2009/2010 Season

[The Sicatoka]

Ledger was whistled for a technical foul for demontrative gesture- clapping of the hands after disagreeing with a call. hilarious, never heard of that one before.

Oh, I'm sure it's in the book somewhere.

It's like when Don Adam finally read (note I don't say "and understood") the hockey rule book and came up with the "I intended to blow the whistle" call to waive off a UND goal.

In honor of that referee, let's all do a demonstrative clapping gesture.

[UND1983]

I see that New Mexico State was picked 5th in the WAC preseason poll so that is definitely a quality road win!

[bincitysioux]

North Dakota lost by 39 to Gonzaga tonight...........which has been a very very good team over the past few years, but........

Since the move to DI I was wondering if it is worth pointing out that of the 18 sports that UND sponsors, it appears that only golf and women's basketball have yet to expand their recruiting base beyond the University's historic footprint in ND, MN, and WI.

Is it possible that Roebuck may be towing the same line that Rich Glas and Amy Ruley did? By that, I mean that the general concensus about Glas and Ruley, is that they may have become somewhat lazy with their recruiting after spending ~20 years leading successful programs.

[coach daddy]

North Dakota lost by 39 to Gonzaga tonight...........which has been a very very good team over the past few years, but........

Since the move to DI I was wondering if it is worth pointing out that of the 18 sports that UND sponsors, it appears that only golf and women's basketball have yet to expand their recruiting base beyond the University's historic footprint in ND, MN, and WI.

Is it possible that Roebuck may be towing the same line that Rich Glas and Amy Ruley did? By that, I mean that the general concensus about Glas and Ruley, is that they may have become somewhat lazy with their recruiting after spending ~20 years leading successful programs.

I'd never accuse Coach of being "lazy". I know how hard he's worked in the 20+ years he's been at UND. I do, however, know what you mean about the recruiting pool. Here's another interesting thought. Of the girls we signed early, 3 of them are All-State Vball players. Should that worry us? I believe 2 of them will also be all state bball players too but shouldn't we be signing kids who are bball players first or is the "athlete" thats being recruited a good thing for our program.

I've watched a couple games this year and we definitely need a little of both so I'm not sure if there is a right answer or not.

[UND92,96]

IMO, a big part of the problem is that since the Kimbrough-Bagaason class, no big-time scorers have been recruited. With a few exceptions, the recruits weren't even huge scorers at the high school level. So it's probably not a big surprise that this team seems to score in the 40's and 50's every game. That's not going to win a lot of games.

[coachdags]

I would hope with Travis Brewster back into the fold we would expand our recruiting base a little more into Iowa, Chicago, Wisconsin, Colorado, and more....

If I recall correctly we have only had a couple of girls outside the North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa area in the last 20+ years...?

[coach daddy]

I would hope with Travis Brewster back into the fold we would expand our recruiting base a little more into Iowa, Chicago, Wisconsin, Colorado, and more....

If I recall correctly we have only had a couple of girls outside the North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa area in the last 20+ years...?

Agreed. I think Wisc. is a pool we can swim in. I know you are a Brewster guy but he's had a hand in this year's freshman class and he was only gone a couple years so there a seniors on this team he had a hand in too.

I think it must be a tough call to know the difference between DI and DII ability. I would think when you find out what other schools are in the recruiting game w/certain players that would tip you off as to whether or not a kid is of the proper ability level.

How many of the one's we've signed early were being recruited by NDSU, SDSU, USD, etc.? I don't think very many.

[UND92,96]

Agreed. I think Wisc. is a pool we can swim in. I know you are a Brewster guy but he's had a hand in this year's freshman class and he was only gone a couple years so there a seniors on this team he had a hand in too.

I think it must be a tough call to know the difference between DI and DII ability. I would think when you find out what other schools are in the recruiting game w/certain players that would tip you off as to whether or not a kid is of the proper ability level.

How many of the one's we've signed early were being recruited by NDSU, SDSU, USD, etc.? I don't think very many.

When SDSU went dI, we were basically dead even with them in terms of talent. Since that time, there's has gone up--mostly with SD, MN, WI and IA kids--whereas ours has clearly gone down, although not immediately since we did get Langen who they wanted very much, along with Kimbrough and Bagaason. Are we not targeting the right kids, or are we just unable to sign the top kids we do target?

[new2sioux2]

When SDSU went dI, we were basically dead even with them in terms of talent. Since that time, there's has gone up--mostly with SD, MN, WI and IA kids--whereas ours has clearly gone down, although not immediately since we did get Langen who they wanted very much, along with Kimbrough and Bagaason. Are we not targeting the right kids, or are we just unable to sign the top kids we do target?

I very much agree we need to expand the recruiting base which I am sure is easier said than done being we are still in transition. Another thing to remember is that during the Kimbrough/Langen/Bagaason recruiting years, Region 8 in Minnesota was a power house with 3 of the top ranked teams in the state in that region. BGMR/Kittson Central/Fosston had domination for several years and only one of those teams could make it to state. Luckily I am sure proximity to home played a big part in all of their decisons as Kimbrough and Langen and possibly Bagaasan could have went to many established DI programs. That caliber of player doesn't come around that often unfortunatley and is reflected by the teams currently playing in Region 8. Not even close to the talent of a few years ago. I am sure that can be said for ND too. I think they have found many gems from MN and very close to UND, but that doesn't seem to be the case recently. Obviously keep your eye out for local talent, but definitly need to broaden our horizons. Getting into the Summit L:eague would help I would think and I do think Brewster is an asset for recruiting, but I am sure it is very competitive and I think we are going to struggle for a few years so not having success doesn't help either.

[UND92,96]

I very much agree we need to expand the recruiting base which I am sure is easier said than done being we are still in transition. Another thing to remember is that during the Kimbrough/Langen/Bagaason recruiting years, Region 8 in Minnesota was a power house with 3 of the top ranked teams in the state in that region. BGMR/Kittson Central/Fosston had domination for several years and only one of those teams could make it to state. Luckily I am sure proximity to home played a big part in all of their decisons as Kimbrough and Langen and possibly Bagaasan could have went to many established DI programs. That caliber of player doesn't come around that often unfortunatley and is reflected by the teams currently playing in Region 8. Not even close to the talent of a few years ago. I am sure that can be said for ND too. I think they have found many gems from MN and very close to UND, but that doesn't seem to be the case recently. Obviously keep your eye out for local talent, but definitly need to broaden our horizons. Getting into the Summit L:eague would help I would think and I do think Brewster is an asset for recruiting, but I am sure it is very competitive and I think we are going to struggle for a few years so not having success doesn't help either.

I certainly agree with regard to the talent in NW Minnesota being far better five years ago than it is now. But I'm not sure the transition in and of itself should be that huge of a detriment to recruiting. SDSU seemingly wasn't adversely affected at all.

I think we need to do a better job of recruiting southern Minnesota, where we picked up the Pudenzes, Arndtson, Boese, etc. It's been awhile since we've picked up a really good player from that area, but SDSU has picked up several. Wisconsin is another area which should be pretty ripe for the picking. Brewster presumably has contacts in Iowa, and we have gotten some Iowans of late so hopefully that trend continues.

Basically, although I certainly like to have ND kids on the team, we may have gone overboard in signing locals as of late. Hopefully it works out, but truth be told I don't think any of them are, or ever will be of the caliber of Heisler, Meier, Kleinsasser, Richards, etc., and that's the type of talent we need, whether it's from ND or elsewhere.

One final thought--doesn't it seem like perhaps we should occasionally get a player that is good enough to play at a high-major school due to the school of aviation? You would think that there should be a few great girls basketball players out there who are interested in majoring in an aviation-related field. I don't think that's happened since Crouse.

[coachdags]

Agreed. I think Wisc. is a pool we can swim in. I know you are a Brewster guy but he's had a hand in this year's freshman class and he was only gone a couple years so there a seniors on this team he had a hand in too.

I think it must be a tough call to know the difference between DI and DII ability. I would think when you find out what other schools are in the recruiting game w/certain players that would tip you off as to whether or not a kid is of the proper ability level.

How many of the one's we've signed early were being recruited by NDSU, SDSU, USD, etc.? I don't think very many.

I agree the pressure will be on. I believe recruiting is based upon connections, hard work, and a sucessfull program. TB seems to have or be able to do all 3, but results must come soon, with the new title Associate Head Coach comes that pressure. The season we our having now can ot be easy on the Buck, heck he was not a good (happy) winner, he certainly will not be good at losing....

[coach daddy]

I agree the pressure will be on. I believe recruiting is based upon connections, hard work, and a sucessfull program. TB seems to have or be able to do all 3, but results must come soon, with the new title Associate Head Coach comes that pressure. The season we our having now can ot be easy on the Buck, heck he was not a good (happy) winner, he certainly will not be good at losing....

Very well said!!!

[oldskool]

Very well said!!!

The recruiting has been questionable for a while. What about the recruiting coordinator, are they chopped liver?

[UND92,96]

LaFrance's college basketball career is over: http://www.areavoices.com/waynenelson/

So if my math is correct, we now have either two or three available scholarships for next year, depending upon the Sharkova situation.

[Dagger]

In a season that hasn't had much to talk about apparently the win over New Mexico State wasn't to bad. New Mexico State is 5 and 3 and beat the Bison by 6 last night. Of course I'm not sure how good the Bison are.

[Hammersmith]

In a season that hasn't had much to talk about apparently the win over New Mexico State wasn't to bad. New Mexico State is 5 and 3 and beat the Bison by 6 last night. Of course I'm not sure how good the Bison are.

Good team, but young and prone to turnovers. We almost had more turnovers(35) than points(37) in the Minnesota nightmare. The Bison led NMSU by 11 points four different times Saturday and still managed to lose. On the other hand, one of our better bench players was rusty after sitting out a few weeks with an enlarged spleen and only getting cleared to practice earlier in the week.

Between our programs, we've got a surprising number of common opponents this year. We both lost to Wyoming; us by 8, you guys by 26. We beat Ball State by 8, you guys lost by 12. As mentioned, we lost to NMSU by 6, you beat them by 7. And we both have NAU coming this week. Personally, I think the Bison are a cut above the Sioux this year(especially with your injury/clearinghouse issues), but we're inconsistent enough that a hypothetical game would be a toss-up. Just my (uneducated)opinion, though.

[Dagger]

I guess I would asume that the Bison are clearly better this year but you probably don't have to be that good to better than the Sioux this year. Between injuries and NCAA issues we don't have much of an inside game. I would say the teams are close enough so you never know but that the Bison would probably win. I don't think either team is all that great, at least the Sioux aren't.

[UND92,96]

58 UND

70 Drake

final

This isn't too bad of a loss considering Drake's RPI is 70.

[siouxfan68]

Is there any news on the status of Kate Sharkova? If not, can UND expect an answer soon or could this year count as a redshirt year?

[coach daddy]

Is there any news on the status of Kate Sharkova? If not, can UND expect an answer soon or could this year count as a redshirt year?

Even if she is cleared to play this year, wouldn't it be best to redshirt her? 2 years of 6'5 is better than a year and a half, especially when this team will be lucky to win 10 games.

[dakotadan]

The Sioux were down by 9 at halftime against Toledo. The Sioux are playing hard and quick but Toledo is definately a good team.

[dakotadan]

UND 59

Toledo 74

FINAL.

[MoSiouxFan]

UND 59

Toledo 74

FINAL.

Thanks for the updates.

[the green team]

I keep hearing a very common comment, and it hasn't really bothered me until this point in the season. Its that the goal is the Great West Conference Title and tounament title is the answer I hear after losses. Thats great but... Yes these are good teams, but the goal should be to advance this program by eventually stealing some wins against some good D1 teams. Thats what will advance these programs (men & women), it will add a boost for our fans and build recognition. Unfortunately that storyline isn't even close to being possible right now with the men and the women as the talent is not there to surprise and beat these long established d1 majors and mid majors. Yeah thats great about the Great West and all, but I want to see our Women or Men get a victory over a Big 10 or quality MAC or Missouri Valley or similar program. Those are the wins that make noise. Other teams who have transtitioned ahead of us were able to do so. Why can't we? Poor planning on the type of player needed to accompolish the job to do that or what, you tell me?

Winning the Great West for Volleyball may be great, but for UND basketball I expect more, and right now am not getting it.

[MoSiouxFan]

I keep hearing a very common comment, and it hasn't really bothered me until this point in the season. Its that the goal is the Great West Conference Title and tounament title is the answer I hear after losses. Thats great but... Yes these are good teams, but the goal should be to advance this program by eventually stealing some wins against some good D1 teams. Thats what will advance these programs (men & women), it will add a boost for our fans and build recognition. Unfortunately that storyline isn't even close to being possible right now with the men and the women as the talent is not there to surprise and beat these long established d1 majors and mid majors. Yeah thats great about the Great West and all, but I want to see our Women or Men get a victory over a Big 10 or quality MAC or Missouri Valley or similar program. Those are the wins that make noise. Other teams who have transtitioned ahead of us were able to do so. Why can't we? Poor planning on the type of player needed to accompolish the job to do that or what, you tell me?

Winning the Great West for Volleyball may be great, but for UND basketball I expect more, and right now am not getting it.

A lot of ESTABLISHED D1 teams would like to beat a Big 10 team or quality MAC or MVC team, but we've only been at this for less than two seasons. Last year we had perhaps a better than expected season and this year we're struggling. Give it time, the quality wins will come. Roebuck left DII with, what, the highest winning percentage among active DII coaches? He's proven he knows how to build a winner. Based on his track record alone, he deserves our patience while he develops what I believe will be a quality DI program.