is
pleased to announce the signing of new recruit Michael Ross to the Hardrocker
hoops program.'Rocker tab hoops standout from Wyoming
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID CITY --- The South Dakota School of Mines basketball program along with Hardrocker head coach Jason Henry are pleased to announce the signing of Kaleb Rehmer, of Cheyenne, Wyo, to the 2007-08 team.
“Kaleb is a well rounded basketball player that can do all the little things for you,” said Henry. “Like rebounding, screening and the intangibles that don’t show up on a box score.”
Rehmer, who is 6-foot-4-inches tall and plays as a forward, was recruited from Cheyenne East High School where he averaged 11 points and eight rebounds per game. During the Wyoming state tournament, Rehmer gave a stellar performance, scoring 25 points a contest, in the three-game format tournament.
“Kaleb is very capable of scoring and showed that in last year’s (Wyoming) state tournament,” Henry said.
Rehmer recently topped off his high school hoops career by playing in the Wyoming vs. Montana All Star game, and finished out with an All-State player selection.
SDM men's team rounds up Texas athlete
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID
CITY --- The South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball team along with head
coach Jason Henry
is
pleased to announce the signing of new recruit Michael Ross to the Hardrocker
hoops program.
Ross comes to South Dakota School of Mines from Ft. Worth Texas, where the 6-foot-1-inch point guard played for 4A South Hills High School.
“Michael is a very athletic player,” Henry said. “He is a fast, quick point guard that sees the floor very well. Michael will be an asset to the team right away.”
During his senior season, Ross average 22.9 points, brought down 6.6 rebounds and had 3.8 assists per game. He also had seven double-doubles in rebounds and points on the season and notched two triple doubles and was just a steal away from recording a quadruple double. He also earned first team all district honors his senior year.
In his high school career, Ross averaged 22.3, 4.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
“With his speed and athleticism, Michael will be bringing something different to the Hardrocker program at the point guard position,” Henry said.
His abilities as an athlete are far reaching as Ross is a stellar track and field standout. He runs the 100-meter dash in 10.7 seconds and has reached a distance of over 47 feet in the triple jump. Ross was also named the 4A offensive football player of the year for his district.
Ross plans to major in Mechanical Engineering while attending South Dakota School of Mines.
SDM recruit looking to make own name for himself
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID
CITY --- Being apart of the South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball
program is something that
runs
in the family for new recruit Jordan Schmitz.
Jordan will join the Hardrocker men’s team as a freshman for the 2007-08 campaign, taking a spot on the roster from his departed older brother Casey Schmitz, who graduated with a chemistry degree in May and will attend medical school next fall.
“Jordan is a very fundamental player,” said Hardrocker head coach Jason Henry. “He understands how to play the game very well. He is a physical player and has a chance to get stronger (at the college level).”
Like his older brother, Jordan played his high school career for the Williston High School Coyotes. This past season his team finished with an 18-7 overall record and 12-4 mark in WDA conference play. The Coyotes finished third in their conference and also took third in the North Dakota State Tournament. Jordan started all 25 games this year as a co-captain of the team. He averaged 12.2 points and four rebounds each game. He had a field goal percent of 52 and shot 63 percent from the free throw line.
“We are losing a lot of big kids from last year and Jordan comes in as a big kid that should be able to play right away and give us some quality minutes,” Henry said. “He has got the size and the strength and the skill.”
Standing 6-feet-5-inches, Jordan would be a great replacement for his brother Casey as a post player, who at 6-7 leaves the ‘Rockers as the No. 25 all time scorer with 1,078 points and a Dakota Athletic Conference all conference selection and most valuable senior in the DAC this past season as well.
“It’s really an athletic minded family. Jordan has two older brothers and a sister that all played college sports (basketball, volleyball, & football) and he has been kind of living in their shadow,” Henry said. “Now he has a chance to step out of those shadows and blaze his own trail.”
Jordan is well on his way. At the conclusion of his high school hoops season, he was named to the WDA All Conference team after scoring 219 points for the year and grabbing 69 rebounds. He was also recently selected to play in the North Dakota Lion’s All-Star game this summer.
Jordan also participated in football and golf while attending high school. He was a co-captain in football this past season as well. He is an honor group student with a 3.67 GPA, has been academic all conference four times and on the National Honor Roll in 2006 and 2007.
Jordan is the son of John and Kathy Schmitz of Williston, N.D, and plans to Major in Mining Engineering and Management.
Hardrockers score new recruit from North Dakota
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID
CITY – The South Dakota School of Mines men’s basketball program and Hardrocker
head coach Jason Henry are pleased to announce the signing new recruit Tanner
Friesen to the 2007-08 team.
Friesen is a 6-foot-3-inch shooting guard from Bismarck, N.D., who played for the Shiloh Christian School Skyhawks in Bismarck.
“Tanner is a good shooter,” Henry said. “He is a good player and competed on a team which didn’t have a lot of upperclassmen. He led a young team to the (North Dakota) state tournament last season.”
At the end of his senior year, Friesen averaged 21 points and 13 rebounds a game and shot 46 percent from the field and 80 percent from the free throw line.
Friesen was named to his all district, all region and all state teams. During his senior year, Friesen broke the school’s rebounding record of 25 (in a single game) and also scored 35 points in the same game.
“He is a great shooting guard,” Henry said. “But he will have to get stronger. He is skilled now and can score the ball, but you can always get quicker and stronger.”
Friesen participated in the state tournament three out of the four years of his high school career. At the 2007 state tourney, Friesen led all participants in individual scoring, rebounding and free throw percentage and was a unanimous selection to the All-State Tournament Team. He also served as captain of the basketball team both his junior and senior season and was also a captain of the soccer and baseball teams as well as a student council officer.
Friesen plans to major in Mining engineering while attending class at South Dakota Mines.
The Hardrockers are coming off a competitive season that had them finish second in a very difficult Dakota Athletic Conference. They made a nice run in the postseason as well as making an appearance in the DAC tournament title game. They yielded to the eventual NAIA National Runners-up in the Mayville State Comets.
Hardrockers ink Smoky Hill hoops standout
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID CITY --- South Dakota School of Mines men’s head basketball coach Jason Henry is pleased to announce the signing of the program’s first recruit for the 2007-08 season. The Hardrockers welcome Scott May to the program.
May is 6-foot-2-inch guard from Smoky Hill High School in Aurora, Colo. As a senior he averaged 13 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game. He also helped his team, the Smoky Hill Buffalo to a 22-4 record during the 2006-07 campaign and earned the League title from the Centennial League in 5A division basketball. The Buffalo also made an Elite Eight appearance this past season as well.
“Scott May comes from a very good basketball program. He really brings more of those intangibles to the floor – the type of things that can’t be coached. Either a kid knows them or he doesn’t,” Henry said.
May received All State honorable mention, earned first team honors for the Centennial League and was also named to the All City (Aurora) team at the conclusion of his senior season.
“He’s a hard nose kid from one of the top teams in Colorado 5A basketball,” Henry added.
During his junior season, May averaged 9.6 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He was the MVP of the Heritage/Thunderridge Tip-off Tournament, was named to the second team in the Centennial League and was All City honorable mention. Also during his junior year, May helped his team finish with a 21-6 overall record and make a first ever trip to the Final Four in post season play.
May plans to pursue a degree in Industrial Engineering while attending South Dakota School of Mines.
The Hardrocker basketball team is coming off an outstanding season. After SDM finished second in Dakota Athletic Conference play, they made a strong run in the postseason against some tough competition and finished with an appearance in the DAC tournament title game. The Hardrockers ended the year with a 9-5 conference record.
