The Summit League Championships just wrapped up, and South Dakota State won its second consecutive tournament title. The Jackrabbits also won the regular season championship, sharing with the Western Illinois Leathernecks. Can they defend the title in 2013-14? My Summit League gives an early, early look at next year’s league.
Out are the UMKC Kangaroos, and in are the Denver Pioneers. The Kangaroos announced earlier this year that the program would be leaving the Summit League for the WAC, effective this July. Denver University announced last year it would leave the WAC, to join the Summit League.
What does that mean for the league? It gives the conference a better look from top to bottom. In the latest NCAA RPI rankings released this past Monday, Denver had a RPI of 57. Meanwhile, UMKC’s RPI was 283.
Before we peer into 2013-14, here’s a refresher on how the 2012-13 regular season wrapped.
1) South Dakota State (13-3)
2) Western Illinois (13-3)
3) North Dakota State (12-4)
4) Oakland (10-6)
5) Fort Wayne (7-9)
6) Omaha (6-10)
7) UMKC (5-11)
8) South Dakota (5-11)
9) IUPUI (1-15)
*Denver (as of 3/13/13) is 21-8 and went 16-2 in WAC play*
My Summit League Pre-Preseason Outlook
1) North Dakota State Bison
Returning Starters: 5
Points Returning: 2,130/2,211 (96.3-percent)
Minutes Returning: 6,352/6,625 (95.9-percent)
Nate Zastrow and Jamie Mauch are the only Bison lost to graduation. All five starters are back, including 1st team all-conference pick, Marshall Bjorklund (11.6 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 1.2 apg). Bjorklund led the nation in field goal percentage for much of the season. Following the Summit League tournament championship game, Bjorklund was shooting 67.3-percent. Taylor Braun (15.7 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.7 apg, 1.5 spg) was a preseason 1st team all-conference pick, but a foot injury kept him out of nine league games. He was still voted a 2nd team all-conference selection. Point guard Lawrence Alexander (10.6 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.7 apg, 1.0 spg), guard Kory Brown (5.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2.1 apg), and TrayVonn Wright (9.9 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 1.8 bpg) are also back. Summit League 6th Man of the Year, Mike Felt, also returns. Felt made 70 3-pointers this year. Key reserves Chris Kading and Brett Vandenbergh will be sophomores. Incoming freshman will be North Dakota Mr. Basketball finalist A.J. Jacobson (Fargo Shanley HS) and Wisconsin 1st team All-State point guard Carlin Dupree (Milwaukee Bayview).
2) Denver Pioneers
Returning Starters: 4
Points Returning: 1,606/1,895 (84.8-percent)
Minutes Returning: 4,923/5,825 (84.5-percent)
It was difficult deciding between North Dakota State and Denver for the top spot, having not seen the Pioneers in person this season. Denver will return all but one starter, Chase Hallam (10 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 2.1 apg). The Pioneers ran roughshod through the WAC, going 16-2, during the regular campaign. Denver had a RPI of 57, in the latest release by the NCAA this week. Three of the top four scorers will be back: Chris Udofia (12.9 ppg), Royce O’Neale (11.5 ppg), and Brett Olson (11.1 ppg). Jalen Love started 21-of-28 games this season, and averaged 7.1 points per game, fifth best on the team. Xavier transfer Griffin McKenzie (6-foot-9, Junior, Forward) will be eligible after sitting out this year. He played in 11 games and logged 25 minutes in the Musketeers’ Sweet 16 season, 2011-12. Incoming freshman Drick Bernstine (6-foot-6, Cherokee Trail HS, Aurora, CO.) averaged 19 points, 9.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game during his senior year.
3) Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Returning Starters: 4
Points Returning: 2,029/2,357 (86.1-percent)
Minutes Returning: 5,333/6,450 (82.7-percent)
A .500 season (16-16) was all that was in the cards for the Golden Grizzlies. Oakland was handed three consecutive losses by the Fort Wayne Mastodons, all played in a span of less than three weeks. Despite a poor finish, Oakland returns a lot of talent, losing only Drew Valentine (10.2 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 2.1 apg). Travis Bader will be back, and could be playing under the watchful eyes of NBA scouts during his senior campaign. The sharpshooter knocked down 134 3-pointers his junior season and led the Grizzlies in scoring, 21.9 points per game. Corey Petros, one of the top three big men in the league, will be back for his junior campaign. Petros averaged 12.2 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Duke Mondy has one year left after transferring to Oakland from Providence. Mondy was named the Summit League Newcomer of the Year after filling up stat sheets to the tune of 12 points, 4.3 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 3.0 steals per game. Ryan Bass (9.3 ppg, 2.4 rpg) started 23 of 31 games. Dante Williams (3.7 ppg, 1.8 rpg) started 14 games in 2012-13, as coach Greg Kampe brought Mondy off the bench as the team’s sixth man. Oakland brings in a talented recruiting class, headed by Michigan Mr. Basketball finalist Kahlil Felder (5-foot-9, Point Guard, Detroit Pershing HS). Jalen Hayes (6-foot-7, Power Forward, Lansing Sexton HS), and Nick Daniels (6-foot-2, Point Guard, John Glenn HS, Westland, MI.).
4) South Dakota State Jackrabbits
Returning Starters: 3
Points Returning: 1,408/2,439 (57.7-percent)
Minutes Returning: 4,484/6,700 (66.9-percent)
The Nate Wolters ends after 2012-13. Wolters will likely be on a NBA roster as the 2013-14 season begins for the Jackrabbits. Through the Summit League championship game, Wolters averaged 22.5 points, 5.6 rebounds, 5.8 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. He also played nearly every minute of games for SDSU. Wolters played 87.8-percent of available minutes in 2012-13. Tony Fiegen is the other senior starter. He averaged 10.1 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. What many don’t realize, is this may be too low for the two-time tournament champions in the league, even without those two seniors. South Dakota State is so well rounded with the likes of Jordan Dykstra (12.3 ppg, 7.9 rpg, 1.4 apg), Chad White (10.2 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.2 apg), and Brayden Carlson (8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 2.5 apg). Freshman Jake Bittle provided a spark on defense, and Marcus Heemstra made clutch shots in games. Could a heir apparent to Nate Wolters be in Brookings soon? Anders Broman (6-foot-3, Shooting Guard, Duluth Lakeview Academy) surpassed 5,000 career points last week. He has 5,042 points heading into Friday’s game in the Minnesota postseason. Logan Doyle (6-foot-8, Power Forward, Alexandria, MN), Skyler Flatten (6-foot-5, Small Forward, Clark, SD), and Lane Severyn (6-foot-5, Small Forward, Pierre, SD), are also incoming freshmen. Connor Devine (6-foot-10, Forward) will be a redshirt freshman next year, he was named the Gatorade Player of the Year in Alaska in 2011-12. Ruben Silva (6-foot-4, Guard) will also be a redshirt freshman. The Almada, Portugal, native, was a member of the Portugese National Team. He had a 17-point, 9-rebound game in international competition against Ireland before his collegiate career.
5) Western Illinois Leathernecks
Returning Starters: 2
Points Returning: 662/1,778 (37.2-percent)
Minutes Returning: 2,405/6,025 (39.9-percent)
For the first time in six years, Ceola Clark will not be on the Leathernecks roster. The sixth-year senior’s Western Illinois career likely ended with a knee injury in the Summit League semifinals against North Dakota State midway through the second half. Clark will finish as the program’s eighth all-time scorer, career steals leader, career 3-point leader, and second in career assists. Terell Parks, a target where many of those Clark assists were distributed, missed the final two regular season games, and both tournament games due to a foot injury. Parks averaged 12.7 points, 9.6 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game this year. He will end his Leathernecks career ranked in the top 20 in career rebounds (in just two seasons), and second in career blocks. Jack Houpt (7.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Don McAvoy (6.4 ppg, 2.9 rpg) also graduate. Adam Link (9.8 ppg, 4.1 rpg) came into the Leatherneck program as a JUCO transfer and started every game this year. He was named to the Summit League’s All-Newcomer Team. Remy Roberts-Burnett (6.1 ppg, 2 rpg, 1.9 apg) did not appear in a game until December, due to a concussion in an exhibition game, but started 18 of the 22 games he played in. Mike Ocherobia (3.1 ppg, 2.5 rpg) averaged just over eight minutes per game, but that increased sharply after the Parks injury. Jordan Foster (3 ppg, 1 rpg, 1 apg) ran the point guard position when he saw the floor, and is the likely candidate for that spot in 2013-14. Western Illinois brings in a pair of freshman next season in Garret Covington (6-foot-5, Shooting Guard, Edwardsville, IL) and Jabari Sandifer (6-foot-1, Point Guard, Neuqua Valley HS, Naperville, IL). Covington was receiving interest from programs such as Wisconsin, Indiana, Iowa, and Murray State. Covington (18.4 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 2.4 apg) has made 100-of-182 (55.0-percent) 3-pointers this season, helping lead the Edwardsville Tigers to the Illinois Class 4A state finals. Sandifer is a candidate for Illinois’ Mr. Basketball. He averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.2 steals per game. He helped lead Neuqua Valley to a 28-3 record this season.
6) Fort Wayne Mastodons
Returning Starters: 3
Points Returning: 1,316/2,213 (59.5-percent)
Minutes Returning: 4,793/6,700 (71.5-percent)
The Mastodons’ all-time leading scorer, Frank Gaines, will be gone in 2013-14. Gaines was third in the conference in scoring, averaging 19.8 points per game. Another starter, Mario Hines (8.3 ppg, 5.7 rpg), is lost to graduation as well. Fort Wayne finished out the season one of the hottest, if not the hottest, team in the Summit League. The Mastodons won six of its last seven games, and led South Dakota State at halftime in their semifinal matchup in the conference tournament. During their game in Fort Wayne, the Mastodons led nearly the entire game, including a lead with 1 minute, 42 seconds to play. Fort Wayne found other scoring options not named Frank, in 2012-13. Luis Jacobo stepped in and averaged 11.4 points per game. He made nearly 39-percent of his 3-point shots. Jacobo was named to the Summit League All-Newcomer team. Michael Kibiloski also found the stroke from beyond the arc. He averaged 6.8 points per game. Pierre Bland and Isaiah McCray split starts at point guard. Joe Reed averaged 4.5 points and 3.6 rebounds during his freshman season, and Joe Edwards averaged 7.5 points per game. The Mastodons played well down the stretch, and had to do so without Kevin Harden (6.3 ppg, 4.9 rpg in 12 games) and Saint Louis transfer Justin Jordan, due to injuries. Both players will return in 2013-14. Fort Wayne brings in Mo Evans (6-foot-1, Point Guard, Indianapolis Cathedral HS).
7) South Dakota Coyotes
Returning Starters: 4
Points Returning: 1,541/2,113 (72.9-percent)
Minutes Returning: 4,517/6,000 (75.3-percent)
A team that surprisingly entered the Summit League Championships as the seventh seed, the Coyotes are a very talented team. USD was swept in three games by regular season co-champion Western Illinois, but it came by a combined five points. The Coyotes beat Oakland at O’Rena by 19 points, and also knocked off South Dakota State in Vermillion. Juevol Myles, who transferred from Kansas State, averaged 15.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists per game in his first season. Myles was named honorable mention all-conference. Trevor Gruis (12.3 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.9 apg) cemented himself as one of the league’s top returning big men with Bjorklund and Petros. The freshmen tandem of Casey Kasperbauer (8.8 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 1.8 apg) and Tyler Flack (5.1 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.4 bpg) turned heads in their first season. Brandon Bos (11 ppg, 3.9 rpg, 1.9 apg) had a fantastic sophomore season. Along with all that talent returning, Adam Thoseby (6-foot-5, Guard), will be eligible to play in 2013-14. Thoseby began his collegiate career at Utah State, where he started two games and appeared in 28 games during the 2011-12 season. He was a member of Great Britain’s U-20 National Team. Trey Norris (6-foot-0, Guard) will also be eligible in 2013-14, after transferring from North Texas. He appeared in 31 games and averaged just under 12 minutes per game for the Mean Green in 2011-12. The Coyotes will also bring in Austin Sparks (6-foot-8, Power Forward, Boulder, CO). ESPN ranks Sparks as the fifth best player in the state of Colorado out of the class of 2013.
8) Omaha Mavericks
Returning Starters: 4
Points Returning: 1,850/2,215 (83.5-percent)
Minutes Returning: 4,959/6,200 (80-percent)
Omaha surprised many by winning six games in the Summit League and finishing sixth during the regular season. Most publications tabbed the Mavericks ninth out of nine teams in the league preseason. Justin Simmons was a catalyst for the success Omaha had. The senior-to-be averaged 16.7 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.2 steals per game. He was a 2nd team all-conference pick, and member of the All-Newcomer team. Four of the team’s top five scorers will be back. Alex Welhouse (8.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) is the lone senior among the top eight scorers. John Karhoff (12 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 2.4 apg), C.J. Carter (9.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 2.7 apg) will be back. Marcus Tyus (6 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 1 apg) had a successful freshman season. Jalen Bradley redshirted this year. Bradley led the state of Nebraska in scoring twice during his high school career, where he left Norfolk High School as the program’s all-time leading scorer. Incoming freshman Nick Billingsley (6-foot-4, Small Forward, Omaha Central HS) helped lead his program to the Nebraska state championship last weekend.
9) IUPUI Jaguars
Returning Starters: 3
Points Returning: 1,249/2,096 (59.6-percent)
Minutes Returning: 3,739/6,500 (57.5-percent)
Murphy’s Law went into effect for the 2012-13 IUPUI Jaguars. It all began early in the year when preseason 2nd team all-conference selection Ian Chiles went down with an injury. He appeared in just four games. The downward spiral began its peak in December when Purdue transfer and leading scorer John Hart was ruled ineligible for the second semester. Hart was averaging 14.2 points, 3.1 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game through 19 games. The Jaguars won a single game in Summit League competition and ended the year on a 16-game losing streak. Essentially, three starters will be back. Mitchell Patton (13.7 ppg, 5 rpg) and Donovan Gibbs (10.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.4 apg) started a bulk of the season. Chiles will be the third starter. He averaged 10.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in his limited time before getting injured. Both P.J. Hubert (5.6 ppg) and Lyonell Gaines (5.3 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 1.1 apg) started in 10 or more games. The Jaguars will lose Hart, Greg Rice (8.7 ppg, 3.4 apg, 2.6 rpg), and Sean Esposito (8.2 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 2.3 apg). IUPUI will have the services of Ja’Rob McCallum, who sat out this season after transferring from Milwaukee. McCallum averaged 10 points, 2.2 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game at Milwaukee during the 2011-12 season. Cortell Busby redshirted in 2012-13. Busby averaged 8.4 points, 3.0 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game at Fishburne (Virginia) Military School two seasons ago. Linwood Ross Jr. was a 4th team All-State selection in Florida, where he averaged 16.4 points per game as a senior at Westminster Academy. He also redshirted at IUPUI this past season. Another redshirt, Elijah Ray, helped lead Gary Bowman Academy to back-to-back state title games in Indiana. During his senior season he averaged 15.2 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Incoming freshmen will be Justus Stanback (6-foot-8, Power Forward, West Lafayette, IN) and Alfonzo Pratt (6-foot-0, Point Guard, South Bend, IN).
