Friday, November 28, 2008

Warriors to Tangle with MIAC Conference Foes


This weekend the Winona State Warriors will be taking on two teams from one of the top Division III conferences in the nation when the Augsburg Auggies and the Gustavus Golden Gusties visit Mc Cown Gym. Both games are slated for a 7 p.m. tip-off.

A little info on Augsburg:
The Auggies are off to solid 2-1 start on the season after picking up two big wins over Crown College, before dropping a 75-91 game to NSIC member Concordia-St. Paul this past Sunday.

The Auggies are lead by 6'1 guard, Jon Cassens (Prior Lake, MN), who is currently leading the team in scoring at 13.3 ppg and 5.3 apg. Not too far behind Cassens in the scoring column is 6'6 senior forward, Nate Alm (Eden Prairie, MN), Alm is currently averaging 12.3 ppg and a team high 8.0 rpg. While those two are leading the way for the Auggies to others who are scoring at a good clip are, David Olsen (Lindstrom, MN), with 11.0 ppg and Andy Grimm (Wyoming, MN) who is currently averaging 10 ppg.

As a team the Auggies are not afraid to get up and down the floor. So far this season they are averaging 86.2 ppg so the Warriors will have to slow down a very tough offensive minded team. Another key for this game will once again be rebounding, the Auggies are currently out rebounding their opponents by 11 rpg, while the Warriors are currently being out rebounded by oppontent by 2.5 rebounds. This contest should be a fast paced game with two very good offenses out on the floor.

For more info on Augsburg you can copy and paste this link:http://www.augsburg.edu/athletics/mbasket/

A little info on the Golden Gusties: Gustavus is coming off of a big home win this past Tuesday night when they knocked off the #8 ranked team in Division III, Buena Vista College of Iowa. The win was the first win of the season for the Golden Gusties who dropped their only other contest of the season to Bethany Lutheran. (Mankato)

The Gusties are a talented team lead by a variety of different players. Currently leading the Gusties in scoring is senior Jesse Van Sickle (Garden City, MN). The 6'1 senior shooting guard is averaging 16 ppg on the season and is knocking down the 3-ball at a very high percentage (.500). The next leading scorer on the team is junior, Ryan McPartland, Mc Partland is currently avergaing 9 ppg and a team high 6.5 rpg. Mc Partland is an aggressive forward who can play both inside and outside. The Gusties also have a nice big man in the middle in 6'9, Sam Paulson (Waseca, MN), Paulson has been off to a slow start for the season but the junior is very capable of putting up big numbers and has shown a nice touch around the hoop.

Unlike the Auggies, the Golden Gusties play a much slower style of play. Under the guidance of coach Mark Hanson (19th season), Gustavus has become known for a great motion offense that works the ball around working it high and low with the ability to get their great shooters open. If you are a purist of basketball or a person who likes to see a great motion offense you will not be disappointed as they have one of the best around. With that being said one of the keys for the Warriors in this game will be controlling the tempo of the game. The Golden Gusties are looking to slow it down, while the Warriors will want to speed up the pace. The tempo that this game is played at will ultimately have a say in the outcome of the game.

On a side note this will mark a homecoming for, Josh Drinkall, who is the head assistant coach for Gustavus. This will be his first game back in Mc Cown since the Warriors beat Mankato St. two years ago for their second trip to the Elite 8 and extended their Division II record for consecutive wins to 55. Coach Drinkall earned both is BS and MS here with at Winona St and is in his second season of coaching with the Golden Gusties.

For more info on the Golden Gusties copy and paste this link: http://gustavus.edu/athletics/mbb/

Wednesday, November 26, 2008

"Get to Know Your Warriors" - Travis Whipple




Each week during the season we will post an edition of a column we will call "Get to Know Your Warriors" The column is asking our players general questions along with some personal questions so everyone can get to know them a little better outside the game of basketball. This week we introduce everyone to Travis Whipple from Hudson, Wis. Travis is a physical education major, currently student teaching at Jefferson Elem. here in Winona and will graduate this fall with his degree. Then starting in the spring he will continue his education by starting his masters degree here at WSU. One other tidbit of information some might not know is Travis will be getting married this summer to Nikki Olson, a former track star here at Winona State. So here is our first edition of "Get to Know Your Warriors"

What is your full name? Travis Michael Whipple

What are your parent(s) names? Milt and Dede

Do you have any brothers/sisters? yes, Derek 27 years old and sister-in-law Jacci.

Do you have any pets? Dog named Nash

What is your major here at WSU? Physical Education

Why did you select WSU? High school teammate Ryan Gargaro played a big role in getting me here when I transfered from Northern State. Once, I came on my visit I fell in love with Winona as a town and the campus of WSU. I'm an education major and the education program here is exceptional. The icing on the cake for me was the closeness of the team and Coach Leaf. I have never been around such a close group before and it really made my decision easy. All in all this has been a wonderful fit and I have been able to play a game that I love at the highest level while getting a great education.

What is your favorite color? Purple

What is your favorite food? Steak

What is your favorite TV/Show? Life on Mars

What is your favorite movie? 300

What is your favorite type of music? Country

What is currently playing in your Ipod/cd player? A mix of songs ( I like all types of music)

What is one interesting talent you have that people might not know? double jointed thumbs

What is your dream job? Coaching college basketball or being an Athletic Director

What is your greatest sports achievement? 2x National Champions and 57 game winning streak

What is your favorite type of basketball shoe? Nike shoes that are lightweight.

If you could select 3 people in the world do have dinner with who would they be? Why? Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and John Wooden. Each one of these individuals has achieved greatness and stayed at the top. They are inspiring people who have done great things with great talent.

If you could travel anywhere in the world where would you go? Rome

If you could go to a major sporting event, which one would it be? Final Four

Who have you looked up to the most in your life? Parents

Who is your favorite actor/actress? Denzel Washington

Who is your favorite singer/artist? John Mayer

Who is your favorite professional sports team? Yankees

Who is the one person in life you would like to meet? Michael Jordan

Who is your favorite basketball player? Steve Nash

Who is the best person you have ever played basketball against? Sam Jacobson (former L.A. Laker)

Who is the cleanest person on our team? Mikey

Who is the messiest person on our team? Gar

Who is the best dunker on the team? Curtrel

Who is the best video game player on the team? Matt or Brad..... they play all the time

Who on our team would you choose to be the President of the US? Why? Coach Leaf

Who on our team is most likely to be famous? Why? Curtrel when his album goes platinum

If you had one word of advice for people what would it be? Live each day like it's your last. Also, inside each and everyone of us is potential to do more than we ever thought possible.


Thanks Travis!!!

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Warriors Cruise Past Oakland CIty


Hey everyone Coach Brady Moore here checking in with an up date on the team. Well we played a pretty good game tonight against Oakland City. We jumped out to an early 15-6 lead at the beginning of the game but then we hit a wall again where we couldn't make anything for a while. Oakland City made a run and it was a 20-20 ball game with about ten minutes left. But then we started to take control of the game once again and end up being up 51-40 at halftime.

In the second half we finally started to shoot the ball really well and ended up shooting 68% for the half. We did a great job moving the ball to get open looks and we finally knocked down the open shots. Defensively we also did a better job getting in passing lanes and not letting them enter the ball so easily on the wings. This was a key because when we took the wings away they couldn't get into any type of offense and they ended up taking a lot of difficult shots. The final score of the game was 112-75. We had six guys in double figures for the night, which is great and hopefully we can continue to do this as it really takes the pressure off of some others when everyone is hitting.

I felt we did some nice things tonight but we were a little slow getting up and down the floor at times. We shot the ball okay from the outside but we can still do better and it showed as we did that in the second half. One very nice thing was we did get the ball inside and that is something we need to keep doing. Our post players did a nice job of getting position inside and we were able to get them the ball. Sometimes we still miss them when they are open inside but it is getting better. Another positive was our rebounding. We finally out rebounded a team for the first time this year. We will need to keep doing this to win games this year and our guys are starting to catch on. Tonight our guards, especially Ben Fischer did a great job rebounding. Ben actually had a triple-double for the game in points, assist and rebounds but it was his rebounding tonight that really helped us out. Hopefully he can keep it going.

As for the trip it has been a good one. We came up short in those first two games but we learned a lot about our guys and our team in general. The main thing is we will be leaving here a better team then when we arrived. We still have many items to work on and it will take hard work to get to where we need to be but I know we can do. On this trip I think we have had to battle some adversity and we struggled with it at times but we are trying our best to battle through it. The talent we played out here against was good. BYU-Hawaii has a great team and they will win a ton of games this year. The big guy is tough but I would take John Smith over him any day. Smitty just brought so much to the table especially on the defensive end that not too many guys can bring. It would be fun to play them again and especially in Winona where our fans could give them some home cooking Warrior style.

Well that is about it for now. I am trying to get some guys to get on here but if they have free time they are out and about. Which they should be doing anyway. The weather has been rainy to last couple days so we haven't been out in the sun. I guess Sunday is supposed to be better, it will be strange watching football at 8 am but that is what they have to do out here.

Go Warriors!!

Wednesday, November 19, 2008

Warriors Battle to End

Coach Brady Moore here to give everyone an update on the game, unfortunately we lost the game 78-76. It was a very intense, fast played game that was very sloppy at times but both teams played hard and they ended up making a few less mistakes then we did in the end.

As for the game. We were happy with our start, we got out to an early lead and played with a lead most of the 1st half even though we struggled in two areas that we are strong in, shooting from the outside and keeping our turnover margin down. One reason for having so many turnovers was the fact this game had more offensive fouls called on both teams then I had ever seen tonight. I would guess without looking at the stats their were over 10 offensive fouls called in the game, give or take a couple, but the calls were consistent. Our shooting was off tonight, we had many good looks in the half but couldn't get them to fall. It is just something that comes with the territory. Things we were happy with at halftime was the rebounding of the basketball, getting good looks at the basket and our defense was solid as well. They have the big guy inside who cleans up a lot of boards, along with another guy who does a great job crashing yet we were right their in rebounds, especially the offensive ones. Getting the extra possession's are huge and we had many of those tonight due to our offensive rebounding.

The second half was a back and forth ball game with no team taking a commanding lead or having a large run. We banged home a couple more threes in the half but we still couldn't get going as we had many open look once again. That is one of the tough things with basketball, some nights the shots are just not going to fall and that was what happened with us tonight. As a staff we felt in the second half once again we had too many turnovers and rushed things a little bit. But we were very happy again with our effort on the defensive end. We did some really good things and we did a good job of rotating on defense to the open guys and closing out properly on them. Also offensively we did a good job of making the extra pass to get the open look. We played some great unselfish offense and got guys open looks.

As for the game overall if we could have just knocked down some open shots and made some more free throws we would have won the game. We feel we did a decent job on Alves defensively. Our post players did their best on him and we did not send any double or triple teams at him (even though that is stated in the BYU-Hawaii post game write up). We let our guys go one on one and he made some real tough shots. He is real long and a quick jumper down low, plus he is a load but he gets out of control a lot and our guys did everything they could to keep him from scoring. You have to also give him credit as he made a ton of free throws at a high percentage. Offensively like I said earlier we moved the ball well, found the open guy but just couldn't knock down the shots. We had a ton of great looks. Also we did a much better job rebounding tonight then we have all year. Our effort was great, we played some great team basketball and if a couple of things go our way we are leaving a team that has a huge home court advantage with a win. The most encouraging thing is we are getting better and that is all we can ask for from our players. The shots will fall with time.

Oh and for those of you who wanted to know what the last play of the game. We had Joel Armstrong set a high ball screen on the left side up top for Ben Fischer to go with his right hard at the basket. We wanted this because it meant their big guy having to chase Ben and it was something he struggles with and Ben had beat him but he lost the ball off his foot out of bounds. That is just something that is part of the game and it would have been interesting to see if he could have finished it off, I think he would have cause he finishes so well.

Other then basketball everything has been great and a little eye opening. We are going to Pearl Harbor in the morning which should be a great experience for all of us. I know I am looking forward to it. We have been to the beach a little bit and have been walking around a lot looking at little shops and all that fun stuff. One of the more interesting things out here is the price of milk. I knew it was going to be high but it is 10.69 a gallon!!!! We need to ship some cows out here now! Just kidding. But that was a little crazy to me.

Go Warriors!!!

Here is a link to the game story and box score: http://sports.byuh.edu/node/1105

Monday, November 17, 2008

First Practice in Hawaii

This is Coach Brady Moore giving a quick check in from Hawaii. We arrived here last night around 4 Hawaii time. The flight was pretty smooth, the landing was a little rough but other then that it was just like riding a bus to Crookston.

Today everyone was up at 7 in the morning. We are staying in downtown Honalulu and the trip to BYU-Hawaii took us about and hour and fifteen minutes but it was well worth it. Now we are here shooting around and getting ready for practice. I think we should have a pretty good one today. The guys are excited to be here, BYU has great facilities, the floor has a lot of spring in it. Coach Leaf mentioned he might be able to get rim here. Well we will keep you all update back home.

After practice we are going to drive up the North Shore and back around to get back to Honalula. This is peak season for surfing so we are going to look at the big waves and hopefully some surfers will be out as well.

Till then. Mahalo!!

Saturday, November 15, 2008

Flowers Learning the Ropes of Professional Ball


Jonte' Flowers is off to a good start with the Solna Vikings of the Swedish Basketball League. Through 9 games Jonte' is averaging right around 16 ppg, 6.2 rpg and 3.4 steals a game. (His stats are a little hard to follow as the league web site has his name on their in two different forms, one as Jonte', the other Jermaine) To no surprise Jonte's 3.4 steals per game is good for third in the league. In those who have been in contact with Jonte' he has told them he is getting used to Euro basketball each day. He is getting used to his teammates and coaches each day and that should help him to increase his production numbers as the season goes along. You can keep track of Jonte' and his progress by going to a couple of different websites. The link to those sites are listed below.

Note: You may have to translate those pages to be able to read them. To do so go to Google.com and copy & paste the link into a search, the search should come up with the home pages and will have a "translate page" link next to the title of the page.

Go Warriors!!!

Off to Hawaii!!!

The Warriors head off to Hawaii tomorrow morning for 8 sunny days and 7 warm nights. But this trip will not be for rest and relaxation as the Warriors will play 3 games during the trip. This will be the Warriors second trip to Hawaii. The last time they played out in Hawaii (2004-05) they went 2-2 on the road trip using the trip as a bonding experience for everyone on the team. The idea worked wonders for the team as they won the first of now four consecutive NSIC Conference Championships along with the schools second birth in the NCAA tournament and a upset win in the first round of the tournament over then NCC Conference Champions Nebraska-Omaha.

The goal for this years trip is no different as the coach staff hopes to see the same great results from the players on this trip. Coach Leaf commented on the trip by saying, "This trip is a great opportunity for our players and staff to bond together as a team. This years team is a lot like the 04-05 team, in that we have some great senior leadership to go along with some talented under-class men. Bringing everyone on a trip like this will allow our team to get to know each other on a new level and we are hoping it can spring board us into another great season."

The hope of bonding as a team is not the only reason for the trip. While out in Hawaii the Warriors will face some stiff competition in the form of a tough BYU-Hawaii and Oakland City squad. The Warriors face BYU-Hawaii twice during the trip playing them on Nov. 18th and Nov. 20th. They finish up their play on Nov. 22nd when they take on Oakland City on the campus of BYU-Hawaii. Coach Leaf feels the competition they will be running into is top notch and he expects to learn a lot from his team. "We are not taking this trip for just some fun in the sun. We will be playing some very difficult competition while we are out there. This will give us a great opportunity to see where we are as a team and where we need to improve." Leaf went on to say, "One of our main goal each season as a coaching staff is to find some of best competition that is out their. We feel we have found this by taking this trip. It will prepare for the up coming conference season as well as get us ready for NCAA tournament play."

Go Warriors!!!

Friday, November 14, 2008

Home Opener Preview


The Winona State Warriors will start their defense of the 2008 National Championship when they take on St. Mary's University at 8pm, Saturday night in McCown Gym.

The Warriors won last years contest with St. Mary's 118-53, as 6 Warriors scored in double figures led Josh Korth's career night of 28 points (7-10) on 3's. Joining him in double figures for the game were John Smith (17), Jonte' Flowers (16), Quincy Henderson (16), Brent Riese (11) and Matt Smith (10). The Warriors also enjoyed a huge rebounding advantage on the game collecting 50 rebounds to St. Mary's 32. Quincy Henderson lead all Warriors in the rebound category with 10.


This years contest between the two college town teams should once again be entertaining as the Cardinals return their two top scorers from last season in Sophomores Will Wright and Lukas Holland along with having a new head coach in Tood Landrum. Wright, who was named to the MIAC All-Freshman team last season, averaged 17.3 points a game to lead the Cardinals. He also lead the Cardinals in their contest between the Warriors last season when he put up 20 points on (8-13) shooting. Holland, a point guard from LaCrosse, Wis., averaged 13.8 points last season for the Cardinals which was second on the team. Those two combined to be one of the top back court combinations in the MIAC and they again will be looked upon to lead the Cardinals this season. Also returning for the Cardinals this season will the combination of twin brothers in, Josh and Brad Knights. Both of the Knights saw considerable action last year for St. Mary's and this year should be no different as they will two of the other leaders on the floor for them this season. The rest of the St. Mary's roster is full of new players who are gearing up for their first contest for the season. You can learn more about St. Mary's and this years squad by clicking on this link: http://www.saintmaryssports.com/index.aspx?tab=basketball&path=mbball


Go Warriors!!!!


Thursday, November 13, 2008

Smith Signs Deal with NBDL, Allocated to Iowa Energy


Winona State's two time NABC Division II National Player of the Year, John Smith, has signed a contract with the NBDL along with being allocated to play for the Iowa Energy. Smith who reported to the Energy this week will take part in a training camp leading up to opening night on December 4th.

The NBA Development League, or D-League, is the National Basketball Association's officially sponsored and operated developmental basketball organization. Known until summer 2005 as the National Basketball Development League (NBDL), the D-League started with eight teams in the fall of 2001. In March 2005, NBA commissioner David Stern announced a plan to expand the D-League to fifteen teams and develop it into a true minor league farm system, with two NBA teams sharing each D-League team. In 2007-08, the league had 14 teams, with each D-League team being affiliated with 1 or 2 NBA teams. For the 2008-09 season, the league will have 16 teams.

Players for D-League teams do not sign contracts with the individual teams, but with the league itself. D-League team rosters consist of a total of 12 players, 10 (or fewer) being D-League players and 2 (or more) NBA players. The rosters are made up in a number of ways - the previous years' players, players taken in the D-League draft, allocation players (meaning players who are assigned to a team with which they have a local connection, such as John was), NBA team assignments, and local tryouts. Each NBA team can assign two first or second year players to its affiliated D-League team. If more than two NBA players are assigned to a team, the team must reduce the number of D-League players to keep the total roster size to 12.

NBA teams can call up players as many times as they choose, but a player can only be assigned to the NBA D-League three times in a season.

To follow Johns progress you can go down to our link section and click on the Iowa Energy link to keep up on how John is playing. The Warriors wish John the best of luck with the beginning of his professional career.

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Welcome!!




Welcome to the Winona State Warriors Men's Basketball Team blog site! This site is the official site of the Warriors and it will be used throughout the 2008-09 season to give updates on the team and other happenings.
The idea behind this site is to bring all the Warriors fans around the world together and allow them to get all the updates they need on our program. Our goal is to bring you the current happenings within our program along with updates on our past players who have been a part of this successful program. Players, coaches, former players, alumni, fans will all have a say on this page. We want this to become part of the Warrior family and with your help we feel we can make this experience a great one.

So check back over the next few days as we will be updating our progress on our season.

Up coming important dates for our program:

Wednesday, November 12th, 7 pm Exhibition Game vs UW Superior
Wednesday, November 12th - National Signing Day!!! (Make sure to check back to see who the future Warriors will be!!!)
Saturday, November 15th - Opening Night - 8pm game vs St. Mary's
Sunday November 16th - Flying out to Hawaii!!!!