2007-08 season preview

The Northwestern College men’s basketball team is coming off a very successful 2006-07 season in which they were co-regular season GPAC champions with a 14-4 mark. The Red Raiders then qualified for their ninth consecutive NAIA national tournament, seeded 10^th in the 32-team field. They won their first three games in Branson, Mo., including an impressive 73-57 win over the host school and defending champions, College of the Ozarks. Coach Korver’s squad fell short in the Final Four with an 81-71 loss to eventual national champion MidAmerica Nazarene. Northwestern finished the season with a 26-9 overall mark and will return three starters and 10 letter winners from that squad. With so much experience returning, expectations are high for this season.

Head Coach Kris Korver, entering his eighth season at the helm, will look to four battle-tested seniors to provide the leadership. Chad Schuiteman, a 6-5 forward, is a two-time first-team All-American who led the team in points (16), rebounds (10.5) and assists (4.5) last season. “Chad is a true warrior on the court,” comments Korver. “He is a relentless competitor and does whatever it takes to get his team to win.” Curt Schilling, a 6-4 guard, returns after earning honorable mention All-American honors last season. He led the team with 76 three-pointers and averaged 14.5 points per game. “Curt is a very skilled offensive player,” comments Korver. “He can stretch the defense with his perimeter game but is also very good in the post area.” Both Schuiteman and Schilling have scored over 1,000 points in their careers. Mark DeYounge, a 6-5 forward, also returns for his final season after earning honorable mention all-league honors for the second straight year. DeYounge averaged 8.3 points and 3.4 rebounds per game and shot 42 percent from beyond the arc in 2006-07. “Mark is a match-up nightmare who possesses great strength and can shoot both from the post and perimeter,” says Korver. Also returning is Wade Vander Maten, a 6-1 guard. “Wade is an excellent defender who brings tremendous energy to our team,” comments Korver.

Joining the four seniors will be a trio of juniors who have played significant roles in past seasons. Kale Wiertzema, a 6-3 guard, averaged 10.4 points and 2.5 assists per game last season and earned all-tournament honors at the national tournament. “Kale is a difficult match-up with his size and ability to penetrate the defense,” says Korver. Andrew Stimson returns as the Red Raider point guard after a sophomore campaign in which he averaged 8.9 points and 2.5 assists per game. “Andrew is a tough player who thrives on the challenges before him,” comments Korver. Josh Van Es, a 6-4 forward, will provide depth in the frontcourt. Van Es averaged 4.3 points per game last season.

A solid group of underclassmen join the veterans on this year’s squad, led by sophomore Ben Brown. Brown, a 6-2 sharpshooter, averaged 6.1 points per game and shot 53 percent from beyond the arc after an injury-riddled freshman season. Travis Van Regenmorter, a 6-9 sophomore, played in 31 games last season as a reserve for Coach Korver’s squad. Ryan Hoogeveen, a transfer from South Dakota State who played at Boyden-Hull High School two seasons ago, highlights the freshman class.

One of the challenges awaiting this year’s squad is a very tough schedule. In addition to the always-difficult conference slate of games, Northwestern will open the year in North Dakota, where they will face Valley City State and Jamestown, ranked eighth in the preseason poll. In addition, the Red Raiders will host St. Ambrose and defending national champion MidAmerica Nazarene in a rematch of last year’s Final Four. They will also play a pair of games against West Coast teams Dominican and Holy Names, the latter of which qualified for the national tournament last season. As Korver states, however, “our goal is to focus on the finish, to play our best basketball at the end of the season.”