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The Omaha men's basketball team begins conference play this week, traveling to North Dakota State on Thursday, Nov. 29 for UNO's first official Summit League game. The contest is set for 7 p.m. at Bentson Bunker Fieldhouse in Fargo, N.D., and will be broadcast live on 1180 AM with Robert Ford on the call. Links to live stats, audio and video will be available on OMavs.com.
UNO is in its second year as a reclassifying Division I school in 2012-13 and officially joined The Summit League in July 2012 with a full regular-season conference schedule ahead. The Mavericks are led by head coach Derrin Hansen, who is in his eighth year at the helm of the UNO program with a career record of 123-91.
Scouting the North Dakota State Bison
North Dakota State (5-2, 0-0 Summit League) returns eight letterwinners and four starters from last year's squad that went 17-14 (9-9 Summit League). Head coach Saul Phillips (UW-Platteville, 1996) is in his sixth year at NDSU and holds a career record of 89-69.
The Bison owned a four-game win streak before falling 74-59 at Green Bay last Saturday. Lawrence Alexander and Marshall Bjorklund had 14 points apiece, and Kory Brown scored a season-high 10 points for NDSU.
North Dakota State leads the all-time series with Omaha 35-26, having won 98-65 last season on Nov. 22, 2011 in Fargo, N.D.
Saturday Rewind
Omaha picked up its second win of the season last Saturday, defeating Chicago State 68-66 at the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic in Valparaiso, Ind. Junior guard Justin Simmons finished with a game-leading 17 points, four rebounds, two steals and an assist. The Milwaukee, Wis., native hit a 3-pointer with 1:15 left to give Omaha the lead for good after a back-and-forth game.
Junior guard Alex Phillips matched Simmons with 17 points and four boards, finishing with 6-for-10 shooting from the field and a perfect 4-for-4 effort from the line. Phillips added three steals for the night.
Junior guard Caleb Steffensmeier also had a double-figure scoring effort with a season-high 11 points, two 3-pointers, five rebounds, two helpers and a steal. Freshman Marcus Tyus led the Mavericks on the boards with six rebounds, and junior center John Karhoff chipped in eight points, five rebounds and a team-leading five assists.
As a team, UNO shot 49 percent from the field and 73 percent from the free throw line.
On the Road Again
The Mavericks are in the midst of a challenging 10-game away schedule that keeps them on the road until Dec. 18. Omaha traveled to Texas Tech on Nov. 14, Tulane on Nov. 16 and Nebraska on Nov. 18. The Tulane and Nebraska contests were part of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic, which continued with contests last weekend against Bethune Cookman (Nov. 23) and Chicago State (Nov. 24).
After two Summit League games this weekend at North Dakota State (Nov. 29) and South Dakota State (Dec. 1), Omaha closes the span with Wisconsin (Dec. 4), Iowa State (Dec. 9) and Denver (Dec. 15).
Phillips Getting His Fill
Junior guard Alex Phillips has been a major contributor off the bench in the first seven games of his Maverick career, averaging 11.3 points per contest with .532 shooting from the field and a .474 clip from behind the arc. Phillips scored in double figures in three consecutive games -- vs. Saint Mary (16), at Texas Tech (10) and at Tulane (13) -- and his season-high 17 points led the Mavs against Chicago State last weekend. He is third on the team in scoring behind only fellow juniors John Karhoff and Justin Simmons, and he is second in both 3-pointers made (nine) and 3-point field goal percentage.
Simmons Steps Up for Starting Role
Junior guard Justin Simmons has made an impression early in his Omaha career, stepping into an immediate starting role for the Mavericks after transferring from Butler Community College. He has averaged 12.1 points, 3.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per contest over five games, and he finished with a season-high 19 points at Nebraska.
Simmons is playing essentially just his third year of organized basketball. He played for South Division High School as a senior, then became an All-American long jumper at Concordia University in Wisconsin. In 2011-12, Simmons returned to the basketball court at Butler CC, where he averaged 16.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists per game, which drew the attention of the UNO staff and prompted him to join the Maverick program in 2012-13.
Welhouse Nears Top 10 in Career 3-Pointers
Forward Alex Welhouse enters his senior season as one of UNO's top returners, having averaged 10.4 points and a team-leading 6.7 rebounds per game as a junior. A three-year starter, he sits at 12th all-time on UNO's career 3-pointers chart with 114 threes made. Welhouse needs just seven treys to tie Patrick Voss (121) for 11th and 11 to tie Denny Johnston for 10th (125).
Ralston Becomes a Reality
The 2012-13 season marks UNO's inaugural season playing at newly constructed Ralston Arena, which will serve as the new home of Maverick men's basketball, Omaha Lancers hockey and Omaha Beef indoor football. The Mavs begin a full Summit League schedule this year, and they will host 13 games at Ralston, including a game for the ESPN Sears BracketBusters series.
On Nov. 9, Omaha hosted its first game in the facility, defeating Northern Illinois 77-64 in front of 2,224 fans.
Transfer Doluony Brings Division I Experience to Mavericks
Senior forward Koang Doluony is the only Maverick on the roster with prior experience with a full Division I schedule. A transfer from Indiana State, Doluony lettered three years for the Sycamores and redshirted one. He was a member of Indiana State's 2011 Missouri Valley Conference championship team and averaged 4.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game over three seasons.
Doluony was born in Sudan, spent time in an Ethiopian refugee camp and came to the United States as a fourth grader. The Omaha Bryan product earned his bachelor's degree in criminal justice from ISU in 2012 and is now pursuing a master's degree at UNO during his final year of eligibility.
Welcome to The Summit League
The 2012-13 season marks UNO's first year with a full regular-season Summit League schedule. UNO will play all eight Summit League foes twice, once in Omaha and once on the road. Although the Mavericks will appear in the Summit League standings, they cannot qualify for the Summit League Championship or the NCAA Tournament, and Maverick student-athletes are not eligible for all-conference awards until 2015-16.
Mixed Schedule Takes Mavericks Around the Nation
Omaha's 2012-13 schedule includes 31 games against 20 different Division I opponents, and the team will play in 13 states and all four time zones across the country. UNO will match up with opponents from eight different conferences: Big 12, Big Ten, Conference USA, Great West, Mid-American (MAC), Mid-Eastern Athletic (MEAC), Summit League and Western Athletic (WAC).
Three foes were 2012 NCAA Tournament qualifiers: defending Summit League champion South Dakota State, Wisconsin and Iowa State. UW had the longest postseason run, falling 64-63 to Syracuse in the Sweet 16.
The Mavericks have never faced five of their 2012-13 opponents -- Tulane, Bethune-Cookman, Valparaiso, Oakland and IUPUI -- and they hold a combined all-time record of 165-107-1 over all opponents on the slate this season.
Mavericks Add Six for 2012-13
Head coach Derrin Hansen and his staff added six new players to the 2012-13 roster: senior forward Koang Doluony, junior guards Alex Phillips and Justin Simmons, junior forward Mike Rostampour and freshman guards Jalen Bradley and Marcus Tyus.
Doluony joins the Mavericks after graduating from Indiana State, where he lettered three years and redshirted one. Rostampour comes from St. Cloud State, where he averaged eight points and five rebounds per game as a starter and led the Huskies with .530 shooting from 3-point range.
Phillips and Simmons are the Mavs' two junior college transfers. Simmons began his career in track & field at Concordia (Wis.), then transferred to Butler Community College and returned to the basketball court. Phillips played two years at New Mexico Junior College, earning first-team all-conference accolades as a sophomore and averaging 10.3 points per game, including 17.8 points per contest in league play.
Bradley and Tyus, both true freshmen, begin at UNO with outstanding prep experience. Tyus was a two-time all-conference pick at Anoka High School in Ramsey, Minn. As a senior, he averaged 27 points and four assists per game, and as a junior he broke the Anoka school record with 46 points in a single game. Bradley, a Norfolk High School product, was a two-time all-state selection and was part of the NHS team that was state runner-up in 2010. He led the state of Nebraska in scoring two straight seasons, averaging 21.1 points per game as a junior and 21.9 as a senior. Bradley finished as Norfolk's all-time leading scorer and the fifth-best scorer in Class A history with 1,638 career points.
Summit League Preseason Poll Announced
The Summit League released its annual preseason men's basketball coaches' poll on Oct. 17, with newcomer Omaha picked ninth for its first year of conference play. The poll was conducted with a vote of the league's head coaches, media and media relations personnel.
South Dakota State was the favorite to win the 2012-13 Summit League Basketball Championship, receiving 30 of 31 first-place votes after claiming the 2012 Summit League Tournament title and representing the league in the NCAA Tournament. North Dakota State, which earned the remaining first-place vote, finished second in the poll with 321 points. Oakland placed third with 310 points, followed by 2012 Tournament runner-up Western Illinois in fourth. IUPUI edged Fort Wayne by two points for fifth while Kansas City, South Dakota and league newcomer Omaha rounded out the poll.
Hansen Enters Eighth Year With Mavericks
Head coach Derrin Hansen is in his eighth season at the helm of the Omaha men's basketball program in 2012-13, boasting a career record of 123-91 over his head coaching career. He took the job after serving as an assistant coach for seven years with former Maverick head coaches Kevin McKenna and Kevin Lehman. Hansen has the second-most victories of any coach in program history, behind only Bob Hanson, and Hansen hit the century mark for wins on Jan. 12, 2011.
Hansen has coached or assisted teams that have earned five trips to the NCAA Division II Tournament, while also garnering two regular-season league titles and three tournament crowns. In 2007-08, his squad recorded a school-record 25 wins in its final season of North Central Conference play, and the Mavs won their final NCC Tournament to advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament for the first time since 2004-05. In 2009-10, UNO earned an NCAA Tournament berth by capturing the MIAA Tournament crown in just its second year as a member of the league.
As a player at Nebraska Wesleyan, Hansen's 1988 squad advanced to the NCAA Division III semifinals, and while serving as a student coach, the 1990 Plainsmen advanced to the final 16.
Hansen is assisted by assistant coaches Randall Herbst, Pat Eberhart and Tyler Erwin.
Albers Leaves a Legacy
UNO's most notable loss from the 2011-12 lineup is former Maverick Mitch Albers, who closed his career as the No. 2 all-time scorer in school history. As a senior, he averaged 18.3 points per game to rank 32nd nationally in scoring. In the Omaha career record books, Albers is also third in field goals made (633), third in 3-pointers made (187), 14th in assists (230), 16th in steals (101) and 18th in blocks (35).
Kids Growing Up In the Heartland
The 2012-13 UNO roster is loaded with local talent, with six of the 14 players hailing from three Nebraska cities. Four come from Omaha: senior Koang Doluony (Bryan), juniors John Karhoff and Caleb Steffensmeier (Creighton Prep) and sophomore CJ Carter (Benson). Junior Matt Hagerbaumer is a product of Lincoln Southeast, and freshman Jalen Bradley (Norfolk) is a native of Norfolk, Neb.
2011-12 Mavs Finish in Nation's Top 25 in Multiple Categories
The 2011-12 UNO men's basketball team finished the season tied for ninth nationally with Buffalo with 16.5 assists per game, as well as 26th nationally in a tie with Temple with a 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio. Individually, sophomore Caleb Steffensmeier was second in the country with a 3.40 assist-to-turnover ratio, and former Maverick Mitch Albers was 32nd nationally in scoring with 18.3 points per game.
Welhouse, Karhoff, Carter Earn All-Independent Recognition
Following the 2011-12 season, Alex Welhouse, John Karhoff and CJ Carter each earned postseason recognition from College Sports Madness. Welhouse and Karhoff were both named second-team all-independent, while Carter was honored as independent freshman of the year.
Welhouse was the Mavericks' leading rebounder with 6.7 boards per game, had a team-best 50 3-pointers made and ranked third on the team with 10.4 points per contest. Karhoff averaged 12.9 points and 4.5 rebounds per game, both of which were second on the squad. He also shot .529 (146-276) from the field and .741 (80-108) at the charity stripe.
Carter averaged 10.4 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game in his inaugural campaign. He was the first true freshman to start for UNO since 2006-07, and his 34 steals led the Mavericks. Carter totaled 17 double-figure scoring efforts and was UNO's third-best scorer over 29 games.
Up Next for the Mavericks
Omaha continues its road swing and first weekend of conference play, traveling to South Dakota State on Saturday, Dec. 1. Tipoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Frost Arena in Brookings, S.D. Robert Ford will have the call on 1180 AM, and links to live stats, live audio and live video will be available on OMavs.com.
