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From gridiron to the hardwood
SDSU football players filling in nicely on basketball team
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
Article Published: 02/16/06, 2:55 am
BROOKINGS - Chris Wagner fulfilled a lifelong dream by simply wearing a South Dakota State basketball jersey and hearing his name echo throughout Frost Arena as he stepped onto the court.
In three minutes, the Brookings native sent an already curious and wound-up crowd into a frenzy, forever etching his name alongside some of his SDSU hoops heroes.
A member of the Jackrabbit football team, the Brookings native was one of four players Coach Scott Nagy contacted in a desperate need of bodies to fill his already depleted roster. And all four - sophomore Wagner, freshmen Mike Steffen and Glen Fox and redshirt freshman Brock Campbell - have surprised and re-energized the downtrodden basketball program.
"We know we're only going to be in there for a little while just to get some of those guys a few minutes to get off their legs," Fox said. "So we try to come out with a lot of energy and do what we can when we're in there."
In their four games, the Fab Four Footballers have combined for some surprising numbers: 12 points, 26 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals.
The Jackrabbits are 7-17 overall but 2-2 since the players were added to the squad, including Monday's 89-82 overtime loss at Middle Tennessee State. They host North Dakota State on Saturday at Frost.
"They're not even football players," junior guard Jose Frias said, "they're basketball players now."
At this point, anything more from these guys - who are concurrently in the football team's offseason weightlifting and training regimen - only will add to their growing spot in SDSU basketball lore.
They were needed when school officials suspended forward Andre Gilbert and center Mohamed Berte on Feb. 1 because of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault on campus.
Nagy called football coach John Stiegelmeier about getting Wagner and Steffen as fill-ins. Injured sophomore forward Steve Holdren then approached Fox and Campbell about the same thing.
All of them did have basketball pedigrees: Steffen was a Class B all-stater for Mount Vernon and was a member of the Argus Leader's Second Five last year. Fox was captain and averaged more than 10 points a game for for Cedar Rapids Prairie High in Iowa last year. Campbell started in 2004 at Washington High in Cherokee, Iowa. Wagner was captain of Brookings' team in 2003.
"We thought (Holdren) was joking around when he asked us if we wanted to play basketball," Campbell said. "We said sure, and he he's like, 'No, I'm being serious.' "
Nagy's team had a game with Southwest Minnesota State a day after the new players' first practice. It was barely enough time to find them uniforms and sneakers, let alone impart the intricacies of the Jacks' offense and defense.
What has happened in that Feb. 2 game shocked everyone and showed that they could be a help.
Wagner was the first to enter the lineup, with about five minutes left in the first half and SDSU trailing 27-22. A Junior Jackrabbit as a child, he immediately scored two baskets on offensive rebounds to incite the fans and finished with five points and five rebounds in his first basketball action since 2003.
"There was definitely adrenaline flowing when I walked onto the court," said Wagner, a 6-foot-7, 253-pound tight end-turned-forward. "That three minutes felt like a while, but it was a fun three minutes."
With the Mustangs having made it a one-possession game late in the game, Steffen swished the game-clinching jump shot with 20 seconds left. Fox snagged a key defensive board in the closing seconds to give the Jacks a 70-66 win.
"We're out here just trying to help them out," Steffen said. "It's their team - we're just trying to contribute."
It was an stunning ending to a bizarre situation, but just the beginning of a loaner program that has five games remaining.
"The football players have really helped us in a lot of areas," Nagy said. "They're all good kids, and they're a joy to have around the basketball team. And they're helping us on the floor, too."
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
Here's a look at the four football players SDSU added to the men's basketball team:
Redshirt freshman WR Brock Campbell (6-2, 205) has two points and three rebounds in just three minutes played in two games at guard.
Freshman DB Glen Fox (6-2, 180) has two rebounds while playing eight minutes in three games at guard.
Freshman WR Mike Steffen (6-5, 195) has played in four games, getting two points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 15 minutes as a wing.
Sophomore TE Chris Wagner (6-7, 253) has 17 rebounds (nine offensive), eight points, two steals and two blocks while averaging 12 minutes in his four games at forward.
From gridiron to the hardwood
SDSU football players filling in nicely on basketball team
Chris Solari
csolari@argusleader.com
Article Published: 02/16/06, 2:55 am
BROOKINGS - Chris Wagner fulfilled a lifelong dream by simply wearing a South Dakota State basketball jersey and hearing his name echo throughout Frost Arena as he stepped onto the court.
In three minutes, the Brookings native sent an already curious and wound-up crowd into a frenzy, forever etching his name alongside some of his SDSU hoops heroes.
A member of the Jackrabbit football team, the Brookings native was one of four players Coach Scott Nagy contacted in a desperate need of bodies to fill his already depleted roster. And all four - sophomore Wagner, freshmen Mike Steffen and Glen Fox and redshirt freshman Brock Campbell - have surprised and re-energized the downtrodden basketball program.
"We know we're only going to be in there for a little while just to get some of those guys a few minutes to get off their legs," Fox said. "So we try to come out with a lot of energy and do what we can when we're in there."
In their four games, the Fab Four Footballers have combined for some surprising numbers: 12 points, 26 rebounds, four blocked shots and four steals.
The Jackrabbits are 7-17 overall but 2-2 since the players were added to the squad, including Monday's 89-82 overtime loss at Middle Tennessee State. They host North Dakota State on Saturday at Frost.
"They're not even football players," junior guard Jose Frias said, "they're basketball players now."
At this point, anything more from these guys - who are concurrently in the football team's offseason weightlifting and training regimen - only will add to their growing spot in SDSU basketball lore.
They were needed when school officials suspended forward Andre Gilbert and center Mohamed Berte on Feb. 1 because of an investigation into an alleged sexual assault on campus.
Nagy called football coach John Stiegelmeier about getting Wagner and Steffen as fill-ins. Injured sophomore forward Steve Holdren then approached Fox and Campbell about the same thing.
All of them did have basketball pedigrees: Steffen was a Class B all-stater for Mount Vernon and was a member of the Argus Leader's Second Five last year. Fox was captain and averaged more than 10 points a game for for Cedar Rapids Prairie High in Iowa last year. Campbell started in 2004 at Washington High in Cherokee, Iowa. Wagner was captain of Brookings' team in 2003.
"We thought (Holdren) was joking around when he asked us if we wanted to play basketball," Campbell said. "We said sure, and he he's like, 'No, I'm being serious.' "
Nagy's team had a game with Southwest Minnesota State a day after the new players' first practice. It was barely enough time to find them uniforms and sneakers, let alone impart the intricacies of the Jacks' offense and defense.
What has happened in that Feb. 2 game shocked everyone and showed that they could be a help.
Wagner was the first to enter the lineup, with about five minutes left in the first half and SDSU trailing 27-22. A Junior Jackrabbit as a child, he immediately scored two baskets on offensive rebounds to incite the fans and finished with five points and five rebounds in his first basketball action since 2003.
"There was definitely adrenaline flowing when I walked onto the court," said Wagner, a 6-foot-7, 253-pound tight end-turned-forward. "That three minutes felt like a while, but it was a fun three minutes."
With the Mustangs having made it a one-possession game late in the game, Steffen swished the game-clinching jump shot with 20 seconds left. Fox snagged a key defensive board in the closing seconds to give the Jacks a 70-66 win.
"We're out here just trying to help them out," Steffen said. "It's their team - we're just trying to contribute."
It was an stunning ending to a bizarre situation, but just the beginning of a loaner program that has five games remaining.
"The football players have really helped us in a lot of areas," Nagy said. "They're all good kids, and they're a joy to have around the basketball team. And they're helping us on the floor, too."
Reach Chris Solari at 977-3923.
Here's a look at the four football players SDSU added to the men's basketball team:
Redshirt freshman WR Brock Campbell (6-2, 205) has two points and three rebounds in just three minutes played in two games at guard.
Freshman DB Glen Fox (6-2, 180) has two rebounds while playing eight minutes in three games at guard.
Freshman WR Mike Steffen (6-5, 195) has played in four games, getting two points, four rebounds, two blocks and two steals in 15 minutes as a wing.
Sophomore TE Chris Wagner (6-7, 253) has 17 rebounds (nine offensive), eight points, two steals and two blocks while averaging 12 minutes in his four games at forward.