UND (0-3) vs USD (0-3) 12/10 5:30 PM (CU Mortgage Direct Dakota Showcase Day 1)

[forksandspoons]

Hopefully can play a little more loose after win 1

[jdub27]

Might have gotten a real gem in Ihenacho. Can't wait to see this team gel. 

[Nodak78]

2 minutes ago, jdub27 said:

Might have gotten a real gem in Ihenacho. Can't wait to see this team gel. 

I think you are correct.  Sather has a eye for talent and the skill to bring all the moving parts together.  This year I think we will go 8-9 deep.  That is huge.

[UND1983]

Sad thing for USD is BB is a distant #3 on our campus and gets a sliver of the attention their gets when it comes to the respective athletic departments.  

[SWSiouxMN]

Yes, they needed to finally break through and win 1.  It was nice to see them make the winning plays and have a little luck at the end.  Another step in the right direction.  

Rebraca was awesome once again.  Another big night with 26 points.  The more impressive thing was he has worked on that mid-range game and is stepping out to knock down threes.  If he can continue to expand his game, this will make his game down low even deadlier. 5 of 6 from the free throw line including 2 clutch ones at the end.  This is 1st team All-Summit written all over it. 

UND needed to have an impact freshman this year:  Enter Tyree Ihenacho.  The point guard has been a breath of fresh air and has been the shot in the arm this team needs.  He is a freshman still and is trying things that perhaps he is not ready to do just yet (see that spin move for example).  Saw that he finally took some outside shots and he is going to need to do that in order to prevent teams from cheating on him.  However, he can accelerate quickly and can get to the rack.  Nearly had a double-double with 9 rebounds.  If you think he is good now, wait until the game slows down.

Nero was solid, Sueker was decent, especially at the line.  Sims had a tough go of it but he made some winning plays at the end of the game, grabbed two big rebounds and then got to the line.  

After seeing 4 games, I'm convinced that this is a deeper team than last year.  Igbanugo has stepped up into an important role off of the bench for this squad.  He just needs to keep doing what he is doing.  Shockey's time will come.  Brady just need to knock down the shots.  G just needs to get back into the grove of things.

They got the win that they needed.  I expected them to beat USD and they did.  Give SDSU a good run tomorrow and who knows.  They will need to play better against SDSU and NDSU if they want to win 1 of those two.  Just keep getting better and stay healthy.  I wish DAE was able to play, but I'm guessing we don't see him until SIU. 

[sioux24/7]

Winning without DAE is huge. Will be interesting to see how he meshes back into the lineup when he’s back. 

[ND-fan]

Sims does a lot of things on defensive end for UND.  Sueker i think is going to make big impact before this season is over. I think this team could be really good by end of the season. I just see a team that if it develops could have scoring from all 5 positions on the floor. The big question will be how much can they step up their defense to get to them become a team that can expect any time they step on the floor.

[sioux24/7]

I am thoroughly impressed with how Sather has been able to turnover this team. 

[UND1983]

Have to remember that Ihenacho, Sims, Sueker, and Nero just joined the program and are logging major minutes.  They aren't gonna get worse!  

[ND-fan]

Sather has done a good job since he has come to UND. But I would say that Jones left the program with number of good players to work with otherwise we would have been looking at total rebuild. Instead Sather was able to learn the Summit Conference and he had enough talent to compete and was able to reach Conference championship. Now he has been able to build with talent he had in place in the program and on his way to building program that should be able to compete next couple of years. I think UND could see where it will be one better teams in mid majors in next few years and if were able to continue bring in talent for number of years. I think Summit Conference could become highly respected mid major conference with number quality programs in the conference.

[sioux24/7]

30 minutes ago, ND-fan said:

Sather has done a good job since he has come to UND. But I would say that Jones left the program with number of good players to work with otherwise we would have been looking at total rebuild. Instead Sather was able to learn the Summit Conference and he had enough talent to compete and was able to reach Conference championship. Now he has been able to build with talent he had in place in the program and on his way to building program that should be able to compete next couple of years. I think UND could see where it will be one better teams in mid majors in next few years and if were able to continue bring in talent for number of years. I think Summit Conference could become highly respected mid major conference with number quality programs in the conference.

I guess I disagree. Jones left Sather with some talent Stewart, Rebraca and DAE but otherwise the cupboard was damn near empty. Obviously Rebraca is our most important player but I still think this was nearly a total overhaul. 

[Nodak78]

6 hours ago, ZDosch said:

In one offseason in the middle of a pandemic where kids were limited in how much they could visit no less! 
 

Seuker, Ihenacho, Nero, and Sims. 4 very different backgrounds, all were the right fit. What a job to not only identify them, but recruit them and bring them together this early in the season. 

This 1000%.   Sather removed some Jones pieces in the off season to make room for these 4 new players.  Sather is a gem.

[UNDFan2577]

Hey guys, been lurking for awhile and thought I’d hop in. This just has the feel of a team that’s gonna be playing damn good ball come March, as Sather’s teams usually do. Bunch of unselfish guys that make winning plays. The biggest key in my opinion is the shooting. If the 3 ball starts going in more consistently, they can play with anyone in the league. Yesterday should give them some confidence moving forward. 

[UNDFan2577]

7 hours ago, sioux24/7 said:

I guess I disagree. Jones left Sather with some talent Stewart, Rebraca and DAE but otherwise the cupboard was damn near empty. Obviously Rebraca is our most important player but I still think this was nearly a total overhaul. 

I don’t necessarily think the cupboard was empty, there were definitely some international and JuCo whiffs by Jones (but one BIG find in Rebraca). There were a few guys that I think were good scheme fits for Jones’s more fast paced system , that weren’t great fits for Sather’s play solid defense, slower paced, heavy ball screen approach. Moody and Hazekamp I think were great scheme fits for Jones. We all know what moody could do offensively, and Hazekamp had a solid true freshman year to build off of under Jones but was redshirted by Sather (he now starts and plays heavy minutes for a highly ranked D2 team coached by former Jones asst. Jeff Horner, who I assume has a similar system to Jones).So I guess my opinion is that the cupboard wasn’t empty, just empty of guys that were good fits for Sather. And he has certainly seemed to find good fits quickly. 

[sioux24/7]

1 hour ago, UNDFan2577 said:

I don’t necessarily think the cupboard was empty, there were definitely some international and JuCo whiffs by Jones (but one BIG find in Rebraca). There were a few guys that I think were good scheme fits for Jones’s more fast paced system , that weren’t great fits for Sather’s play solid defense, slower paced, heavy ball screen approach. Moody and Hazekamp I think were great scheme fits for Jones. We all know what moody could do offensively, and Hazekamp had a solid true freshman year to build off of under Jones but was redshirted by Sather (he now starts and plays heavy minutes for a highly ranked D2 team coached by former Jones asst. Jeff Horner, who I assume has a similar system to Jones).So I guess my opinion is that the cupboard wasn’t empty, just empty of guys that were good fits for Sather. And he has certainly seemed to find good fits quickly. 

Damn very fair and great assessment. 

[UND Fan]

1 hour ago, UNDFan2577 said:

I don’t necessarily think the cupboard was empty, there were definitely some international and JuCo whiffs by Jones (but one BIG find in Rebraca). There were a few guys that I think were good scheme fits for Jones’s more fast paced system , that weren’t great fits for Sather’s play solid defense, slower paced, heavy ball screen approach. Moody and Hazekamp I think were great scheme fits for Jones. We all know what moody could do offensively, and Hazekamp had a solid true freshman year to build off of under Jones but was redshirted by Sather (he now starts and plays heavy minutes for a highly ranked D2 team coached by former Jones asst. Jeff Horner, who I assume has a similar system to Jones).So I guess my opinion is that the cupboard wasn’t empty, just empty of guys that were good fits for Sather. And he has certainly seemed to find good fits quickly. 

I was curious how Moody and Hazekamp were doing.  Moody has only played in the first of SUU's five games scoring two points - not sure if he is hurt.  In three games, Hazekamp is averaging 10.7ppg and 6rpg through 3 games.  

[UNDFan2577]

2 minutes ago, UND Fan said:

I was curious how Moody and Hazekamp were doing.  Moody has only played in the first of SUU's five games scoring two points - not sure if he is hurt.  In three games, Hazekamp is averaging 10.7ppg and 6rpg through 3 games.  

Yeah, I have been trying to keep tabs on the transfers as I wish them nothing but the best, they were all very supportive and excited on the bench all year last year despite not playing. Will be following Marko and Davids when their seasons get started as well.

[Teeder11]

11 minutes ago, UND Fan said:

I was curious how Moody and Hazekamp were doing.  Moody has only played in the first of SUU's five games scoring two points - not sure if he is hurt.  In three games, Hazekamp is averaging 10.7ppg and 6rpg through 3 games.  

Moody’s been held out due to COVID protocol reasons recently, according to press clips I’ve seen. 

[nodak651]

Just noticed the power rankings on the reaching the summit website  get updated throughout the season.... love it!  Does this change weekly?

[SWSiouxMN]

4 minutes ago, nodak651 said:

Just noticed the power rankings on the reaching the summit website  get updated throughout the season.... love it!  Does this change weekly?

Yes

[Dustin]

15 hours ago, ND-fan said:

I think Summit Conference could become highly respected mid major conference with number quality programs in the conference.

I think the Summit is already there, and if UND adds competition to an already established league, all the better for everybody.  Plus, the Summit has one of the best conference tournaments.  My dream for UND basketball is to get to a point where conference championships are a potential every year, and the fans follow the team to Sioux Falls just like they follow the hockey team to St. Paul.

[ND-fan]

You maybe right the Summit Conference is there but in my mind would be to be truly respected mid major conference would be that when selection time rolls around they would be getting 8-10 seed and possible to have more than one team from the conference. Also would be nice if they could make run in NCAA tournament like Northern Iowa has done or Bradley did as mid major. This i believe several of the programs are getting closer to this goal and I see UND has the possibility of getting mentioned in this group as well. The above analysis of cupboard was bare is pretty much right on.  But look at the talent that Jones left here Marlon Stewart, Rebraca, Eikens, Walter, Brown, Igbangu,  and Urbonavicius that have been on the team or still on the team playing for Sather. A lot of places you would have had to come in recruited most of team to just play the first season. Yes there were bust on the roster but all coaches have busts on there rosters even Sather looks to have one now on the team nobody is perfect in finding players its just part of putting a team together.  

[SIOUXFAN97]

15 hours ago, sioux24/7 said:

I guess I disagree. Jones left Sather with some talent Stewart, Rebraca and DAE but otherwise the cupboard was damn near empty. Obviously Rebraca is our most important player but I still think this was nearly a total overhaul. 

yeah he left sather some really really nice d2 players on the bench...sather is the man!