SCSU Basketball On The Brink Of First Title Since 2003

The St. Cloud State men's basketball team is on the doorstep of their first conference championship since 2003.  SCSU is 19-5 overall and 16-2 in the NSIC heading into tonight's game at Wayne State.  Huskies head coach Quincy Henderson joined me on WJON.  He's in his 4th year as head coach and says he's identified the right kind of guys and those kids have grown up and developed.

Coming Together

Henderson says they have some juniors and sophomore that are playing at a high level are are committed to what they are about.  He believes they are seeing the "fruits of their labor" with their current success.  Henderson explains they have some big games coming up but he is pleased with how resilient this team has been.

Adversity

SCSU has been dealt with adversity this season with injuries to key players Bob Greichen and Nate Dahl.  Greichen had played 12 games this season before suffering a season ending injury.  He had averaged 12 points and 5 rebounds a game.  Dahl has missed the last 5 games and is averaging 8 points and 6.7 rebounds a contest.  Henderson is optimistic that Dahl can return from injury soon.

Top Performers

Luke Winkel has led the Huskies in scoring this season averaging 19.3 points and Wyatt Hawks has added 11.5 points and 8.7 rebounds a game.  Freshman Aayah Washington from St. Cloud Apollo High School is giving the Huskies solid minutes off the bench.  He's averaging 7.5 points a game.

Can Clinch This Weekend

The Huskies can clinch the NSIC title with wins at Wayne State (Thursday) and at Augustana (Saturday).  SCSU is not ranked in the most recent NABC Division II men's college basketball poll but they are receiving votes.  The first NCAA Division II Central Regional Ranking will come out next week.  Henderson believes they are currently on the bubble for a NCAA tournament berth.

Chasing Historic Team

The 2002-2003 SCSU men's basketball team was the last team is win a conference title.  It was the North Central Conference at that time.  That team also won 13 straight games.  This year's team can eclipse that with wins tonight and Saturday.

If you'd like to listen to my conversation with Quincy Henderson, click below.