North Dakota

Thirty-Two Impact Freshmen, Part One

Raphielle Johnson — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 15:26:54 -0700

After going over the teams expected to win their regular season titles, we move on to talking about the top freshmen in each conference. Will all automatically take over and become the stars of their respective teams and leagues? It's tough to say at this point in the season, but that doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. Below are the picks for each of the 32 conferences.

America East: James Kennedy (Boston University)
With Jake O'Brien lost for another season due to injury first-year head coach Joe Jones may need to call on the 6'6" forward for important minutes. The Boston native helped lead Cushing Academy to a 21-7 record last year.

Atlantic 10: Dezmine Wells (Xavier)
While many expect Kenny Frease to be back with the team at some point in the near future, Xavier can make up for the height they lack in the frontcourt with sheer talent. Wells is one reason why, as the 6'5" small forward can flat-out make things happen on the floor.

ACC: Austin Rivers (Duke)
Not sure if there's much that hasn't been said about the Winter Park, Florida native. Duke needs to account for the loss of Nolan Smith in the backcourt, and while there are some experienced options returning to Durham they aren's as explosive as Austin. He should also benefit from the team's summer trip to China and Dubai, as Duke gained 10 practices to prepare for the journey.

Atlantic Sun: Rashawn Rembert (East Tennessee State)
ETSU lost three starters, and not only were they all guards but they were also the top three leading scorers. That means plenty will be needed from a shooting guard like Rembert, who averaged more than 20 points and seven rebounds per game at Sickles High in Tampa.

Big East: Andre Drummond (Connecticut)
Remember when Drummond was slated to spend a year at Wilbraham & Monson with friend and Connecticut Basketball Club teammate Kris Dunn (Providence commit)? That all changed in August as the 6'11", 275-pound Drummond decided this was the right time to join the UConn program. Joining forces with Alex Oriakhi and Tyler Olander will give the Huskies one of the country's best frontcourts.

Big Sky: Gelaun Wheelwright (Weber State)
The team that most people expect to win the Big Sky does have seven players returning from last year's team, not to mention a healthy Damian Lillard. But there's always room for someone else to step up, and that player could be the Centennial (CA) High product. Wheelwright averaged 18.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a senior.

Big South: John Brown (High Point)
Scott Cherry landed a good on in Brown, who was named 1A Player of the Yeah in the State of Florida. Brown averaged 17.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game as a senior, and the Jacksonville native has the ability to be the conference's best freshman.

Big Ten: Cody Zeller (Indiana)
The 2011 class is the first of two recruiting classes that many expect Indiana head coach Tom Crean to use as a springboard back to where many expect IU to be on the college landscape. One key cog is forward Cody Zeller, who averaged 24.6 ppg, 13.0 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game for a Washington (IN) High team that won the 3A state title.

Big 12: Le'Bryan Nash (Oklahoma State)
When's the last time a recruit of this caliber has shown up in Stillwater? It's safe to say that a player the quality of Le'Bryan Nash doesn't come around every day, and his arrival could make the Pokes a factor in the Big 12 race. Nash was a McDonald's All-American last year and to say the least has an NBA-ready build (and skill set) right now.

Big West: Reese Morgan (Cal Poly)
The Mustangs ranked 338th nationally in scoring with an average of 59.3 points per game, so to say the least they could use a boost in the scoring column. Enter Reese Morgan, who scored more than 2,400 hundred points in his high school career at Peninsula High in San Pedro, California. Morgan averaged 27.3 points per game as a senior.

CAA: Erik Copes (George Mason)
The freshman forward/center from Philadelphia pairs up with senior Ryan Pearson, and it isn't far-fetched to think that this duo could rank among the best frontcourts in the CAA. Copes was a player Paul Hewitt was able to get in the summer, a near steal for a senior of his caliber.

Conference USA: Adonis Thomas (Memphis)
In addition to their roster full of returnees Memphis should have a good feeling about this season due to the arrival of Memphis native Adonis Thomas. The Melrose High product ranked among the top players in the country in the 2011 class, and his ability to run the floor and finish above the rim will make Memphis even better.

Great West: Shane Benton (North Dakota)
The Fighting Sioux welcome back a host of contributors from a team that won the first Great West conference tournament as well as a game in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament, but Benton has the ability to crack the rotation. The 6'3" guard is a product of Linn-Mar High school in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, where he was a teammate of North Carolina commit (2012) Marcus Paige.

Horizon: Roosevelt Jones (Butler)
With Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack both moving on the Bulldogs need players to step up as offensive options. One of those possibilities could be Jones, a small forward from O'Fallon, Illinois who can do a variety of things on the floor. As a senior Jones averaged 17.2 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game.

Ivy: Wesley Saunders (Harvard)
Tommy Amaker and his staff have brought in a very good recruiting class for this season, but the question is just how much the preseason Ivy League favorites will need to call on them. One option to play may be the 6'5" Saunders, who averaged a double-double as a senior at Windward High in Los Angeles. He's a very good athlete who also played volleyball in high school.

MAAC: Juan'ya Green (Niagara)
The MAAC will have some good freshmen entering the league (a crop that would have been bolstered by Siena's Imoh Silas and Lionel Gomis if cleared by the NCAA), but one who will have to step up from the start is Philadelphia native Juan'ya Green. The Purple Eagles like to attack teams with their guards, and as a scorer who can also handle the ball Green fits the system.

Next: MAC through WAC

Thirty-Two Regular Season Champions, Part Two

Raphielle Johnson — Sun, 16 Oct 2011 14:12:20 -0700

With the college basketball season finally on the horizon, the game that's been overlooked by many in conference realignment will once again have the center stage. Perennial contenders will once again make a run at a national title while some new faces will pop up as well. The first four-part preview will focus on the conferences, and more specifically who will win each of the 32 leagues. Picking up from where we left off on Friday with Part One, here's the second of the four parts.

Big 12: Baylor
The Big 12 is down to 10 teams (Nebraska to the Big Ten, Colorado to the Pac-12) but if anything that's done the league a favor from a basketball standpoint. A full round robin combined with some evenly matched teams should make for one of the most exciting races in college basketball. But while Kansas has won at least a share of the last seven regular season titles, their lack of depth due to a recruiting class hit hard by eligibility issues (Braeden Anderson not cleared and Ben McLemore and Jamari Traylor are both partial qualifiers) is a major blow. Therefore the pick is a deep Baylor squad, which has a serious question to answer at the point. A.J. Walton and JUCO transfer Pierre Jackson will attempt to answer that question, and if they can a team led by Perry Jones III, Quincy Acy and a recruiting class featuring Quincy Miller and Deuce Bello should flourish.

Big West: Long Beach State
Dan Monson's 49ers went through a hellacious non-conference schedule last season with wing Larry Anderson missing much of the slate due to injury, but his return combined with that tough road led them to a regular season title. But they fell to UCSB in the Big West title game, leaving the feeling of unfinished business for this experienced group. Guard Casper Ware (17.2 ppg, 4.4 apg) is back along with Anderson (14.3 ppg, 3.3 apg), forward T.J. Robinson (13.6 ppg, 10.1 rpg) and the 49ers return four starters from a team that won 22 games. UCSB will be right there thanks to the James Nunnally/Orlando Johnson duo, but The Beach are positioned to once again take advantage of a brutal non-conference slate once Big West play rolls around.

Colonial: Drexel
The last time a team not from the Commonwealth of Virginia won at least a share of the CAA regular season title was 2006 (UNC Wilmington), and the Seahawks were also the last non-Virginia school to win the league outright (2003). So this will be quite the undertaking for Bruiser Flint and his team, but the Dragons have enough horses to get the job done. Guards Chris Fouch (14.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg) and Frantz Massenat (5.5 ppg, 3.3 apg) are back along with forward Samme Givens (12.2 ppg, 10.1 rpg), and the Dragons will return four starters (Fouch was their 6th man last season). And for the depth that Drexel has this season there's one more point to make: Givens is their lone senior. Could be the start of a nice run in a very tough league.

Conference USA: Memphis
Josh Pastner's young Tigers did not win the regular season title last season, finishing two games out of first place, but they did win the conference tournament by beating UTEP in the title game in El Paso. This could be the year in which the sophomore class led by Joe Jackson (9.9 ppg, 3.1 apg) and Will Barton (12.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg) takes off and reaches new heights, with Jackson being the key figure in it all. The Memphis native played for USA Basketball this summer in an experience that should add more to his game from a maturity standpoint (Jackson finished last season with more turnovers than assists). Also there's freshman Adonis Thomas and JUCO transfer Stan Simpson, two newcomers who will also chip in. All the names haven't been mentioned for Memphis, but 11 letter-winners return. The cupboard is full.

Great West: North Dakota
The Sioux, who finished third in regular season play but won the conference tournament, return all five starters with junior forward Patrick Mitchell (13.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg) being the reigning Great West Tournament MVP. Guard Troy Huff (13.3 ppg) was a Second Team All-GWC selection as a freshman, and classmates Jamal Webb (9.1 ppg) and Josh Schuler (8.8 ppg) are also back. Mitchell is one of two seniors (center Mike Mathison), meaning that Brian Jones' program is well-positioned to hang around at the top of the Great West standings for a couple years.

Horizon: Detroit
The Horizon League will once again have a fun race for the conference title. Butler returns just two starters but they have experience and Brad Stevens one of the best coaches in the country, and while Cleveland State did lose Norris Cole the other four starters return. But the pick is Detroit (even with Eli Holman taking a leave of absence from the team) because the Titans return everyone else. Sophomore point guard Ray McCallum Jr. (13.5 ppg, 4.7 rpg) and senior guard Chase Simon (13.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) are the leading returning scorers in the Horizon League, and seniors Chris Blake (10.9 ppg) and Nick Minnerath (11.2 ppg) have the experience needed to help make up for Holman's absence (LaMarcus Lowe averaged 2.4 blocks per game). It won't be easy, but Ray McCallum has the horses needed to reach the top of the conference.

Ivy League: Harvard
The regular season came to a crushing conclusion for the Harvard Crimson, as Douglas Davis' last-second shot propelled Princeton to the NCAA Tournament in the Ivy League Playoff. But while the Tigers return a good amount of talent from that group, Harvard has all the answers heading into 2011-12. Forwards Kyle Casey (10.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Keith Wright (14.8 ppg, 8.3 rpg) return up front, and the backcourt is in very good shape as well with the likes of Christian Webster (13.0 ppg), Laurent Rivard (11.0 ppg) and Brandyn Curry (9.3 ppg, 5.9 apg) back as well. All five starters and thirteen letter-winners return to a team that won 23 games last season (can't forget senior captain Oliver McNally), meaning that Tommy Amaker and his staff likely won't lack for answers.

MAAC: Fairfield
There may have been change at the top for the Fairfield Stags, with Sydney Johnson coming over from Princeton to replace Ed Cooley as head coach. But the rotation largely remains the same, with a few important additions, for the defending MAAC regular season champs and that's why many expect them to repeat. Guard Derek Needham (14.1 ppg, 4.5 apg) and center Ryan Olander (10.4 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 2.1 bpg) return as do key contributors Maurice Barrow and Colin Nickerson. As for the newcomers, three have been a part of the program but had to sit out last season: Rakim Sanders and Desmond Wade are transfers while Sean Crawford was a medical redshirt. Add in freshman Adam Jones and the Stags have the tools in place to repeat, but not without challenges from Iona and dark horse Rider.

Next (Monday): Mid-American through Patriot

Part One: America East through Big Ten

Jon Teitel's "Coaching Greats" Series: Former North Dakota coach Rich Glas

Jon Teitel — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 09:43:14 -0700

In the latest installment in his "Coaching Greats" interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with former North Dakota head coach Rich Glas. Now the head coach at Concordia College in Minnesota, Coach Glas won 335 games and three conference titles at North Dakota.

Jon Teitel: You first became a head coach in 1974 at Minnesota-Morris. What made you get into coaching, and how have you been able to stick with it for so long?

Rich Glas: It was always what I wanted to do. I grew up on a campus due to my dad's job, and I was always around sports.

JT: In the early 1980s you were both coach and AD at Willamette. Which gig did you like more, and was it hard to do both at the same time?

RG: I learned that I did not want to be an AD, as there were a lot of tasks that you have to do all by yourself when you are at a small school. The key thing is that I could take a leave of absence after spending a set amount of time there, which allowed me to take a job at Arizona.

JT: In 1984 you spent one year as a volunteer assistant coach for Lute Olson at Arizona. What was it like to work under Olson, and what was the most important thing he taught you?

RG: He taught me to keep it simple and not let the players get away with anything. He gave me confidence that my own coaching style would work. His system was about executing the little things on the court so that we would not lose a game because of that in the future.

JT: In 2000 you told Sports Illustrated that you motivated your team to play #4 Kansas by telling them, "They put their pants on the same way we do: they just pull them up two feet higher". How did you come up with the quote, and how did you feel after the Jayhawks won by 31 points?

RG: I do not know how I came up with that quote. We had a relatively young team that year and I was proud that we were able to hang with Kansas for the first half, but our subs were not nearly as good as their subs. They played us at our place the following year because Kansas G Jeff Boschee was from North Dakota and Coach Roy Williams likes to play a road game in a player's home state at least once during their career.

JT: You later served as assistant coach and director of basketball operations for UNI coach Ben Jacobson, who played PG for you in the early 1990s. What was Jacobson like as a player, and what has made him such a great coach?

RG: Ben was also my graduate assistant and assistant coach at North Dakota, so we were together for over a decade. He wanted to go into banking at first, but later joined me on the sideline. I enjoyed working for Ben but I missed being a head coach both on and off the court, so I decided to become a head coach elsewhere.

JT: One of the things you taught Coach Jacobson about was "OER" (offensive efficiency rating), which he in turn has passed along to his own players. Why are the number of points/possession so important, and do you think it is an accurate indicator of how good a team is?

RG: The stat that is most important is actually our defensive OER. When we hold teams to under one point/possession, our record is something like 200-7, as we could usually score over one point/possession with our offense.

JT: In 2008 you left UNI to become head coach at Concordia. Why did you decide to make the switch, and what is the biggest difference between Division I and Division III?

RG: I was not planning on leaving UNI, but Concordia was closer to my home and my relatives so it was a good fit. The athleticism and size increases every level that you go up. You have to do a lot more coaching to create opportunities for your players to be successful at the Division III level. They are great guys who go to class, and their passion to play is just the same as that of the Division I guys. One of the nice things is that you do not have to babysit the players as much in Division III.

JT: Your dad John was VP of administration of Bemidji State, where they named a hockey arena after him. What did he teach you about college athletics, and why did you go into basketball instead of hockey?

RG: My dad was a sports nut who helped raise money for a lot of the buildings on campus. Since he was in northern Minnesota, he figured it was important to have a hockey arena. They did not have a lot of hockey back in my high school days. Since I was a little guy I probably should have tried hockey, but I did not want to play outside in the winter! I loved basketball. My dad taught me to play hard and never give up. If you play with a lot of heart and a lot of mind, you will have a lot of success. I always tell my players that attitude will dictate performance. If you have a lousy attitude then you are not going to win a lot of games.

JT: Your son Jeff graduated from North Dakota as the Division II career leader with 82 field goals, and he currently is a kicker for the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League. Why did he go into football instead of basketball, and how proud are you of all his success?

RG: I am very proud of what he has done. He was a soccer player growing up, as was his older sister who played soccer at Washington State. One day I suggested that he try kicking the football around instead of the soccer ball, and he kicked well enough to impress the school coach. In high school he made his first attempt from 50 yards, and ended up having a great career at North Dakota.

JT: When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most?

RG: I hope they say that I cared about my players and that my players enjoyed playing for me and learned a lot.

Coach Glas is also on Jon's list of best coaches in Great West history.

Chicago State: Bob Hallberg (1977-1987): 223-84
Houston Baptist: Gene Iba (1977-1985): 128-96, 1 NCAA tourney, 2 conference titles, 1-time conference COY
N.J.I.T.: NO COACH HAS BEEN THERE FOR 5 YEARS
North Dakota: Rich Glas (1988-2006): 335-194, 3 conference titles
South Dakota: Dave Boots (1988-present): 483-197, 6-time conference COY
Texas Pan American: Sam Williams (1958-1973): 244-164, 1 NAIA title, 1-time national COY
Utah Valley: Dick Hunsaker (2004-present): 140-91

Jon Teitel's Coaches Interview Series: Chicago State's Bob Hallberg

Jon Teitel — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 10:14:01 -0700

In the latest installment of his coaches interview series CHN writer Jon Teitel spent some time with former Chicago State head coach Bob Hallberg, who racked up a record of 223-84 in ten years at the Windy City school. Hallberg led the Cougars to a third place finish in the 1984 NAIA Tournament, capping off one of the most successful seasons in school history.

Jon Teitel: In high school you played for legendary coach Jim Arneberg. What was it like to play for him, and how much of an influence was he on your own decision to go into coaching?

Bob Hallberg: The defining moment in my life that changed my whole career was not making the varsity squad as a sophomore in high school. Coach Arneberg brought me up to the varsity for the playoffs, and to my surprise he grabbed me by the shoulders during a game and told me to "get in there and steal the ball." I went out there and played like I was possessed because he was such a great motivator, and I made up my mind to go into coaching soon after that.

JT: You began your collegiate coaching career at St. Xavier after starting out as a high school coach. What was the biggest difference between coaching high school players and coaching college players?

BH: One advantage of college coaching is being able to recruit players, and I have always believed that you can only win with good players. Some coaches think they can win with any kind of players due to their coaching ability, but they are wrong. College players are also more talented and athletic than high school players.

JT: In 1977 you became coach at Chicago State and went 25-5 in your first season. Why did you make the switch, and how were you able to be so successful so quickly?

BH: I have a bad gym story that tops them all. At St. Xavier we had an intramural gym with no bleachers: we did not even have enough room for a regulation college court. I went to Chicago ST for the facility, and I increased my coaching salary by a whopping $4,000, which was very good considering I had a wife and two kids. The main reason we won so many games is because we had good talent.

1984 NAIA Tournament

JT: Darron Brittman scored 31 points in a one-point double overtime win over Kearney State that saw both teams combine for 69 fouls. Was that the most physical game you have even seen?

BH: At one time it was considered to be the most exciting game in NAIA tourney history even though a lot of people do not remember it now. It was a very high-scoring game despite not having a three-point line at that time. We were down nineteen points before we even knew what happened, and I called over my two star players and told them that they were choking in front of a huge crowd. That seemed to get us going, and it was an amazing comeback victory for us.

JT: Your next game was a two-point win over Chaminade. How close did you come to losing that game?

BH: They had a 6'5" All-American, but Charles Perry hit a jumper over him with three seconds left, despite being only 5'10". Perry was known as "Captain Video" due to the goggles he wore.

JT: Your "Heart Attack Kids" had a two-point overtime loss in the semifinals to Fort Hays State. How devastating was the loss, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterwards?

BH: There were a lot of fouls called, but we had more depth than Fort Hays. Their coach Bill Morse had his son Ron on the bench who never played, but he put him in towards the end of the game because they were running out of players. They missed a shot with four seconds left, but Ron ran over, got the ball, and made a shot at the buzzer as he was falling out of bounds. They ended up beating Dick Bennett's Wisconsin-Stevens Point team in the title game to win it all.

JT: You had a four-point overtime win over Westmont in the third place game. Was your team just exhausted from all the overtime games, and did you consider your run in the tourney to be a success or a failure?

BH: Whenever I go into the locker room at the end of a season, I do not do any ranting and raving. Once it is over, there is nothing you can do about the outcome, so I just try to end on a high note. There is only one team in the country that ends their season on a successful note, and I was proud of my team for going so far.

JT: In 1985 your program made the leap to Division I and you set a record for the most wins at a school in its first season of Division I competition with 16. What was the biggest difference between the two divisions, and how was your team able to be so competitive so quickly?

BH: I had two good guards in Brittman and Perry, and I felt they could hold their own with anyone in the country. I am 5'7" myself, so maybe I am partial to the little guys, but you cannot score if you cannot get the ball up the floor. When we were making the move to Division I, a lot of people said we would not be able to compete, but we proved them wrong.

JT: You also set an NCAA record for consecutive home victories with a 75-game win streak from 1981-1986. How big a home-court advantage was your crowd, and did it eventually reach a point where the fans expected you to win every single home game?

BH: We had good fan support, and they made a lot of noise. Everyone has more confidence at home.

JT: In 1987 you became coach at UIC, where you only had one 20-win season during your nine years there. Why did you make the switch, and do you have any regrets when you look back on your decision?

BH: I have no regrets whatsoever, as the UIC Pavilion was the nicest facility in Chicago. I have never stepped into a program that was highly successful: they were all challenges, which I enjoyed. I looked up at the bleachers during my first game at UIC as they were singing the national anthem, and I counted 97 people in the stands (half of whom were probably my family!). I was born too soon before the big money came, but back then when I signed a $50,000 contract, I thought I had won the Illinois lottery!

JT: For the past decade you have been athletic director/coach of the St. Xavier women's basketball team. Is it hard to do both gigs at the same time, and what is the biggest difference between coaching men and coaching women?

BH: I never thought I would be back at St. Xavier at all, much less coaching women. I like being AD, and I have a great staff that helps me out. The confidence factor is a big difference; the men think they are all Michael Jordan but the women all think they stink. The women are more intelligent; if they get a B in a class, they are disappointed that they did not get an A. I tell them that they cannot always get an A on the court; turning the ball over or missing a shot is just part of being a player. My friends thought that I could not get the women to play my up-tempo game, with a bunch of pressing and running, but I did. However, I cannot yell at them the way I did with the guys.

JT: You have spent your entire coaching career in the city of Chicago. What do you enjoy most about the city, and has it been easy on your family to not have to move around all over the country?

BH: I became a trivia question, as I coached at three different schools without having to move even once. Former coach Dick Versace said that my downfall is that I never moved around the country. However, when a coach moves to Texas and has a son start high school there, and then moves to Maryland and has a daughter start college there, it can be tough to be so spread out, so I put my family first. I heard someone complaining about me once on sports radio after I said that I was happy in Chicago and "did not have to go to Duke to be happy", but that is the truth.

JT: When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most?

BH: I would like to be remembered as a coach who really understood his players and was a good communicator. I loved winning, but I understood the difference between being an old coach and being a teenage player, which not all coaches can do. I was someone who my players could come talk to about any of their problems.

Hallberg is also on Jon's list of best coaches in Great West history (the league itself is going into its second year of official competition)

Chicago State: Bob Hallberg (1977-1987) 223-84

Houston Baptist: Gene Iba (1977-1985) 128-96, 1 NCAA tourney, 2 conference titles, 1-time conference COY

NJIT: NO COACH HAS BEEN THERE FOR 5 YEARS

North Dakota: Rich Glas (1988-2006) 335-194, three conference titles

South Dakota: Dave Boots (1988-present) 465-182, six-time conference Coach of the Year

Texas Pan American: Sam Williams (1958-1973) 244-164, one NAIA title, one-time national Coach of the Year

Utah Valley University: Dick Hunsaker (2004-present) 121-80