The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[vikingfaithful]

I thought I'd let everyone know that AJ Plitzuweit is leading USD in scoring this season

I'm long over the dude. He has spent the vast majority of his 6 year career injured and probably would have transferred anyway despite his excuse for leaving Augustana. Schaefer and Cartwright bothered me more.

[MrAugustana]

I thought I'd let everyone know that AJ Plitzuweit is leading USD in scoring this season

Thanks bro.

[Stanger86]

I thought I'd let everyone know that AJ Plitzuweit is leading USD in scoring this season

[MrAugustana]

Fun to see so many guys step up in last night's win. Upper Iowa always plays us so tough, and after dropping one to Concordia last weekend, I did not have the highest hopes for this UIU game.

Great team effort. I was encouraged by Sam Rensch's continued development. He wasn't necessarily the most heralded recruit of Augie's 2022 class, but he seems to keep getting better with each game and has a tendency to hit big/tough shots when we need them.

Last weekend we had a big win, then came out and laid an egg the next night. Hopefully we don't do the same this afternoon and the Vikes come out locked in and ready to go against the Warriors.

We've shown we can win games when we play well. Now we need to play well with consistency instead of it being a roll of the dice on whether or not we're clicking or misfiring.

[Augieholic]

What a gloriously entertaining win tonight for Augie. Isaac Fink was back and looked like the guy we saw last season. Graves continues to figure out the D2 game and couldn't be stopped in OT when he started to dribble drive. Akoi Akoi was continues to flourish and took advantage of his size all night. Ryan Miller bounced back from a brutal stretch last weekend in a big way. He played a huge part in driving down Hilmer's shooting percentage, but Jake still did his thing dishing it to the open teammate, and his first half offense was electric.

I didnt think this team could win this type of game but I'm happy to be wrong. Tomorrow will likely look very different given the opponent but hopefully Augie can win consecutive conference games for the first time all season.

[Augieholic]

Ryan Miller had an awful weekend shooting the ball, going 4-25 FG and 1-12 3pt, He also missed a free throw late in the game Saturday that was exceedingly pivotal. It was easily his worst offensive weekend as a Viking. Maybe the he was sorting through his feelings about the , maybe he was not 100%, maybe simple spewing incoherent nonsense about the SCSU program distracted him, who can say?

Having said that he has been arguably the best defender for Augie this season and as mentioned earlier usually does this against the opposing teams best guard. They don't beat Mankato on Friday without the work Ryan did defensively. Sure, Cartwright had a game against him but most of those shots were well defended and we know better than anyone what Matt can do when he's dialed in.

This whole season to me is about being competitive and seeing who can be part of a tournament rotation in the next three seasons. Miller is a critical competitive cog and his former HS teammate Jake Hilmer coming to town this weekend may be the thing that kicks his shooting back into gear.

[MrAugustana]

I hate singling out college athletes, so, of course, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I wonder if we're not seeing Division 2 and the NSIC catching up to Ryan Miller.

He was a stud at NAIA Grand View and no doubt has talent. But after a more than respectable start to the season, he has hit a rough patch. In the five conference games so far, Miller is shooting 27 percent from the field (17 of 62). My sources tell me that's not optimal.

I've also seen on more than a couple of occasions opposing coaches try to take advantage of his size, having a larger guard back him down in the paint.

Perhaps he could better be used as a spark off the bench, sort of how Tanner Oedgaard was used during the glory years.

This is Augieholic's area of expertise, not mine, but I will mention that both Jeff Fylling and the coaching staff have praised Miller's defense on the pre- and post-game radio shows, specifically in regard to guarding key scorers on opposing teams. Obviously he had a tough time with Cartwright, but if I heard correctly, he was key in holding Malik Willingham to 14 points on 5-16 shooting in the Mankato win and I believe holding Nate Mohr for Wayne (averaging 15 a game) to 6 points. But it's possible he was guarding Eagins, who averages 12 and only scored 4 against us.

Obviously 27% is less than stellar when he shot 36% from three at Grandview, but from the eye test he seems to be our best on-ball defender from what I can tell. He's also fairly tough/tenacious when it comes for attacking for rebounds, loose balls, etc. I think toughness and grit are invaluable for a team like this that isn't going to win games purely on talent...especially not until they grow and develop more and better understand the offensive flow and defensive schemes.

Also, according to the current stats, he's shooting 36% from the field (43-119) and 31% from three (15-49), so I'm not sure where you were seeing the 27%. Regardless, those numbers still aren't ideal, but not the worst by far. For comparison's sake, Fink is/was only shooting 23% from three (8-35) and 29% from the field (24-82). Some of that could likely be the knee injury, but it's not as if Miller is hurting us any worse than most of the other players on the team—which is a different conversation, because it would be great if the whole team could actually shoot it better all around. Zac Johnson is only shooting 32% from three (9-28) and is shooting better from the field overall (45% on 27-60 shooting), but not much better from deep.

The only players I'd contend are shooting really well are Akoi and Rensch, who are both at/above 50% from three and from the field.

All in all, I personally think it would not be super helpful to relegate Miller to more of a Tanner Odegaard role, particularly from a defensive perspective. Johnson and Rensch aren't ready to hold opposing teams' scorers to lower scores and lower shooting percentages yet, and with our inability to make baskets at times, having weaker defenders out there is probably going to hurt more than help.

At the same time, Augieholic may jump in here and say, "You're absolutely right, Blue Ridge Viking..." and I'd likely defer to him.

Also, I will be curious to see how the Christmas break does/doesn't impact guys as far as getting a chance to rest and recover from injuries. You never know who has lingering issues from rolled ankles, knee tweaks, etc.

[laker]

Shows how hard it is going from high school to the NSIC, even if you were a MN. Mr. BB candidate. Hope those guys stay and get better.

I remember when freshmen were not allowed to play on the varsity in college. For a lot of players, it was a good time of transition. For others, they were ready to play right away.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

Does anyone know why Vishe Rabb left the women's team (which is off the pretty nice start, by the way)? I just found out yesterday that she transferred to Alaska-Anchorage.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

I hate singling out college athletes, so, of course, that's exactly what I'm going to do. I wonder if we're not seeing Division 2 and the NSIC catching up to Ryan Miller.

He was a stud at NAIA Grand View and no doubt has talent. But after a more than respectable start to the season, he has hit a rough patch. In the five conference games so far, Miller is shooting 27 percent from the field (17 of 62). My sources tell me that's not optimal.

I've also seen on more than a couple of occasions opposing coaches try to take advantage of his size, having a larger guard back him down in the paint.

Perhaps he could better be used as a spark off the bench, sort of how Tanner Oedgaard was used during the glory years.

[vikingfaithful]

It's definitely surprising given his HS career but the few times he has been in have been rough. Hopefully he figures it out.

Rensch and Hinker are carrying this hyped freshmen class right now. Helgren has had brief glimmers but he just isn't strong enough to do much more than that right now.

Shows how hard it is going from high school to the NSIC, even if you were a MN. Mr. BB candidate. Hope those guys stay and get better.

[UncleRico]

Anyone why Jackson Loge hasn't been playing lately?

Loge clearly seems to be behind Helgren and Hinker. Hasn’t played much all year. Rensch has picked up more playing time over the last week. Johnson seems to have been glued to the bench after his 24 point game a couple weeks ago. Not sure what that is all about. Overall they still appear to be trying to figure out bench rotations.

[Augieholic]

Anyone why Jackson Loge hasn't been playing lately?

It's definitely surprising given his HS career but the few times he has been in have been rough. Hopefully he figures it out.

Rensch and Hinker are carrying this hyped freshmen class right now. Helgren has had brief glimmers but he just isn't strong enough to do much more than that right now.

[vikingfaithful]

Anyone why Jackson Loge hasn't been playing lately?

[MrMustang]

Ref Conrad trying to help SW

in the second half they were raping Phipps every time he got the ball holding his jersey.and arms

The tall bald guy was bad all around. I felt the other 2 were good