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I know it is a little early for us, but here are highlights from a Minneapolis Star Tribune story about how NDSU's and SDSU's upcoming Men's Basketball games with the Gophers will effect both schools.
http://www.startribune.com/stories/512/5734040.html
Gophers men's basketball: It's not just any game for the Bison
When North Dakota State plays the Gophers tonight it will be seeking Division I validation and a recruiting boost.
Jeff Shelman, Star Tribune
Technically, this will be a basketball game. Two teams. Forty minutes. All that stuff.
But when the Gophers men's basketball team plays host to North Dakota State tonight, there also will be some validation going on. The same thing will happen when the Gophers play South Dakota State on Dec. 23.
That's because even though NDSU and SDSU have played the Gophers in several nonrevenue sports, these games will be much higher-profile for the two provisional Division I members.
"What it helps is that it cements the Division I idea in people's minds," Bison coach Tim Miles said. "The more times you play Minnesota, the more times you show we're not Division II any more, the better off we are." . . .
But playing the Gophers is also important for both schools when it comes to recruiting. Both the Bison and the Jackrabbits want to leverage their geography, and the fact that there is only one Division I basketball program in the state. Miles and Nagy know they're long shots to ever beat the Gophers for a recruit they both want, but the state produces more players than just the ones who end up at Minnesota.
There are 60 Minnesota high school players playing Division I basketball at more than two dozen schools nationally. SDSU has four Minnesotans on its roster, NDSU has seven. In addition, the Bison received a letter of intent this week from St. Paul Johnson's Freddie Coleman, a multitalented athlete the NDSU coaches are thrilled to have landed.
NDSU and SDSU are going to continue to be a closer alternative for Division I Minnesota players who aren't quite good enough to play in the Big Ten.
"The main thing the game helps us with is recruiting, said South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy, whose team lost by 15 points at Kentucky on Sunday and plays at Illinois tonight. "We want to get in there and get more kids. Hopefully playing the Gophers helps."
None of the Gophers coaches in any sport were required to play the Bison or the Jacks, but Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi was willing. Maturi was the athletic director at the University of Denver when it moved to Division I and understands the weight that playing a big-name regional school carries.
Gophers coach Dan Monson knows playing NDSU and SDSU will be more difficult than normal nonconference games because of the emotions involved. He knows the Gophers will get the best shot from both teams.
"I would rather have [an opponent] where there's no emotional attachment for the other team, but that's a paranoid coach," Monson said. "That's not the best game for us or certainly for our fans, for our players, for their players, this makes so much more sense. ... But for me personally, I'd rather have some guys in here who are afraid of cold weather, that don't want to be here and can't wait to get home. That isn't these guys."
Go State! ;D
http://www.startribune.com/stories/512/5734040.html
Gophers men's basketball: It's not just any game for the Bison
When North Dakota State plays the Gophers tonight it will be seeking Division I validation and a recruiting boost.
Jeff Shelman, Star Tribune
Technically, this will be a basketball game. Two teams. Forty minutes. All that stuff.
But when the Gophers men's basketball team plays host to North Dakota State tonight, there also will be some validation going on. The same thing will happen when the Gophers play South Dakota State on Dec. 23.
That's because even though NDSU and SDSU have played the Gophers in several nonrevenue sports, these games will be much higher-profile for the two provisional Division I members.
"What it helps is that it cements the Division I idea in people's minds," Bison coach Tim Miles said. "The more times you play Minnesota, the more times you show we're not Division II any more, the better off we are." . . .
But playing the Gophers is also important for both schools when it comes to recruiting. Both the Bison and the Jackrabbits want to leverage their geography, and the fact that there is only one Division I basketball program in the state. Miles and Nagy know they're long shots to ever beat the Gophers for a recruit they both want, but the state produces more players than just the ones who end up at Minnesota.
There are 60 Minnesota high school players playing Division I basketball at more than two dozen schools nationally. SDSU has four Minnesotans on its roster, NDSU has seven. In addition, the Bison received a letter of intent this week from St. Paul Johnson's Freddie Coleman, a multitalented athlete the NDSU coaches are thrilled to have landed.
NDSU and SDSU are going to continue to be a closer alternative for Division I Minnesota players who aren't quite good enough to play in the Big Ten.
"The main thing the game helps us with is recruiting, said South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy, whose team lost by 15 points at Kentucky on Sunday and plays at Illinois tonight. "We want to get in there and get more kids. Hopefully playing the Gophers helps."
None of the Gophers coaches in any sport were required to play the Bison or the Jacks, but Minnesota athletic director Joel Maturi was willing. Maturi was the athletic director at the University of Denver when it moved to Division I and understands the weight that playing a big-name regional school carries.
Gophers coach Dan Monson knows playing NDSU and SDSU will be more difficult than normal nonconference games because of the emotions involved. He knows the Gophers will get the best shot from both teams.
"I would rather have [an opponent] where there's no emotional attachment for the other team, but that's a paranoid coach," Monson said. "That's not the best game for us or certainly for our fans, for our players, for their players, this makes so much more sense. ... But for me personally, I'd rather have some guys in here who are afraid of cold weather, that don't want to be here and can't wait to get home. That isn't these guys."
Go State! ;D
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