2016-2017 Season

[homer]

12 minutes ago, hoops44 said:

times change UND is a hockey school period!...never said awful...every big sky school has fans who think they have potential to be great...   UND fans should count their blessings they have a nice Big Sky Hoops program and this year is UND best chance ever for a NCAA bid  ...To compete with Weber and Montana year in and year out they need to bring in more stud recruits to Grand Forks ...easier said than done

Or find the style they want to play and recruit to it.  Seems like The last few years Jones has got the athletes and adjusted his offense instead of finding the athletes to fit an offense.   There are some pretty good players in this area that can compete in the Big Sky.  

[siouxfan512]

Does anyone know when the Men's basketball schedule usually comes out? Just curious to see who we get this year.

[sprig]

17 minutes ago, siouxfan512 said:

Does anyone know when the Men's basketball schedule usually comes out? Just curious to see who we get this year.

The men's bb schedule is available (it's in the all sports fold-up schedule, although that may not be complete??), not sure why it isn't on-line yet. No calendars yet either, since Valley Dairy is no longer the sponsor. Told wherever I've asked it will be available soon, just don't know where (several different sponsors apparently).

[SWSiouxMN]

1 hour ago, siouxfan512 said:

Does anyone know when the Men's basketball schedule usually comes out? Just curious to see who we get this year.

http://www.undsports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211161365

[nodak651]

8 minutes ago, SWSiouxMN said:

http://www.undsports.com//ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=13500&ATCLID=211161365

Pathetic.  

[UND-1]

2 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Pathetic.  

So the only D1 home game they could schedule is NDSU.... and that was because they just recently decided to do a home-home/same season deal?  

Jones had scheduled ZERO D1 home games until that NDSU unique deal.  WTF.  

[Oxbow6]

5 minutes ago, UND-1 said:

So the only D1 home game they could schedule is NDSU.... and that was because they just recently decided to do a home-home/same season deal?  

Jones had scheduled ZERO D1 home games until that NDSU unique deal.  WTF.  

We can talk about UND being a hockey school and talk about the lack of funding to the MBB program but the bottom line IMO is as long as Jones is at the helm this program is doomed. This year's home schedule isn't anything more than a reflection of Jones being Jones. 

[SWSiouxMN]

I have to hope that the Dec 2 they are still scheduling is a d-1 home.

Uff on the schedule, but you know what... still doesn't change the fact that they need to have a big season.  They have the talent to win the Sky.

[jdub27]

26 minutes ago, Oxbow6 said:

We can talk about UND being a hockey school and talk about the lack of funding to the MBB program but the bottom line IMO is as long as Jones is at the helm this program is doomed. This year's home schedule isn't anything more than a reflection of Jones being Jones. 

Serious question: How exactly is Jones supposed to get teams to come up here with the admitted lack of funding? Teams don't come up to Grand Forks for free and they aren't banging down the door to sign home/home's because most teams can find closer options that cost them less when they have to travel for their half of the deal. UND already has to travel and play money games to help supplement their budget (like most low to mid-majors). They did manage to get UNI to come up last season by doing a 3-1 and even that was basically a favor from Jacobson. With how disappointing that crowd was for a very good opponent, I don't think it is real hard to see where it becomes pretty tough to justify shelling out a bunch of money to bring teams in.

Looks like he used his connection to Nagy to get into the Wright State Thanksgiving tournament, so that should be some decent opponents.

There are plenty of valid criticisms for Jones but until the program gets more funding, it is tough to use this as one of them.

Assuming the Dec 2 game gets signed with the team they were originally talking with, it will be a  D-1 school that is familiar to the fan base.

[SWSiouxMN]

29 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

Serious question: How exactly is Jones supposed to get teams to come up here with the admitted lack of funding? Teams don't come up to Grand Forks for free and they aren't banging down the door to sign home/home's because most teams can find closer options that cost them less when they have to travel for their half of the deal. UND already has to travel and play money games to help supplement their budget (like most low to mid-majors). They did manage to get UNI to come up last season by doing a 3-1 and even that was basically a favor from Jacobson. With how disappointing that crowd was for a very good opponent, I don't think it is real hard to see where it becomes pretty tough to justify shelling out a bunch of money to bring teams in.

Looks like he used his connection to Nagy to get into the Wright State Thanksgiving tournament, so that should be some decent opponents.

There are plenty of valid criticisms for Jones but until the program gets more funding, it is tough to use this as one of them.

Assuming the Dec 2 game gets signed with the team they were originally talking with, it will be a  D-1 school that is familiar to the fan base.

USD? Omaha?

[UND-1]

37 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

Serious question: How exactly is Jones supposed to get teams to come up here with the admitted lack of funding? Teams don't come up to Grand Forks for free and they aren't banging down the door to sign home/home's because most teams can find closer options that cost them less when they have to travel for their half of the deal. UND already has to travel and play money games to help supplement their budget (like most low to mid-majors). They did manage to get UNI to come up last season by doing a 3-1 and even that was basically a favor from Jacobson. With how disappointing that crowd was for a very good opponent, I don't think it is real hard to see where it becomes pretty tough to justify shelling out a bunch of money to bring teams in.

Looks like he used his connection to Nagy to get into the Wright State Thanksgiving tournament, so that should be some decent opponents.

There are plenty of valid criticisms for Jones but until the program gets more funding, it is tough to use this as one of them.

Assuming the Dec 2 game gets signed with the team they were originally talking with, it will be a  D-1 school that is familiar to the fan base.

The program only has enough money for one D1 home game per year?

[jdub27]

7 minutes ago, UND-1 said:

The program only has enough money for one D1 home game per year?

I don't know what they have enough money nor do I know what teams are requiring for guarantees. While you have to take a loss somewhere, it has to be a tough sell to pay out a large guarantee when an opponent like UNI only drew 2,300 last year. Even at $15/ticket (which doesn't take into account students and is well below the season ticket cost per game), you're bringing in less than $35,000 gate revenue. Same argument that has been had many times, team needs to win more to get attendance up. Once that happens, you can look at a bump in ticket prices.

[Oxbow6]

15 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

I don't know what they have enough money nor do I know what teams are requiring for guarantees. While you have to take a loss somewhere, it has to be a tough sell to pay out a large guarantee when an opponent like UNI only drew 2,300 last year. Even at $15/ticket (which doesn't take into account students and is well below the season ticket cost per game), you're bringing in less than $35,000 gate revenue. Same argument that has been had many times, team needs to win more to get attendance up. Once that happens, you can look at a bump in ticket prices.

More wins will put butts in the seats which will generate more revenue regardless of tickets prices. Jones has been in a 10 year building project mixing in underachieving teams. He is approaching Muss territory IMO if he hasn't reach it already. Can't put lipstick on pig with this one jdub.

[SWSiouxMN]

There is one thing I do like about the schedule.  Yeah, there are 3 non d-1 teams, and they are the first 3 games of the year.   No more of this random non-d1 in the middle of December. 

[hoops44]

team makes more  $$$ on the road vs mid to high major team vs a non D1 team at home.....lame schedule 1st 3 games against stiffs

[bincitysioux]

Non conference home schedule sucks a little but I know why.  Same reason it has every year for the reasons many posters have stated.

A few random thoughts:

• Don't understand why the series with SDSU dried up.  That was pretty regular for quite a few years.
• Seems sort of strange that ties continue to be completely severed with USD
• Whatever happened to the idea that "being a prominent hockey school is going to help with scheduling for other sports in DI"?  Can't get Denver or Omaha to throw us a bone and do a home-and-home in any other sports.........
• Given how hard it is to apparently get other DI's to come here, I wouldn't be adverse to doing some 2-for-1's with some "semi regional" schools like Green Bay, Milwaukee, Drake.  Those 3 schools in particular are close enough that they may entertain that.
• No Montana or Montana St on the home slate this year is a bit unfortunate.

[the green team]

28 minutes ago, bincitysioux said:

Non conference home schedule sucks a little but I know why.  Same reason it has every year for the reasons many posters have stated.

A few random thoughts:

• Don't understand why the series with SDSU dried up.  That was pretty regular for quite a few years.
• Seems sort of strange that ties continue to be completely severed with USD
• Whatever happened to the idea that "being a prominent hockey school is going to help with scheduling for other sports in DI"?  Can't get Denver or Omaha to throw us a bone and do a home-and-home in any other sports.........
• Given how hard it is to apparently get other DI's to come here, I wouldn't be adverse to doing some 2-for-1's with some "semi regional" schools like Green Bay, Milwaukee, Drake.  Those 3 schools in particular are close enough that they may entertain that.
• No Montana or Montana St on the home slate this year is a bit unfortunate.

As I have mentioned here before. Paul Ralston was on with Tim Hennessy in the morning discussing many of these issues a couple of weeks ago.   The SDSU situation dried up because they are in a far different situation than we are. My understanding is that their coaching staff and ours get along pretty well, but at this point and time they only want home games in Brookings, you would think that would have translated to a home and home series, but they aren't looking for road games, not even the following year.   I suppose we could keep playing them down there every year...but somehow I think our fans would decry that as well. We need to play at home eventually too so it seems that they are at an impasse.  

 As Jdub pointed out...the Omaha and USD's can entice D1's that are closer to them to either play on the road (save money) or get them at their place, rather than come to Grand Forks.    I've already posted an small example of all the other schools at our level that play lower level teams...there always is going to be a few games like that.   You can schedule some 2 for 1's- Northern Iowa (more like 3 for 1, from what I understand) but how realistic can you lock yourself into with too many before it really starts to effect future schedules?  Look at a Bradley who UND beat on the road last year, they wouldn't go for 2 for 1's and basically said we'll keep scheduling routinely in the future, but it will be Peoria. I think people assume that 2 for 1's are just easy to schedule but that's not always the case either and then there is just the planning of it.  Let's say you get 2 schools that are willing to do 2 for 1's, but both can only come to Grand Forks this year, so the next 2 years UND has to be on the road with those 2 schools, plus on the road for it's money games.  Where in the next 2 years will there be much room in the schedule for home games?  

That's what they are dealing with. You have a program that needs to take 2 to 3 money games per year to help itself and the athletic departments bottom line, in addition to a couple of softies (that's reality).  Then you try get in some sort of tournament that can get you a number of games in 1 spot. (saves $'s).   That leaves a reality of about 3 to 4 games.  This year is a home and home with NDSU, and that takes care of 2.   They are looking for one more

Getting back to Ralston that morning he gave the example that the 2 staffs from UND and SIUE thought they had an agreement a few years ago...but during the middle of the summer before the contract was to be signed...SIUE called and apologized and said,   They were going out to California instead because their budget people found it was going to be a cheaper trip to take than taking one out to Grand Forks.  If that story is true that he told on the air...and I have no reason to doubt it. It exemplifies the challenges in home scheduling this program is having.   Not only is it expensive for other teams to come into Grand Forks, but the UND Men's Team doesn't have the budget to fly out on Delta in Grand Forks.  They must go to Fargo for all their flights.  Why? The bottom line.

I guess I don't look at the scheduling challenges as a coaching thing.  Certainly, there could and are things that you can criticize a staff for.  After visiting with a few on staff over the years or hearing that discussion on the morning show its quite apparent, at least to me, that not getting more non-conference home games isn't because they are not trying.  There seem to be many factors at play, and all seem to have an effect on the ability to bring teams into The Betty.

[sioux69]

It's very difficult to get attractive D1 opponents to come in and play in a "gym" that only seats 3,500.  The State College of Science in Wahpeton has a facility that seats more than that.  Knowing that they would be moving to D1, why UND would agree to an arena that only seats 3,500 is a definite head scratcher.  Jones likes the small gym but it's time for him to grow up.  Use the Ralph for all big games, like ndsu etc, and market the games!  A decent marketing job should get big crowds, with the bison not much hype is needed at all.

[zonadub]

Just playing devil's advocate here, because UND being in the Big Sky is the better choice imho, but what happened to the line that non-conference games would be easy to schedule against regional teams since the old NCC rivals are available?

[jdub27]

8 hours ago, zonadub said:

Just playing devil's advocate here, because UND being in the Big Sky is the better choice imho, but what happened to the line that non-conference games would be easy to schedule against regional teams since the old NCC rivals are available?

Turned out to be almost as accurate as our hockey connections being able to get us non-conference games in other sports.

[fightingsioux4life]

So SDSU can build a program that has reached the point where they won't hit the road for non-conference games, in a town much smaller than Grand Forks (Brookings), but we just can't do it?

I say we hold Jones responsible for the on-court product and hold Faison responsible for the scheduling of our opponents.

If MBB isn't getting the resources to do the job right, then that needs to change. If we want to be serious about being a Division I mid-major institution, the MBB program must be elevated to a similar level as NDSU and SDSU. At the rate we are going, USD will make the Big Dance before UND does.

[jdub27]

16 minutes ago, fightingsioux4life said:

So SDSU can build a program that has reached the point where they won't hit the road for non-conference games, in a town much smaller than Grand Forks (Brookings), but we just can't do it?

I say we hold Jones responsible for the on-court product and hold Faison responsible for the scheduling of our opponents.

If MBB isn't getting the resources to do the job right, then that needs to change. If we want to be serious about being a Division I mid-major institution, the MBB program must be elevated to a similar level as NDSU and SDSU. At the rate we are going, USD will make the Big Dance before UND does.

Well it actually has to do more with the location and ease of getting to Brookings (Sioux Falls airport for flying) than anything else, but I'm not sure how you go about fixing that. Averaging almost 1,000 more fans/game doesn't hurt either, though you can point to quality of schedule and success on the court as part of that. Just or comparison, SDSU hosts 2 lower level teams, former Summit member UMKC, Idaho and Murray State for their non-conference schedule (along with a tournament hosted by the new Sandord Pentago). Murray State is obviously an outlier with Nagy being the coach there and without that, they would have 2 D-1 non-conference home games which is exactly how many they had last year plus 4 non D-1 games.

The MBB staff is the one who schedules the games, not the AD, though he does have an indirect hand in it through the budget process.

President Kennedy has been very straight-forward that he wants an efficient athletic department that is right-sized to be successful at what UND does. MBB should be a beneficiary of that.

[hoops44]

UND hoops is a way far away distant 2nd place for sports dollars and interest in GF...South Dakota St puts their winter sports mula into hoops... 6500 seat arena....way more capacity for revenue, they pay their coaches way more.  SDSU hoops is the big show there  like Hockey is in GF.  and they got the MOJO going with Nate Wolters and have kept it up.

[SWSiouxMN]

We can discuss semantics all we want and go around and around and around the same arguments.

Here is the bottom line:

A 17 win team that finished in the top half of the conference and was a possession away from the Big Sky tournament finals that returns not only their entire starting 5 but 2 key reserves, a (if you were setting betting lines) co-preseason favorite to win Big Sky POY in Hooker, a decent frontcourt with Drick, Shanks, and Avants, and a decent 2nd option in Geno. 

Not to mention a very favorable conference schedule.  EWU/Idaho/MSU/Montana only once and PSU/SAC/NAU/SUU twice.  In an expected tight conference race, that could be the difference between a top seed and finishing 5th*.  

A coach that is without a contract that has been on the job for a while, now going into his 5th Big Sky season, understands that this year needs to be very successful in order to keep his job. Has there been bad luck, yes.  Could a few seasons had gone better? oh, yeah. 2014-15 jumps immediately into my mind.

2014 should have been the year, but bad luck, inconsistent play, and injuries got in the way.  2016 has the same expectations as the 2014 core, it cannot end the same way. This needs to be the year UND breaks through and get to the Dance.

Hooker needs to become our version of Nate Wolters.

*Unless UNC decided on a postseason ban this year then finishing 5th won't matter when it comes to playing 3 games to get to the dance instead of 4.

[UND Fan]

On a different topic, has anyone seen the team working out this fall?  If so, how do the new additions look?