How bad is it?

[SDbison]

Well, from reading Terry V's blog in the Argus Leader the Bison women are bad, but he takes the opportunity to put down the BSA and make a little comment about a future recruit. *Talk about kicking you when you are down. *It is time for some changes. The BSA remodel has to happen real quick and that is only patchwork. *The basketball addition to the Fargodome needs to move fast too. *Be nice to have that facility in 2 or 3 years max. *Amy's recruiting is going down and no reason for it to get much better. *I would give her one more year and that is if she is up to the task. *BTW, here is Terry V's comment's:

For the recruit watchers out there, Moorhead High School guard Kelsey Jacobson is here. She’s only a junior, but last season set the Minnesota state record for most 3-pointers in a single season. She is a hoops junkie and has her sights set on playing at the best Division I team possible. Both of these teams are interested in her and she plans to visit Brookings later this month.

For all the facility advantages that NDSU has over SDSU in football, it’s the opposite in basketball. The BSA is really rather unimpressive. They’ve hung big green baggies above the baseline seats. It’s both unattractive and a blown opportunity for some corporate sponsorship (Glad trash bags).
*

[NDSUFREAK10]

owwwww....ouch. I agree we need to get this arena done and done well.

[TheDoctor]

owwwww....ouch. I agree we need to get this arena done and done well.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

[sambini]

I give the arena idea a ++++++++++++++

[kchats]

http://blogs.argusleadermedia.com/sports/

Back to the Banana Belt
Posted in SDSU | February 5th, 2007 No Comments »

I’ve never been so happy to feel the sting of a 13-below-zero windchill in my life. The actual temperature was 25 below when I awoke in Fargo this morning. It was the thermal opposite of hell.

Looks like Bison fans are teetering on the brink after Saturday’s 41-point thumping against the Jacks. One stat that may further your desire jump and one that may make you step away from the ledge: Of the 14 field goals the Bison made, nine were “clean” as in not following a missed shot. As for the good news … NDSU is No. 173 in the NCAA RPI rankings. That’s better than all the Independents other than SDSU. Ten of the 15 Indys are at 267 or lower.

Not to make excuses for NDSU because the lack of athleticism is astounding, but what that program is experiencing is not unusual. Rather, SDSU has completely ruined the curve for transitioning and Independent programs. (Read Tuesday’s Argus Leader for more on this.) There was a story in my former paper about the men’s NIT and a tournament selection committee member said something to the effect that outside of Notre Dame (now in the Big East), Indys simply don’t make the postseason. And it’s been purported that no transitioning program has ever done so. What’s happening to the Bison is what’s supposed to happen. What the Jacks – ranked 38 in the latest RPI – are accomplishing is exceptionally rare.

I don’t know how rich people do it. I’m absolutely discombobulated by having residences in two states. Sometimes when I’m in Fargo, I think I’m in Jamestown, my hometown. Apparently, my brain is not able to separate one former home from another. This could become problematic.

The blog comments have been up lately; keep up the good work. One of you asked (politely, I believe), why I attended the women’s game Saturday instead of the men’s game. Well, my sports editor gives me considerable freedom in choosing my assignments, and for that I am grateful. I chose the women’s game for two reasons: 1) With the team surging toward a WNIT bid, what would be the first D-I team postseason berth in school history, the game was of greater significance. 2) My wife and daughter still live in Fargo, so this weekend offered an opportunity to be a father and a husband again. It turns out I’ve either forgotten how to play those roles or I never knew in the first place.

[cabis]

At first glance its pretty bad. The once dominant NDSU womens basketball program gets its A$$ kicked by our lowly rival SDSU in OUR house. It doesn't get much worse than that.
After sleeping on it there is a light at the end of the tunnel. The Jacks have simply raised the bar. I have read on here countless times that we will never compete for National Championships again etc etc because we are not Big Ten or Big Twelve and simply cant compete. The Jacks are showing that is not true and if we want to keep up with them we damn well better compete. The Jacks are a legitimate top 50 team and if eligible would probably be an NCAA at large team. They are a virtual lock for a WNIT invite and will most likely be the highest ranked team in the field and a favorite to win.
Hopefully this is a wakeup call to The Bison that we are in the heartland of basketball and that to be succesfull we have to raise our expectations and go after the best possible talent period. We have to expand our recruiting horizons and go after the talent that everybody else wants not their leftovers, and then find a way to get it done.
Its ironic that the Bison mens program has turned the same trick on SDSU albiet not quite as spectacularly. I wonder if the Bison men and the Jacks womens programs had a little more sense of urgency going into the transition as distinct underdogs, to maybe work a little further outside their comfort zone to account for some of their early success.

[kchats]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...54/1002/SPORTS

"That was a pretty good whooping," said Bison coach Amy Ruley, who won five Division II national titles from 1991-96. "They're a solid basketball team. If anything, it should motivate us to say we have to make improvements."

This is a promising statement. Now let's gitr done.

[kchats]

SDSU was better than NDSU in women's basketball at the end of division II too. SDSU is the last NCC team to win a national championship.

[SDbison]

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...54/1002/SPORTS

"That was a pretty good whooping," said Bison coach Amy Ruley, who won five Division II national titles from 1991-96. "They're a solid basketball team. If anything, it should motivate us to say we have to make improvements."

This is a promising statement. *Now let's gitr done.

So Amy just figured this out? WTF?
This isn't just about whether Amy is capable, but something has to be done to move from talk to actual plans to fundraising and actual construction on the new basketball arena ASAP! And, of course we all know the BSA renovation has to happen, but all the makeup in the world won't make the BSA a beauty.
The men's basketball recruiting in the early transition was damn good due to Miles skills and some luck. Don't know, giving Amy some credit, maybe she did what seemed right but had some bad luck. Obviously, NDSU is not winning men's or women's recruits over with the great basketball facilities on campus.

[SDbison]

SDSU was better than NDSU in women's basketball at the end of division II too. *SDSU is the last NCC team to win a national championship.

KC, any ideas on why NDSU fell flat so fast right after winning 5 national titles in 6 years?