The NEW Official Thread of the Augustana Vikings

[Moorhead123]

That was as encouraging of a loss as an Augie fan could have hoped for today. Akoi Akoi was amazing, Ryan Miller's perimeter defense caused havoc, Caden Hinker had a really nice stretch in the second half. BHSU hit some 3s and got more Joel Scott in the second half. They're a brutally efficient team on both ends and might make the NCAA answer the question "can you host a Regional in Spearfish, SD"

Augie has to find a way to get Fink better offensive looks, he wasn't put in the most advantageous of situations today. Some of that was BHSU scouting him correctly but I'm sure Tom will deploy him differently after looking at the shots he was forced into this afternoon.

Yes, BHSU is definitely a good team. Msum looked they decided to let Scott get his 30+ and to try and guard the other 4 on the floor and take away the 3s. Plan almost work, but the BHSU pg ended up also having a day, which was the difference. Great early season game, which hopefully helped both teams get better in the long run.

[Augieholic]

Haven't seen any of the four games. For those who have, does Fink look at all affected by the knee(?) surgery?

I didnt notice any issues this weekend, I'm sure hes still getting his conditioning back to the right level.

[Blue Ridge Viking]

Haven't seen any of the four games. For those who have, does Fink look at all affected by the knee(?) surgery?

[Augieholic]

That was as encouraging of a loss as an Augie fan could have hoped for today. Akoi Akoi was amazing, Ryan Miller's perimeter defense caused havoc, Caden Hinker had a really nice stretch in the second half. BHSU hit some 3s and got more Joel Scott in the second half. They're a brutally efficient team on both ends and might make the NCAA answer the question "can you host a Regional in Spearfish, SD"

Augie has to find a way to get Fink better offensive looks, he wasn't put in the most advantageous of situations today. Some of that was BHSU scouting him correctly but I'm sure Tom will deploy him differently after looking at the shots he was forced into this afternoon.

[Augieholic]

Augie puts together its best half of the season to take a 2pt lead on BHSU. All American Joel Scott is getting his for the Jackets but Akoi is making it difficult and hitting some shots of his own so that Scott has to work on both ends.

Augie is taking and making some tough shots so it may not be sustainable vs a better team. BHSU spaces the floor so well on offense and Augie has dodged a LOT of open 3s so far.

[Augieholic]

I did not expect to watch Isaac Fink handle the opening tip for Augustana, first non Viking big to do that since John Warren in 2016-17. I did expect Augie to be wildly inconsistent against a truly terrible SD Mines team.

Obviously Zac Johnson was the offensive star, his shot is so quick and pure I doubt that will be the last night he leads the team in scoring. Sam Rensch had a nice spurt to put the game out of reach. Fink, Miller, and Graves each did more good than bad. Those three will have to bring it every single night given the lack of experience elsewhere on the roster.

Tomorrow will likely be a tough go, BHSU is a bunch of grown men who know what they want to do. if Augie can make it more competitive than they did vs Washburn last weekend that would be a nice showing.

[vikingfaithful]

Blue Ridge Viking can take a victory lap as Zac Johnson exploded for 24 points to lead the Viks for a win over Mines..Maybe his bold prediction will come to fruition.

[MrAugustana]

Weird weekend for the Vikes. Chain of events for me was as follows:

Day 1:
-See that a GAC team stomped St. Cloud by 35 and think, Eesh, this could be a tough year for the Huskies.
-Barely beat Arkansas-Monticello by 1 on a miraculous play that was fun and crazy and made the SportsCenter top 10 and got me pretty enthused and energetic, even if it seemed like we could have/should have won by more.

Day 2:
-See that St. Cloud murdered Arkansas-Monticello—who we beat by a miracle the night before—by 32.
-Lose to Washburn by 29 in a game where we led 13-7 with 14 minutes to go in the first half and went into halftime down 34-19 and never had a chance after we got down by about 7 or so.

This team is new and has talented pieces, but obviously there's still some learning and gelling to do for the Vikes. Not that I think he would've been the ultimate difference maker in the Washburn game, but it's worth noting that Akoi Akoi didn't play in either game for the Vikings this past weekend. Haven't heard a reason why at this point, but hopefully it's nothing too serious.

In general, this isn't unexpected. I think it's just a harsh contrast to last year's team, which was so experienced and finely tuned. As Augieholic texted me on Saturday night, this probably won't be the last time the Vikes give up a bad loss to a good team (or possibly a bad team in some cases). At the same time, I won't complain if it is the last time it happens. :)

Still excited to watch this team grow and develop. Statistically speaking, some of the young kids, particularly Hinker and Helgren, had decent games Friday and Saturday night, respectively, and Fink was good on Friday. I'm curious if he was having some knee pain/soreness on Saturday, as the radio broadcast made it sound like he was just a little off, but who knows? Washburn might've just played really good defense on him.

I think a lot will depend this year on Graves, Miller, and Fink, and when all three of them were off on Saturday, it really hurt us. Hoping some bench guys can step up too. Guys like Otto have been in the program for a few years now and the team needs them to consistently be putting up points and making good plays if we want to have any chance of putting together a competitive year.

Still not in "the world's on fire" mode yet, as we know there would be a steep learning curve for this team. Just hoping the coaching staff can work some of the kinks out early in the season rather than late into the season.

[mosofan1]

The ending of the Augie-Ark. Monticello game made SportsCenters Top 10 plays this morning.

[Augieholic]

Unbelievable weekend for Krauthketball. Two wins over teams in the top 5 of the MIAA preseason polls. Don't ever leave us Dave.

[Stanger86]

Let's Ride!

Glad to see you've become a Mustangs fan....

[Augieholic]

The best GameDay gift is all the Isaac Fink content! He's back like he never left! Let's Ride!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck0uaLou...d=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

[vikingfaithful]

Arkansas Monticello finished 10-17 last season and has a transfer heavy roster. Should be a good matchup for the new look Vikings.

[vikingfaithful]

Looking at twitter all Vikings men's BB signees had quite a few D1 visits especially Dallas Bear who had D1 offers. It a great day to be a Viking!

[MrAugustana]

Augie's 2023 class is officially signed. Super excited to see this group in Augie blue, especially combined with this current freshman class. If we can avoid the transfer portal plague, it could be a fun few years for the Vikes.

Here are the obligatory positive comments from Coach Billeter as well as stats and info on the four incoming recruits: https://goaugie.com/news/2022/11/9/m...asketball.aspx

Four Ink Name to Augustana Men’s Basketball

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Augustana men's basketball head coach Tom Billeter announced the signing of four future Vikings on the first day of the national signing period. The class includes Dallas Bear, Caden Kirkman, Brayson Laube and Arhman Lewis.

"This is an outstanding class that will pair with last year's class," Billeter said. "We are very excited about the future of Augustana basketball. My assistants, Casey Schlatter, Cody Schilling and Devin Whitelow, worked extremely hard and did an excellent job of recruiting this year's group."

Dallas Bear | 6-8 | 185 | Forward | Cedar Falls, Iowa | Cedar Falls HS

Coach Billeter on Dallas: "Dallas is a legitimate 6-8 wing with excellent perimeter skills with the ability to make shots. He will have the ability to be a very tough match-up for most teams that we play. Dallas can go inside to the post and post players up, however, he is truly a wing."

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Bear was a Third Team All-State honoree in Iowa last season while earning First Team All-Conference honors from the Mississippi Valley Conference. As a starter, he led the Tigers to a State Tournament appearance while averaging 14 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. He led Cedar Falls with 58-made 3-point field goals.

Caden Kirkman | 6-8 | 215 | Forward | Wilton, Iowa | Wilton HS

Coach Billeter on Caden: "Caden is a solid front liner who does a lot of things. He has all the things one needs to be a successful player. He is skilled, has really good hands and feet and likes to bang around in the post. He plays the game hard and has a very high ceiling. Caden will be a very good player for us."

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The Eastern Iowa Player of the Year, Kirkman averaged 20.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.9 blocks and 3.9 assists per game as a junior. He was the unanimous pick to the River Valley Conference Elite Team. As a sophomore, he earned Third Team All-State honors while averaging 18.6 points, 11 rebounds and 4.3 blocks per game. He will play his senior year as a four-year starter as he averaged 14.3 points per game as a freshman while starting the 22-game schedule.

Brayson Laube | 6-2 | 175 | Guard | Marion, Iowa | Marion HS

Coach Billeter on Brayson: "Brayson is a versatile guard who can really score and defend. He is a gym rat that works on his game constantly. We recruited Brayson for the past few years knowing he is a young man who fits our system extremely well and is an excellent student-athlete."

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A First Team All-State honoree as a junior, Laube averaged 20 points, three rebounds, three assists and two steals per game last season. He is the career leader at Marion High School for 3-point makes. Laube led the Wolves to a WaMaC Conference Championship and an appearance in the State Tournament where he scored a personal-best 35 points. As a sophomore, Laube averaged 16 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.7 assists per game while earning Third Team All-State accolades.

Arhman Lewis | 6-0 | 155 | Guard | Madison, Wisc. | Robert M. Lafollette HS

Coach Billeter on Arhman: "Arhman is a true point guard who is an excellent playmaker and passer, but can also score as well. He is one of the better defenders in his league as he has an excellent ability to guard the ball. He will be an outstanding point guard in our league."

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Lewis earned First Team All-Big Eight honors as a junior while averaging 14 points and eight assists per game. He was an honorable mention to the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association All-State Team while also earning an honorable mention to The Associated Press All-State squad. He led the Lancers to the Big Eight Conference Championship.