The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[Augieholic]

What should I expect to see from the Augie women in the regional vs. MSSU tomorrow? Who are their best players and what do they bring to the table? What kind of style do they play?

Aislinn Duffy is the best offensive threat, she's a post player who can also hit a three. Lauren Sees is the starting PG and the best chance of making something happen off the dribble. Michaela Jewett is their 3pt gunner. Jennifer Aadland is the other starting post and probably the best athlete of the group. In typical Krauth fashion they play loose. Most of their shots result from Duffy post ups, Sees drives, or kick out 3s that start with Duffy post ups or Sees drives so they have a high ceiling and a low floor.

They're the only team to beat Duluth this season and they did it in Duluth so they're capable of beating just about anyone. However, when compared to other Regional teams they're fairly inconsistent. They got demolished by Mankato twice because they had no response for the Mavericks press and UMD humbled them in the NSIC Tourney Semifinals.

[mosofan1]

What should I expect to see from the Augie women in the regional vs. MSSU tomorrow? Who are their best players and what do they bring to the table? What kind of style do they play?

[vikingfaithful]

I think he's closer to 6'8". Augie offered him last August.

I have seen three heights on Jonathan 6'5, 7" and 8" He may be a growing young man. Augie was first to offer.

[AU Vikings]

I would have to believe Andy and Red had it good on that beach

According to Verbal Commits AU, UMD and USF have offered Jonathan Mekonnen a 6'5" forward out of Apple Valley Eastview for 2024

Jonathan Mekonnen (@jonmekonnen) / Twitter

I think he's closer to 6'8". Augie offered him last August.

[vikingfaithful]

As the great philosophizer Andy Dufresne says "get busy livin' or get busy dyin'"

I would imagine Tom would be after wings and bigs in the portal to fill out the scholarship(s) that are now available.

I would have to believe Andy and Red had it good on that beach

According to Verbal Commits AU, UMD and USF have offered Jonathan Mekonnen a 6'5" forward out of Apple Valley Eastview for 2024

Jonathan Mekonnen (@jonmekonnen) / Twitter

[Augieholic]

Augie will have 3 open roster spots assuming no one else leaves. Do they try to find players on the transfer portal to fill them? They already have 4 incoming freshmen.

As the great philosophizer Andy Dufresne says "get busy livin' or get busy dyin'"

I would imagine Tom would be after wings and bigs in the portal to fill out the scholarship(s) that are now available.

[AU Vikings]

Augie will have 3 open roster spots assuming no one else leaves. Do they try to find players on the transfer portal to fill them? They already have 4 incoming freshmen.

[vikingfaithful]

1st of all, I'm a big believer in Tom Billeter as he turned a moribund program into national champions from a small church school in SD and brought much pride to alumnus and fans. Coach Billeter is not a perfect coach, but the sum of him is darn good. Before TexasTom you have to go way back to Bill Gross for a successful coach.

[AU Vikings]

I agree. You’re never going to keep everyone happy and yes you’re going to have players leave through the portal whether it’s from playing time, the school environment or anything else. I wasn’t saying anyone was being treated unfair or favored I was just saying Toms demeanor was different this year. Someone would make a mistake (turn over, bad foul) he’d throw his hands in the air yell and pull them out of the game. I seen it on several occasions through out the year. Every player is different and will react differently to this. Some times for the good and sometimes for the worse. At the end of the season when he would yell at Jaden he would almost ignore him. I seen it, I was sitting right behind the bench. None of us know the situations of these players and why they are choosing to enter the transfer portal. I also wish them the best of luck in the future. I just hope this doesn’t become a trend.

I'm not saying this was a reflection on Coach Billeter but I was surprised how few mens players were there for alumni weekend.

[AU Vikings]

One more. Jackson Loge to the transfer portal.

I can't understand why he didn't get more playing time this year.

[Augieman78]

I agree. You’re never going to keep everyone happy and yes you’re going to have players leave through the portal whether it’s from playing time, the school environment or anything else. I wasn’t saying anyone was being treated unfair or favored I was just saying Toms demeanor was different this year. Someone would make a mistake (turn over, bad foul) he’d throw his hands in the air yell and pull them out of the game. I seen it on several occasions through out the year. Every player is different and will react differently to this. Some times for the good and sometimes for the worse. At the end of the season when he would yell at Jaden he would almost ignore him. I seen it, I was sitting right behind the bench. None of us know the situations of these players and why they are choosing to enter the transfer portal. I also wish them the best of luck in the future. I just hope this doesn’t become a trend.

[Augieholic]

As a former student athlete and Angie alum, I feel a lot of the blame gets put on the players when they decide to transfer. Every player situation is different just like these 2 players. When you’re a player that never gets a chance to show what he has to offer it hard to say that he’s not capable of playing at that level of basketball. I’ve seen many situations like this over the years. Alex played sparingly to say the least and Zach had his moments. Ultimately I feel it’s leans some on the coaching. These are the guys that recruited these players. They are payed very well to get the most of the player. I personally would not have been one to play for Tom. I know he has a history of being a great coach but over the years of watching him he is very harsh with his players and this year seemed to get even worse. Multiple times this year I seen him screaming at this players. Jaden multiple times and Caden as well just to name a few times. He even admitted that his players don’t responded well when he does that but he eventually seemed to run the same course time and time again. These athletes have a lot of pressure on them not only to play well when they have a a chance but do well in the classroom. At points this season you could see instances where players were hesitant to make a play. Maybe it’s just me but ya”ll can go back and watch the games and see for yourself.

There was little to no chance that every underclassmen on this year's team would last all four years at Augie, we knew several would transfer out based on how they played or didn't play. Alex, Zac, and Jackson are not surprising at all. Hopefully they find situations where they can thrive.

Does Tom display his feelings to his players in a passionate way during games when things don't go as planned? Absolutely. Is that harsh? Maybe. Did this year's team get better throughout the season despite being significantly younger than almost all of their opposition? Absolutely.

Personally I wished he would have pulled the plug on the Riemersma-Dykman-Fink-LeBrun era before 21-22 and several months later they won the conference and hosted the regional. I'm guessing all of those guys experienced "harsh" treatment throughout their time at Augie but all of them except Dykman were courtside for the Mankato game at the Pentagon a few weeks ago having a great time.

Augustana has rarely, if ever, had the transfer volume of other schools, until that is the case I am not overly concerned about the players feeling they're being treated unfairly.

[Augieman78]

Yes I also just seen that. That’s a tough one

[UncleRico]

As a former student athlete and Angie alum, I feel a lot of the blame gets put on the players when they decide to transfer. Every player situation is different just like these 2 players. When you’re a player that never gets a chance to show what he has to offer it hard to say that he’s not capable of playing at that level of basketball. I’ve seen many situations like this over the years. Alex played sparingly to say the least and Zach had his moments. Ultimately I feel it’s leans some on the coaching. These are the guys that recruited these players. They are payed very well to get the most of the player. I personally would not have been one to play for Tom. I know he has a history of being a great coach but over the years of watching him he is very harsh with his players and this year seemed to get even worse. Multiple times this year I seen him screaming at this players. Jaden multiple times and Caden as well just to name a few times. He even admitted that his players don’t responded well when he does that but he eventually seemed to run the same course time and time again. These athletes have a lot of pressure on them not only to play well when they have a a chance but do well in the classroom. At points this season you could see instances where players were hesitant to make a play. Maybe it’s just me but ya”ll can go back and watch the games and see for yourself.

One more. Jackson Loge to the transfer portal.

[Augieman78]

As a former student athlete and Angie alum, I feel a lot of the blame gets put on the players when they decide to transfer. Every player situation is different just like these 2 players. When you’re a player that never gets a chance to show what he has to offer it hard to say that he’s not capable of playing at that level of basketball. I’ve seen many situations like this over the years. Alex played sparingly to say the least and Zach had his moments. Ultimately I feel it’s leans some on the coaching. These are the guys that recruited these players. They are payed very well to get the most of the player. I personally would not have been one to play for Tom. I know he has a history of being a great coach but over the years of watching him he is very harsh with his players and this year seemed to get even worse. Multiple times this year I seen him screaming at this players. Jaden multiple times and Caden as well just to name a few times. He even admitted that his players don’t responded well when he does that but he eventually seemed to run the same course time and time again. These athletes have a lot of pressure on them not only to play well when they have a a chance but do well in the classroom. At points this season you could see instances where players were hesitant to make a play. Maybe it’s just me but ya”ll can go back and watch the games and see for yourself.