There is a new name at the top of the Denver Men’s Lacrosse all-time points leaderboard. With a goal near the end of the first half against the Marquette Golden Eagles (1-6, 0-5 BIG EAST), Ethan Walker officially passed Wes Berg on DU’s all-time points list with his 256th of his storied career as a Pioneer. Thanks to that goal, two hat tricks from Jack Hannah and JJ Sillstrop, and an impressive 8-save, 61.5% performance by goaltender Jack Thompson, the Pioneers (8-2, 6-0 BIG EAST) beat the Golden Eagles 16-6 at Peter Barton Lacrosse Stadium on a picturesque early spring Saturday afternoon in Denver. Continue reading Pioneers Remain Unbeaten in BIG EAST Behind Ethan Walker’s Record-Breaking Performance
Category Archives: Men’s Sports
Denver Men’s Basketball Hit Hard by Portal Exits
How can it possibly get worse for a 2-19 basketball team? New coach Jeff Wulbrun faces an uphill battle with DU starters being plucked from the hoops transfer portal. So far, DU’s three top scorers from this past season have left the program and two more players are in the portal with the intention to transfer. Continue reading Denver Men’s Basketball Hit Hard by Portal Exits
Puck Swami’s Rapid Reaction: Jeff Wulbrun Hire Exceeds Expectations
Newly-hired Denver men’s basketball coach Jeff Wulbrun wasn’t shy in his first Zoom press conference. He set a serious bar for himself and for his program:
“We want to be the most improved team in the country next year.”
Wow! I’ll be honest – I didn’t expect this.
Perhaps, neither did you. Continue reading Puck Swami’s Rapid Reaction: Jeff Wulbrun Hire Exceeds Expectations
Exploding Transfer Portal has Far-Reaching Impacts
At last count (yesterday), 881 men’s basketball players are in the transfer portal with well over 1,000 expected in the near term. After the University of Denver did not renew former head coach Rodney Billups’ contract, four Pioneers entered the portal, including Jase Townsend, Robert Jones, Sam Hines, Jr., and Taelyr Gatlin. About 60% of those who entered the portal came from the Power Five and are leaving for a variety of reasons. Under the current rules in light of COVID and additional eligibility, student-athletes have been granted one-time transfer waivers. In fact, a number of NCAA Tournament teams had players on the court who were simultaneously playing for their team while listed in the transfer portal.
You can track the exits up to the minute here.
Continue reading Exploding Transfer Portal has Far-Reaching Impacts
Cinderella Runs in March Madness Fuel Money, Publicity for Schools
Tiny #14 seed Abiline Christian University defeated #3 seed Texas in the first round of the NCAA tournament. And the value of that win to the tiny southwestern university? “So far we are close to $120 million-plus and we really haven’t had time to tally up the totals,” said university president Dr. Phil Schubert to Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. For context, that is approximately four times the budget of DU athletics in one year. Continue reading Cinderella Runs in March Madness Fuel Money, Publicity for Schools
AD Creech Needs a Bold, Visionary Hoops Coach for DU
For die-hard Denver Pioneer fans, this week has been excruciating. Our sub-.500 hockey team did not get a bid to the NCAA Tournament and it’s also frustrating to watch basketball’s March Madness as Oral Roberts from the Summit League defeats both Ohio State and Florida, North Texas bounces Purdue and little Loyola-Chicago defeats #1 seed Illinois. It is all so distant – and disappointing. In one example, hockey, you have confidence that they will get back to the NCAA tournament soon. As for DU basketball, the answer feels more like never, especially to a long-suffering fan base. Continue reading AD Creech Needs a Bold, Visionary Hoops Coach for DU
Denver Misses NCAA Tournament for First Time Since 2007
The long, excruciating wait is over. The Denver Pioneers’ season has officially ended. After going 10-13-1, the NCAA Tournament selection committee determined that the Pios’ resume simply was not strong enough to earn a bid to the 16-team field. This is disappointing, though not altogether surprising news for the Pioneers as they could not find much consistency over the course of a tough, Covid-affected season. The uncontrollable factors worked against the Pioneers and they didn’t do enough with what they could control and as a result, Denver’s 12-year streak of NCAA Tournament bids has come to an end. Continue reading Denver Misses NCAA Tournament for First Time Since 2007
Weekend Update: DU Women’s Teams Lead Weekend of Sweeps
Men’s soccer (4-2) had an important road sweep in Kansas City as DU defeated the Roos 4-1 and 1-0. Jacob Stensson had two goals and an assist in game one and the game winning assist on Kengo Ohira’s game winner in game two. Continue reading Weekend Update: DU Women’s Teams Lead Weekend of Sweeps
Making Denver Hockey’s Case for the NCAA Tournament
With the top-seed North Dakota Fighting Hawks winning the NCHC championship on Tuesday over the #2-seed St. Cloud State Huskies in a 5-3 affair – the first time a program has won the regular season and postseason titles in the same season in the NCHC – attention in the conference has now turned to the Men’s NCAA Tournament and who will and won’t make the field of 16, a conversation that hasn’t been necessary since the early 1990s when mathematical rating formulas began to assist (and eventually replaced) subjective selection criteria. Continue reading Making Denver Hockey’s Case for the NCAA Tournament
All-World Faceoff Specialist TD Ierlan Set to Join Pioneers This Week Program Confirms, Eligible Next Game
A couple of months ago, TD Ierlan, the greatest faceoff specialist in men’s collegiate lacrosse, announced his plans to transfer to Denver and join his former Yale teammates, Jackson Morrill and Lucas Cotler. Just this morning, according to US Lacrosse Magazine, Ierlan himself confirmed that he has been accepted at the University of Denver and will be eligible to play against Villanova next Sunday. The program has not yet confirmed the transfer, however. As a reminder for those who forgot what the quarter system is, this transfer is made possible by Denver’s academic system. Winter Quarter ends on Friday which means Ierlan’s transfer for academic purposes will be made official when the new academic term ‘begins’ Saturday. Continue reading All-World Faceoff Specialist TD Ierlan Set to Join Pioneers This Week Program Confirms, Eligible Next Game