1. How will Winona State respond after losing assistant coaches Tom Brown and Chris Gove?
It's no secret that Brown and Gove were the heart and soul of Winona State's recruiting. Brown was recently hired as the West Texas A&M head coach and Gove left with him to be his top assistant. To see Brown and Gove not on the WSU sideline will be an odd sight, since both coaches were with WSU for 16 seasons. These were the guys that could attract the local stars like David Zellmann, Zach Malvik, and most recently Riley Bambenek. That's not all they could recruit. Bringing in Curtrell Robinson was probably the best thing to ever happen to Winona State, since his presence also resulted in bringing in the likes of Jonte Flowers and Quincy Henderson. I think just about every Winona State fan, no, every NSIC fan knows what happened after that. Two national championship banners and an NCAA Division II consecutive winning streak record banner speak for themselves. Not only were they great recruiters, but they were great Xs and Os coaches. What could WSU's answer to their departure be? At least that question can be definitively answered with my next point.
2. Will WSU hiring Zach Malvik as the assistant coach alleviate the losses of Brown and Gove?
There is no doubt that WSU head coach Mike Leaf wanted to bring in a familiar face to the program and one that has at least some history in coaching. That resulted in bringing in St. Mary's assistant coach and former WSU point guard Zach Malvik to be his go-to man on the sidelines. Remember how I asked who will bring in the local stars? Well, figures that shortly after Malvik was named the assistant coach, WSU brings in Nebraska transfer and former Gale-Ettrick-Trembleau star Tim Wagner, signs La Crescent's all-time leading scorer Zack Melbostad, and also signs a Tunesian JUCO center Mohamed Ali Ben Ammar. It is interesting to see WSU sign their second foreign player in two seasons since Malvik highly recommended WSU signing Australian guard Corey Jeffs the previous year. With Malvik being from Holmen, WI and playing semi-pro ball in Australia, he has built a variety of connections that I believe will make him a solid recruiter, especially for local players. The Ali Ben Ammar signing is an interesting one since WSU rarely ever goes for JUCO players. Still, I have to wonder if the Ali Ben Ammar signing can alleviate the big shoes he's filling, shoes that I will get around to talking about that later. Still, on the coaching front, it wasn't like WSU was the only team going through some coaching drama.
3. Was St. Cloud State hiring Matt Reimer as their new head coach the right answer?
Kevin Schlagel was the glue that held SCSU together. He was a head coach for 17 years and an assistant for 18 years prior to that with the program. However, in those 17 years as the Huskies' head coach, he had one man at his side. Reimer. It didn't shock me in the least that Reimer was named SCSU's head coach this off-season and I believe it to be the right answer. The only question remains is whether or not he can turn SCSU back into conference title contenders. They've certainly been contenders in the NSIC North Division, co-championing the title last year and winning it outright the year before. Still, they haven't been able to win the overall NSIC title since joining the league back in 2008. They've certainly come close on a few occasions, but still no conference titles. I think what Reimer can do is take what Schlagel built and modify it a bit to turn SCSU into a perennial powerhouse that will be in conference championship hunts year in and year out. If they can't win the whole conference, they'll at least be able to contend for the NSIC North, which is the most important since the better the seed in the North, the more likely they won't have to play the NSIC South's best until the most important game, the NSIC Conference Championship Game. We shall see what sort of wild ride Reimer has in store for us. Still, Reimer wasn't the only head coaching splash made in this off-season.
4. Can new Minnesota-Crookston head coach Dan Weisse bring the Golden Eagles out of the proverbial NSIC cellar?
Let's face it, UMC has not been competitive at all in the NSIC. Year in and year out, they are constantly on the bottom of the NSIC standings and are often fortunate to get one win a year in the conference. In fact, the last time UMC didn't finish dead last in the conference was all the way back in 2003 when Minnesota-Morris won that illustrious title (I might be overreaching a bit with the sarcasm on this one). I've been saying since becoming an NSIC sports analyst back in 2005 that the Golden Eagles should move down to Division III because they just aren't competitive on this level. They don't have the facilities or recruiting advantages to keep them competitive with the likes of Minnesota State, Winona State, Augustana, SW Minnesota State, St. Cloud State, or even MSU-Moorhead, their closest rival. Still, I guess the one thing I can say is that might not be an excuse. Upper Iowa is similar in their school size and recruiting disadvantages, yet they've managed to be a pretty competitive team the last two seasons. They made the NCAA Division II Central Region tournament two years ago and still managed a 13-9 conference mark last year despite losing their head coach. The question remains, can Weisse make UMC competitive? My answer is...not immediately, if at all. Weisse did do some pretty good things as an assistant at MSU-Moorhead with Chad Walthall. Perhaps bringing in a guy who is familiar with the local athletes might help bring some more talented players to UM-Crookston. However, if that does happen, I doubt it will be immediately. While at Upper Iowa, it took current Wayne State head coach Brian Dolan to bring in some talented players to Upper Iowa to make them a really good team. The same goes for Minnesota-Duluth coach Matt Bowen when he was with Bemidji State. He led them to a conference title in 2012 (albeit, by default with WSU facing NCAA sanctions that season). Could Weisse do the same thing with UMC? It's possible, but I'd still be willing to bet UMC will be NSIC cellar dwellers for the next five years. Still, UMC isn't the only perennial cellar dweller that has a new coach...
5. Can Concordia-St. Paul make the jump to NSIC elite with the hiring of Joey James?
Is it surprising to see CSP fire Kelly Boe? Not in the least! I said for years that Concordia-St. Paul is the most underachieving team in the NSIC. You'd think with them being stationed in Twin Cities, they'd have ENORMOUS recruiting advantages over everyone in the NSIC, INCLUDING Minnesota State. However, I do believe their lack of facilities as well as poor coaching has kept them from being a great team. To be completely honest, I'm not even sure how Boe held the job for so long. CSP underachieved year in and year out with the tremendous amount of talent that they had. It was a team that didn't seem to be well coached under Boe. Whether it was a lack of coaching or a lack of discipline, something wasn't meshing and they were in desperate need for a change. It just so happens that timing worked out pretty well for them. With Dave Boots retiring at South Dakota, James was in prime position to find a new coaching job. Concordia-St. Paul is a pretty good stepping stone for James with it being a Division II college in a metropolitan midwest city. Boots achieved a mild amount of success in the Central Region when his South Dakota Coyotes were in Division II, so with Boots' tutelage, I'm sure James should be able to make the transition somewhat easily. Can I say for certain CSP will be contenders shortly upon James' arrival? I doubt it with the amount of talent at the likes of Winona State, Minnesota State, MSU-Moorhead, and Augustana, but I don't doubt he can get CSP back in the thick of things within the next three or four years. I think I've talked enough about coaches, so how about the players? There is quite a bit to discuss there, especially when it comes to the transfer front.
6. Does former WSU center Skyler O'Laughlin's transfer to UW-Whitewater remove their chances of contending for an NSIC title?
The drama of the off-season didn't just end with the Winona State coaches. O'Laughlin was a staple of WSU's team this past year before his broken ankle during the Feb. 8 game against Wayne State derailed his season. Losing O'Laughlin certainly hurt, especially considering the youth and inexperience of WSU's post-play. After his injury, WSU had to rely on redshirt freshman Kyle Bauman, a sophomore transfer Nick Arenz, and a senior walk-on in Kyle Melcher. It seemed like this put an awful lot of pressure on Bauman, who habitually got into foul trouble post-O'Laughlin injury, Arenz who doesn't play like a true center, and Melcher who hadn't played competitive basketball since high school. It was no surprise that the center position went from a strength to a weakness with O'Laughlin's injury. However, the question remains, does his departure hurt WSU's chances to win the NSIC? My answer to that question would be yes and no. The reason why I'm answering that question so indecisively is due to the circumstances surrounding O'Laughlin's injury. His injury was gruesome and quite serious. While I wouldn't put it on the same level as Louisville guard Kevin Ware's compound fracture, the chances of him coming back and playing at the same level as he was before the injury is difficult to predict. I've seen an awful lot of injuries in the NSIC on the level of O'Laughlin's and let's just say when those guys came back, they weren't the same player. It probably would have been wishful thinking to think he could come back and be an immediate impact. While I don't think Ben Ammar can replace O'Laughlin's size and defensive presence, I do think he gives quite a bit of athleticism to the post position that could make WSU a lethal run-and-gun team. However, I don't think WSU's transfers will be able to hold a candle to the transfers they'll be going up against in my next point.
7. Does Minnesota State's new crop of Division I transfers make them the top contenders for the NSIC title yet again?
Trust me when I say no team hits up the Division I "waiver wire" like MSU head coach Matt Margenthaler during the off-season. This year, he is bringing in a 6'8" Davidson center Joe Aase from Austin, MN and a 6'4" Samford guard Connor Miller from Stanley, WI. Aase will have three years of eligibility and Miller will have one. MSU is pretty infamous for bringing in impact Division I transfers. To name a few, Zach Monaghan from South Dakota State, Jarvis Williams from UW-Green Bay, Jefferson Mason from Northern Colorado, and Travis Nelson from Wyoming. It's almost needless to say just how much of an impact those transfers had on the program. It seems like Margenthaler rarely misses on a D1 transfer. Still, the biggest question remains. Can these transfers fill the hole left by the players MSU is losing this year? MSU is losing its sharpshooting guard in Tanner Adler, the epitome of hustle in Connor O'Brien, it's fundamentally well-rounded star in Gage Wooten, as well as Alex Hanks, one of their contributors off the bench. It will be interesting to see because unlike a rebuilding team, MSU still has it's stars intact. They are bringing back first team all-NSIC players in Zach Monaghan and Assem Marei, both of which will be contenders for NSIC Player of the Year. It seems like what MSU needs are supporting role players that can pick up some of the scoring when opposing teams double and triple team their two stars. I'm sure MSU is hopeful that these transfers to can step in and fill in the holes being left behind, and I do say they will still be the top contenders for the NSIC. Although, I'm sure this next team is praying that the holes left by injuries can be filled in a hurry.
8. What gives with all the injuries at SCSU lately and can they recover from this injury plague that they are currently on?
It's no secret that the Huskies have been bitten by the injury bug the last four seasons. Between Kevin Levandoski, Theo Rothstein, Tim Bergstrasser, and Jesse Fisher, this team just can't catch a break with their star players getting hurt. Now, SCSU loses another important piece with 6'6" forward Seth Mortag for the 2014-2015 season due to a torn ACL. This could not have come at a worse time for SCSU, as they are already losing Matt Craggs, Damarius Cruz, and Chris Larson, all of which were big-time impact players for the 2013-2014 NSIC North Division co-champs. We also can't forget Levandoski is returning from injury and it is hard to say if he will be able to play at the same level. It's getting to the point where you can expect a star player on SCSU's squad to suffer a season ending injury that cripples their chances of winning a conference title or playing in the regional tournament. I would normally question the methods of SCSU's training staff, but looking at all these injuries, they appear to be fluke injuries that could happen to anyone. I almost feel compelled to give Reimer a lucky rabbit's foot to stick in his sock during games and practices just so they actually have some good luck for once on the injury front. I can assure you no team has been as unlucky as they've been when it comes to injuries. I do believe they have to get out of it at some point. The fact that they've had four straight seasons with a star player going down with a serious injury has me believing that it has to end some time, and for SCSU's sake, hopefully it's sooner rather than later.
9. I'm forgetting someone...oh right, Augustana...
If SCSU is the unluckiest team in the injury department, I can almost assure you that Augustana comes in a very close second. Between injuries, transfers, and program departures, the Vikings haven't been able to catch a break the last two years. Last year, it appeared we were going to have an NSIC All-Freshman showdown between WSU's Bambenek and Augie's Matt Brazendale...until Brazendale went down with an injury. Granted, he came back, but he wasn't quite able to get back to 100% before the end of the season. Or how about Brennan Olson's sudden departure? Or Zach Huisken's? Or Evan Pierce's injury? I've been saying for the last two years that Augie has a very young, talented team and they are very close to putting it all together. I thought they were going to be the top contenders for the conference championship right along with MSU this past season. Unfortunately, that didn't quite play out that way for them. Still, they have two very talented players in Casey Schilling and Daniel Jansen who I'd argue are right up there with MSU's Monaghan and Marei for best scoring duo in the NSIC. It's almost unfathomable at just how young this team is, with only one senior and three juniors with the rest of the roster being freshman or sophomores. With sensational sophomores Brazendale and Ethan Guske in the backcourt, I can foresee Augie being a tough team to beat in the conference this next year...barring any fluke injuries or departures. Finally...
10. Will the NSIC return to being the best conference in the region?
There is no doubt that the NSIC has been the toughest conference in the Central Region for many years. In the past nine seasons, an NSIC team has hosted the regional tournament eight times and participated seven Elite Eights.
2014 - Central Missouri (Elite Eight), Minnesota State (Host)
2013 - Winona State (Elite Eight), Minnesota State (Host)
2012 - Metro State (Elite Eight), Metro State (Host)
2011 - Minnesota State (Elite Eight), Minnesota State (Host)
2010 - St. Cloud State (Elite Eight), Minnesota State (Host)
2009 - SW Minnesota State (Elite Eight), SW Minnesota State (Host)
2008 - Winona State (Elite Eight), Winona State (Host)
2007 - Winona State (Elite Eight), Winona State (Host)
2006 - Winona State (Elite Eight, Winona State (Host)
Last year, the NSIC didn't seem to represent the region very well. The NSIC only had two teams make the regional tournament and neither of them made it past the semi-final. With Central Missouri going through a bit of a coaching change and NW Missouri State losing some of its most talented players, this might be the year the NSIC jumps back into the fray. I thought in particular that the NSIC was kind of a young league last year and didn't quite have the seasoned veterans that could match up with the MIAA. I won't say the NSIC WILL make that jump, but I believe they will get back to having three or four teams in the regional tournament.
With that being said, I'm looking forward to the rest of this off-season and putting together my conference preview later on this summer.
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