With exhibition play just a few days away, it's time to take a look at this year's NSIC Men's Basketball season. All-in-all, the talent seems better and better and the league should be deeper in talent. Here's my preview...
1. Winona State
09-10 Record: 20-10
The Warriors are coming off a somewhat down season, where injuries plagued the Warriors all season, including losing Clayton Vette for the first half of the season and David Johnson for the NSIC and NCAA Tournament. Johnson graduated this year and it might have left a void for scoring in Winona State's offense. However, like most great programs, Winona State doesn't rebuild, they reload. Anthony Tucker, a D1 transfer from Iowa and Caleb Palkert from South Carolina-Upstate solidify a solid incoming class. The Warriors also bring back an experienced roster, headlined by Ben Fischer, C.J. Erickson, Jon Walburg, Xavier Humphrey, Brad Meyer, Joel Armstrong and of course Vette. Coming off a redshirt season, there are also high hopes for Kellen Taylor, who is considered a "Quincy Henderson-esque" player. There's no doubt that Winona State is the most talented team in the league, but the biggest question is can head coach Mike Leaf get this team gel? It seemed as though last season they did not play together as a team and relied too much on Johnson's scoring. WSU will need to find a rotation that works if they want to claim the NSIC title.
2. Augustana
09-10 Record: 24-7
Despite Augustana losing David Foster, Lee Stephens, Eliot Thomas and Jordan Dalton to graduation, this team looks poised to claim an NSIC title. They bring back the best all-round guard/forward in the NSIC in Cody Schilling as well as the dynamic scoring point guard Cameron McCaffrey to run the point. The one area where I believe Augustana has a big advantage over many teams in the NSIC is in the low post, where they have two seasoned veterans, each with their own style of play. Derrick DeZeeuw isn't afraid to get down and dirty in the low post and Nathan Truex has a solid jumper and touch on his shots that make him a tough guy to guard when he moves away from the block. One player that the Vikings will be asking more of will be Chad Hettermann, who despite starting many games last year, only averaged 2.1 PPG. He's a defensive dynamo but due to losing four key contributors, he'll need to step up his offensive game. The Vikings have some concern with depth. They have talent on their bench, but the problem is lack of experience. There aren't many guys on that bench that have much experience. I won't be surprised to see freshman forward Yuriy Malashenko get a lot of playing time as a freshman. I'm not sure why but I have a feeling head coach "Texas" Tom Billeter will have his team ready for another great season.
3. St. Cloud State
09-10 Record: 29-6
The Huskies are coming off a fantastic season in which they made a deep run to the Elite Eight, coming off a tough Final Four loss to Indiana (PA). Obviously, they bring back one of the most talented teams in the NSIC, only losing All-NSIC center Matt Schneck and Michael Riley to graduation. Head coach Kevin Schlagel will have a hole to fill because losing Schneck to graduation is a big loss for the Huskies, as he was their only real low post threat. Jesse Fisher is the only real low post threat they bring back but even then, his knees are not healthy. It's almost hard for me to believe that it took me five sentences to even mention the named, Taylor Witt, but don't let that fool you...he is by far one of the most talented players in the league and is expected to be the Player Of The Year in the NSIC. The Huskies have a very nice set of role players, including Brett Putz, Nate Phillips, Theo Rothstein, Josh Ortmann and of course, Andrew Bernstetter. With Schneck gone, look for Bernstetter and Tim Bergstrasser to be the foundation in the low post. I also believe we might see a lot of play from freshman center Ben Bucholz, who is one of the few guys with some size on the Huskies' bench.
4. MSU-Mankato
09-10 Record: 25-5
The Mavericks have had their tough goings the last several seasons in the NCAA Tournament. Even though they hosted the Regional Tournament last year, they still couldn't make it out of the second round. There was a bit of a "if we're not going to do it this year, we're not going to do it at all" sort of feel to MSU's season and I'm sure head coach Matt Margenthaler is feeling the heat. The Mavericks lost a lot in the offseason, including All-NSIC center Travis Nelson, Curt Greeley, Jermain Davis and Jesse Clark to graduation. Don't let that fool you though, this team is still loaded with talent. Jefferson Mason is still the best small forward in the NSIC and he has a good supporting cast around him with Marcus Hill, Joe Drapcho, Cameron Hodges, and Taylor Morrow. The additions of D1 transfers A.J. Wilson from Murray State and Andre Gilbert from South Dakota State should be very welcome to an already talented team. Much like St. Cloud, a lot will be asked of the Mavericks relatively unexperienced low post guys, headlined by Mitch Grundman and Mike Bisenius. They'll need those two to show up in the worst way if the Mavericks want to contend for an NSIC title.
5. Mary
09-10 Record: 15-13
Don't let Mary's record fool you, they had one of the better teams in the NSIC last season under first year head coach Randall Herbst and losing six of their last eight games did not help things. The big thing about Mary this season apart from a lot of the other big name teams in the NSIC is that they bring back just about everyone for the 2010-2011 campaign. The only real significant losses were Danny Sandvig and U.T. Udo. Nothing against Danny and U.T., but they are replaceable. This team's headline players are without a doubt Anthony Moody and Eric Erdmann, both all NSIC performers. Moody is an electrifying point guard with a knack for scoring while Erdmann is an undersized forward that seems to manhandle even guys who are bigger than him in the low post. To be a great team this year, the Marauders will be asking for more out of their role guys like Jordan Wilhelm, Cameron Lee and Baley Johnson to support Moody and Erdmann. The biggest question mark for the Marauders is their lack of size and it became apparent toward the end of last season. A lot could be asked of Alex Dorr and CC transfer Damon Smith to help out in the low post. I'm also intrigued to see what sort of roles freshman Shaun Condon and Jalen Jaspers will have on this team.
6. Northern State
09-10 Record: 13-14
You can call me crazy, but I think the Wolves are going to have a bounce back season. I look at this team and they have a lot of nice pieces to build around. Bojan Todorovic is back from a season-ending injury last season and he'll rejoin fellow Serbian Marko Filipovic, Marty Gregor, D1 South Dakota transfer Dustin Tetzlaff, and D1 Youngstown State transfer Tom Parks in what could be the best set of forwards in the NSIC. Northern State has always been known for their depth and line-change mentality and this year should be no different. A bulk of the offensive scoring will probably be carried by small forward Colin Pryor and shooting guard Derek Hoellin. Brett Newton will be running the point again this season after missing most of the 09-10 season and Alex Thomas as well as Casey Becker should provide a healthy spark off the bench. One newcomer I am interested in seeing is Jared Hannigan. With a lack of depth at the guard position, it will not be surprising if he sees a lot of playing time this season. It'll also be interesting to see if CC transfer David Lane sees a lot of playing time this year as well. It'll be interesting to see what first year head coach Paul Sather has in store for this year's team.
7. SW Minnesota State
09-10 Record: 17-12
The Mustangs made a strong push toward the end of last year but much like the 07 and 08 seasons, they fell just a little short of making the NCAA Tournament. It wouldn't surprise me if the same situation happened to the Mustangs this year. They should have a solid team, but will it be enough to make the tourney? They have perhaps the best tandem at the forward position in Taylor Huseby and Scott Roehl. Jordan Miller and Lavionne West are two solid sophs that should be key contributors as well. Trent Carlson is another solid returner for the Mustangs but I will be interested in seeing what the SMSU newcomers have to provide. Tranfer PG Jimmy Abraham, CC PG transfer Jimmy Wallace, Jordan Buddenhagen and freshman Vinard Birch could all be competing for the starting point guard job (from what I hear, Birch could have a slight lead). To me, SMSU is sort of a mystery team because they have a lot of new faces and redshirts that haven't seen much court time due to the great deal of talent that graduated from SMSU the last three years. I hear a few good things about Matt Zager, who was a heck of a HS baller. I'll admit, this was a tough team to break down because I haven't seen this team practice and I'm not even really sure who their solid starting five will be...let alone who will be the key pieces off the bench. In a sense, that might be a good thing for Head Coach Brad Bigler...the less the opposition knows about you, the better.
8. Wayne State
09-10 Record: 14-15
I have to give a lot of credit to head coach Paul Combs last year because he was given an awful situation in Wayne State last year and managed to do the best with what he was given. He developed a team identity in less than a year and Wayne State managed to play a lot better than what I expected. However, the team finds themselves in another tough position because Combs stressed solid, physical interior play and they lost the two biggest pieces, Brett Spiker and Brian Metz. The good news for Wayne State is their trifecta of guards return in Amry Shelby, Jason Jensen, and Brad Starken. I think in order for Wayne to have a successful season, they'll need more out of Ben Tasa. Tasa was the backup center last year and with both Spiker and Metz gone, he'll need to be beefed up and more physical this year to help compensate for those losses. I could be wrong (the WSC website being down doesn't help), but I believe they also get Zane Abner back this season. They'll need him healthy if they want to make a run at the top 8 in the NSIC.
9. Concordia-St. Paul
09-10 Record: 13-15
When I look at the Golden Bears, I just see too much of a turnover in talent for them to stick around in the top 8 in the league. What's funny is they have the best big man in the league in Brent Barz. However, the question therein lies, who else do they have? They lost their leading scorer in Craig Heiman as well as Mike Cunningham, Sammy Ricks and Thomas Bassett. It also seemed like they bring back a lot of underperformers from last year. Dan "Birdman" Vandervieren was an enormous disappointment and seemed to be a distraction for the team. Matt Hackl had a down year last year and the only other real scoring threats that they have back this year are Andrew Kuderer and Courtney Tyler. They'll be asking more from sophomore Isiah Thomas and backup forward Chris Hamblin if this team wants to crack the top 8. Much like SMSU, there's a lot of mystery shrouded in the Golden Bears and I'm curious to see if head coach Kelly Boe can keep his team up because they tend to be disappointments every year despite the talent.
10. Bemidji State
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Beavers are going to be a curious team this year because after last year's "hotel debacle", it threw a lot of inexperienced players into the rotation and it seemed apparent that some guys weren't ready to play. Losing all-conference performer Seth Haake to graduation isn't going to help the Beavers, but they do bring back a good chunk of their team. The guard play should be solid, led by super soph Lance Rongstad and Bryce Tesdahl. Patrick Cassidy is a solid forward for them and Jake Lindstrom is a solid player at the guard position. Noah Shepherd as a sophomore and Mason Walters, David Berthene and Burke Lendl should all be improved after seeing a lot of playing time in their freshman seasons. All-in-all, Bemidji has a young team and I'm intrigued to see who else will come to the fray of Bemidji State's rotation. They did bring in some Arizona CC transfers in forward James Ellisor and center Ryan Kinnell who could see some playing time this year. Overall, I think head coach Matt Bowen could have an intriguing team on his hands and one that could pull off some upsets...but it'll be important for Rongstad to stay healthy.
11. MSU-Moorhead
09-10 Record: 10-17
The Dragons are a team that have me scratching my head because they appear to have a lot of talented players. They could be offensively one of the better set teams in the NSIC because they bring back five of their six top scorers from last season, with the lone exception being Jerome Nelson. First year head coach Chad Walthall has a lot of young talented options to work with. I say young because this team does not have one senior on its roster...thus unless they have someone transfer or leave the team, they'll have this roster for years to come. It is headlined by point guard Jake Driscoll, who puts up big points for a small guy. Dennis Williamson and Andrew VanHavermaet are two guys that can light up the scoreboard and sophomore center Alex Novak shows some promise to be an elite center in the NSIC. Xavier Reed, Chad Thompson, Eric Olsen and Jordan Driscoll are also guys that should see significant playing time in the Dragons' lineup. As for the new faces, Tarell Clark, Charlie Champman and D.J. Hamilton are three transfers that will likely be competing for playing time.
12. Upper Iowa
09-10 Record: 12-15
The Peacocks are just one of those teams that are literally like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're going to get. Three years ago, they looked like a team that might just compete in the NSIC but the last two years have been somewhat of a disappointment. Of course, the team revolves around the play of senior guard Matt Lesan, or who I like to call the human free throw machine. The guy is a master at his craft at drawing fouls. Overall, the Peacocks do bring back quite a few players from last year's team, although they lost their second and third leading scorers (not huge losses when they have seven guys averaging between 11 and five points per game). Some key returners include Jake Hughes, Tucker Wentzien, Mike LaFrentz, Dan Bestul, Alex Kramer and Brad Arnold just to name a few. However, head coach Brian Dolan's big dilemma is he needs to find a rotation that works. He tends to play a line change-esque rotation that is somewhat similar to Northern State's. However, the problem being is there are lots of guys that really aren't talented enough to compete against most NSIC teams and it hurts the team when they are on the floor. Dolan needs to solidify his rotation if he wants to crack the top 8 in the NSIC.
13. UM-Duluth
09-10 Record: 7-20
I am having a hard time convincing myself that the Bulldogs are not the second worst team in the conference. They finished second to last this past year and I don't see this year being any better. It's bad enough they lost Ron White and Steve Duncan to graduation. I guess if there is some good news, the Bulldogs bring back scoring machine Ryan Rasmussen and a talented athlete in Dylan Rodriguez. I'm sure the Bulldogs will be asking for more production out of sophomore guard Jake Hottenstine and senior guard Rhett McDonald. For once, the Bulldogs might be struggling for depth at center but Erik Powers does return and will likely see a lot more playing time than he did this past season as well as UM-Crookston transfer Joe Paschka. One nice edition to the Bulldogs lineup this year is D1 transfer Riley Walker from UW-Milwaukee, who saw some playing time in the Panthers lineup. Overall, head coach Gary Holquist better get a grip and focus his attention to the basketball floor because he has a lot of new faces and takes "criticism" a little too seriously.
14. UM-Crookston
09-10 Record: 5-22
They were last year's worst team in the NSIC...and the year before that, and the year before that, and the year before that. They are the worst team in the NSIC every year and this year will be no different. I thought that they could possibly get out of the cellar last year with Damarius Cruz and Akeem Cubie until they lost both those players due to injury. With Cruz transferring to St. Cloud State and Cubie leaving the program, I don't see how the Golden Eagles will even stand a snowball's chance. They even lost their top scorer after those two went down, Matthew Heier to graduation. If we look beyond those two guys, they do bring back starting forward Adam Hendricks, point guard Jason Servaty, forward Mike Larsen and center Trent Graves. Much like UMD, the Golden Eagles have a lot of new faces and more than likely, the headliner will be Eric Dearden, a transfer from D1 Utah Valley State. He should be significant playing time, if not, start for UM-Crookston this year. All-in-all, head coach Jeff Oseth has a tall order to try and get this Golden Eagles program out of the cellar.
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