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Former opponent - D-II Augustana (SD)

On a side note, had Fran wanted to win that exhibition....I have no doubt the Hawks would have. He played a lot of young guys and treated like the exhibition it was.
 
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On a side note, had Fran wanted to win that exhibition....I have no doubt the Hawks would have. He played a lot of young guys and treated like the exhibition it was.

Just to be clear, your starters (4 seniors and 1 junior) played a combined 154 minutes. Your non-starters played a total of 46 minutes (11 minutes of which was Dale Jones, a junior). Your non-upperclassmen, of which there were 6 total, played a combined of 35 minutes, 18 of which went to Brady Ellingson. Statistically, that assessment of the situation is just inaccurate. Unless you mean literally played them as in "put them in the game for a few minutes at some point," in which case, yes, he did give them a handful of minutes. But the Hawkeyes had 5 underclassmen who played 5 or fewer minutes (Wagner - 3, Fleming - 4, Williams - 3, Uhl - 2, and Baer - 5, Ellingson being the only one who played more than 5 minutes with 18), so I don't think those guys were the real difference makers in our game against you guys.

Anyway, I wouldn't disagree that Fran was probably trying different things and preparing for future games, so it probably wasn't the same types of offensive/defensive sets you guys would later run in the year, particularly during your mid-season hot streak. But to say "he played a lot of young guys" with the implication that playing those young guys was the reason you guys didn't win against Augie is just not supported statistically. At least from what I can tell.

P.S. - Thanks for mentioning Augie's reaching the Elite Eight. Would be fun to keep things rolling. We have a tough matchup in this round with a really athletic team from Texas, but it should be fun to see how it shakes out. Sorry your guys' season ended earlier than expected. I kept thinking you guys would rediscover the formula that was working back in January, but it didn't seem to come about, unfortunately. Would've loved to see you guys take it a few rounds deeper. Should be interesting to see how Fran restructures things with so many seniors moving on. Could be fun to see which direction it goes if you have some guys step up.
 
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Not to take anything away from Augustana's success by no means.

Daniel Jansen is a guy that could have definitely found success at the D-I level. He has had a great career for Augie.


Just to be clear, your starters (4 seniors and 1 junior) played a combined 154 minutes. Your non-starters played a total of 46 minutes (11 minutes of which was Dale Jones, a junior). Your non-upperclassmen, of which there were 6 total, played a combined of 35 minutes, 18 of which went to Brady Ellingson. Statistically, that assessment of the situation is just inaccurate. Unless you mean literally played them as in "put them in the game for a few minutes at some point," in which case, yes, he did give them a handful of minutes. But the Hawkeyes had 5 underclassmen who played 5 or fewer minutes (Wagner - 3, Fleming - 4, Williams - 3, Uhl - 2, and Baer - 5, Ellingson being the only one who played more than 5 minutes with 18), so I don't think those guys were the real difference makers in our game against you guys.

Anyway, I wouldn't disagree that Fran was probably trying different things and preparing for future games, so it probably wasn't the same types of offensive/defensive sets you guys would later run in the year, particularly during your mid-season hot streak. But to say "he played a lot of young guys" with the implication that playing those young guys was the reason you guys didn't win against Augie is just not supported statistically. At least from what I can tell.

P.S. - Thanks for mentioning Augie's reaching the Elite Eight. Would be fun to keep things rolling. We have a tough matchup in this round with a really athletic team from Texas, but it should be fun to see how it shakes out. Sorry your guys' season ended earlier than expected. I kept thinking you guys would rediscover the formula that was working back in January, but it didn't seem to come about, unfortunately. Would've loved to see you guys take it a few rounds deeper. Should be interesting to see how Fran restructures things with so many seniors moving on. Could be fun to see which direction it goes if you have some guys step up.
 
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On a side note, had Fran wanted to win that exhibition....I have no doubt the Hawks would have. He played a lot of young guys and treated like the exhibition it was.

Team also had a heavy workout/lifting that morning. It was treated like an exhibition in that they did not prep and have a scout nor treated it like a normal game day. But once the ball was tipped they played to win. It wasn't like he had his freshman out there a bunch in the 2nd half.
 
For anyone interested, Augie won their Elite Eight game last night to advance to the Final Four. 1st Team All-American and leading scorer Daniel Jansen didn't play due to an ankle injury sustained in practice the day before the game, but the Vikes overcame anyway and move on to play Western Oregon tonight in the Final Four.
 
Just because they are DII doesn't mean they didn't have a right to win or that they don't have talent.. They outplayed the Hawks, simple as that.
 
Any chance Jansen is able to come back to play in the Final 4 game?

For anyone interested, Augie won their Elite Eight game last night to advance to the Final Four. 1st Team All-American and leading scorer Daniel Jansen didn't play due to an ankle injury sustained in practice the day before the game, but the Vikes overcame anyway and move on to play Western Oregon tonight in the Final Four.
 
Any chance Jansen is able to come back to play in the Final 4 game?

According to our beat reporter, our coach is "not optimistic": http://www.argusleader.com/story/bl...day-billeter-not-feeling-optimistic/82216894/

Also, in different news, Jansen was named the NABC D2 National Player of the Year. Huge honor, and I believe the first ever in program history. Really sad he's not able to play in the biggest games of the season, but still an amazing accomplishment for him. He's been a spectacular player for the Vikes. Hopefully his little brother, Levi, can come in and make it a family tradition for Augie.
 
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Off Topic, but how is Lincoln Memorial the 1 seed at 27-6 when Augie is 32-2? Wasn't Augie ranked #1 or 2 for most of the year?

Edit: They are 33-2 and the DII bracket page has the wrong record for them.
 
Hopefully his little brother, Levi, can come in and make it a family tradition for Augie.

It has worked out OK before. Schilling had an older brother who played at Augie also (can't remember the years but he was damn good also).

Also, the decision to move home games to the SF arena has elevated the stature of the program IMO.

I really like Augie's PG - he might be the key now with Jansen out.
 
Can a player from Div 2 move up to Div 1 w/out having a sit a year? Maybe a grad transfer from a lower level. Some of these Div 2 teams are pretty good ( i realize they are D2) but there are some players out there at that level.

Wasn't the Robison kid at Michigan a Div 3 player??
 
According to our beat reporter, our coach is "not optimistic": http://www.argusleader.com/story/bl...day-billeter-not-feeling-optimistic/82216894/

Also, in different news, Jansen was named the NABC D2 National Player of the Year. Huge honor, and I believe the first ever in program history. Really sad he's not able to play in the biggest games of the season, but still an amazing accomplishment for him. He's been a spectacular player for the Vikes. Hopefully his little brother, Levi, can come in and make it a family tradition for Augie.

Damn he's in and already has 5 points in matter of 30 seconds! The kid is hobbling around, but his shot looks good!
 
Maybe this has been mentioned before but I see that Jansen is from Orange City Iowa. I wonder if any of the Iowa division I schools tried to recruit him. To bad for Jansen to have to end his college career in street clothes.
 
Maybe this has been mentioned before but I see that Jansen is from Orange City Iowa. I wonder if any of the Iowa division I schools tried to recruit him. To bad for Jansen to have to end his college career in street clothes.

And his younger brother Levi just scored 42 points in a loss at the State Tourney against Wahlert and Cordell Pemsl. Levi is going to Augustana as well.
 
Maybe this has been mentioned before but I see that Jansen is from Orange City Iowa. I wonder if any of the Iowa division I schools tried to recruit him. To bad for Jansen to have to end his college career in street clothes.

He ended up coming in and scoring 8 in a row for us (a floater and 2 threes), on his way to leading all scorers with 13 at the half. He definitely gave us a big spark. Vikes have been up by 20 for most of the 2nd half, so he has sat a good portion of the 2nd.
 
Augie DII was great - picked Iowa apart and revealed the very weaknesses we saw later in the year. That said, Fran rode his starters a lot more in that game even though they were clanking. Later in the year, his substitution patterns were better (until the bench sucked or in big games).
 
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For anyone interested, Augie will play for a National Championship on CBS (the main CBS channel) Saturday at 2 PM. Jansen probably still won't be at full strength, but hopefully whatever strength he can add will help us come away with a win. Lincoln Memorial is currently the #1 team in the country and is riding a 23 or 24-game winning streak, so it's going to be a tough one for sure.
 
For anyone interested, Augie will play for a National Championship on CBS (the main CBS channel) Saturday at 2 PM. Jansen probably still won't be at full strength, but hopefully whatever strength he can add will help us come away with a win. Lincoln Memorial is currently the #1 team in the country and is riding a 23 or 24-game winning streak, so it's going to be a tough one for sure.

Very best of luck MrAugustana. I hope you guys win and win big.
 
Quick update: Augie won the National Championship today, 90-81. After not playing in the Elite Eight game due to injury and only playing 17 minutes in the Final Four game (with 13 points), Jansen puts up 25 points and 9 rebounds in the National Championship game. Congrats to the Vikes. Thanks to the Iowa fans who followed along with the team this year and had positive comments. It has been a fun season as an Augie fan. Best of luck to you guys next season!
 
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Quick update: Augie won the National Championship today, 90-81. After not playing in the Elite Eight game due to injury and only playing 17 minutes in the Final Four game (with 13 points), Jansen puts up 25 points and 9 rebounds in the National Championship game. Congrats to the Vikes. Thanks to the Iowa fans who followed along with the team this year and had positive comments. It has been a fun season as an Augie fan. Best of luck to you guys next season!

Congrats to the Vikings, it was a fun game to watch.
 
Quick update: Augie won the National Championship today, 90-81. After not playing in the Elite Eight game due to injury and only playing 17 minutes in the Final Four game (with 13 points), Jansen puts up 25 points and 9 rebounds in the National Championship game. Congrats to the Vikes. Thanks to the Iowa fans who followed along with the team this year and had positive comments. It has been a fun season as an Augie fan. Best of luck to you guys next season!
That Augie team was one for the ages. Amazed at how well they played together as a team. Fun to watch.
 
That Augie team was one for the ages. Amazed at how well they played together as a team. Fun to watch.

I'll be honest, many, many Augie fans are sad to see that group of seniors go. Not many D2 teams have 2 of the 16 NABC D2 All-Americans on the same team. It's a rarity that might not be repeated anytime soon for Augie. Levi Jansen will have the potential to make that cut, but one of our incoming big men would need to step up too. We'll find out in the next few years. They were definitely fun to watch for the past several years. Glad they are able to go out on top.
 
I'll be honest, many, many Augie fans are sad to see that group of seniors go. Not many D2 teams have 2 of the 16 NABC D2 All-Americans on the same team. It's a rarity that might not be repeated anytime soon for Augie. Levi Jansen will have the potential to make that cut, but one of our incoming big men would need to step up too. We'll find out in the next few years. They were definitely fun to watch for the past several years. Glad they are able to go out on top.
How'd they get that player from England? (Yes, I looked up the roster)
 
How'd they get that player from England? (Yes, I looked up the roster)

Interestingly, they talked about it in our...Final Four game, maybe?...the other day. Our former assistant coach (now head coach at Black Hills State in western SD) works a bunch of camps overseas in the summers and saw Jordan, liked what he saw, and asked if he was interested in playing in the U.S. Jordan didn't have any offers at the time and was getting to the point where he needed to make a decision, so he committed without even visiting the school or anything. Came over at the semester break, redshirted a semester, then started playing the next season. He actually was supposed to be a backup point guard, but our starting guard tore his shoulder in the 2nd game of the season. Jordan stepped in, immediately played well, and eventually earned conference Freshman of the Year honors. He's pretty solid. Broke the single season assist record this year at Augie. Doesn't hurt to have #1, #2 and #13 all-time leading scorers on your team to help boost those numbers.

He's only a sophomore, by the way. Just to clarify.
 
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I'll be honest, many, many Augie fans are sad to see that group of seniors go. Not many D2 teams have 2 of the 16 NABC D2 All-Americans on the same team. It's a rarity that might not be repeated anytime soon for Augie. Levi Jansen will have the potential to make that cut, but one of our incoming big men would need to step up too. We'll find out in the next few years. They were definitely fun to watch for the past several years. Glad they are able to go out on top.
One of the things I enjoyed about watching them was they played so SMART. Rarely did they make a dumb mistake.
 
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