Buena Vista 2011-12 men's basketball preview
The Buena Vista men's basketball team was picked to finish second in the 2011-12 Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (IIAC) Preseason Coaches' Poll which was released by the conference office on Friday afternoon.
Eleven letterwinners, including four starters, are back from last year's team which went 11-15 overall and was one of four teams to finish 8-8 in Iowa Conference games. BVU earned the fifth-seed into the league tournament before falling at fourth-seeded Simpson College, 78-72.
With a fresh start to a new season now a few weeks old, six-time IIAC Coach of the Year Brian Van Haaften, who's entering his 16th season at BVU, is pleased with the progression of the team at both ends of the floor so far.
"We are playing with a better sense of urgency at this point," he states. "Our defense is better and we are passing the ball better on the offensive end."
The team will return two of the IIAC's elite players in junior Wes Nordquist (Adel, Iowa/ADM) and senior Doug Bissen (Earling, Iowa/Harlan), who were First and Second Team All-Conference performers in 2010-11. The duo helped BVU lead the league in scoring overall at 75.2 points per contest. Nordquist led the Beavers and ranked sixth in the league, turning in an average of 15.5 points per contest. He's also a force at the other end of the floor, leading both the team and IIAC in rebounding at 7.9 per contest. In just two seasons at the collegiate level, he's shooting nearly 54 percent from the field and is only 17 rebounds shy of 400. Bissen, meanwhile, chipped in with 12.1 points and 7.0 rebounds as a junior. He enters his final campaign shooting just under 60 percent in his career and grabbing 403 rebounds.
Senior Jeff Janssen (Fairmont, Minn./Fairmont), who finished fourth on the team, averaging 6.5 points, is also back and is a threat to knock down the deep ball. He finished with 26 made shots behind the arc as a junior and has buried 91 in his career. Sophomore Michael Kaufmann (Harlan, Iowa/Harlan) returns and looks to again be the quarterback of the offense. In his first season as the team's starting point guard, he turned in 6.0 points and 2.58 assists per contest. He also shot better than 36 percent from down town and over 83 percent from the charity stripe. Defensively, he ranked sixth in the IIAC, recording 1.38 steals per game.
Senior Michael Elming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) started 15 games for BVU a season ago and was a threat at both ends, while playing an average of nearly 20 minutes. Offensively, he chipped in with four points per game and was third with 57 assists. Defensively, he ranked third on the squad with 21 steals, while also hauling in 2.3 rebounds.
Missing from that starting group this season, however, will be Troy Ticknor (Adel, Iowa/ADM), who suffered a season-ending knee injury just days into the start of practice. Ticknor has been one of the team's top threats on the offensive end these last two years, shooting nearly 40 percent in his career from long range and nearly 84 from the free-throw line.
BVU does have a great deal of depth returning from its bench last season, including three guys who averaged over 12 minutes per game. Senior Trent Fisher (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston), who transferred into the program prior to last season, averaged 5.6 points per contest, while shooting better than 45 percent from the field. Defensively, he averaged 2.6 rebounds and blocked a team-high 16 shots. Junior Kyle Hooks (North Sioux City, S.D./Dakota Valley) shot right at 50 percent from the field (34-of-68) during his 19 minutes per contest. He finished the year averaging four points and 3.7 rebounds and ranked eighth in the league, dishing out 2.6 assists per outing. Senior Andy Puhrmann (Paullina, Iowa/South O'Brien) shot better than 31 percent from downtown a season ago, while playing just more than 12 minutes. Senior Joe Bohan (Humboldt, Iowa/Humboldt) will also be a strong force in the post, following a junior season in which he appeared in 24 games off the bench and turned in 3.6 points and 2.3 rebounds, while averaging just less than 10 minutes. He was a 41 percent shooter from the field, while also connecting on 11-of-25 attempts from long range.
Senior Chase Weaver (Moville, Iowa/Bishop Heelan), who's also in double-digits in catches as a receiver on the BVU football team this season, along with juniors Dustin Kruse (Hinton, Iowa/Hinton) and Max Burgeson (Milford, Iowa/Okoboji), return this season and each will give Van Haaften quality options to turn to for additional depth.
With so much experience to turn to, "VH" is confident that this team will remain composed and balanced throughout the year.
"I believe we will be a team that doesn't turn it over too much," he says. "Our guard court has good balance and is playing good defense. The team is also very close and gets along very well."
Despite the strong nucleus of of veterans back, Van Haaften still says there's work to be done to get to where they want to be.
"Even though our defense is better, it still needs to improve steadily," he adds. "Our rebounding is also an area of improvement that is needed."
The six-time IIAC Coach of the Year has also added a solid group of newcomers to the roster for 2011-12. Seven freshman and two transfers join the team and he is extremely pleased with having each a part of his program.
" I am very happy with our newcomers," he says. "We have some nice athletes and we have a group of freshmen that will be a good rebounding group. We are excited for the future."
BVU will tip-off its season inside of Siebens Fieldhouse on Tuesday, November 15 against Gustavus Adolphus – the first of two home games for the month. The quest for an eighth IIAC championship in 16 years under Van Haaften begins at Central College on November 30. The first home conference game is a week later against Wartburg College. Over Christmas break, the team will head south and take part in the two-day Trinity Invitational in San Antonio, Texas (December 20 and 21).
This year's annual alumni games will take place on February 4, 2012 prior to the varsity game against Coe College. The final regular season home game is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15 against Luther College before the team wraps up the regular season on the road at Cornell College on February 18. The league tournament will take place on February 21, 23 and 25.
