Deep Dive Thread for North Dakota
- Owen Barnes
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
The Fighting Hawks are in their 7th year under head coach Paul Sather, who will bring his team into Coleman for one of two return trips from the game last season. Last season in Grand Forks was a great game, finishing 97-90, but Treysen Eaglestaff, who dropped 40 on Alabama, now plays for West Virginia, so this will be a much different team.
They return just 1 starter from last season in 6-4 Eli King. King shot about 38% from deep last season on solid attempts. He scored 8 points and was 2-3 from behind the arc against Alabama last season. King had 5 steals in their exhibition versus Minnesota and was top 100 in steal rate as a sophomore, so we will need to be strong with the ball around him.
Their leading scorer in both scrimmages was 6-6 Central Washington transfer Garrett Anderson. He averaged 14 points and just under 50% from the field at his prior stop. In the two scrimmages, he scored 12 and 14, so he seems to be fitting right into the new roster.
The next two highest scorers in the scrimmage are two freshmen in 6-2 Greyson Uelmen and 6-8 Marley Curtis. Uelmen redshirted last season, while Curtis is entering his true freshman year. Curtis had ten 3-point attempts in the exhibitions, so he is not afraid to step back from deep.
The other 2 returners who actually played last season are 6-10 George Natsvlishvili and 6-3 Zach Kraft. Kraft played in last year’s matchup, scoring 9 on 3-7 from deep, while George did not see the floor in the game last season. Kraft shot over 37% on the season last year from deep, while George is a skilled European big man who did have a double-double last season.
Though he did not start any of the exhibitions, another name to know is 6-1 Anthony Smith III. He scored 9 in each of their exhibitions while also leading the team in assists as well. He was a solid shooter in high school and is a guy they are very high on heading into this season.
Finally, the last few names I think you might want to know are 6-9 Josh Jones, 6-4 Anthony Doppler, and 6-9 Matthew Bothun. Jones previously played at Oral Roberts, while Doppler and Bothun both redshirted and then saw action in just 6 games last season, but look to have bigger roles this year.
North Dakota was a substantially better offensive team last season than defensive, and I have no reason to suspect that will change heading into this year. They are projected to be in the bottom 30 defenses in America per KenPom, so Alabama likely will be able to score at ease. The one thing they did really well in both exhibitions, though, was forcing steals, getting 12 steals in both exhibitions. Alabama will need to take care of the ball, and they should have a great night.
My player to watch is Latrell Wrightsell. Nate has said he will be on a bit of a minutes restriction, but that did not stop him from having a decent night versus Furman and looking to be back to himself. I think the speed of this game will fit right into how Trelly plays the game, and with him trying to make the most of the minutes he is given, I suspect he will have a great game.
Simply put, I think Alabama should run away with this game. Yes, North Dakota kept it close last season, thanks to heroics from Eaglestaff, but this is a different team. I do not suspect that will be the case tonight. Nate Oats should be able to name his score and play with whatever lineup combinations he wants to learn about before heading to MSG on Saturday.
Prediction: Alabama 106 - North Dakota 68
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