F ighting S ioux M en ' s B asketball 2 0 0 4 - 0 5 1 - University of ...

14
The Centers
A staple throughout Fighting Sioux history
in the Glas era has been the reliance on the
big man in the post. The UND post player
from each of the past five seasons has gone
on to earn All-NCC status. Those include
a strong, physical four in Chad Mustard in
2000, to Kyle Behrens the following
season to Jerome Beasley’s back-to-back
MVP seasons in 2002 and 2003. Last
season, Todd Rypkema carried on the
tradition, earning All-NCC honors, leading
the Sioux in scoring and rebounding.
“Todd came on like gang busters last year
and we expect that same kind of progress
from him again this year,” Glas said. “He
is a key to our success down low, because
if he can be an unstoppable force down
there and make people double-team him,
that obviously opens up our perimeter
game. We expect him to pick up right
where he left off and continue to get better.
We believe there’s even more upside to his
game. He could be one of the top players
in the league and quite frankly, we need
him to be that top player and we feel
confident in him doing that.”
Backing up Rypkema is Jared Wells,
Junior Shawn Swan
2004-05 Season Outlook
another player who has seen his playing
time and development hampered by injury.
Wells is one of the team’s top shotblockers,
swatting away 17 shots in 2003-
04, second on the team.
“Hopefully we can keep him healthy and
have him makes the strides that we think
he's capable of making,” Glas said of the
junior. “With the injuries, he hasn’t had the
rhythm to stay consistent. A lot of it is just
confidence, the mental aspect to be able to
go out there and just play the game and not
worry about anything. With success, he'll
gain confidence.”
The Sioux will look to a bruising, physical
force in the middle in Germel Stoute when
the matchup calls for a defender who can
mix it up down low. Stoute, who
transferred to UND from Williston State
prior to last season, is still learning the
game after picking up basketball late in his
high school years.
“You’ve got to have a person like Germel
on your team whose willing to do the grunt
work on the boards and against other
physical post players,” Glas admits.
“Germel will give us that option within our
team to be able to do that. He’s our
strongest, most physical
player and in this league
you have to have that
presence.”
Three freshmen will
redshirt the 2004-05
season: Daniel Harkins,
Cory Lott and Dane
Seckar-Anderson.
“Daniel is a real, solid
all-around player,” Glas
said. “He’s a good ball
handler and he shoots it
and he sees the floor
well. Cory is coming off
an injury and hopefully
that won't bother him
and he can have a
chance to develop his
game. Dane has got a lot
of upside to his game,
he's got a lot of
developing to do yet,
but he's going to work
hard and he'll get there.
His effort has to be in
the weight room, getting
that frame of his bigger
and stronger.”
The Schedule
With the NCC down to seven teams, the
non-conference schedule becomes that
much more important. The Sioux start the
season at the Disney Division II Tip-off
Classic, the first of two tournaments on the
campaign. The Sioux will return home and
open their brand new facility–the Betty
Engelstad Sioux Center–with a Nov. 18
game against Wayne State (Neb.), a game
that will see a former Sioux return to Grand
Forks in Rico Burkett.
Burkett, a letterwinner in 1989-90 and
1990-91, was part of two NCAA Division
II Elite Eight teams and was named to the
1990s All-Decade team at UND. He
returns as the head coach of the Wildcats
and will help the Sioux enter another new
era, officially opening the basketball
facility.
“It’s just a great arena and it will be
exciting to play there,” Glas summed-up
about the Betty. “I think the fans will
really relish being right on top of the court
again which the Betty allows for.”
UND will play nine home games in the
months of November and December, all in
the Betty. The Sioux will then head into the
Christmas break and travel to Seaside,
Calif. for the Monterey Bay Classic, hosted
by new Division II member, California
State, Monterey Bay.
The new year will see the Sioux shift gears,
playing all NCC schools for the remainder
of the docket and all of their remaining
home games at the Ralph Engelstad Arena.
“We feel fortunate to have two great arenas
to play in between the Ralph and the
Betty,” Glas noted. “We’re a blessed
program. We have that opportunity to
provide that to our student-athletes. You're
not going to find any place with better
facilities.”
Those facilities will be center stage in
March as the Division II men's Elite Eight
comes to Grand Forks and the Ralph
Engelstad Arena. Beginning March 23, the
top eight teams in the country will
converge at REA in front of a nationally
televised audience to duke it out for top
honors. The Sioux are hoping for the
unique opportunity to celebrate the first
100 years of their program with a few
added home games to their schedule.
Fighting Sioux Men’s Basketball 2004-05