Eagles are unanimous favorite to claim 2014-2015 men's basketball title
2014-2015 UMAC Men’s Basketball Coaches’ Poll
1. 49 Points – University of Northwestern (7 First Place Votes)
2. 42 Points – College of St. Scholastica
3. 35 Points – University of Minnesota Morris (1)
4. 32 Points – North Central University
5. 19 Points – Bethany Lutheran College
6. 17 Points – Northland College
7. 16 Points – Martin Luther College
8. 14 Points – Crown College
ST. PAUL – The University of Northwestern was unanimously selected to claim the Upper Midwest Athletic Conference (UMAC) men’s basketball title in 2014-2015, according to a poll of the league’s coaches. The Eagles, who have won the league regular season title in each of the last two seasons, earned seven first place votes and a total of 49 points in the annual coaches’ poll. The College of St. Scholastica finished in second place with 42 points while the University of Minnesota Morris earned 35 points and one first place nod to finish in third place.
1. University of Northwestern Eagles
2013-14 Overall Record: 16-12
2013-14 UMAC Record: 11-3
2013-14 UMAC Finish: 1st
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 2
Despite losing two starters from last year’s conference championship team, Northwestern has one of its most experienced squads coming back in 2014-2015. Head coach Tim Grosz has at least two guys at each of the five positions who have seen significant court time.
Northwestern finished the 2013-2014 campaign with a higher shooting percentage, both overall and behind the three-point line, and out-rebounded opponents by an average of 2.2 per game. The Eagles had Top 25 marks nationally for three-point field goal percentage (39.2) and total three-point field goals made (242) while adding an effective defense that was second in the country in personal fouls per game.
A pair of UMAC Second Team All-Conference players from a year ago, Michael Carney and Will Gisler, lead the Eagles’ group of returners. Carney, a guard, averaged 13.0 points per game in his sophomore season, nailing 57 three-pointers along the way. Gisler, a versatile forward, had quite the debut, earning the league’s Freshman of the Year award after averaging 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds per contest. League coaches will remember names such as Kyle Ooms and Caleb Janson, as the junior pair combined for over 10 rebounds per game last year. Big man Daniel Petkau is also back for Grosz after taking the 2013-2014 season off.
2. College of St. Scholastica Saints
2013-14 Overall Record: 11-15
2013-14 UMAC Record: 8-6
2013-14 UMAC Finish: T-3rd
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 2
The St. Scholastica men's basketball team’s youth is another year older in 2014-15 as head coach David Staniger will look to juniors Jake Naslund, Andrew Laughlin and Mike Spoden to lead the Saints this season.
Naslund was a second team All-UMAC choice last season after leading the Saints in scoring (10.8 points per game), steals (34) and assists (55). Laughlin was an honorable mention All-UMAC choice as he averaged nearly 10 points per game in conference play. Laughlin was also second on the team in rebounds.
Also back in the fold this season is senior guard LaMonte Hall, sophomore guard Julius Johnson and junior guard Tyler Rosenberger. Those three combined for 72 steals a season ago. Hall was second on the team in 3-pointers made, while Rosenberger led the squad in 3-point field goal percentage.
Look for freshmen guards Joe Stark, Marc Peterson and Ben Fiseha to make an impact as well this season.
3. University of Minnesota Morris Cougars
2013-14 Overall Record: 16-10
2013-14 UMAC Record: 10-4
2013-14 UMAC Finish: 2nd
Starters Returning: 3
Starters Lost: 2
Minnesota Morris will look to an experienced back court this year to help them overcome the loss of two big post players from 2013-14. The Cougars welcome back a trio of guards that all scored over ten points per game last season on the team that finished second in the conference in both points and points per game.
Cody Emrick, RJ Dean and Neil Helgeson all return for the Cougars this season after each averaging over ten points per game last season while playing over 20 minutes per contest. As a team the Cougars shot 45.4% last season, averaging nearly 72 points per game, second best in the conference.
Morris will have to replace a trio of players who combined to average over 16 rebounds per game, nearly fifty percent of the rebounds per contest, in order to be successful this season. However, the Cougars will look to both returners and newcomers to step in and make an impact on the court.
4. North Central University Rams
2013-14 Overall Record: 11-12
2013-14 UMAC Record: 5-9
2013-14 UMAC Finish: T-6th
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 1
The 2014-15 Rams men’s basketball team will have a good mix of returners as well as a strong group of new players that will be expected to make significant contributions right away.
The Rams return leading scorer Luke Chafin (16.4 ppg, 5.3 rpg) for his junior season. Chafin earned 2nd Team All UMAC honors last season. The Rams also return senior big man Jordan Harrell. Harrell missed most of the conference games last year due to a broken hand. Jordan finished last year with an 11.6 ppg average while shooting 58.4% from the field. The Rams will also return their best perimeter shooter from a year ago. Junior, wing Josh High connected on 72 3PT field goals last season while shooting 41% from behind the arc. High averaged 11.0 ppg and 75.9 from the free throw line. Other returners expected to be key contributors are junior, post Clarke Mossman (5.7 ppg, 3.4 rpg), sophomore point guard Cody Martin, and sophomore wing Isaiah Rustad (6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg).
The Rams are very excited about the new additions to their team. Two-time, All-State point guard from N.E.W Lutheran High School (Green Bay, WI) Travis Voigt will see significant minutes during his freshman year. Fellow Green Bay native, Joel Cline also joins the Rams as a 6’4” post as does transfer Nate Geving. The Rams will look for top newcomers to fill the holes left by Bryce Burkman and Ben Peters who graduated following last season.
5. Bethany Lutheran College Vikings
2013-14 Overall Record: 8-17
2013-14 UMAC Record: 7-7
2013-14 UMAC Finish: 5th
Starters Returning: 2
Starters Lost: 3
It's the same story for second year head coach Greg Holzhueter and the Bethany men's basketball team. Last season, he was given the task of replacing the team's top seven scorers from a squad that reached the UMAC championship game two straight seasons. This season, he will look to replace 73 percent of the team's scoring from last season, including their top three scorers from a squad that narrowly missed out on qualifying for the conference tournament.
Senior Luke Roddy will provide the Vikings with backcourt leadership. He was thrust into the starting point guard role early last season and excelled to the point where he earned UMAC Honorable Mention recognition. Nick Sanborn is the returning starter in the post. He averaged 9.1 points and 4.5 rebounds a contest and his 50.3 percent shooting from the floor was good for fourth in the conference.
To help replace their top scorers, Coach Holzhueter will be relying a lot on fresh faces as 13 of the 18 players are new to the program. Two all-time leading scorers from their respective high schools will be key additions to the backcourt in Zach Brandts from St. James and Neil Eichten from Wabasso. Troy Spears is a junior college transfer who earned second team all-conference honors who will be a boost to the frontcourt.
6. Northland College LumberJacks
2013-14 Overall Record: 5-20
2013-14 UMAC Record: 2-12
2013-14 UMAC Finish: 8th
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 1
After winning three of their final nine games last season, while starting three freshmen, the LumberJacks have eight returners for the 2014-2015 season. Zach Ringhouse who was named UMAC All-Conference Honorable Mention last season, led the Jacks with a 13.3 points per game average, good for eighth overall in the UMAC while finishing second in the UMAC in 3-point field goal percentage at 41.4%. Northland’s trio of other seniors, Nathan Sharp, Dillon Riehle and Ty Weir, will provide much needed UMAC experience as well.
The Jacks also return three sophomore starters from last season. Tyler Peterson worked his way into the starting lineup by January and quickly became a scoring threat both inside and out. Dan Campion started every game last season for the LumberJacks at the point guard spot. Wing-guard Maverick Harris returns as does Ryan McDermott. McDermott exploded onto the scene last season by averaging 14.2 ppg, while shooting a whopping 62.9% from the floor and 50.0% from three point range. However, a knee injury in the team’s 5th game ended his season prematurely. Northland hopes to have McDermott back in the lineup in the near future.
In addition to the eight returners, Northland has nine new student-athletes looking to help continue the quest for the UMAC playoffs. The highlight of the incoming recruiting class is local 6’7” standout Thomas Whiting. With so many new faces on the LumberJack roster, it may take some time for this particular group to gel together. However, the Jacks are hoping to see results on the floor this season.
7. Martin Luther College Knights
2013-14 Overall Record: 6-19
2013-14 UMAC Record: 5-9
2013-14 UMAC Finish: T-6th
Starters Returning: 4
Starters Lost: 1
The MLC men’s basketball team returns 11 players from its roster last season that was very competitive in UMAC play, and hopes to make a return to the top half of the league standings and the UMAC Postseason Tournament this season.
The Knights must replace Galen Holzhueter, the program’s all-time leading scorer and rebounder, but returns its other four starters and most of its other contributors. Luke Rothe, Todd Brassow and Mike Paulsen return at the guard positions after starting most of last season. Rothe set the MLC single-season record for assists as a sophomore with 137, and figures to be the playmaker again this season, while Brassow hopes to build off last season’s breakout season (12.2 points per game on .527 percent shooting from the floor as a sophomore) and become the go-to scorer this season. Senior Craig Wilke returns as a strong defender who can play multiple positions, while fellow senior Josh Lindner and junior Austin Eisenmann should provide some scoring punch off the bench on the perimeter.
The Knights will be counting on several players to provide minutes at the center spot. Newcomer Andrew Nemmers will provide athleticism and length up front, while sophomores Zach Peterson and Erich Neumann gained some experience last season and hope to take a step forward this season. The Knights will be counting on its guards to help on the glass, with Rothe averaging 6.1 rebounds per game last season, while Brassow and Paulsen also provide help there with their length and athleticism.
8. Crown College Storm
2013-14 Overall Record: 12-15
2013-14 UMAC Record: 8-6
2013-14 UMAC Finish: T-3rd
Starters Returning: 2
Starters Lost: 3
For the second time in as many years, the top player from the Crown men’s basketball team has moved on prematurely. Bryce Williams is now on scholarship at St. Leo University (NCAA DII) in Florida, and with him goes over 20 points and five rebounds per game. Crown also loses seniors Truman Shetler, Billy Berglund, and Stephen Peterson from a team that played in the UMAC Championship game a year ago.
Returning to lead a young Crown team are senior Roland Owczarek (11.8 ppg) and sophomore James Brown (10.2 ppg). The only other returning players from last year’s rotation are shooter Tom Messner (8.6 ppg) and post player Jordan Whitcomb (2.2 ppg).
Joining those four will be a host of talented newcomers who will almost all be challenged to accept large roles from the start of the season. Chuckie Adams (Couer d’Alene, Idaho) is a fantastic athlete in the mold of Shetler who will be counted on to take over significant minutes at the point and will be joined by fellow guards Justin Fayant (Spokane, Wash.), Cody Crandall (Huron, Ohio), and Chad Anenson (Mayer, Minn.) in a new look guard rotation. Senior Kole Kristenson is looking to play his first full season and will provide depth in the frontcourt alongside freshman Austin VanDerHeyden from Burnsville high school.
UMAC teams will kick off competition November 15 with the conference portion of the season beginning in January. An automatic berth to the NCAA Championships will be awarded to the winner of the UMAC Men's Basketball Tournament.