After Long Awaited Wait, Golden Eagles Host Concordia-St. Paul for Season Opener in Brand New Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium

It's been a long time coming, but Minnesota Crookston men's basketball is back in action to kick off the New Year. Concordia-St. Paul comes to town to open up the season for both teams in non-conference action. The Golden Eagles will look to rebound from a season that saw them go 11-19 (7-15 NSIC). These two teams met twice last year, once in non-conference play and one in conference play. The Golden Eagles and Golden Bears split a season ago.

Head coach Dan Weisse is in his seventh season at the helm of Minnesota Crookston. The Golden Eagles will look to get back to the Pentagon for the second time in three seasons. The top-four teams in each division will reach the NSIC playoffs.

Minnesota Crookston brought in 11 new guys for this season's roster, including six transfers. The Golden Eagles will need to replace the scoring prowess of Harrison Cleary and Malcolm Cohen, who graduated. At the guard position, the Golden Eagles will look to Siena College transfer Georges Darwiche (Jr., G, Bucharest, Romania) to be the main guard, as well as Ethan Channel (Jr., G, Beaverton, Ore.), returner Zach Westphal (R-So., G, West Fargo, N.D.) and true freshman Josh Dilling (Fr., G, Oshkosh, Wis.). At the forward position, the Golden Eagles will be deep. Brian Sitzmann (R-Jr., G, Savage, Minn.) is back to lead the way, as is Quintin Winterfeldt (So., G/F, Waupun, Wis.). Leonard Dixon (Jr., F, Demascus, Ore.) and Morgan Carter (Jr., F/C, Porthcawl, Wales) will make an impact as well. Fan favorite Ibu Jassey Demba (Sr., F, Birmingham, England) is the lone senior on this year's squad. The depth should be a strength of Minnesota Crookston this year.

BISHOP STRONG
The Golden Eagles family is dealing with a major loss to its family this week. Former KROX announcer Matt Bishop passed away earlier this week after a long battle with cancer. Matt loved announcing Golden Eagle games and will always be a part of the Golden Eagle family. We send our dearest condolences to the entire Bishop family. Matt will be missed greatly by so many.

FINALLY
This weekend's games inside Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium will be the first athletics event at Minnesota Crookston since mid-March. The Golden Eagles men's basketball season concluded last February, but the rest of the nation was shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Golden Eagles will look to kick off their abbreviated 2021 schedule on a high note this Saturday and Sunday.

NEW LOOK SQUAD
Although there will be no fans permitted inside Lysaker Gymnasium this weekend, fans at home will be seeing a different team compared to last season's squad. The Golden Eagles welcome in 12 newcomers to this year's team, including seven new transfers and five incoming freshmen. Head coach Dan Weisse will hope that his newcomers can play a big impact this season.


WHO'S THE (SITZ)MANN
Brian Sitzmann (R-Jr., G, Savage, Minn.) will have a bigger role this season. A year ago, the athletic wing was third on the team in scoring with 7.4 points per game, while pitching in 2.6 rebounds per game. Sitzmann had eight games a season ago with double-figures, including a season-high 20 in a win over the same Concordia-St. Paul team he will see this weekend. Recently named as the Golden Eagles NSIC preseason player to watch, Sitzmann will be expected to play a huge role as one of five returners from last year's 11 win team.


GET STOPS 
When you talk with head coach Dan Weisse, one of the first things he will say is it comes down to the defensive end. A season ago, the Golden Eagles gave up 79.6 points per game and had a minus 5.6 scoring differential. The Golden Eagles will also need to rebound the ball better. The Golden Eagles were outrebounded in 18 of their 28 games a season ago. Minnesota Crookston will look to start the defensive improvement this weekend.


NOTHING NEW
One of the new freshman fans will see is Josh Dilling (Fr., G, Oshkosh, Wis.). Coach Weisse is familiar with Dilling, considering Dilling played for Weisse's old rival high school, Oshkosh North. While at North, Dilling was the successor at point guard to Tyrese Haliburton. Haliburton was a three-star recruit who played two years for Iowa State and was a lottery pick of the Sacramento Kings in the 2020 NBA Draft. Dilling will now come into Minnesota Crookston hoping to fill the shoes of the NSIC's all-time leading scorer, Harrison Cleary. If there is anyone who can fill the shoes of Cleary, it might be Dilling.

FAN POLICY
Concordia-St. Paul will not allow fans for at least the first two weeks of the season due to MDH guidelines. The same will go for home games for UMN Crookston at Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium.

ZOOMING INTO THE NEW YEAR
2020 will be a year to forget. Unfortunately, Minnesota Crookston will not be able to host fans for the immediate future. However, fans will be able to watch their favorite team this weekend using this link: https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/. In addition, the Teambacker board is hosting a Zoom 'Virtual Watch Party' to interact with other Golden Eagle fans, while watching their favorite team. The Zoom this weekend will be both on Saturday and Sunday, starting at 1:15. Golden Eagle fans can also watch women's basketball play at Concordia-St. Paul, starting at 2 P.M. The Zoom link is: https://umn.zoom.us/j/92132294792

Game Information
Saturday, Jan. 2
Concordia-St. Paul at Minnesota Crookston
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats – https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/
 
Sunday, Jan. 3
Concordia-St. Paul at Minnesota Crookston
Gary Senske Court at Lysaker Gymnasium
Live Stats – https://goldeneaglesports.com/sidearmstats/mbball/summary
Live Video - https://nsicnetwork.com/goldeneaglesports/


2019-20 NSIC Rankings
Scoring Offense: 11th
Scoring Defense: 16th
Scoring Margin: 16th
Free Throw Pct.: 1st
Field Goal Pct.: 16th
Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
3-Point Field Goal Pct.: 14th
3-Point Field Goal Pct. Defense: 16th
Rebounding Offense: 16th
Rebounding Defense: 13th
Rebounding Margin: 15th
Offensive Rebounds: 10th
Defensive Rebounds: 16th
Blocked Shots: 5th
Assists: 16th
Steals: 9th
Turnover Margin: 5th
Assist/Turnover Ratio: 13th 

Weekly Snapshot


Minnesota Crookston
Projected Starters
Jr. PG 1 Georges Darwiche (6-1 188, Bucharest, Romania)
R-Jr. SG 14 Brian Sitzmann (6-4 192, Savage, Minn.) 7.6 PPG, 2.6 RPG
Jr. G 11 Ethan Channel (6-4, 190, Beaverton, Ore.)
Jr. PF 10 Ibu Jassey Demba (6-7 200, Birmingham, England) 5.3 PPG, 3.7 RPG
Jr. F/C 23 Morgan Carter (6-7, 215, Porthcawl, Wales)
Top Bench Players
R-So. G 2 Zach Westphal (6-2, 155, West Fargo, N.D.) 1.9 PPG
Jr. F 3 Leonard Dixon (6-7, 200, Demascus, Ore.)
Fr. G 12 Josh Dilling (6-4, 180, Oshkosh, Wis.)
So. C 21 George Blaj-Voinescu (6-8, 210, Brasov, Romania)
Fr. G/F 22 Quintin Winterfeldt (6-4 195, Waupun, Wis.) 2.5 PPG, 1.1 RPG

STUDY THE OPPONENT

Concordia-St. Paul
 
Although these two programs played each other twice a season ago, it's a brand new look for the Golden Bears. The Golden Bears are under the direction of first-year head coach Matt Fletcher. Fletcher heads to CSP after four seasons at Bethany Lutheran College, where he had a 76-33 career record. Fletcher returns a number of returners from last year's squad, whom he should be able to lean on this weekend in Crookston.

DEFEND THE SHIELD(S)
 
In his first season at CSP, Jacob Shields had a respectable season. The senior from Houston, Texas averaged 8.0 points per game and 3.8 rebounds per game a season ago. In two games against Minnesota Crookston last year, Shields averaged 12 points per game, including a career-high 16 points in a shootout win over the Golden Eagles in St. Paul. If Shields can score like he did last year in two games against Minnesota Crookston, the Golden Bears should have a good chance to win.

NEW ERA 
 
Matt Fletcher will be the third head coach in two years for the Golden Bears. Fletcher follows Joey James, who left before the start of last year and Eric Johnson, who was the interim head coach. It'll be a late start to the Matt Fletcher era, but Golden Bears fans should be excited about who they have at the helm.

COYOTE TO GOLDEN BEAR
 
The Golden Bear roster is full of transfers (six in total). Fletcher continued that trend by bringing in two Division-I tranfers, both from the University of South Dakota. Matt Johns (Geelong, Australia) and Caden Hoffman (Scottsdale, Ariz) both come from USD and could make an instant impact this weekend. Johns scored a career-high 10 points his true freshman season in a game against Missouri-Kansas City in 2018-19.

WHAT TO WATCH
1. How will the Golden Eagles bounce back from a disappointing 2019-20 season?

2. Can the newcomers make an instant impact?

3. Defensive side of the ball

4. Who will score for the Golden Eagles?

5. Will Minnesota Crookston shoot the ball better from deep?