Bottineau Star
NDSU may have its second women's basketball verbal for the 2010 class. Bottineau's Kelsey Peltier, although not confirmed, will join Moorhead's Miki Stephenson in the early signing period in November.
Bottineau has had a strong program in recent years winning three straight Class B titles. Now, the Stars may have their first Division I player.
Posted by: Jeff Kolpack on 7/03/2009 at 11:08 PM | Comments (0) | Permalink
Say goodbye
This drawing appears that it will stay just that: a drawing. The $15 million donor for NDSU's portion of the project just isn't out there and my sense is NDSU is ready to move on to its other option: total renovation of the BSA. The decision has to come pretty soon and unless some miracle money comes from somewhere, say goodbye to this concept. It was nice while it lasted.
Story in Friday's Forum.
Posted by: Jeff Kolpack on 7/02/2009 at 8:36 PM | Comments (12) | Permalink
Tags: ndsu
Waiting for Word
This isn't big news but it's that time of year and the blog's been a little slow...
Spoke to one of Dante Perez's assistant coaches in San Jose. Said Perez is still considering NDSU's offer and is "leaning that way". Said the kid is very family oriented and it's hard for him to think about going so far away since his mom and dad have been to every game he's ever played, and moving to Fargo would likely mean the end of that run.
Posted by: Steve Hallstrom on 6/29/2009 at 11:59 PM | Comments (44) | Permalink
They got next...
Met the four new mens basketball players a couple days ago, well, met 3 since I had already met Jordan Aaberg...
Early impressions, although understand that I only talked to them for a couple minutes each.
And by the way, the story we did last night on WDAY will be on www.wday.com until 10:00 tonight, so if you missed it...
Zastrow looks very young when you see him in person, but Nate Aamodt who shot some of the pick up game against the upperclassmen, said he was the best player of the bunch. He made a couple deep 3's and looked very comfortable running a half court, and can drive to the hoop. It sure looked like Nate's analysis was right on from watching the video tape. He was very sure of his offensive skills but knows that strength and defense need to grow.
Felt has unlimited confidence, which is good when you're a shooter. A couple possessions, he and Zastrow seemed to have a nice willingness to work off each other/chemistry. Felt looks the most ready physically for the college game. Seemed to have a great feel for the offensive end and has a great looking shot.
Aaberg had flashes of brilliance against Sam and Nagel, but will have a lot of work to do. He is really long with his reach and keeps a lot of balls alive. His potential is really scary. Credit to strength and cond. staff -- he's on a food journal where he tracks everything he eats, and he's on a strict menu with fruits, veg, proteins and carbs. he's been on campus a little more than 3 weeks. He came in weighing 198 and he's now 209. This, all while sweating his tail off this week in the crock pot called the BSA. Those strength and cond. people know what they're doing up there, that's for sure. Jordan is the most likeable and humble kid you'd ever want to meet. Always with a smile on his face off the floor. If he can develop a mean streak look out.
Braun, like Aaberg, very wiry but very athletic. Very well spoken and very excited about his chance to play Division 1 ball. He and Aaberg may be the best candidates to redshirt.
I asked all four their thoughts on playing with the upperclassmen -- do they feel like they belong here or is it a work in progress. All 4 said they feel like they belong on that court. I guess that's a good place to start.
Posted by: Steve Hallstrom on 6/24/2009 at 10:04 AM | Comments (31) | Permalink
Will Woodside get drafted?
Don't be surprised if Ben Woodside becomes the second North Dakota State men's basketball player to be selected in the NBA Draft.
After a five-week, whirlwind tour of nine NBA cities, Woodside is ready to relax in his Chicago apartment and watch Thursday night's NBA Draft with his dad, mom, younger sister and girlfriend. Woodside, who has been working out in Chicago where his agent is based, has been opening some eyes during the past month.
"Almost everywhere he has gone, he has opened some eyes," said Woodside's agent, Mark Bartelstein. "He has kind of wowed people."
Enough to get drafted - joining Lance Berwald as the only NDSU players to be selected? Berwald was a 6-foot-11 center who was drafted in the fifth round of the 1984 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers. An NBA career never materialized, but Berwald ended up with a highly-successful basketball career overseas.
"I think he's going to get drafted," Bartelstein said. "In the event he doesn't, I know a lot of teams will be lining up to sign him up for their summer leagues."
Woodside, a 5-11 point guard who ended his NDSU career as the school's all-time leading scorer, isn't quite as optimistic - at least not publicly.
"I'll be totally honest, it's going to be tough for me to get drafted," Woodside said. "But you never know. There might be a team out there that says 'we like him and we want him.'"
Relying on the same skills that helped him score 60 points in one game last season and 37 points against Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, Woodside has shown NBA scouts that he is more than just a catch-and-shoot type of player. He has displayed his ability to drive to the basket while draining outside shots.
"He continues to show he can score against high-level athletes," Bartelstein said. "His ability to get to the rim has surprised people. And he competes so hard. He has basically gone out and outplayed everyone he has gone against."
Since a May 19 tryout in San Antonio, Woodside has tried out in Minneapolis, Chicago, Oklahoma City, Detroit, Utah, Denver, Sacramento and most recently Portland.
"It has become a grind," Woodside said Monday night, calling from the Denver airport on his way back from Portland. "I could tell I was a little tired in Portland. But I've been loving it.
"I was sitting back thinking the other day, it's like I'm doing a job interview. I'm blessed with this opportunity. A lot of kid would love to be in my shoes."
And again, don't be suprised if those shoes land him with an NBA team.
Posted by: By Kevin Schnepf on 6/23/2009 at 9:55 AM | Comments (17) | Permalink