Psst – Don’t tell anybody but DU has quietly moved into second place in Summit League basketball. They continue to surprise – even if they are the best kept secret in the Summit League and on campus. That’s o.k. – I know almost everyone in my section and I am not good with new names.
Sure DU doesn’t have a super guard tandem like Fort Wayne’s Mo Evans and John Konchar. Denver has an excellent big man in Daniel Amigo but not as good as the league MVP Mike Daum. The Pioneers can’t steal the ball and score points like the UNO Mavericks. They do not have the best record in the conference and best overall winning record- that belongs to the North Dakota State Bison. DU is tied with South Dakota in the league standings for second place – but the Coyotes swept the Crimson and Gold.
The Pioneers are an up team in a down league. But the historically beleaguered basketball program is moving ever closer to a new era of round ball respect. And Rodney Billups has no patience for a 5 year plan.
League coaches picked Denver 8th out of 9 teams in the Summit League Preseason Poll. Stunned Oral Roberts fans opined following a recent loss to Denver on ORU Sports Forum, “A 24 point loss at home to Denver U…..yes….this truly is rock bottom……Denver is really good at hockey but mediocre at basketball.” Other ORU faithful still think DU plays Princeton style basketball, as one Golden Eagle fan said, “To surrender 93 points at home – 59 in the second half – to a deliberate, motion team that is trying to run clock, not score in bunches, is beyond explanation.”
DU is somewhat of a mystery in a league where some fans value their snow mobiles more highly than their first-born and opening day begins with hunting season.
That’s o.k. … not many people even know who coaches DU – and the player’s are having fun with it.
@coach_billups didn't know your first name was john ?! pic.twitter.com/RJt0jOhvIO
— kraf (@youngkraf) February 1, 2017
Billups sees the strength of this year’s team as the depth – a no quit attitude to this year’s squad carries into every game. It sounds corny when Billups says, “The strength of the team is the team” – but it is true.
This years squad starts with the character, skill, and experience of their coaching staff – the best in the Summit League. Led by an unflappable coach who wields a velvet hammer and has experience on the floor and bench beyond his 34 years. He surrounds himself with successful veteran teachers on the bench. Not afraid of strong personalities, he added Ricardo Patton, the second winningest coach in CU history – behind Russell ‘Sox’ Willseth 40+ years ago. Not enough experience, yet? Add another bench guru Steve Snell to the mix. Snell is yet another successful coach with years of successful assistant coaching stops, most recently at Santa Clara. Retain Dan Ficke from the Joe Scott staff who adds continuity along with Loyola and Wake Forest coaching stints and a youthful connection to the players.
So what have they done?
Bring Junior Daniel Amigo off the scrap heap and develop him into one of the best big men in the Summit League. Turn a team that can’t rebound into one of the most efficient rebounding teams in the country and transform a plodding offense into a go-fast top 25 shooting percentage team. Retain key pieces – like Joe Rosga who was offered a scholarship by the University of Minnesota when Joe Scott left. Unleash Jake Pemberton, the second most improved player behind Daniel Amigo, who has added an offensive arsenal to his already rock solid defensive game. Get the players in the best shape of their lives and send them in waves off the bench.
They probably won’t go dancing this year – but they are earning a look come league tournament time. Compared to some of the blemishes and warts on their league peers, they look pretty good sitting on steel folding chairs along the gym wall.
All of this in Billups first year.
DU hoops takes on preseason league favorite Fort Wayne Saturday at 4:00 pm MT @ Magness Arena.
I’m a Pio hockey fan but check on our B.ball once in a while. I look at the Sagarin rating list of all schools in the USA Today paper and usually find D.U buried in the fifth column which is the last column of the approx.350 schools. I have spotted us in the 4th column but rarely.
Now, holy tamale, we’ve made the third column. Unexplored territory.
So our new goal is to get the team into the second column. That’s it! Second Column or bust!
Good catch John. It is going to take some time but Billups has them ahead of schedule – Plus, the Summit League is down a bit, too.
Good observation, John. I.m not sure what our best-ever Sagarin and KenPom rankings are, but DU’s best-ever hoops RPI ranking (since the RPI was created in 1981), was a ranking of #94 in 2012, the team that had 22 wins.
I’m a Pio hockey fan but check on our B.ball once in a while. I look at the Sagarin rating list of all schools in the USA Today paper and usually find D.U buried in the fifth column which is the last column of the approx.350 schools. I have spotted us in the 4th column but rarely.
Now, holy tamale, we’ve made the third column. Unexplored territory.
So our new goal is to get the team into the second column. That’s it! Second Column or bust!
Good catch John. It is going to take some time but Billups has them ahead of schedule – Plus, the Summit League is down a bit, too.
Good observation, John. I.m not sure what our best-ever Sagarin and KenPom rankings are, but DU’s best-ever hoops RPI ranking (since the RPI was created in 1981), was a ranking of #94 in 2012, the team that had 22 wins.
This has already been a successful season and has the possibility to be an extremely successful season if the Pios can keep this up and maybe get some breaks in Sioux Falls in early March. They have proven that they have the ability to beat anyone in the conference on any given night.
Honestly, if you would have told me after that Utah Valley game that Denver would be sitting at 14-9 (6-4) on February 3 with hopes of a regular season title still alive, I would have told you that you were crazy. And yet, here we are.
Tomorrow is an opportunity to take another step and looking at the odds, Denver is currently a 2 point favorite – it should be a great game!
Oh, and Puck Swami, for kenpom, since he started in 2001/2002, Denver has finished top 100 three times.
04/05: #87
11/12: #73
12/13: #47
In that 12/13 season, Denver actually peaked at #28 in the kenpom rankings! This was right before the unfortunate first round game of the conference tournament.
As yes, the infamous Texas State pratfall game in Las Vegas. Texas State was a 12-win, 20-loss team coming into that game, and suddenly shot 65% for the night, with the Bobcats’ Joel Wright popping off for 32 points. Very frustrating, as the Pios had to go the NIT.
That Texas State game and the Royce O’Neale transfer than followed that season haunt the program to this day. DU never recovered…Scott was fired and now it’s up to Rodney to get us over the hump…
This has already been a successful season and has the possibility to be an extremely successful season if the Pios can keep this up and maybe get some breaks in Sioux Falls in early March. They have proven that they have the ability to beat anyone in the conference on any given night.
Honestly, if you would have told me after that Utah Valley game that Denver would be sitting at 14-9 (6-4) on February 3 with hopes of a regular season title still alive, I would have told you that you were crazy. And yet, here we are.
Tomorrow is an opportunity to take another step and looking at the odds, Denver is currently a 2 point favorite – it should be a great game!
Oh, and Puck Swami, for kenpom, since he started in 2001/2002, Denver has finished top 100 three times.
04/05: #87
11/12: #73
12/13: #47
In that 12/13 season, Denver actually peaked at #28 in the kenpom rankings! This was right before the unfortunate first round game of the conference tournament.
As yes, the infamous Texas State pratfall game in Las Vegas. Texas State was a 12-win, 20-loss team coming into that game, and suddenly shot 65% for the night, with the Bobcats’ Joel Wright popping off for 32 points. Very frustrating, as the Pios had to go the NIT.
That Texas State game and the Royce O’Neale transfer than followed that season haunt the program to this day. DU never recovered…Scott was fired and now it’s up to Rodney to get us over the hump…
Wow, South Dakota is going to win AT North Dakota State. The next few weeks are going to be crazy.
The conference is getting crazy bunched up.
Wow, South Dakota is going to win AT North Dakota State. The next few weeks are going to be crazy.
The conference is getting crazy bunched up.