More Guards????

[RabbitObsessed]

Re: More Guards????

It would have been great to sign a big. Greeeeeat. We are going to get destroyed down low.

But daaaaaaamn. They look real good.

[jacks1]

Re: More Guards????

It would have been great to sign a big. Greeeeeat. We are going to get destroyed down low.

But daaaaaaamn. They look real good.

DING DING DING...We have a winner!

[bub94]

Re: More Guards????

The 2 seniors we are losing are both guards (even though most of us consider Griff a forward). Yes it would have been nice to see a power forward/center signed, but if you can sign good players in a position you will be playing 3-4 on the court at a time, I believe you go for them. Guess we will find out in November how we are looking. (an yes, I do know they are joining the team this year not next).

[LakeJack]

Re: More Guards????

It would have been great to sign a big. Greeeeeat. We are going to get destroyed down low.

But daaaaaaamn. They look real good.

Not so fast my friend, I hear that Jordan is up to 240 lbs of muscle and Tony is at 230 lbs and has had a Greeeeeat summer. Have some faith in the guys we have on the team.

I really like the two guys we added.

[SDSUAlum08]

Re: More Guards????

The 2 seniors we are losing are both guards (even though most of us consider Griff a forward). Yes it would have been nice to see a power forward/center signed, but if you can sign good players in a position you will be playing 3-4 on the court at a time, I believe you go for them. Guess we will find out in November how we are looking. (an yes, I do know they are joining the team this year not next).

The two seniors were Clint and Moss. Griff is still around for another year.

My hope is one of these players can be a true scorer and can create his own shot. Nate was really the only one that could do that last year and having someone else on the floor will be a big help. Also, I hopefully one of them can play some defense and lockdown a scorer from the other team. Those two things will help a ton. Francis looks more fluid as a player compared to Prince. However, he's going to have to learn to drive with his right hand. You can tell he LOVES to cross over to his left and drive. Teams will easily pick up on that.

I think you can basically guarantee Stephenson is done at State and won't contribute much. A true PG was needed so Nate could get some rest and it will let him sit off the ball at the 2 spot once in a while. I think it will help him.

If the coaching staff can sign a JUCO big and/or another freshman big man for next year, this team will hopefully start to call into place. Redshirting Heemstra would have been so beneficial for him to just get in the weight room and add some weight. Hopefully the coaching staff can redshirt a few of these freshman coming in.

[RowdyRabbit]

Re: More Guards????

Not so fast my friend, I hear that Jordan is up to 240 lbs of muscle and Tony is at 230 lbs and has had a Greeeeeat summer. Have some faith in the guys we have on the team.

I really like the two guys we added.

This. I'll go ahead and say it...I predict Jordan will really fill the hole in middle this year and we'll do A LOT better at stopping some of them easy baskets down low. Book it, ya hear!

[NoVaJack]

Re: More Guards????

The two seniors were Clint and Moss. Griff is still around for another year.

My hope is one of these players can be a true scorer and can create his own shot. Nate was really the only one that could do that last year and having someone else on the floor will be a big help. Also, I hopefully one of them can play some defense and lockdown a scorer from the other team. Those two things will help a ton.

I think you can basically guarantee Stephenson is done at State and won't contribute much. A true PG was needed so Nate could get some rest and it will let him sit off the ball at the 2 spot once in a while. I think it will help him.

If the coaching staff can sign a JUCO big and/or another freshman big man for next year, this team will hopefully start to call into place. Redshirting Heemstra would have been so beneficial for him to just get in the weight room and add some weight. Hopefully the coaching staff can redshirt a few of these freshman coming in.

Am pretty sure he meant the two guards we are losing after the upcoming season...

[89rabbit]

Re: More Guards????

This. I'll go ahead and say it...I predict Jordan will really fill the hole in middle this year and we'll do A LOT better at stopping some of them easy baskets down low. Book it, ya hear!

CoachNagy spoke last night at the Sioux Empire Stater's Jackrabbit Shootout inHarrisburg (122 alumni and friends at the event), he was very upbeat. He notedthat both Dykstra & Fiegen had done well in the weight room. He said thisis the happiest that Strength Coach Nate Moe has ever been with the Men'sBasketball team. He was excited about both Francis & Prince. He talked about their toughness. Said Defense was going to be the focus this year.

Go State!

[Nidaros]

Re: More Guards????

CoachNagy spoke last night at the Sioux Empire Stater's Jackrabbit Shootout inHarrisburg (122 alumni and friends at the event), he was very upbeat. He notedthat both Dykstra & Fiegen had done well in the weight room. He said thisis the happiest that Strength Coach Nate Moe has ever been with the Men'sBasketball team. He was excited about both Francis & Prince. He talked about their toughness. Said Defense was going to be the focus this year.


Go State!

Thanks for the report, looks like you had a good turnout. After watching the Youtubes on Francis and Prince, you have to be impressed and hopeful about this coming season.

[mr76]

Re: More Guards????

To have a successful team you need to have good balance, but you can never have enough good guards. Check out every level of competition and the great teams have great guards. I am happy to hear that Dykstra and Fiegen are both bigger and stronger, but I am curious to the development of Heemstra. I think he has the potential to help the inside game tremendously. By the way, Dykstra is a stud and will be even better this year. I wish Cedric Lang all the luck in the world because he is a great person, but it would not break my heart if decided to come back to SDSU.

Starting Line-up:
Wolters 1
White - 2
Callahan - 3
Fiegen - 4
Dykstra - 5

Top Subs:
Heemstra -5
Carlson - 2/3
Hortsman - 2/3
Any other help from the new guys would be great!

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: More Guards????

Starting Line-up:
Wolters 1
White - 2
Callahan - 3
Fiegen - 4
Dykstra - 5

Top Subs:
Heemstra -5
Carlson - 2/3
Hortsman - 2/3
Any other help from the new guys would be great!

I think we are going to have a pretty good team whether we add a "big" or not. I was looking at your projections and it just kind of hit me. Does everyone remember when we made the move to D1 how there was a lot of fear that we would be almost forced into recruiting big-city kids, players that may have some questionable character, and get away from the type of kid that made us succesful at the D2 level?

Well, here we are in 2011 with what will almost certainly be our best D1 team to date and look at where the players are from. From South Dakota you have a couple from Madison, Brookings, Viborg, N. Sioux City, and Winner. A couple kids from Rock Valley and one from Council Bluffs in Iowa. A lone Minnesotan from St. Cloud. Seneca (IL), Brookfield (WI), and Palatine (IL) don't strike me as huge places. I believe Merriville (IN) has a Honda vehicle plant so it must be decent sized. No idea on Silistra, Bulgaria. The lone "Big City" kid is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Just thought it was interesting that we are doing what we are doing with a bunch of fine young men that we can be proud to have wearing the Jackrabbit uniform. Sure, there have been a couple bumps along the way but that happened back in the day as well.

Keep up the great recruiting! Looking forward to the coming year!

SUPERBUNNY

[goon]

Re: More Guards????

I think we are going to have a pretty good team whether we add a "big" or not. I was looking at your projections and it just kind of hit me. Does everyone remember when we made the move to D1 how there was a lot of fear that we would be almost forced into recruiting big-city kids, players that may have some questionable character, and get away from the type of kid that made us succesful at the D2 level?

Well, here we are in 2011 with what will almost certainly be our best D1 team to date and look at where the players are from. From South Dakota you have a couple from Madison, Brookings, Viborg, N. Sioux City, and Winner. A couple kids from Rock Valley and one from Council Bluffs in Iowa. A lone Minnesotan from St. Cloud. Seneca (IL), Brookfield (WI), and Palatine (IL) don't strike me as huge places. I believe Merriville (IN) has a Honda vehicle plant so it must be decent sized. No idea on Silistra, Bulgaria. The lone "Big City" kid is from Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Just thought it was interesting that we are doing what we are doing with a bunch of fine young men that we can be proud to have wearing the Jackrabbit uniform. Sure, there have been a couple bumps along the way but that happened back in the day as well.

Keep up the great recruiting! Looking forward to the coming year!

SUPERBUNNY

Thats something I thought is we would be seeing more kids of the the cities and chicago etc. So far it has still been the same area we recruit. sadly there are only so few legit bigs from the area who usually get drawn away from here. Bigs are probably the only thing we will look out recruiting footprint to find. see next year with the kid from alaska? Isnt one of the posts from ORU from Alaska also? like kind of a diamond in the rough if you will.

[SUPERBUNNY]

Re: More Guards????

Thats something I thought is we would be seeing more kids of the the cities and chicago etc. So far it has still been the same area we recruit. sadly there are only so few legit bigs from the area who usually get drawn away from here. Bigs are probably the only thing we will look out recruiting footprint to find. see next year with the kid from alaska? Isnt one of the posts from ORU from Alaska also? like kind of a diamond in the rough if you will.

Really good bigs are in demand at most schools outside of the top 25. Teams like SDSU for the most part have to take the kid that is a "project" and hope they develop or just go smaller. Certainly you recruit talented bigs and hope to land one. The best thing to have in your favor is a consistent program. That is what they are working towards but it will take time. Keeping local kids here is our best bet but it is tough when you have the Wisconsins and Minnesotas calling.

Bottom line is it wasn't lack of bigs last year that caused us to struggle defensively and on the boards. It was a commitment on the players to becoming a defensively solid team. We scored points and may score more this year. If those guys want to win the championship it will come from a commitment to win each ball, defend intensely, and taking care of the ball. Simple right?

SUPERBUNNY

[goon]

Re: More Guards????

We scored points and may score more this year. If those guys want to win the championship it will come from a commitment to win each ball, defend intensely, and taking care of the ball. Simple right?

SUPERBUNNY

That is essentially all the team should be thinking about all year. This is the chance for the coaching staff to say, told you so, that we can build a winner here. If this team can buy into D like they can on offense, watch out. but its up to the players to give the effort. Give everything you can everytime down the court and good things will happen.

[JackFan96]

Re: More Guards????

Why?

Three reasons. The first is because when the outside shots aren't going down, it's nice to have an interior option, a reliable big man. Second, to stop the opposition from punishing us inside. We've probably done a better job of doing that in recent years than our size would lead you to believe. Still, having a true center just means having a well-rounded team. Third, to help with rebounding, though I'll grant that more about desire and positioning than size. (Four...kind of...to keep the guys we have from having to play out of position.)