2009-10: Meshing Experienced Returners with Impact Newcomers
Concordia University embarks on a new season after an offseason that saw the coaching staff bring in added size and depth in the front court while adding even more depth to an already dynamic backcourt.
Concordia returns nearly 80 percent of their scoring from the 2008-09 team that finished tied for seventh in the extremely competitive Northern Sun.
With four out of five starters returning from the 2008-09 team, Concordia’s solid recruiting class of impact transfers and talented freshman the Golden Bears will not only be competing for a league title and NCAA playoff berth, but they will be cultivating the seeds of a successful program in the years to come.
Heiman and Cunningham Lead the Pack
Concordia will look to seniors Craig Heiman (Marshall, Wis.) and Mike Cunningham (Minneapolis, Minn.) to provide leadership to the squad. Heiman is a four year contributor on the cusp of becoming Concordia’s all-time career scoring leader while Cunningham is a versatile combo-guard with size and athleticism in his fifth year in the program.
“Craig and Mike have been our go-to guys over the past few years, really developing into those roles for us,” commented head coach Kelly Boe, who will begin his fourth season at the helm of the program.
“This year, they (Heiman and Cunningham) need to incorporate everyone we’ve been able to bring in. In the past, they’ve done what they’ve had to do. This year, less will be better for them.”
Heiman and Cunningham undoubtedly were the two players who have been relied upon in the past two seasons to make plays in key situations; Heiman with his long range shooting and physical play down low and Cunningham with his ability to drive to the basket and make key steals on defense.
“In the past, we’ve relied on them to do too much. This year, they should help allow the team blend together - that will be the key to our success.”
Heiman needs 119 points to reach Jeff Chamblerlain’s career scoring record of 1,443 points set in 1997. He’s also climbing the charts of the NSIC career scoring leaders in conference games, ranking 12th on the league charts with 875 points in his 56 career NSIC contests.
Cunningham, meanwhile, is on the verge of becoming the second player in school history to have 1,000 points, 400 rebounds and 400 assists in a career although it will take some work to get there. He enters the season 264 points shy (he scored 379 as a junior) of 1,000, 90 rebounds shy (he’s had 101 as a sophomore and 149 as a junior) of 400 and 100 assists shy (121 as a sophomore and 115 as a junior) of 400. The only other to achieve such a career feat was the aforementioned Chamberlain.
While Heiman (17.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg) and Cunningham (13.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg) led the team in both scoring and rebounding last year, they have help coming back.
The Returners
Senior guard Sammy Ricks (St. Paul, Minn.) was in his first year with the team last year as a transfer from NDSCS and immediately made an impact by breaking the single season steals record with 76 while finishing among the leaders in Division II men’s basketball in swipes. He also averaged 10.4 points and dished out over three assists per game, leading the team in minutes with 32.7 per night.
“Sammy is developing his niche, last year it took him some time but with a year under his belt, this year we are expecting good play out of him on a consistent basis,” Boe concluded.
Two players who have shown consistent growth in their careers, juniors Matt Hackl (F, Seymour, Wis.) and Andrew Kuderer (G, Eden Prairie, Minn.) should play significant roles for Concordia. Last year, Hackl averaged over 22 minutes per game while averaging 6.7 points thanks in large part to his outstanding three-point shooting, as he hit 42.2% in 90 three-point attempts. Hackl is a 6-6 wing who can also play in the post, last year often matching up against opposing “4’s.”
Kuderer has developed in the Concordia program and is coming off a sophomore season in which he contributed significantly in 27 of 28 games, adding a three-point presence on the wing (33.3% in 51 attempts) while only committing 11 turnovers on the season.
“Matt and Andrew are really good at understanding what we do offensively and defensively,” stated Boe. “They are really good system players and both are starting to develop significant roles on the team.”
During the two game exhibition season, Kuderer and Hackl combined to average 15 minutes per game. They combined to attempt 10 three-pointers in two games and took 13 shots overall.
Down low, Concordia returns 6-7 posts Thomas Bassett (Sr., Denison, Iowa) and Chris Pfeiffer (Jr., Hopkins, Minn.). “Chris is a hard working kid who brings it everyday in practice. We are hopeful that will carry over on gamedays as well. Thomas has been injured throughout much of the preseason but we are expecting to get him back during the early part of regular season.”
The Transfers
Joining Bassett and Pfeiffer on the inside will be a trio of transfer post players: Dan Vandervieren (Jr., Eden Prairie, Minn.), Brent Barz (So., Johnston, Iowa) and Chris Hamblin (Jr., Eagan, Minn.).
Vandervieren brings serious Division I experience to the team, starting his career in the Big Ten at Purdue University before averaging 6.2 points and 3.9 rebounds at Colorado State University. He’s a physically imposing force at 6-11, 265 and comes from the MSHSL powerhouse of Hopkins High School.
“Dan is a smart player, he positions himself well, he understands both offensive and defensive concepts really well. He is a great communicator on the floor.”
In the two exhibitions, he was 5-7 from the floor and had six rebounds and two rejections.
Barz was an elite level prep standout in the Des Moines area where he was invited to play at the Nike All-American Camp and was the 2007 Gatorade Player of the Year. He was a three-time All-State selection before landing at NJCAA Division I Tyler Junior College. As a freshman, he averaged nearly 10 points and over seven rebounds a game while blocking 38 shots in 26 contests leading his squad to a 24-6 record.
“Brent is a 6-10 athlete who offensively has a chance to be a special player. Right now, we are working with him on the defensive end with our concepts to be successful in our system.”
But he wasted no time becoming a difference maker on the defensive end, swatting four shots in the exhibition game against St. John’s while scoring eight points with four rebounds in just 20 minutes. At UW-Milwaukee, Barz scored six points, had six rebounds and three assists in 19 minutes.
Hamblin, the other force down low, wasted no time showing his ability to reach the rim by exploding the lane for a powerful two handed slam against SJU. It was only fitting that minutes later, Barz threw one down in fastbreak.
“Brent and Chris are still learning a lot of things in terms of just getting out there and getting minutes. Once they get a few games under their belt, they will fit into what we do just fine.”
Hamblin has unmatched athletic ability and in the two exhibitions he shot 8-11 from the floor to combine for 16 points and six rebounds while playing the most minutes of any CU post player.
“Chris, vertically, could be one of the best in the league. We are working on skill development with him in terms of his play around the basket,” Boe mentioned. “But he brings a good demeanor to the team and is a good communicator with teammates.”
“I think all of us are curious to see his progress throughout the season - where he is today and where he could be by the end of the year.”
New to the backcourt, Concordia features junior Courtney Tyler (Eagan, Minn.), a transfer from Yuba College in California.
“Courtney brings ball skills that this team needs in terms of depth. We like how he carries himself offensively as a ball handler and distributor. He’s a good shooter and provides the depth we have been missing.”
In the exhibition season, Tyler broke out against UW-Milwaukee with 14 points on 5-6 shooting in 19 minutes against the D-I Panthers.
Also new to the mix will be transfers Sylvester Walker (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) and Michael Richter (Jr., Charlotte, N.C.).
“Walker is a tremendous athlete and will be a great energy boost for us on any given night.”
Walker, a transfer from North Dakota State College of Science, played five minutes during exhibition play.
Richter, meanwhile, is expected to miss the season due to an injury suffered during preseason.
The Freshmen
Rounding out the squad are the three true freshmen, Isaiah Thomas (G, Fridley, Minn.), Taylor Steinbauer (F, Owatonna, Minn.) and Maurice Hernandez (G, West St. Paul, Minn.).
Thomas was a pure scorer at Fridley High School and not surprisingly wasted no time getting on the board against SJU with two points in his four minutes while adding five minutes against UW-Milwaukee.
“We really like the progress of Isaiah Thomas, we think he is just getting better and better everyday,” commented Boe. “He’s a good shooter and a good athlete, is long and once he figures out some of our defensive concepts he’ll find himself in a pretty decent role on this team this year.”
Steinbauer adds even more size down low, at 6-8, 225 he is built like a prototypical post player in the NSIC.
“Taylor has been out for most of the preseason but we liked his progress in the first week and look forward to getting him back and working with him.”
Steinbauer has the rare opportunity to work with athletic, experienced post players everyday in practice.
“He’s got a great future ahead of him here. He’s in a great freshman situation that he can battle everyday with these guys in practice, it will only make him a better player.”
“The upper classmen are really taking him under their wing, too. They can see that he has a chance to be a special player.”
Hernandez is a wing who excelled in a solid Sibley High School program. “Maurice is an excellent shooter, a skill not everyone possesses. If he’s able to add some elements to his game in the future it will make him a successful Division II player.”
The Big Picture
With so much coming back from a year ago combined with plenty of potential coming into the program, the challenge will be to get everything working together smoothly on a nightly basis.
“I don’t think we will really know what we have until we get a few games under our belt,” Boe explained. “Our timing, our motion offense and execution in transition will all play out. Right now we are focusing on our defensive concepts early in the season to make sure we have a good, strong defensive team.”
We went on to say that he expects offensive timing issues and execution in transition to develop over time and is preaching patience.
“We are hammering home the defensive concepts,” he concluded.
His end goal is clear, as always, to win a championship.
“Winning the NSIC is a goal every year,” Boe stated bluntly. “I think we approach it with the ‘one game at a time’ cliche’. In this league, you can’t look too far ahead.”
The Opposition
The Northern Sun has become a much deeper league, as evidenced last season with the addition of three teams that tied for third: Minnesota State, St. Cloud State and Minnesota Duluth, while a fourth, Augustana, was just a game behind them in sixth place.
“I do think that any team in our league that gets an NSIC Tournament home game has had a pretty good season,” he concluded.
And he’s right. Last year, with three teams tying for third, only two of them received a home playoff game in the first round. And those were 14-6 league records. Augustana (13-7), Concordia and Northern State (11-9) all went on the road in the first round.
The league produced six 20-game winners while Northern State won 19 games and Concordia’s 13-15 record was misleading with the Division I regular season opponents from the NABC Classic to open their season.
A Look at the Schedule
Concordia’s schedule is obviously dominated in degree of difficulty by the challenging and grueling league slate.
“Once we get to conference play, it’s just a different animal,” explained Boe. “Last year we had a tough strength of schedule (in NSIC games) and I’m sure we will once again. After going through it once, our kids and staff know that no matter who, where and when you play a league game, it’s going to be challenging.”
In the non-conference, Boe has added regional competition this year, opening with Wisconsin-Parkside at Gangelhoff Center. After a mid-week home game against Valley City State the team travels to Sioux Falls, S.D. for a pair of non-conference games against league foes Augustana and U-Mary in the NSIC Holiday HoopsFest.
And before Christmas break for campus, the squad will host Judson (IL) University and Regis (CO) University. The Regis game will be a Division II, in-region competition as the Rangers compete in the Rocky Mountain (RMAC).
Concordia’s non-conference schedule is concluded with a home game against the University of St. Thomas, a nationally recognized Division III team.
“I think our non-conference schedule is good for us this year. We have four in-region opponents, two of them at home and two on a neutral floor. We have three other non-conference games at home and with an older group hopefully we will be able to maintain our focus at home.”
Although the team excels at Gangelhoff Center, posting a 31-13 record there under Boe.
Even though the teams usually wins at home, he maintains that keeping the squad focused isn’t always as easy when staying in St. Paul.
“Sometimes playing at home isn’t always the best thing, but we do have a lot of home games this year. Sometimes it is harder to maintain focus at home than on the road when we conduct all activities together as a team.”
“We’ve been pretty good here but I think it’s nice with 20 tough NSIC games to have the ability to mix-in some region opponents and stay home more often. We will have to be cognizant of our focus level at home this year, though, with fewer road trips.”
At the end of the day, one thing is clear, Boe and his staff have assembled a very talented, diverse and deep team for the 2009-10 season.
Excitement has been building on campus around this team, and Boe is ready for a fun season.
“I’m hoping to produce a fun brand of basketball to watch and get some people excited to watch these kids play.”
