The preseason predictions are rolling in, and it should come as no real surprise to anyone who watched the Pioneers last year that senior captain Nate Rohnert is gaining more and more respect from around the nation.
Rohnert was named to the Preseason All-Sun Belt Conference First Team by the league's head coaches, as well as the one by Rivals.com, which also put Rob Lewis on their All-SBC Second Team. Rohnert made the Blue Ribbon Preseason Team last month.
RushTheCourt.net has been running a series of impact players in each region of the country, and it put out the Mountain Region yesterday. Rohnert joined BYU's Jimmer Fredette, Colorado's Cory Higgins, Idaho's Mac Hopson and Montana's Anthony Johnson (who will play at Magness Arena on Nov. 19) on the list. Rob Lewis was an honorable mention on this list, as well.
This is what the writer had to say about Rohnert:
Nate Rohnert is the type of
player coaches love because you pretty much have to cast a net over him to get
him off of the basketball floor. Described by coach Joe Scott as "a
relentless worker" who's always in the gym trying to improve his skills,
Rohnert, a 6′5 senior guard/forward, averaged 37 minutes per game last year,
leading the entire Sun Belt and ranking 21st in the nation. To that end,
he also led his team in points (15.3 PPG), rebounds (5.4 RPG), assists (4.7
APG), and steals (1.3 SPG). Certainly no surprise that Scott anointed
him with the captaincy of the 2009-10 edition of the Pioneers. Denver
lands somewhere in the 3rd to 5th range in terms of most preseason predictions
for the Sun Belt overall, and they have never been to the NCAA
Tournament. We're willing to bet that this is something that bothers Mr.
Rohnert and is something he's thinking about during all that time in the gym on
his own. Despite the fact that Denver returns its four other starters and
most of the scoring from last year's 9-9 Sun Belt team, it will be hard to get
by the likes of Western Kentucky and North Texas. One thing of which
we're sure - it'll be a pleasure to watch Nate Rohnert make a run at it.
The Sun Belt coaches and
Rivals picked Denver to finish second in the SBC West Division in their
preseason polls. Head coach Joe Scott, like most other coaches (including DU hockey coach George Gwozdecky, whose team was No. 1 in the nation in a few preseason polls), would tell you that it's nice to be picked highly in preseason polls, but they are a lot more concerned with the postseason polls.
And judging from the SBC coaches' poll, in which five SBC West teams including the Pioneers received at least one first place vote, the Sun Belt Conference should have a lot of very good teams.
Speaking of preseason polls, Denver's opponent in the Nov. 13 opener at Magness Arena is Northern Iowa, which was picked to repeat as Missouri Valley Conference champions in the MVC Coaches' Poll, The Sporting News College Basketball Preview, Lindy's College Basketball Preview and Athlon Sports College Basketball Preview. In last season's opening game in Cedar Falls, Iowa, the Pioneers led the Panthers with 4:22 remaining but were ultimately edged by five points, thanks to UNI free throws down the stretch.
Expect another battle on November 13. And tickets for all 16 games at Magness Arena are on sale now.
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