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

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    • 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.

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      • 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.

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        • 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.

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          • 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.

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            • 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.

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

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                • Originally posted by Blue Ridge Viking View Post
                  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.

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                  • Originally posted by Augieholic View Post
                    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.

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                    • In news not related to tonight's game, incoming Viking Dallas Bear put up a decent game against incoming Viking Brayson Laube last night:



                      Solid stats for a 6'8" wing.

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                      • Originally posted by MrAugustana View Post
                        In news not related to tonight's game, incoming Viking Dallas Bear put up a decent game against incoming Viking Brayson Laube last night:



                        Solid stats for a 6'8" wing.
                        Psh...i put up those numbers in city league in high school....and wasn't near 6 foot...sounds like a bum. ;)

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                        • Originally posted by NSU4LIFE View Post

                          Psh...i put up those numbers in city league in high school....and wasn't near 6 foot...sounds like a bum. ;)
                          While I'm sure that's 100% true and accurate, you aren't coming to play for Augie next year. So I guess we'll just have to settle for Bear and the other incoming 2023s.

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                          • Another loss but another one where Augie had control of the game for a good stretch. This team is further along than I thought they would be at this point of the season especially defensively. Miller The offense needs work, Graves especially has to at least threaten to drive to the hoop to get the opposing defense rotating.

                            It was nice to see Fink spend most of the night at the 3 vs the 4 he played over the weekend. He got more spot up looks but missed several shots he usually makes.

                            Akoi Akoi has been a revelation. Saturday he held his own with Joel Scott and tonight it was Jordan Janssen. All those years Akoi spent going against Dykman and Riemersma have started to pay off. His jump shot is fire and hes more under control with the ball than last season so when teams close out hard he can make the right play. It's an extremely small sample size but he's playing at an All Conference level right now.

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                            • Weird to be in a learning/growing season following such a successful one in which our team was led by so many experienced upperclassmen who knew what they were doing. Tonight felt like we were on the verge of a beatdown when halftime hit and then we came out to start the 2nd half and looked like we were going to win by 20. Then, in a weird 2-3 minute stretch, we went from up 8-10 or so to down 6 and couldn't execute down the stretch to get back into it. Again, one of the challenges of having a team that's still learning the offense and defense as well as learning individual roles and responsibilities.

                              Saw flashes of what the future holds with Brady Helgren on a few possessions. Defensively, had several plays where his length affected/blocked shots. He also knocked down a 3 and had a possession with 2 seemingly impossible offensive rebounds he pulled in. Not necessarily world-changing, but I'm excited to see where he goes developmentally.

                              Akoi Akoi also seems to be developing nicely. The last couple of seasons we've seen flashes or stretches where he looks like a potentially special player, but it wasn't particularly consistent. If he can continue this season on the trajectory he's had the past few games (he missed the first two due to an injury of some sort, I believe), he could be a big factor in Augie's future success.

                              In general, it's weird to see the record at 2-3 to start the season, but it seems like we have some potential to be in a much better place by the end of the season.

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                              • Originally posted by Augieholic View Post
                                Another loss but another one where Augie had control of the game for a good stretch. This team is further along than I thought they would be at this point of the season especially defensively. Miller The offense needs work, Graves especially has to at least threaten to drive to the hoop to get the opposing defense rotating.

                                It was nice to see Fink spend most of the night at the 3 vs the 4 he played over the weekend. He got more spot up looks but missed several shots he usually makes.

                                Akoi Akoi has been a revelation. Saturday he held his own with Joel Scott and tonight it was Jordan Janssen. All those years Akoi spent going against Dykman and Riemersma have started to pay off. His jump shot is fire and hes more under control with the ball than last season so when teams close out hard he can make the right play. It's an extremely small sample size but he's playing at an All Conference level right now.
                                Excellent analysis on Akoi, great to see him step up in a leadership role. Loss to Wayne was closer than 8 points would indicate.

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