The Media’s Perspective

[PointGuard]

Earlier tonight the semi-finals of the Summit League matched Western Illinois against South Dakota State and North Dakota State against Denver.

Western Illinois demonstrated why they were the class of the league this year by steadily pulling away from and downing the Jackrabbits 68-55. SF Calvin Thomas scored 15 for the Leathernecks while the games top scorer was reserve guard Chris Kerlin for South Dakota State. Kerlin finished the game with 16 points.

The Denver Pioneers and our local Bison team split their 2 regular season games with both teams winning on their home courts. SG Derrick Williams came into the game averaging 17.4 ppg for Denver. Surprisingly though, Williams didn’t start for the Pioneers. While Denver’s coaching staff was mum about this surprising action, there was a rumor Williams was benched for his post game comments after the Pioneers 1st round victory in which he made derogatory remarks about South Dakota’s guard play.

The refs saddled the Bison with 6 team fouls in the first 4 minutes of play, sending SF Brandon Tracy to the bench with 2 fouls. The Bison were called for their 7th foul a minute later, sending the Pioneers to the line for one-and-ones early. While NDSU held a small lead throughout most of the first half, the fouls proliferated allowing the Pioneers to move ahead late in the half and take a 38-32 halftime advantage. Reserve SG Kelsey Brown was the top scorer for the Bison with 7 points while SG Dionsio Houston dropped in 11 points for Denver.

Early in the 2nd half, the Bison fell behind by 13 points. The Bison gamely hung in and gradually whittled away at the lead. With 3 minutes to play they trailed by just 3 points. Neither team could score after that, but with 23 seconds remaining, NDSU called their final time out. A 3-point play was set up but David Miller’s shot was far off the mark. The Bison pulled down the rebound and worked the ball around before Evan Williams drove to the basket trying to score and get fouled on the play. Neither goal was successful, but Brandon Tracy muscled down the rebound and fired it outside to David Miller who put up a desperate 3-point shot with 2 seconds on the clock. The balls went off the backboard and into the net to tie the game at 62-62 and send the teams into overtime.

Denver scored 7 points in the first 2 minutes of overtime while the Bison were held scoreless. NDSU scored their first points of the OT with just over a minute to play but then trailed 70-64. Another bucket by the Bison was too little, too late and they fell by the score of 71-66, ending their season.

The difference in the game ultimately was fouls and free throws. Reserve PF Evan Williams led the Bison scoring with 10 points. Bison starters combined for just 25 points. SG Dionsio Houston led all scorers with 18 points. The Pioneers C Joel Blake hauled down 11 rebounds.

Now let’s hear from callers. First we have Norvil on the line. What you have for us, Norvil?

Norvil: The league oughta fire those refs. I think they were being paid by Denver.

Tyler: Next we have a frequent caller, Buzz:

Buzz: Yeah, I agree that we got robbed tonight, but overall I think we have to look at this season as a big turn-around for NDSU basketball. The team finished with 16 wins which is more than double what the Bison were recording in each of the years before Coach Bolton came to us.

Tyler: Thanks, Buzz. Here’s Al from his ranch:

Al: Damn, I really thought the Bison could pull off 3 wins in the tournament and make it to the Big Dance. Guess we have to wait until next year now.

Tyler: Yes, I’m pretty sure they won’t get into any of the post-season tournaments even though they have a 16-13 season record. Finally, here’s Sue:

Sue: I attended all of our home games this season. Our starters did pretty well, but I was particularly impressed with 2 reserves. Evan Williams and David Miller came in and put points on the board nearly every game. I expect they will get more playing time next season and together with Brandon Tracy, James Hall and maybe Kelsey Brown, could give us a solid starting lineup in the coming season.

Tyler: I agree that this year was a huge improvement for the Bison and has laid the foundation for more success next season. Hopefully, Coach Bolton can bring in at least one recruit who will be able to step right in and help lift the team to the next level.

[Wayne23]

"Get some rope,
Find a tree,
Let's go hand
The referee!"

[PointGuard]

Tonight, the Western Illinois Leathernecks earned a trip to the NCAA Tournament by winning the Summit League Championship by the score of 73-70 over the Denver Pioneers. PG Dante Porter scored 33 points to carry the Leathernecks to their win. SG Derrick Williams scored 24 in Denver’s losing effort.

[PointGuard]

North Dakota State Player Stats:



North Dakota State Team Stats:

PPG: 67.4 to opponents’ 65.8
RPG: 28.8 to opponents’ 27.4
TOPG: 16.4 to opponents’ 16.0

[PointGuard]

• Western Illinois #13 seed playing #4 seed Illinois at the Chicago regional of the NCAA Tournament.

• Western Illinois held a 9 point lead in the first half and finished the half ahead by a score of 38-33. But Illinois clamped down defensively in the 2nd half to pull away for an easy 76-54 victory, thus ending the Summit League’s post-season play. SF Calvin Thomas scored 13 for Western Illinois.

• Post-Season Tournament Champions:

NCAA Championship: North Carolina-77, Georgia Tech-73

NIT Championship: Mississippi State-71, Georgetown-69

CIT Championship: Maryland-93, Virginia-89

[PointGuard]

Bison Basketball Recruiting Concludes

Yesterday, North Dakota State announced the filling of their final scholarship for the Bison basketball team next season. Ed Doss, a JC player out of New Jersey will join Jared Bedard and Brian Degala as next year’s newest players. A summary for each of the three players follows:

PF Ed Doss, JC So, North Brunswick, NJ, 2.2 GPA; 17.0 ppg, 3.4 apg, 7.3 rpg, 1.6 spg, 1.8 bpg; Prolific scorer with an excellent inside shot and very good outside shot, Very strong defender, Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either; Ranked #192 nationally, Overall rating: B.

PG Jared Bedard, HS Sr, Fargo, ND, 2.8 GPA, 1050 SAT; 14.3 ppg, 4.7 apg, 5.1 rpg, 3.7 spg, 1.9 bpg; Very good scorer with a sweet outside shot, Excellent passer and very good ball handling skills, Gets lots of steals, talented player who could work harder, Top 25 at Houston Classic; Ranked #810 nationally, Overall rating: C.

SG Brian Degala, HS Sr, Cooperstown, ND, 2.9 GPA, 1040 SAT; 11.8 ppg, 3.8 apg, 4.0 rpg, 3.1 spg, 2.2 bpg; Excellent outside shooter, Very good passer, Gets lots of steals, Very good athleticism, Not a leader but doesn’t cause problems either, Talented player who would work harder; Ranked #1247 nationally, Overall Rating: C.

Coach Tad Bolton said, “We were really pleased to pick up a couple strong guards last fall, particularly since Colin Shannon and Kevin Brinker are graduating. Getting an experienced interior player this week was a real bonus and should provide us with more depth inside this coming season.

[PointGuard]

Basketball season has been over for more than a month, but there has been some news coming from the Athletic Department this week.

• After firing the second assistant coach, Mike Mitchell has been hired for that position. Its reported he has some strong recruiting skills. Mitchell was a 3rd assistant at Middle Tennessee last season, so will need to quickly come up to speed on high school teams in the upper Midwest.
• The Athletic Department seems to be pleased with Coach Bolton’s first season as head coach. He has been given a new 4-year contract with a raise to $84,000/year.
• Apparently Coach Bolton requested the board make improvements to facilities. I’ve learned that they approved the request (and facilities will improve from a D rating to C).
• School prestige for the basketball program is now 6 and Summit League basketball prestige is now 14.
• Unofficially it’s been indicated that the basketball program purchased the basic scouting report for the Great Plains Region and that they will attend the Houston Classic camp this summer.

[PointGuard]

Fargo, October 1—North Dakota State’s men’s basketball team’s pre-conference schedule has been finalized for this season. Six of the eleven games will be at home in the Bison Sports Arena and include teams from across the breadth of the country. Last season the Bison finished tied for 2nd place in the Summit League. Come root for the Bison as they challenge for the league championship this year. Season tickets are still available by contacting the Athletic Department or going online through North Dakota State’s website. Season tickets include home games against all of the other 8 teams in the Summit League.

Pre-Conference Schedule

@ Northeastern
TEXAS-SAN ANTONIO
ST. PETER’S
@ Northern Iowa
@ Liberty
@ Lafayette
TEXAS SOUTHERN
FAIRLEIGH DICKINSON
COLORADO ST.
ST. MARY’S
@Bryant

[PointGuard]

I know we’ve been focused totally on North Dakota State football for the past few months, but today there was some news on the basketball front. It was announced today that the Bison basketball program has landed its first recruit this fall. He’s a high school senior from Texas by the name of Derick Knight. Knight is 6-8 and as a junior last year, he scored 15.7 ppg and pulled down 9.3 rpg for Odem (Texas) High School.

Mike Mitchell, the new 2nd assistant coach and primary recruiter for NDSU, said, “We’re really happy to have Mike joining us next season. We didn’t think we had a chance to land him, but he warmed up to us late this summer and then Coach Bolton’s visits to his home cemented the relationship.” Mitchell indicated that the most impressive components of Knight’s game are outstanding rebounding skills and inside shooting abilities. But Knight is also a skilled defender with strong shot-blocking and stealing capabilities. With the ball he not only is a good scorer but has highly developed passing skills. He has a high level of athleticism. Knight is presently ranked as the 184th best recruit in the country.

The Bison still have 2 scholarships to fill and Mitchell advised, “We’re in the hunt for another interior player and developing a relationship with a highly ranked SF, but don’t anticipate signing another player until spring.”

[PointGuard]

I’ve learned from a trusted unidentified source that Bison basketball practices and scrimmages have been very intense this year. It seems that the level of competition has resulted in tussles, hot words, and a few near all-out fights. While Coach Bolton is reported to be a laid back disciplinarian, he’s had to call some of the players into his office for counseling. While its believed that last year’s two remaining starters, SF Brandon Tracy and PF James Hall, have the inside track at continuing as starters this season, the other positions are wide open for starting roles. Depth at all positions appears to be greater this season than last.