University of St. Thomas Athletics
Gene's Blog: Men's Hoops enjoys Big Mo(mentum)
4/22/2021 10:43:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Tommie Men's Basketball's past, present and future have all been in the spotlight this spring.
That was especially evident in the recent Minnesota boys state high school basketball tournament:
- Wayzata High head coach Bryan Schnettler ('07) -- a former Tommie sharpshooting guard -- guided his team to the school's first state hoops championship in 62 years. The St. Thomas Athletic Hall of Famer was the youngest head prep basketball coach in Minnesota when he started coaching at Rosemount High in 2008
- Cretin-Derham Hall -- coached by former Tommie players Jerry Kline (head) and Joe Hutchins (assistant) -- lost to Wayzata in the 4A championship game.
- Shakopee High -- led by head coach Jake Dammann and assistant Sam Eicher, both St. Thomas alums -- lost to Wayzata in the 4A semifinal round.
- East Ridge High head coach Josh Peltier -- another St. Thomas hoops alum from early last decade-- saw his team fall to Cretin-Derham Hall in the section semifinals.
- Assistant coach Chandler Sentell -- a Tommie player from the 2007-10 era -- has worked with the 3A state champion Minnehaha Academy teams for several seasons.
- A future Tommie player -- incoming freshman guard Ryan Dufault of Waseca High -- also made headlines with his game-winning shot in the final seconds of the 2A state title game. Dufault closed the contest with 23 points, five boards and five assists, and his tie-breaking 12-foot jumper lifted Waseca to the school's first basketball championship in 103 years.
Two former St. Thomas players work in the NBA -- longtime assistant coach Sean Sweeney, currently with the Detroit Pistons, and recent grad Will Dunn, the video coordinator for the Houston Rockets.
"Our alums coaching at the high school, college, and professional levels represent one of the myriad career paths our alums seek out as they continue to live out the university's mission long after graduation," Tauer explained.
He Wore #12
Schnettler took over a Wayzata team that won only eight games the year before he arrived in 2014, and he's built a state championship team in year seven. This Trojan team won its last 14 games and rebounded from an injury-plagued 11-17 season of the previous winter.
St. Thomas' last 30 years has spotlighted several explosive guards on offense. Schnettler was as good of a pure shooter as we've had wearing the Purple. That was no coincidence, as he often was the last guy in our arena late at night practicing his shot. An honorable mention All-American and two-time All-MIAC shooting guard, he played three seasons at St. Thomas and scored 1,336 points over 82 games.
He helped the Tommies sweep MIAC regular-season and playoff championships, and he averaged 19 ppg in nine career postseason games. The Tommies were 64-19 overall in his three-year era. Schnettler scored 20 or more points 27 times on his career.
He made 297-of-647 from 3-point range (46%) -- the most treys ever by a conference player. Schnettler made at least one 3-point basket in each of his last 75 college games. In three Tommie seasons he also converted 164-of-180 free throws (91.1%).
In a 24-4 team finish as a senior, Schnettler made 74-of-80 free throws (92.5%) to finish fifth among all NCAA division players and second in Division III. He was one of just two NCAA players to make 110 or more treys and convert at 46% or better. His 117 3-pointers ranked him ninth in all NCAA divisions.
Schnettler also broke the season record for most threes in MIAC games as a junior and finished with 84 in 20 games. He also broke his own conference season all-game record of 109.
Schnettler was an ironman, too. He played all 95 minutes in back-to-back road overtime games at Augsburg and Gustavus in February 2006.
Making Headlines
Tommie Men's Basketball has received considerable attention over the last several months as it prepares to debut in NCAA Division I and compete in the Summit League.
In its final season of Division III basketball, Tauer's team went 7-0, averaged 81 ppg, and finished ranked No. 2 in the final national poll. St. Thomas had the second best assist-to-turnover ratio in all of NCAA hoops behind only the Iowa Hawkeye men's team.
The Purple are the only team in college basketball to average 80-plus points per game, 10-plus 3-point field goals per game, and fewer than 10 turnovers per game in each of the past three seasons.
St. Thomas exits Division III ranked No. 3 among all schools in all-time men's basketball victories at 1,722 in 112 seasons. The Purple averaged 23 victories a year in their last 15 full seasons in Division III, winning or sharing the MIAC regular season championship and advancing to the NCAA tournament in 14 of those 15 seasons.
Junior guards Anders Nelson (19.4 ppg) and Riley Miller (19 ppg, 9-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio) both made All-Region teams are announced this week, and Miller was Region Player of the Year. The pair finished 1-2 among MIAC scorers. Nelson surpassed 1,000 career points. Among college basketball players with 50 or more 3-point attempts this season, Miller led all players in all NCAA divisions at 61.5 percent (32-of-52).
After inking two players in last November's signing period, Tauer's roster building continues this spring. His program announced more exciting additions earlier this month as two respected coaches have joined his staff as full-time assistants. Mike Maker is a former D-I head coach a Marist and a D-III national Coach of the Year at Williams College, and also served as a D-I assistant under John Beilein at West Virginia and Dana Altman at Creighton. Gameli Ahelegbe (pronounced ga-ma-LEE ah-hel-LEG-buh) has coached the last 10 years as an assistant for contending Summit League programs South Dakota and North Dakota. Ahelegbe has playing and/or coaching experience at the D-I, II and III levels in the Upper Midwest.
Pre-season practices for the 2021-22 hoops season begins in less than six months.
In closing, make sure you check out the Star Tribune newspaper this Sunday April 25 for a personal story on Tauer, his wife Chancey and their growing family.
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Gene's Blog is a sports column penned by Tommie sports information director Gene McGivern. Gene is in his 27th season at St. Thomas and 33rd overall in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. He blogs periodically on various topics regarding the Tommies, the MIAC and Division I and III sports.
If you have comments or questions, e-mail Gene at ejmcgivern@stthomas.edu
