Minnesota State reached the midway point of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference basketball season, which makes this a good time to digest what has happened.
Obviously, the men's team has struggled. You knew there would be an adjustment period after the program lost so many talented kids from last season, but you also never expected to see one of coach Matt Margenthaler's teams struggle so much.
The transfers didn't work out. Torrieo Williams was gone before the season started, and D.J. Hoskins left at semester break. Charles McNeal was going to be deep on the bench so he's taking a redshirt season.
That leaves the Mavericks with a lot of young kids, all of whom are talented. But experience is very important in this league. Zach Romashko, T.J. Okafor, Miles Chamberlain and Kelly Madison all look like they have a promising future, but the growing pains are severe.
For the most part, Stephen Kirschbaum has played well, though the team's only senior is much better when others are creating and he can shoot from the perimeter.
Sophomores Jimmy Whitehead, Connor O'Brien, Travis Meinders and Alex Hanks have all had good games, but consistency is an issue.
The outlook for this team will change if Egyptian transfer Assem Ahmed is declared eligibile and is as good as expected, but the Mavericks will be lucky to crack the top eight in the conference to qualify for the league tournament.
The womn's team has been a pleasant surprise. After starting conference play with three losses, and having top scorer and rebounder Ali Wilkinson lost to a knee injury, the Mavericks have won eight straight to move into third place in the Northern Sun.
This team is athletic and defends well, and the last five victories have been by 7 points or less, meaning the Mavericks are performing well under pressure.
Seniors Laura Weber and Jennie Noreen have been very good over the last eight games, and freshmen Aubrey Davis and Jamie Bresnahan have played above their experience.
Ali Hoefer and Jameila Hudnell have provided key minutes, and just about every player that takes the court gives the team something.
It looks like Minnesota State has a very good chance of hosting a first-round game in the Northern Sun tournament, and you shouldn't sleep on their chances to challenge for the conference title and advance in to the national tournament.
As much as the men's team has fallen from last season, the women's team has made that big of a jump.
Showing posts with label Mavericks. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mavericks. Show all posts
Monday, January 16, 2012
Friday, March 25, 2011
Final thoughts on MSU basketball from Elite Eight
Left Springfield, Mass., for a couple of days at Hartford before returning to Minnesota on Sunday.
It's always amazing, regardless of sport or level its being played, how quickly the emotions of a dramatic postseason run can crash with a loss. When a team, such as the 2009 Minnesota State women, wins a championship, there's usually a few days for everyone to revel in the victory, slowly coming down from the emotional high.
But when a team is playing at a high level, such as this Minnesota State men's squad, and then loses, it's an immediate and hard letdown for the coaches and players. In a few days, they'll be able to look back at the amazing accomplishments of this season, but that first 24 hours seems pretty tough.
The Mavericks will be back at the Elite Eight sometime, especially if Matt Margenthaler continues to coach at Minnesota State, but the rebuilding task is daunting. Seniors Jefferson Mason, Marcus Hill, Cameron Hodges, Joe Drapcho and Taylor Morrow were so important to this team, and it leaves little experience coming back next season.
This will be the most difficult class to replace since the 2007 class of Luke Anderson, Tony Thomason and Paris Kyles, which ironically was the year that Hill, Drapcho, Morrow, Mike Bisenius, Stephen Kirschbaum and Mitch Grundman came to Minnesota State.
There was no shame in losing to Bellarmine, which has a good chance to win a national championship Saturday against BYU-Hawaii. Bellarmine was a veteran, tough, strong, disciplined team that out-executed the Mavericks over the last five minutes.
Mason ended his career as one of the top 5 players ever at Minnesota State, and Cameron Hodges' final month was nearly as good. Hill is also a top-20 player in program history, and the fact that he played 224 of 225 minutes in the national tournament says a lot about his courage and determination.
Margenthaler and assistant Mike Schott will never have a bad team at Minnesota State. They're too good at recruiting to let the talent level slip, but experience will be the key.
There might only be two starters for next year that are on the team right now. Jimmy Whitehead will be the point guard, and Connor O'Brien will be the center or power forward. Kirschbaum and Bisenius will probably be the first players off the bench.
That means the two freshman already signed -- Kelly Madison of Des Moines, Iowa, and Mile Chamberlain of Madison, Wis., -- might be starters, or there could be some additional signings or transfers.
It's important that Margenthaler and staff capitalize on this historic season and attract some talented players. The women's program didn't do that after 2009, and that team is struggling just two years later.
You might expect next season to be less successful, but that's the same opinion that most fans had back in November, especially after the two senior transfers were kicked off the team.
It appears that you should never underestimate Margenthaler, Schott and his players. A lot of teams and fans found out the hard way this season.
It's always amazing, regardless of sport or level its being played, how quickly the emotions of a dramatic postseason run can crash with a loss. When a team, such as the 2009 Minnesota State women, wins a championship, there's usually a few days for everyone to revel in the victory, slowly coming down from the emotional high.
But when a team is playing at a high level, such as this Minnesota State men's squad, and then loses, it's an immediate and hard letdown for the coaches and players. In a few days, they'll be able to look back at the amazing accomplishments of this season, but that first 24 hours seems pretty tough.
The Mavericks will be back at the Elite Eight sometime, especially if Matt Margenthaler continues to coach at Minnesota State, but the rebuilding task is daunting. Seniors Jefferson Mason, Marcus Hill, Cameron Hodges, Joe Drapcho and Taylor Morrow were so important to this team, and it leaves little experience coming back next season.
This will be the most difficult class to replace since the 2007 class of Luke Anderson, Tony Thomason and Paris Kyles, which ironically was the year that Hill, Drapcho, Morrow, Mike Bisenius, Stephen Kirschbaum and Mitch Grundman came to Minnesota State.
There was no shame in losing to Bellarmine, which has a good chance to win a national championship Saturday against BYU-Hawaii. Bellarmine was a veteran, tough, strong, disciplined team that out-executed the Mavericks over the last five minutes.
Mason ended his career as one of the top 5 players ever at Minnesota State, and Cameron Hodges' final month was nearly as good. Hill is also a top-20 player in program history, and the fact that he played 224 of 225 minutes in the national tournament says a lot about his courage and determination.
Margenthaler and assistant Mike Schott will never have a bad team at Minnesota State. They're too good at recruiting to let the talent level slip, but experience will be the key.
There might only be two starters for next year that are on the team right now. Jimmy Whitehead will be the point guard, and Connor O'Brien will be the center or power forward. Kirschbaum and Bisenius will probably be the first players off the bench.
That means the two freshman already signed -- Kelly Madison of Des Moines, Iowa, and Mile Chamberlain of Madison, Wis., -- might be starters, or there could be some additional signings or transfers.
It's important that Margenthaler and staff capitalize on this historic season and attract some talented players. The women's program didn't do that after 2009, and that team is struggling just two years later.
You might expect next season to be less successful, but that's the same opinion that most fans had back in November, especially after the two senior transfers were kicked off the team.
It appears that you should never underestimate Margenthaler, Schott and his players. A lot of teams and fans found out the hard way this season.
Friday, January 7, 2011
Friday, December 10, 2010
First real road test for MSU basketball
The Minnesota State men's basketball team plays road games at 7:30 p.m. today at Concordia-St. Paul and 6 p.m. Saturday at St. Cloud State. It's the first real test of the season as the Mavericks have opened the seaosn with six victories.
Concordia-St. Paul has some size so that may cause problems for the undersized Mavericks, and St. Cloud State has strong perimeter players, such as Taylor Witt, Brett Putz and Andrew Bernstetter. Saturday's matchup is clearly better against the Huskies.
As was written in the print edition Friday, this is a different Minnesota State team, built on defense and toughness. There's a lot less flash and more grit on the team, and the likelihood of the 94-88 type games is far less. Look for more scores in the 60s and 70s.
It's easy to have watched the last four home games and conclude that this team isn't as talented as past Minnesota State squads, but the Mavericks are winning differently. Coach Matt Margenthaler was asked last week if this was the best defensive team he's had in 10 seasons at Minnesota State, and the answer was a quick "yes."
Maybe ask Augustana's Cody Schilling, who scored only six points against the Mavericks last week. Witt is one of the premier players in the Northern Sun, and he's struggled against the Mavericks at times.
There might not be as many highlight-reel plays, but the success has been the same. You just have to adjust the way you evaluate this team's performance.
Concordia-St. Paul has some size so that may cause problems for the undersized Mavericks, and St. Cloud State has strong perimeter players, such as Taylor Witt, Brett Putz and Andrew Bernstetter. Saturday's matchup is clearly better against the Huskies.
As was written in the print edition Friday, this is a different Minnesota State team, built on defense and toughness. There's a lot less flash and more grit on the team, and the likelihood of the 94-88 type games is far less. Look for more scores in the 60s and 70s.
It's easy to have watched the last four home games and conclude that this team isn't as talented as past Minnesota State squads, but the Mavericks are winning differently. Coach Matt Margenthaler was asked last week if this was the best defensive team he's had in 10 seasons at Minnesota State, and the answer was a quick "yes."
Maybe ask Augustana's Cody Schilling, who scored only six points against the Mavericks last week. Witt is one of the premier players in the Northern Sun, and he's struggled against the Mavericks at times.
There might not be as many highlight-reel plays, but the success has been the same. You just have to adjust the way you evaluate this team's performance.
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