Goals for Next Season

[bincitysioux]

It was a bit of a roller coaster season for the men's team this past season. We had some optimism in December, we were praying for mercy in January and Februray, then we nearly pulled off a near miracle to end the season including upset wins over two ranked opponents.

Although I admit I was questioning the direction of this program during the middle of the conference season, I feel comfort knowing that Coach Jones had this team playing it's best basketball at the end of the season. That was the opposite from 2006-07, when the Sioux were competetive virtually all season long (suffering several close losses), then fell off the face of the earth and got blown out the last 3-4 games.

Obviously there will be huge holes to fill next year with the loss of our top 2 scorers Emmanuel Little and Earvin Youmens. But I see Bledsoe stepping his game up and O.J. Harrison taking on a huge role next season. Add a productive post player and this could have been an entirely different team.

With the move to DI commencing next season, no post-season to shoot for, and no conference race to be a part of, we must reconsider what we should expect from this team in 2008-09. I'm sure Coach Jones, his staff, and players already have highlighted their goals for next year, but we should discuss what this squad should set its sights on next season, and for the following seasons throughout the transition, for that matter.

Here is what I would like to see this team accomplish next year:

20 Wins: We went from 11 to 15 wins in the last two years. The first season of our reclassification will most likely have one of the weakest schedules we've seen in years. Possibly littered with even more NAIA and DIII schools than the high number we've seen in the past few years. 20 wins should be very realistic if improvement continues.

Win against the other transitionals/independents: We don't have a conference, but we will be playing home-and-homes against fellow DI newbies South Dakota, Seattle, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. All three have been known to be good basketball programs in DII. I want an above .500 record against those three teams. We will probably play some of the other indy's out there, and I expect us to beat them more than we lose to them.

Beat an established DI on their court: It sounds like we won't have many games against DI teams in our first year, but we need to take advantage of the ones we do. I'm not saying beat Kansas or UCLA, but we should be competetive against a handful of Horizon, Summit, or Big Sky schools if we get the chance to play some of them.

Beat South Dakota: I hate the Coyotes. Let's sweep them.

What are other goals that this team should shoot for? Am I too optimistic, or not enough? I know we've had some down years recently, but UND has traditionally been one of the top two basketball programs in the history of the NCC, so I expect alot, even when the program is not meeting its own standards.

[gfhockey]

I saw get some good recruits in to have a solid base for the transitions. I hope they knock off an established d-1 program but idk if they could in there first year. Id also hope for a undefeated record from the dIII and the naia.

[gopherz]

I saw get some good recruits in to have a solid base for the transitions. I hope they knock off an established d-1 program but idk if they could in there first year. Id also hope for a undefeated record from the dIII and the naia.

Come play us at the Barn

[DI IN FARGO]

It was a bit of a roller coaster season for the men's team this past season. We had some optimism in December, we were praying for mercy in January and Februray, then we nearly pulled off a near miracle to end the season including upset wins over two ranked opponents.

Although I admit I was questioning the direction of this program during the middle of the conference season, I feel comfort knowing that Coach Jones had this team playing it's best basketball at the end of the season. That was the opposite from 2006-07, when the Sioux were competetive virtually all season long (suffering several close losses), then fell off the face of the earth and got blown out the last 3-4 games.

Obviously there will be huge holes to fill next year with the loss of our top 2 scorers Emmanuel Little and Earvin Youmens. But I see Bledsoe stepping his game up and O.J. Harrison taking on a huge role next season. Add a productive post player and this could have been an entirely different team.

With the move to DI commencing next season, no post-season to shoot for, and no conference race to be a part of, we must reconsider what we should expect from this team in 2008-09. I'm sure Coach Jones, his staff, and players already have highlighted their goals for next year, but we should discuss what this squad should set its sights on next season, and for the following seasons throughout the transition, for that matter.

Here is what I would like to see this team accomplish next year:

20 Wins: We went from 11 to 15 wins in the last two years. The first season of our reclassification will most likely have one of the weakest schedules we've seen in years. Possibly littered with even more NAIA and DIII schools than the high number we've seen in the past few years. 20 wins should be very realistic if improvement continues.

Win against the other transitionals/independents: We don't have a conference, but we will be playing home-and-homes against fellow DI newbies South Dakota, Seattle, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. All three have been known to be good basketball programs in DII. I want an above .500 record against those three teams. We will probably play some of the other indy's out there, and I expect us to beat them more than we lose to them.

Beat an established DI on their court: It sounds like we won't have many games against DI teams in our first year, but we need to take advantage of the ones we do. I'm not saying beat Kansas or UCLA, but we should be competetive against a handful of Horizon, Summit, or Big Sky schools if we get the chance to play some of them.

Beat South Dakota: I hate the Coyotes. Let's sweep them.

What are other goals that this team should shoot for? Am I too optimistic, or not enough? I know we've had some down years recently, but UND has traditionally been one of the top two basketball programs in the history of the NCC, so I expect alot, even when the program is not meeting its own standards.

Unless I missed something the team you guys had on the court throughout the season didn't look like they were going to compete real well in DI. Unless you have a boat load of talent that will play immediately coming in the "Beat an established DI on their court" comment seems pretty far out there.

[bincitysioux]

As always, thanks for your great insight BisonBacker.

[Matt]

Unless I missed something the team you guys had on the court throughout the season didn't look like they were going to compete real well in DI. Unless you have a boat load of talent that will play immediately coming in the "Beat an established DI on their court" comment seems pretty far out there.

Did you think NDSU was going to compete real well in DI before the move up? If you combine NDSUs very ordinary conference title accomplishments (won 0 conference titles in the 60's, 1 in the 70's, 1 in the 80's, 1 in the 90's, and so far 0 in the 00's) with the average win percentage of .585, a reasonable person would have to say the recent success and buzz surrounding the program is a big surprise. No way that could happen at UND.

[DI IN FARGO]

Did you think NDSU was going to compete real well in DI before the move up? If you combine NDSUs very ordinary conference title accomplishments (won 0 conference titles in the 60's, 1 in the 70's, 1 in the 80's, 1 in the 90's, and so far 0 in the 00's) with the average win percentage of .585, a reasonable person would have to say the recent success and buzz surrounding the program is a big surprise. No way that could happen at UND.

You go back to the 60's with NDSU's record trying to make your point about our transition? That's funny, I'm talking about what the UND Mens Basketball teams record was this year not in the 60's or 70's or 80's or even the 90's. Lets talk about this year's team and who you have coming back and coming in for next year. You expect that team to compete and beat established DI teams? Good Luck with that. You can try to change the subject to NDSU all you want and the records they had 20 or 30 years ago but the UND mens team this year was god awful so pointing out that comment just seemed appropriate. Carry on.

[SooToo]

You go back to the 60's with NDSU's record trying to make your point about our transition? That's funny, I'm talking about what the UND Mens Basketball teams record was this year not in the 60's or 70's or 80's or even the 90's. Lets talk about this year's team and who you have coming back and coming in for next year. You expect that team to compete and beat established DI teams? Good Luck with that. You can try to change the subject to NDSU all you want and the records they had 20 or 30 years ago but the UND mens team this year was god awful so pointing out that comment just seemed appropriate. Carry on.

I don't think anyone would argue this was a good year in the annals of UND men's basketball (although they showed some ability in the league tournament). Personally, I don't know if we can expect to be competitive with D1 teams next year, either. (But we can dream).

I think the point was that da Bison weren't particularly good your last year in the NCC but showed dramatic improvement within a couple of seasons. Apparently you were able to attract some talent despite your transitional status and mediocre (at best) basketball facilities. Nothing's guaranteed, but perhaps we can, too.

[DI IN FARGO]

I don't think anyone would argue this was a good year in the annals of UND men's basketball (although they showed some ability in the league tournament). Personally, I don't know if we can expect to be competitive with D1 teams next year, either. (But we can dream).

I think the point was that da Bison weren't particularly good your last year in the NCC but showed dramatic improvement within a couple of seasons. Apparently you were able to attract some talent despite your transitional status and mediocre (at best) basketball facilities. Nothing's guaranteed, but perhaps we can, too.

I think you will compete but I don't think it will be next year (not at the level the original poster is hoping for anyway) which is the only reason I brought up that post. I believe it will take a few years and I still think your coach is an unknown factor. Time will tell if he can coach at this level or not but nothing is a given.

Note I didn't even comment on the 20 wins part of the original post. That would have been too easy.

[Matt]

I think you will compete but I don't think it will be next year (not at the level the original poster is hoping for anyway) which is the only reason I brought up that post. I believe it will take a few years and I still think your coach is an unknown factor. Time will tell if he can coach at this level or not but nothing is a given.

Note I didn't even comment on the 20 wins part of the original post. That would have been too easy.

I don't expect the Sioux to compete any better or worse next year than I expected the Bison to compete in their transition. If the Sioux compete well in their transition, it will be as surprising as the Bison competing well in theirs. Well, maybe that is over stated since I went back to the 60's in an effort to find more than 3 Bison conf titles in 40 years. I failed. Also note, since you are more partial to current stats-one conf title since 1990-not exactly a precursor of success at DI. In that light, the success of the Bison transition is even more surprising. But again, maybe surprises only happen to the NDSU basketball program?

[DI IN FARGO]

I don't expect the Sioux to compete any better or worse next year than I expected the Bison to compete in their transition. If the Sioux compete well in their transition, it will be as surprising as the Bison competing well in theirs. Well, maybe that is over stated since I went back to the 60's in an effort to find more than 3 Bison conf titles in 40 years. I failed. Also note, since you are more partial to current stats-one conf title since 1990-not exactly a precursor of success at DI. In that light, the success of the Bison transition is even more surprising. But again, maybe surprises only happen to the NDSU basketball program?

If you had a recruiting class like Winkelman, Nelson & Woodside then yes i'd say your expectations are grounded in reality. You don't appear to be bringing in that kind of talent so therefore I'd say those expectations of yours are not realistic. Besides the basketball successes of recent history at UND are pretty marginal. You have to go back a few years. Not saying it can't happen for you but I don't see anything in who you have recruited that can match the three players I mentioned.

[coach daddy]

If you had a recruiting class like Winkelman, Nelson & Woodside then yes i'd say your expectations are grounded in reality. You don't appear to be bringing in that kind of talent so therefore I'd say those expectations of yours are not realistic. Besides the basketball successes of recent history at UND are pretty marginal. You have to go back a few years. Not saying it can't happen for you but I don't see anything in who you have recruited that can match the three players I mentioned.

We've recruited players? Why didn't anyone tell me?

[star2city]

Here is what I would like to see this team accomplish next year:

20 Wins: We went from 11 to 15 wins in the last two years. The first season of our reclassification will most likely have one of the weakest schedules we've seen in years. Possibly littered with even more NAIA and DIII schools than the high number we've seen in the past few years. 20 wins should be very realistic if improvement continues.

Win against the other transitionals/independents: We don't have a conference, but we will be playing home-and-homes against fellow DI newbies South Dakota, Seattle, and Southern Illinois-Edwardsville. All three have been known to be good basketball programs in DII. I want an above .500 record against those three teams. We will probably play some of the other indy's out there, and I expect us to beat them more than we lose to them.

Beat an established DI on their court: It sounds like we won't have many games against DI teams in our first year, but we need to take advantage of the ones we do. I'm not saying beat Kansas or UCLA, but we should be competetive against a handful of Horizon, Summit, or Big Sky schools if we get the chance to play some of them.

Beat South Dakota: I hate the Coyotes. Let's sweep them.

What are other goals that this team should shoot for? Am I too optimistic, or not enough? I know we've had some down years recently, but UND has traditionally been one of the top two basketball programs in the history of the NCC, so I expect alot, even when the program is not meeting its own standards.

Surprisingly, all these goals are still attainable.

A 20-win season is not out of reach - granted most would be against DII or NAIA or transitional schools.

An established DI school was beaten on their home court (UMKC). Not expecting any miracles at UWGB, Wichita, or Tex A&M, but N Colo is possible.

SIU-E seems to be really struggling this years (lost to DIII team), while Seattle may be the class of the transitionals (has won three away DI games).

[UND Fan]

Has anyone seen the redshirt freshmen practice? They are to have a lot of talent - curious if anyone can give us any insight!

I understand the freshmen are making great progress in the weightroom. In fact, they are setting records - not records for freshmen BB players but for the program. Obviously, that is good as we need to upgrade our size and muscle to compete at the DI level!

[coach daddy]

Has anyone seen the redshirt freshmen practice? They are to have a lot of talent - curious if anyone can give us any insight!

I understand the freshmen are making great progress in the weightroom. In fact, they are setting records - not records for freshmen BB players but for the program. Obviously, that is good as we need to upgrade our size and muscle to compete at the DI level!

Well, if our freshman ever have to lift a gym floor, they'll be qualified. Can they shoot, dribble, pass, defend, or rebound? Those are the qualities we need. I get tired of coaches worrying more about how strong a kid is as to whether or not he/she can play.

[GeauxSioux]

Well, if our freshman ever have to lift a gym floor, they'll be qualified. Can they shoot, dribble, pass, defend, or rebound? Those are the qualities we need. I get tired of coaches worrying more about how strong a kid is as to whether or not he/she can play.

I agree. Basketball has changed from a game of skill to a muscle game.

The NBA of today is unrecognizable compared to the gane of the 1980's. I don't even watch it anymore.

College BB is headed in the same direction, sadly.