by jksander » Wed May 06, 2020 9:52 pm
September 18, 1939
We’ve filled two of our scholarship spots! Vernard Wesley of Dansville, Michigan’s Dansville High comes in ranked 51st nationally and 6th in the region, the top point guard in the midwest! He has a killer outside shot and can pass, handle and even rebound (at 6’2” he’s one of the best overall athletes for his size in the class). Meanwhile, David Stockman, a 6’6” forward from Milan High (in Milan, Indiana) comes in ranked 47th and the top at his position in the class as well. He’s a more raw prospect but is very athletic. He may be a potential redshirt candidate.
Finishing up work on our schedule now – we’re looking for good teams here at home, but I don’t need to make us run a gauntlet like last year. We’re preseason #1, with Saginaw Valley State (#3) and Sioux Falls (#4) on our heels. Coker starts out the year preseason ranked #2, which has to stick in their craw at least a bit considering they beat us twice and won the national title. But hey, I’ll take it. It’s a target on your back no matter which way you look at it.
September 25, 1939
Here is our schedule for the 1939-40 basketball season. We’ll have a fairly brutal November, and the game at Kentucky Wesleyan will be one to mark on the calendar, but we do have some lighter games on the schedule. It is a lot of time on the road (six games plus a traveling tournament) but we’ll have a good clue how ready we are for the conference gauntlet once we get past Christmas.
November
16 - @ #23 BYU – Hawaii
19 - #8 Southern Indiana
21-23 – Heroes Memorial Tournament (vs. Pfeiffer in 1st round)
26 - @ West Texas A&M
30 - @ Fremont State
December
3 – Davenport
7 - @ Valdosta State
10 – Mount Olive
13 - @ Bemidji State
21 - @ #5 Kentucky Wesleyan
28 – Alaska Fairbanks
January
4 – Michigan Tech
7 - @ Concordia-St. Paul
11 - @ Minnesota State
14 - #3 Saginaw Valley State
18 - @ Minot State
21 – Minnesota St.-Moorehead
25 - @ Northern State
28 - @ Wayne State
February
1 – Concordia
4 - @ #4 Sioux Falls
8 – Mary
11 – Black Hills State
15 - @ Loras
18 - @ Michigan Tech
22 – Concordia-St. Paul
25 – Minnesota State
We got our third recruit to commit this week as well, Erik Thomas of Cumberland, Virginia’s Cumberland High. Though he’s surprisingly short for playing at this level (just 5’5” and a lean 165 pounds) I see him as a diamond in the rough I can mold into a solid sixth man for this team by the time he reaches his junior year. He’ll get playing time off the bench early, and he has a ton of potential. He’s just raw and untested.
We have one scholarship still outstanding, to a top player here in Minnesota. Hoping we nail this one down this week! We’re down to our last $5,000 in recruiting money due to going out of state for a few gems.
October 2, 1939
We have done it! William Johnson of John Marshall High in Rochester, Minnesota, will bring his talents as a power forward to our program. Ranked 21st in the nation, 2nd nationally among forwards, Johnson had us as his top school all season, as his mother went here (his father went to Minnesota State) and we locked him up with a scholarship that opened up two weeks ago after a top ten player backed out. He’s got incredible upside as a player, and is a great rebounder and scoring option from anywhere on the court. But defensively he’s raw, and he may take a year or two to come into his own. He is looking for a disciplined program and a chance to play at the top levels of the game, which is exactly what he’ll get here at Winona State. And at 6’7” he’s willing to consider training to play other positions, in a guard / forward hybrid, to allow him to get more playing time and develop.
1939-40 Winona State Roster
PG – Steve Booth (6’1” 195 lbs Sr) Crosby MN (Crosby-Ironton HS) 3.4 GPA
SG – Rickey James (6’5” 183 lbs Sr) St. Paul MN (Como Park HS) 3.3 GPA
SF – Julian Cabrera (6’7” 241 lbs Fr) Highland Park MI (Highland Park HS) 2.9 GPA
PF – Antawn Crosbie (6’7” 206 lbs Fr) Morris MN (Morris Area HS) 3.2 GPA
C – Roy Wright (6’7” 225 lbs So) Dawson MN (Dawson-Boyd HS) 3.2 GPA
6 – Anthony Soward (6’4” 215 lbs So) Lamberton MN (Red Rock Central HS) 3.0 GPA
7 – Kevin Young (6’5” 218 lbs Sr) Kirkland IL (Hiawatha HS) 2.5 GPA
8 – Drew Greenleaf (6’9” 210 lbs So) Henning MN (Henning HS) 2.2 GPA*
9 – Dave Jones (6’11” 237 lbs Jr) Worthington MN (Worthington HS) 2.3 GPA
10 – Eric Johnson (5’9” 165 lbs Fr) Waseka MN (Waseka HS) 2.9 GPA*
11 – Warren Holiday (6’3” 203 lbs Jr) Sleepy Eye MN (St. Mary’s HS) 2.3 GPA
12 – Stephen Louis (6’7” 236 lbs Sr) Chaska MN (Sothwest Christian HS) 3.1 GPA
13 – Andrae Jessie (6’8” 225 lbs So) Fridley MN (Totino-Grace HS) 3.5 GPA
14 – Brian Kincaid (6’10” 252 lbs Jr) Silver Bay MN (W.M. Kelley HS) 2.6 GPA
15 – Jim Lackey (6’10” 244 lbs So) Springfield MN (Springfield HS) 3.5 GPA
_________
* Walk-on
We may consider some redshirts next season, but this year I have the players I want, and the ones I would redshirt I’m not desperate to keep them for extra development time. Better to be able to bring my own players in faster to keep this train rolling.