Tuesday, November 27, 2007

Choosing A College


Can somebody please tell me why it seems like high school basketball players from the state of MN choose the schools that make the least sense for them? The prime example are brothers Isaiah and Noah Dahlman from Braham, MN who came from one of the best high school basketball dynasties MN fans will ever see.

My biggest disappointment is Minnesota’s all-time leading scorer Isaiah Dahlman. He chose Michigan St. which is of course a great program and probably a great school but did he really think his slow methodical game was going to fit in the Big Ten while being 6’6” 118 LBS? I could’ve told him that he was never going to see the court being that Tom Izzo emphasizes defense and rebounding as much, if not more than any other coach in the land. Dahlman never did rebound the ball great for a 6’6” kid in high school and his high school team played a trapping zone for the majority of games. Michigan St. is strictly a man-to-man team that likes to give minutes to rugged players; the polar opposite of Dahlman. For Isaiah it’s time to give it up, come back to MN and enroll at St. Cloud State where the entire town of Braham can pack Hallenbeck Hall. He will be back in his glory days again and actually dominating basketball games like he once used to.

Isaiah’s brother Noah Dahlman is a prime example of choosing the correct school. He was a 6’5” PF who was a very good high school basketball player but lived in the shadow of his brother for most of his high school career. I believe he became the all-time leading rebounder in MN history but lacking jump shot ability knew that it wasn’t his calling to attend and be successful at a major DI program. Instead he signed on to play at DI Wofford where he is averaging 8 ppg and 8 rpg. Now what is better? Sure, going to play DI at Michigan St. was probably always a dream but you have to investigate the situation before jumping in too quickly. I know it’s hard for guys to turn down big time scholarships like that but you cannot be persuaded by the head coach or head recruiter because they are telling 5 other recruits the same exact thing.

My point is that these kids need help. Their parents should be involved a little bit and they should always find a mentor through all this (AAU coach, high school coach, family friend, etc.). These 18 year old kids usually aren’t making great decisions with their lives as it is already so please will somebody from MN guide these kids to the right program. I cannot see another great basketball player like Isaiah Dahlman rotting away at the end of a bench because it just isn’t right to me after seeing him dominate high school basketball like he did.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Very well put Dogg.
It is sad to see kids with very good talent just being on the bench as if they are walk-ons. I feel for the most part parents are part of the problem now days. They want their child to go D1 so they can tell people that he went D1. Most parents will do just about anything for their child to make it to big time college sports. Its pretty sad if you ask me.

As for the AAU coaches a lot of them are using the players to land coaching gigs around the nation and move up the coaching ranks. So it is hard for these players to really know who to turn to for some really good advice. Now days recruiting is a business just like everything else so its really hard for the players to get a true evaluation of how good they really are. I mean look at where Adam Boone went. UNC then to the Gophs. While he played for the Gophs he was ok but UNC talent I do not think so. AAU has changed the way kids are recruited. You really do not have to play the High School season now days.

Anonymous said...

Why is the school a bad choice? Just because he didn't choose USTD? Get a clue needle!!

Dogg said...

To anonymous: Great points especially the point that the high school season doesn't matter one bit anymore. It's like the NFL draft, all they look for are the combine stats instead of their collegiate stats. I guess whatever works but would like to see these kids choosing better schools especially a big time athlete like Isaish Dahlman. Those kids who have pipe dreams like Ryan Saunders, fine. He's not even going to crack a DIII roster so let him be on the practice squad for 4 years. Somebody has to do it.

To Buddha: You can suck a pole and so can SJU football losing 37-7. What a joke that they were even let in the tournament.

Anonymous said...

Yeah kids with pipe dreams thats fine as you said. But a scholorship player like Dahlman do not need to make up the bench at a power house program when he could be and all-american at the D2 or D3 level.

Dogg said...

To anonymous: I don't understand players like that either. I travel with a group of buddies to Marquette once a year to watch one of our very good TK on Toast friends' brother play (see DFTFC article). He plays significant minutes for a top 15 team in the country and even he doesn't walk around like he's the man so I don't know what the special deal is to play for a DI program while you are riding the end of the bench. Now I think it would be very cool to be a DII All-American and be praised by fellow coaches and players.

Anonymous said...

I agree with you. I think the main goal is to get all you can out of your basketball career. If he thinks being on the bench at a D1 program and not playing at all makes his basketball dream come true then I wish him all the best. But he could be the BMOC at a very good D2 school thats forsure. I understand that teams need role players and ect. But not playing at all does not make any sense to me at all.

Dogg said...

To anonymous: I'm glad we see eye-to-eye. Like previously mentioned, pipe dream players who have no chance at playing at even a DII level is fine with me if they want to sit on the end of the bench. But guys like Dahlman who dominated the game for so many years seem to be guys who wouldn't be content with sitting at the end of the bench. Hopefully he somehow can crack the lineup or he does transfer back to SCSU where we can all watch him dominate again like he should be.

Anonymous said...

I guess its hard for us to really see what he is going through at MSU but you never know when he is a senior he might get some major time and then it might be worth the wait if the team turns out to be very good. But I wish him the best of luck. But would love to see him in a D2 or D3 uni in MN.

Dogg said...

Moving your way up at a major college program usually doesn't happen because you are always getting new recruits that are going to be better than you already. It's tough but I also wish him the best of luck because there's nothing better than watching local kids do well on a national level.

Anonymous said...

Is he hurt right now? They are playing Bradley, not covering by the way, they are 9 deep and he hasn't played yet.

Dogg said...

He's not hurt at all, just not in the mix. He entered the game in the 1st half last week for 2 minutes and then got yanked. He must not be understanding things they're doing on one side of the ball. More than likely on the defensive end.

Anonymous said...

Yeah plus he might not be one of the players that can make a mistake. I know Fritz was the same way. He would let some people make a mistake and others had to play perfect or they would get pulled. So he might have to play perfect in order to get his full 2 to 5 mins.