Midseason NSIC Awards

[vikingfaithful]

Capitals on nsu vs NSU?? hahaha… Maybe it’s simply my state school education isn’t as stellar as the private school education like augie…I mean Augustana.

That’s your opinion on 2015-2016. Obviously, the people that made the decision felt that Aaron Lien was more deserving. His individual stats from that season were certainly impressive. Augie had a couple guys that were very worthy that year and neither were named Jordan Spencer.

I believe you originally was talking about 2016-2017. The season Lien won POY.

[Moorhead123]

I believe you originally was talking about 2016-2017. The season Lien won POY.

My bad. Spencer was also very deserving that year. Along with a few others.

[MrAugustana]

First things first, I want to thank Moorhead123 for inciting this deliciously nostalgic sample of what the boards were like in their glory days. The cherry on top would be John making a triumphant return and making everybody rage. Those were the days.

Now, to address a couple of things (don't worry about reading this, Stanger86... it'll likely be a tl;dr).

Or when msum kicked the crap out of your highly ranked augie squad on their home floor in nsic tournament semis last year. Always fun to reminisce…

That was a good win for Moorhead. But if we're going to continue the "looking back" game, I'm always partial to the 2015 and 2016 games between the Dragons and Vikings, particularly the conference tournament championship game in which we won our second straight conference tourney title and eventually surpassed the 2014-15 Dragons' postseason achievements by advancing to (and winning) the National Championship. Good times.

That being said, as Winona fans can attest to, reminiscing on the past is fun, but what's more important is the direction the program is going moving forward. Obviously Augie has some elements that need to be corrected between now and the next few seasons. On one hand, we have highly regarded recruits coming in, which should help with getting us back on track. On the other hand, we have highly regarded recruits on the current roster too and we're still struggling more than most fans probably expected. Like I said, our coaches have some work to do. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that. Personally, I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next couple of years.

What will be interesting with Moorhead is what things will look like when Bergstrasser is on his own. He's achieving a very high level of success this year with kids he helped recruit, but I'd imagine Walthall was a pretty important factor in getting kids like the Beeningas, Baumgartner, etc. I'd imagine Moorhead123 will express his absolute conviction that Bergstrasser will keep the program running at top-of-the-standings levels. It's very possible he will. But it'll still be interesting to see if they dip in 2-3 years when it's a Bergstrasser-only squad and Walthall's residual influence has worn off.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this little "remember that time when..." thing we were doing.

Now, to argue with a fellow Viking fan for a minute...

First of all, you show disgust for NSU posters by going lower case letters in your post. There were better choices than Lien that season for POY. AUGIE guard Jordan Spencer, UMC Harrison Cleary and SCSU Gage Davis.

First thing: In the post before yours he literally wrote msum, all lowercase, in reference to Moorhead. So...yeah. I think it's just his writing style. That being said...

More important thing: Why does it matter if he shows disgust for NSU posters? Nobody says we have to love all of the programs in the conference. I more or less despise everything about USF's athletic programs. Frankly, I haaaaated Winona the first 5-6 years I was on the boards (partially out of jealousy, partially out of disliking several of the WSU posters on here). I felt no obligation to show respect to them. I was in the group that went and actively cheered for Metro State in the 2009 Regional Tournament. It's one of my favorite memories as a basketball fan and it doesn't even involve Augie. I feel no shame or regret for that at all. I would love if people hated/envied Augie so much that they showed up just to cheer for their opponent in a Regional game. It would be a good indicator of where our program is at (as it was for Winona in 2009).

Being completely honest, this is the range of emotions I feel toward other NSIC programs, with occasional fluctuation here or there:

Hate: USF
Strongly dislike: Moorhead, Mankato, SMSU
Generally dislike: Northern, Duluth, Upper Iowa
Essentially completely ambivalent about: Concordia, Mary, Minot, Crookston, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Winona
Don't necessarily "like" but would like/support if I stopped being an Augie fan: Wayne

I don't understand—and have never understood—why it's not ok in your mind to not like all of your opponents. I respect some of these programs in my dislike categories (very much not USF, but Moorhead and Northern, for example), but I don't like them, I never want to see them win, and I would love it if they somehow managed to all go 0-22 in conference play every year, as impossible as that may be.

It often seems to grind your gears when posters say negative things about other teams or programs on the boards, and I have never understood why it bothers you so much. I have zero qualms or regrets about saying I dislike other teams. It doesn't make me a bad fan or a mean-spirited person. I just don't like seeing the teams my team competes against doing better than my team. I feel like that makes me competitive, not mean.

It also doesn't mean I dislike other posters on here or wish ill upon them. Frustratingly, I like most of the posters on here these days. A handful have tendencies that annoy me, just like my siblings have tendencies that annoy me, but I don't actively dislike most/any of them like I used to in my fiery youth.

I've just never understood this mindset of having to be nice to the programs we don't like. If it makes us look petty to other fans, so be it. I hope anybody reading this (other fans, parents, potential recruits, etc.) knows I'm an Augie fan and knows I'll be supportive of our athletic programs and our athletes. If it bothers someone that I'm not nice to other teams/fans/players/coaches, then that's their choice. But I'd hope they appreciate that I'll be fiercely loyal to them if they're pro-Augie. I think that's more important than how nice I am to Northern, Moorhead, usf, etc. (lowercase intentional... :) )

[NSU4LIFE]

First things first, I want to thank Moorhead123 for inciting this deliciously nostalgic sample of what the boards were like in their glory days. The cherry on top would be John making a triumphant return and making everybody rage. Those were the days.

Now, to address a couple of things (don't worry about reading this, Stanger86... it'll likely be a tl;dr).



That was a good win for Moorhead. But if we're going to continue the "looking back" game, I'm always partial to the 2015 and 2016 games between the Dragons and Vikings, particularly the conference tournament championship game in which we won our second straight conference tourney title and eventually surpassed the 2014-15 Dragons' postseason achievements by advancing to (and winning) the National Championship. Good times.

That being said, as Winona fans can attest to, reminiscing on the past is fun, but what's more important is the direction the program is going moving forward. Obviously Augie has some elements that need to be corrected between now and the next few seasons. On one hand, we have highly regarded recruits coming in, which should help with getting us back on track. On the other hand, we have highly regarded recruits on the current roster too and we're still struggling more than most fans probably expected. Like I said, our coaches have some work to do. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that. Personally, I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next couple of years.

What will be interesting with Moorhead is what things will look like when Bergstrasser is on his own. He's achieving a very high level of success this year with kids he helped recruit, but I'd imagine Walthall was a pretty important factor in getting kids like the Beeningas, Baumgartner, etc. I'd imagine Moorhead123 will express his absolute conviction that Bergstrasser will keep the program running at top-of-the-standings levels. It's very possible he will. But it'll still be interesting to see if they dip in 2-3 years when it's a Bergstrasser-only squad and Walthall's residual influence has worn off.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this little "remember that time when..." thing we were doing.

Now, to argue with a fellow Viking fan for a minute...




First thing: In the post before yours he literally wrote msum, all lowercase, in reference to Moorhead. So...yeah. I think it's just his writing style. That being said...

More important thing: Why does it matter if he shows disgust for NSU posters? Nobody says we have to love all of the programs in the conference. I more or less despise everything about USF's athletic programs. Frankly, I haaaaated Winona the first 5-6 years I was on the boards (partially out of jealousy, partially out of disliking several of the WSU posters on here). I felt no obligation to show respect to them. I was in the group that went and actively cheered for Metro State in the 2009 Regional Tournament. It's one of my favorite memories as a basketball fan and it doesn't even involve Augie. I feel no shame or regret for that at all. I would love if people hated/envied Augie so much that they showed up just to cheer for their opponent in a Regional game. It would be a good indicator of where our program is at (as it was for Winona in 2009).

Being completely honest, this is the range of emotions I feel toward other NSIC programs, with occasional fluctuation here or there:

Hate: USF
Strongly dislike: Moorhead, Mankato, SMSU
Generally dislike: Northern, Duluth, Upper Iowa
Essentially completely ambivalent about: Concordia, Mary, Minot, Crookston, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Winona
Don't necessarily "like" but would like/support if I stopped being an Augie fan: Wayne

I don't understand—and have never understood—why it's not ok in your mind to not like all of your opponents. I respect some of these programs in my dislike categories (very much not USF, but Moorhead and Northern, for example), but I don't like them, I never want to see them win, and I would love it if they somehow managed to all go 0-22 in conference play every year, as impossible as that may be.

It often seems to grind your gears when posters say negative things about other teams or programs on the boards, and I have never understood why it bothers you so much. I have zero qualms or regrets about saying I dislike other teams. It doesn't make me a bad fan or a mean-spirited person. I just don't like seeing the teams my team competes against doing better than my team. I feel like that makes me competitive, not mean.

It also doesn't mean I dislike other posters on here or wish ill upon them. Frustratingly, I like most of the posters on here these days. A handful have tendencies that annoy me, just like my siblings have tendencies that annoy me, but I don't actively dislike most/any of them like I used to in my fiery youth.

I've just never understood this mindset of having to be nice to the programs we don't like. If it makes us look petty to other fans, so be it. I hope anybody reading this (other fans, parents, potential recruits, etc.) knows I'm an Augie fan and knows I'll be supportive of our athletic programs and our athletes. If it bothers someone that I'm not nice to other teams/fans/players/coaches, then that's their choice. But I'd hope they appreciate that I'll be fiercely loyal to them if they're pro-Augie. I think that's more important than how nice I am to Northern, Moorhead, usf, etc. (lowercase intentional... :) )

Our in-house novelist is back

Come on John, Toucan, Common Sense....show yourselves!

[Moorhead123]

Well stated MrAugustana. Glad I could help spice up the boards a bit again. :)

i don’t really care who wins post season awards…but I have watched this current group of dragons for many years and they have a few guys that are just terrific players. Whether one of them actually wins the POY award, or not, is irrelevant to me, but I do believe they deserve to be in the conversation. I am also very confident the the vast majority of nsic coaches would agree with that last sentence. Trying to compare different players and teams is very difficult. The stats do tell a lot, but in my opinion many times the stats don’t tell the entire story. Injuries, playing time, different potions, different systems, etc all make it possible to have different opinions between various POY candidates. Obviously, in the end we are all biased towards players from our favorite teams.

I have heard Coach Bergstrasser state, in different interviews, how lucky he is as a first year coach to have the team that he has this season. I hope the team can keep things rolling as Walthall did build a very respectable program over the prior 12 years, which I know was no easy task. There is no guarantees that the future will be as good as the past. I do believe that the current young Msum coaches are hungry and will work hard to continue to build a winning program the right way. You hope that the recent success will help get an extra recruit or two to come north…but again no guarantees. You also need some luck along the way.

I don’t really like or dislike other programs. I too respect a number of programs that have won over the years, but I also respect some other programs that maybe have less to work with and still put a quality team on the floor. For example, I think the Minot staff has done a good job the past 4-5 years. I may be different than most on here but have no problem cheering for other nsic teams in national tournament once dragons eliminated. I think a stronger conference helps all teams in nsic. No problem if others cheer against nsic teams or dislike some teams more than others. I like good rivals, which the nsic needs more. Northern and Msum is certainly a good one.

Finally, sometimes my computer capitalizes some words and not others…I’m just too lazy to really care. No disrespect intended. :)

[MrMustang]

He's not saying it's a popularity contest. He's saying the move to go with the best player on the best team isn't always the right choice. There should be a component of individual success to the award as well. That's why Ross DeMasi didn't win it in 2008-09. Kevin Ratzsch did even though Northern was the No. 8 seed in the conference tournament.

except RaAASCH WAS AN amazing player and well deserving -- so was DeMasi... but man Raasch was super good

[MrMustang]

An old Kev was like 1-12 shooting versus SMSU in one of the worst offensive performances in NSU mens basketball history, mostly due to that Mustang defense was one of the best in the country, if I remember correctly.

that was the Hockey line year when we smothered teams. But one bad game didn't ruin his season Helluva player !

[MrMustang]

First things first, I want to thank Moorhead123 for inciting this deliciously nostalgic sample of what the boards were like in their glory days. The cherry on top would be John making a triumphant return and making everybody rage. Those were the days.

Now, to address a couple of things (don't worry about reading this, Stanger86... it'll likely be a tl;dr).



That was a good win for Moorhead. But if we're going to continue the "looking back" game, I'm always partial to the 2015 and 2016 games between the Dragons and Vikings, particularly the conference tournament championship game in which we won our second straight conference tourney title and eventually surpassed the 2014-15 Dragons' postseason achievements by advancing to (and winning) the National Championship. Good times.

That being said, as Winona fans can attest to, reminiscing on the past is fun, but what's more important is the direction the program is going moving forward. Obviously Augie has some elements that need to be corrected between now and the next few seasons. On one hand, we have highly regarded recruits coming in, which should help with getting us back on track. On the other hand, we have highly regarded recruits on the current roster too and we're still struggling more than most fans probably expected. Like I said, our coaches have some work to do. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that. Personally, I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next couple of years.

What will be interesting with Moorhead is what things will look like when Bergstrasser is on his own. He's achieving a very high level of success this year with kids he helped recruit, but I'd imagine Walthall was a pretty important factor in getting kids like the Beeningas, Baumgartner, etc. I'd imagine Moorhead123 will express his absolute conviction that Bergstrasser will keep the program running at top-of-the-standings levels. It's very possible he will. But it'll still be interesting to see if they dip in 2-3 years when it's a Bergstrasser-only squad and Walthall's residual influence has worn off.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this little "remember that time when..." thing we were doing.

Now, to argue with a fellow Viking fan for a minute...




First thing: In the post before yours he literally wrote msum, all lowercase, in reference to Moorhead. So...yeah. I think it's just his writing style. That being said...

More important thing: Why does it matter if he shows disgust for NSU posters? Nobody says we have to love all of the programs in the conference. I more or less despise everything about USF's athletic programs. Frankly, I haaaaated Winona the first 5-6 years I was on the boards (partially out of jealousy, partially out of disliking several of the WSU posters on here). I felt no obligation to show respect to them. I was in the group that went and actively cheered for Metro State in the 2009 Regional Tournament. It's one of my favorite memories as a basketball fan and it doesn't even involve Augie. I feel no shame or regret for that at all. I would love if people hated/envied Augie so much that they showed up just to cheer for their opponent in a Regional game. It would be a good indicator of where our program is at (as it was for Winona in 2009).

Being completely honest, this is the range of emotions I feel toward other NSIC programs, with occasional fluctuation here or there:

Hate: USF
Strongly dislike: Moorhead, Mankato, SMSU
Generally dislike: Northern, Duluth, Upper Iowa
Essentially completely ambivalent about: Concordia, Mary, Minot, Crookston, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Winona
Don't necessarily "like" but would like/support if I stopped being an Augie fan: Wayne

I don't understand—and have never understood—why it's not ok in your mind to not like all of your opponents. I respect some of these programs in my dislike categories (very much not USF, but Moorhead and Northern, for example), but I don't like them, I never want to see them win, and I would love it if they somehow managed to all go 0-22 in conference play every year, as impossible as that may be.

It often seems to grind your gears when posters say negative things about other teams or programs on the boards, and I have never understood why it bothers you so much. I have zero qualms or regrets about saying I dislike other teams. It doesn't make me a bad fan or a mean-spirited person. I just don't like seeing the teams my team competes against doing better than my team. I feel like that makes me competitive, not mean.

It also doesn't mean I dislike other posters on here or wish ill upon them. Frustratingly, I like most of the posters on here these days. A handful have tendencies that annoy me, just like my siblings have tendencies that annoy me, but I don't actively dislike most/any of them like I used to in my fiery youth.

I've just never understood this mindset of having to be nice to the programs we don't like. If it makes us look petty to other fans, so be it. I hope anybody reading this (other fans, parents, potential recruits, etc.) knows I'm an Augie fan and knows I'll be supportive of our athletic programs and our athletes. If it bothers someone that I'm not nice to other teams/fans/players/coaches, then that's their choice. But I'd hope they appreciate that I'll be fiercely loyal to them if they're pro-Augie. I think that's more important than how nice I am to Northern, Moorhead, usf, etc. (lowercase intentional... :) )

Fantastic post -- will address later - some back and forth is great !

Also Augie sucks - the Edina of hte NSIC

[MrMustang]

First things first, I want to thank Moorhead123 for inciting this deliciously nostalgic sample of what the boards were like in their glory days. The cherry on top would be John making a triumphant return and making everybody rage. Those were the days.

Now, to address a couple of things (don't worry about reading this, Stanger86... it'll likely be a tl;dr).



That was a good win for Moorhead. But if we're going to continue the "looking back" game, I'm always partial to the 2015 and 2016 games between the Dragons and Vikings, particularly the conference tournament championship game in which we won our second straight conference tourney title and eventually surpassed the 2014-15 Dragons' postseason achievements by advancing to (and winning) the National Championship. Good times.

That being said, as Winona fans can attest to, reminiscing on the past is fun, but what's more important is the direction the program is going moving forward. Obviously Augie has some elements that need to be corrected between now and the next few seasons. On one hand, we have highly regarded recruits coming in, which should help with getting us back on track. On the other hand, we have highly regarded recruits on the current roster too and we're still struggling more than most fans probably expected. Like I said, our coaches have some work to do. I'm pretty sure they're aware of that. Personally, I'm excited to see how we bounce back the next couple of years.

What will be interesting with Moorhead is what things will look like when Bergstrasser is on his own. He's achieving a very high level of success this year with kids he helped recruit, but I'd imagine Walthall was a pretty important factor in getting kids like the Beeningas, Baumgartner, etc. I'd imagine Moorhead123 will express his absolute conviction that Bergstrasser will keep the program running at top-of-the-standings levels. It's very possible he will. But it'll still be interesting to see if they dip in 2-3 years when it's a Bergstrasser-only squad and Walthall's residual influence has worn off.

Anyway, those are my thoughts on this little "remember that time when..." thing we were doing.

Now, to argue with a fellow Viking fan for a minute...




First thing: In the post before yours he literally wrote msum, all lowercase, in reference to Moorhead. So...yeah. I think it's just his writing style. That being said...

More important thing: Why does it matter if he shows disgust for NSU posters? Nobody says we have to love all of the programs in the conference. I more or less despise everything about USF's athletic programs. Frankly, I haaaaated Winona the first 5-6 years I was on the boards (partially out of jealousy, partially out of disliking several of the WSU posters on here). I felt no obligation to show respect to them. I was in the group that went and actively cheered for Metro State in the 2009 Regional Tournament. It's one of my favorite memories as a basketball fan and it doesn't even involve Augie. I feel no shame or regret for that at all. I would love if people hated/envied Augie so much that they showed up just to cheer for their opponent in a Regional game. It would be a good indicator of where our program is at (as it was for Winona in 2009).

Being completely honest, this is the range of emotions I feel toward other NSIC programs, with occasional fluctuation here or there:

Hate: USF
Strongly dislike: Moorhead, Mankato, SMSU
Generally dislike: Northern, Duluth, Upper Iowa
Essentially completely ambivalent about: Concordia, Mary, Minot, Crookston, Bemidji, St. Cloud, Winona
Don't necessarily "like" but would like/support if I stopped being an Augie fan: Wayne

I don't understand—and have never understood—why it's not ok in your mind to not like all of your opponents. I respect some of these programs in my dislike categories (very much not USF, but Moorhead and Northern, for example), but I don't like them, I never want to see them win, and I would love it if they somehow managed to all go 0-22 in conference play every year, as impossible as that may be.

It often seems to grind your gears when posters say negative things about other teams or programs on the boards, and I have never understood why it bothers you so much. I have zero qualms or regrets about saying I dislike other teams. It doesn't make me a bad fan or a mean-spirited person. I just don't like seeing the teams my team competes against doing better than my team. I feel like that makes me competitive, not mean.

It also doesn't mean I dislike other posters on here or wish ill upon them. Frustratingly, I like most of the posters on here these days. A handful have tendencies that annoy me, just like my siblings have tendencies that annoy me, but I don't actively dislike most/any of them like I used to in my fiery youth.

I've just never understood this mindset of having to be nice to the programs we don't like. If it makes us look petty to other fans, so be it. I hope anybody reading this (other fans, parents, potential recruits, etc.) knows I'm an Augie fan and knows I'll be supportive of our athletic programs and our athletes. If it bothers someone that I'm not nice to other teams/fans/players/coaches, then that's their choice. But I'd hope they appreciate that I'll be fiercely loyal to them if they're pro-Augie. I think that's more important than how nice I am to Northern, Moorhead, usf, etc. (lowercase intentional... :) )

hate - Augie and Northern - Augie because they are Augie, Northern due to the family rivalry which we enjoy

dislike - Mankato , UMD, because they have never admitted we saved their ass wandering in the wilderness once the NCC folded - although I like their fans mostly, fun interesting people

don't like - USF - not sure why but I don't like them Winona - cheated to get Clayton Vette Crookston - don't belong in the NSIC

not too many opinions about the others that are negative SCSU would be grouped with Mankato and UMD except their screwed themselves over

Given all that I love all the rivalries and games and love meeting other fans who arer all great to talk to ! even the Augie fans as they are often like me and can take it as well as give it fun stuff

[vikingfaithful]

Cannot say I hate any school. I reserve the word hate for say...Vladimir Putin or the Taliban

Don't like USF, MSU, WSU and UMD. Basically ex NCC teams, Winona for being Winona and USF acute rival.

Wary of Northern, Bemidji and Wayne, SMSU. Even though I cheer for Wayne when it doesn't affect Augie.

Do not really have an opinion on others as they are non threats for the most part. Much of my opinions are based on FB.

Beginning to enjoy other people's dislike or hate of Augustana. Means we are successful.

After USF, Augie will be smallest school in the league this fall.

[mosofan1]

I dislike all NSIC teams and am glad anytime an MIAA team (other than Pitt State) beats you all. My dislike for Pitt State is greater than my other dislikes in D2.

[NSU4LIFE]

I dislike all NSIC teams and am glad anytime an MIAA team (other than Pitt State) beats you all. My dislike for Pitt State is greater than my other dislikes in D2.

Since the topic has changed...

I hate the stretch of "road" from I-29 to Maryville, the color purple, and olives.

Now we are turning it into an episode of Next!

[NWHoops]

Since the topic has changed...

I hate the stretch of "road" from I-29 to Maryville, the color purple, and olives.

Now we are turning it into an episode of Next!

That's God's country...

[vikingfaithful]

I dislike all NSIC teams and am glad anytime an MIAA team (other than Pitt State) beats you all. My dislike for Pitt State is greater than my other dislikes in D2.

When I think about the MIAA words like hillbillies and rednecks enter my mind. Descendants of Appalachian stock. Have vacationed in southern MO. Y'all are kind decent folk (;

[Stanger86]

Back to the point of this thread...

Focusing on coaches, if its just in terms of exceeding expectations, I think we need to look at Chris Johnson (Sioux Falls) and Brad Bigler (SMSU) in the South and Mike Boschee (BSU) in the North.

But I wouldn't be surprised if it just ends up going to Bergstrasser.