams. I live about an hour from Greeley, so I can see a lot of the teams in person too, which helps. Beyond that, I just try to make the most of my time... wake up early and write, lunch breaks, when I get a free hour in the evening. If I am busy at work I write less, if I am not as busy, I have more time, easy as that. It is a hobby I really enjoy so I just make time for it. The biggest key of all... an understanding wife!!

Hi all, Yesterday all the Big Sky coaches had a conference call with the media, where many questions were asked. I typed up a summary (and a link to the audio) from that call, if you are interested. http://www.bigskybball.com/2012/10/summary-of-preseason-coaches-conference.html Jones talked a bit about how he doesn't think the long roadtrips will be a big issue, the development of Troy Huff, and an update on Jaron Nash.

Man, it just seems like Nash's case is so clear cut that he should be eligible to play right away. Let's hope the NCAA uses logic on this.

I am thinking the 4-6 range... free throws will be key, and hopefully Huff can develop into the all-around star that he has the talent to be. Going up to GF will be a very tough road trip for Big Sky teams.

My guess would be Traylor or Nash... Traylor would seem to be a bit more of a traditional big man, but I am guessing there is a reason that Nash went to a Big 12 school. Both are good options.

I will have a post up on him tomorrow, but sounds like a really nice pickup for UND, and I like that they seem to be establishing a presence in the Twin Cities. Sounds like assistant Gameli Ahelegbe was on him hard for the past year or so. Heard he also had offers from NDSU and SDSU, among others.

Not sure when we will know for sure... word right now is that everyone expects that the NCAA will grant him immediately eligibility. Of course, the NCAA is now always predictable or rational... but that is the current expectation.

My guess would be Traylor based on his track record and the fact that he best fills UND's need in my mind. I think him and Nash will be a very interesting battle for that last starting spot,

I do agree that everyone will need to step it up, but the reason I single out Huff and Webb is because they have the potential to be really big-time players. If Huff is playing at his best, he can be one of the five best players in the Big Sky, and they need that to be a real contender. Same for Webb, he has the varied skillset to be an upper tier mid-major PG based on his freshman season. If he can make that leap, all of a sudden with just those two guys improving, UND has two big-time players in the Big Sky. I liked what Brekke and Anderson in particular showed this year, and their improvement. Brekke was great down low, and should be helped a ton by the JUCO. Anderson doesn't do as many things well as Webb does (at his best, Webb does more things), but he does his thing well... efficient scorer and takes pretty good care of the basketball. Those are some nice pieces.

If Huff/Webb can take the next step, UND will have a chance to be very good! Those guys were excellent as freshmen, but similar players at sophs... Huff in particularly needs to take the next step and become the star if UND is going to be a true contender. The recruits were huge for depth in the frontcourt and should have a major impact. That was a big weakness before the recruiting period, but that should help a ton. Now just need the backcourt to be one of the top units in the Big Sky (which they have the potential to be), and it could be a great year for the Sioux!

Hey there, I appreciate the read and comment! I didn't say Montana has the best backcourt in the country (could have one of them, though), but I do think for sure they have the best backcourt in the Big Sky. As much as I am hopeful for the future of Huff, Webb, and Anderson, I have to say that I believe Montana's is better. Cherry is the best defensive player in the conference, and one of the best perimeter defenders in the country. He will set the Montana career steals records this year, and could set the Big Sky career record. He is the best pro prospect in the conference right now, probably. He is quick off the dribble and improving his shot. Kareem Jamar is one of the best all-around guards in the conference too. Not sure if you watched the Big Sky title game (or maybe it was the regular season finale, can't remember which)... but in the second half, he put the team's offense on his back and won it for them. Honestly, it will be between these two guys to be the favorite for player of the year heading into the season. Huff has a lot of talent and potential but he took 118 3s last year, and made under 20% of them. I like Webb a lot, and he could be one of the better PGs in the conference if he cuts down the turnovers. I have to admit though, I was disappointed in their lack of improvement... they looked like they were about the same player as their freshmen seasons. Which is ok, but they have to take the next step for UND to be true contenders. Anderson showed a lot of improvement last year, he was a really potent offensive player. I was quite impressed with him. All together, I hope to see them in the top 5, and I thought they could get there, but after this year, I'm not quite sold yet. Their offensive efficiency was 287th in the country last year (defensive was 209th), and that was not exactly playing an awesome schedule. I know they had some tough non-conference games, and I know the Big Sky wasn't great last year, but it's still a big step up over The Great West, and we were only 6-4 there. We beat Montana, but also lost on the road by 13 to Idaho State (whose only other win in their first 12 games was against Colorado Christian, and lost by double digits to Sacramento State, who finished 8th in the Big Sky. I think the potential to be really good is there (Huff-Webb-Anderson-Brekke have the talent to be as good a four as any in the conference), but there's reason to be weary too. No bigs outside of Brekke, and no proof yet that Huff can be "The Guy" every game.

I think this season obviously will depend on whether the juniors really take the next step. I thought they were awesome as freshmen, but then didn't really take a big step forward as sophomores. If Jones can get a couple JUCO bigs with the scholarships that opened up (Brekke needs some help), and Huff/Webb/Anderson can take the next step and become fringe all-conference players, UND is going to be very interesting in year one in the Big Sky.

Yep, exactly. I actually think it is a great strategy... give the top seed the best chance of winning by making them win one less game (with only 7 teams in the tournament), and putting it at their home site. While the lower seeded team that pulls a couple upsets and wins the conference tournament is exciting for the fans, but it's not necessarily very good for the conference.

Thanks for the mention (I'm the author of the blog)... I can't wait for UND to join the Big Sky next year, should definitely be a lot of fun.

I'm a little late to the party, but I think for this year UND would fall about 7th or 8th, to be honest. Better than ISU or SacSt, but the rest of the Conference is very competitive. UND obviously played well at the end of last year, and they are so young so they should improve, but I'm not sure they are quite on the caliber of some of the other Big Sky teams yet, they haven't yet shown the consistency. With a year of improvement I could see them in the middle of the pack for the Big Sky preseason poll wise.

This is all very true... even the best teams in the Big Sky have a lot more home non-D1 games than you would think. It is simply very difficult to schedule home games for a team at the low major level.

That should be an interesting game... that has become a very tough place to play under Steve Alford! New Mexico will be a contender in the Mountain West. I am liking this schedule a lot!

Thanks man! I know Fetch well, he always puts out great stuff so I am excited to see more of his stuff on the Sioux. As for me, if there is any way that things go on the front page that would be great with me, I could do whatever they need to make it happen! Go Sioux!

Am hearing November 23 for the Montana game, tentatively. Montana has not released an official schedule yet, as far as I know.

Hey all, wrote an article on the 5... http://www.bigskybball.com/2011/07/north-dakotas-five-member-class-of-2014.html ... they are certainly an exciting class, it will be fun to watch them grow. And I am glad we will have some games against Big Sky competition this year (Montana, Idaho St, Sacramento St) so they can see where they stack up, and how hard they are going to have to work to compete in the Big Sky. Love that job of scheduling that Faison/Jones have done. Is the season here yet! Can't remember this much excitement for Sioux Basketball in a while, thanks to these guys!

Well deserved for Huff... hopefully he and the rest of the freshman can build on a solid freshman year (and especially the momentum gained at the end of the season) and really begin firing on all cylinders when they enter the Big Sky...

Too bad O'Brien won't be there next yearr to take on UND when they join the Big Sky... doesn't look good for him keeping his job after this season. Love all the Big Sky opponents, both home and away... that will be big for them to prepare, see where they stack up and how hard they will have to work when they enter the conference. Really the scheduling job Jones and Faison are doing.

Very nice looking... to get Idaho St, NDSU and especially Montana at home is solid for the final transition year. Playing at Kansas should be fun, and Bradly could provide an opportunity to possibly upset a team in a very solid Mid-Major Conference.