PDA

View Full Version : Augustana taps Billeter as coach



BisonMav
03-25-2003, 08:03 PM
I think Billeter will do well at Auggie. I can see Auggie playing for the NCC tittle within a few years.

NDSU_grad
03-25-2003, 09:19 PM
This had to be a no-brainer for the Augie AD. He'll have that program turned around in a year or two, especially if he recruits juco's like he did here.

SDSUFAN
04-04-2003, 02:48 PM
Dana Grimsrud who played for AD Bill Gross at Augie seems to be the matchmaker in this deal. Dana as you recall was Billeter's assistant at NDSU. It will be no surprise if Dana is tapped as an assistant again at his old alma mater.

The thing that always puzzled me about Billiter was not his ability to recruit, but molding all this talent into a good playing team unit was somewhat disappointing in my opinion. He seemed to have connections everywere. The talent he brought to NDSU was unbelieveablely good, but the team effort was never what it could be. Maybe its was because of so many Juco's, I dont know. If the team chemistry is not there, you dont win games. I hope he will be better in this area at Augustana. No doubt, some great players will show up at Augustana.

BisonMav
05-02-2003, 02:29 PM
SDSUFAN
No doubt, some great players will show up at Augustana.

Sid Hartman has Esselink coming back. *There is also a guard, James Borom, from Williston State being recruited
by Auggie. *


Tribune
Gophers basketball player Steve Esselink wants to transfer to Augustana in Sioux Falls, S.D., where he started his college career. The rules are that he would have to sit out a year before being allowed to be eligible. But Esselink's paternal grandfather, Henry Esselink, lives in Sioux Falls and is ill, and because Steve wants to be close to his grandfather, an appeal has been made so he can be eligible immediately.

tony
05-02-2003, 03:37 PM
Should he really have to sit out a year (Esselink)? I thought that if a guy goes down a division, he's eligible immediately.

Of course, what I don't know about NCAA regs could fill a 200-page, single-spaced volume. For example, LeClair didn't have to sit out. Maybe the Gopher coach didn't grant him his release.

BisonMav
05-02-2003, 05:46 PM
Posted by: tony Posted on: Today at 9:37am
Should he really have to sit out a year (Esselink)? I thought that if a guy goes down a division, he's eligible immediately.
Of course, what I don't know about NCAA regs could fill a 200-page, single-spaced volume. For example, LeClair didn't have to sit out. Maybe the Gopher coach didn't grant him his release.


This came out of the Sid Hartman column. He may not be well versed in NCAA rules himself. I would think he should be able to play too, based on past examples. Maybe someone out there knows the NCAA ruling?

JBB
05-02-2003, 06:24 PM
Tony Stauss isnt sitting out either.

Bison_Kent
05-02-2003, 06:32 PM
I think since this is his second transfer, he might have to sit out another year. I think going down a division once is allowed without sitting out but if this is the second tranfer he might have sit out no matter where he transfers to. Correct me if I am wrong.

SDSUFAN
05-04-2003, 04:03 AM
Going from Augie to D1 Minnesota and then returning seems to be a special circumstance and Esslink may have to sit it out. Sid could be right on this one. At any rate Esslink is a very good player.

BisonMav
05-22-2003, 11:16 PM
Billeter's first recruiting class. I heard UND was also after Borom.


Augie's Billeter inks first recruiting class

New Augustana men's basketball coach Tom Billeter announced his first recruits, a player class.

Heading the list is point guard Ian Thomas, son of former Augustana coach John Thomas. The 6-foot-1 Eden Prairie, Minn., native was a three-year letter winner. He's joined by high school teammate Nick Olson, a 6-6, 210-pound forward.

Two other high school players will come to Sioux Falls in the fall. Joseph Ryan, a 6-1 guard from Forest Lake, Minn., broke the 1,000-point mark in high school and has been selected to play in the Minnesota All-Star game. Jerald Richardson, Jr., a 6-5 forward, was a two-year starter at Ellison High in Killeen, Texas.

James Borom, a 5-10 point guard, rounds out the class. He will transfer from Williston State College in North Dakota, where he averaged 17 points and 7.1 assists last season.

"We have brought in a mixture of both local and national talent," Billeter said in a release. ". These five young men are not only excellent basketball players, but quality individuals. They will be a nice addition to our current roster"

BisonMav
06-13-2003, 12:33 PM
From Charlie Walters St Paul Pioneer Press:

Look for former University of Minnesota basketball player Steve Esselink to enroll at the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.), an NAIA school where he will be eligible immediately. His appeal to the NCAA for immediate eligibility to attend Augustana (S.D.) was not approved.