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Grand Forks Herald
6 takeaways from UND's appearance at Summit League media day
- Story byGrand Forks Herald
- 6 takeaways from UND's appearance at Summit League media day
Oct. 6—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — College basketball is less than one month away.
The UND men's and women's teams both open the season on Nov. 2.
The Fighting Hawks women start with a home game against Minnesota Crookston. The men will begin on the road against Minnesota.
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Both programs are in Sioux Falls, S.D., for Summit League Media Day. The men were represented by senior guard Zach Kraft and senior center Josh Jones, while sophomore guard London Harris and junior guard Sydney Piekny represented the women.
Here are six takeaways from their press conferences.
Jones and Kraft were fitting representatives of the UND men's team.
The two seniors, along with sophomore forward Karson Ouse, are the only returners from last year's roster.
The Hawks added seven transfers and four freshmen this offseason, including senior forward Andrija Radojević from Kruševac, Serbia.
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"It's a great opportunity for us to just help a brother out, and be there for one another," Jones said. "Our defense, it can be complicated at times, and somewhat confusing. So (Kraft and I are) just being there and being vocal and willing to work with them and continue to do that."
The two have helped the coaching staff get the collection of new faces up to speed.
"Our returning guys, Josh and Zach, have done a really good job of being a good example every single day," head coach Paul Sather said. "But also having a voice and helping people along."
Jones, a 6-foot-9 center who transferred from Oral Roberts last season, made 19 starts in 26 games in 2025-26. Jones suffered an arm injury and missed five games last season.
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Without Jones in the lineup, UND went 1-4.
Jones spent this offseason focused on improving physically.
"I worked on just working out a lot, losing weight," Jones said. "I lost 10 to 15 pounds this offseason, and just getting more physical and learning to have more confidence and then just being more versatile on the perimeter, as well as on the block."
The Hawks added some size in the transfer portal this offseason to support Jones in the post.
Daemon Ely, a junior transfer from Angelina College, is a 6-foot-8 forward. Radojević, another forward, is 6-foot-6. Jayden Thomas is a 6-foot-7 junior forward from Lee College.
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UND also brought in several lengthy guards. Sophomore Tyler Wagner, senior Samuel Hincapie and sophomore Zack Parks are all transfers who are 6-foot-5 or taller.
"I think the focus for us was adding depth in the post," Sather said. "Helping Josh out and getting more positional size and some depth with some skill."
The Hawks' defense played a major part in their third-place finish in the conference and their postseason run to the Summit League tournament championship game.
UND forced 14.3 turnovers per game last year, good for first in the conference and fifth in NCAA Division I basketball. The Hawks also led the conference with a 4.51 turnover margin.
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Assistant coach Ty Danielson helped UND form an aggressive defensive system focused on doubling in the post and trapping.
Danielson left in the offseason to take the head coaching job at Northwestern Oklahoma State. By the sound of it, though, the Hawks appear to be sticking with last year's defensive style.
Jones and Kraft, both used to the system, have helped the new faces — like Radojević — get acquainted with it.
"He doesn't really speak English," Kraft said of Radojević. "We're responsible for helping him out on defense, because our defensive scheme is a lot different than other teams with the trapping ball screens and blitzing the post."
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When asked what fans and opposing teams can expect out of UND this year, Jones was quick to mention the defense.
"I think we're just going to bring it, like last year," Jones said. "We're going to have a lot of heart when we play, and I think our defense is going to eventually just wear teams out by the end of the game. We'll fly around, just be a blue-collar team that wants to play their heart out for our fan base, our coaches and our families, and just represent us well."
The UND women's team has just one senior on the roster: Addison Klosterbuer, a 5-foot-11 guard who missed all of last season due to an ACL tear.
Abby Duchscherer is a graduate student, but she spent the last four seasons playing softball for Alabama.
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The Hawks have six returners from last year's roster, four of whom are sophomores.
"We have to learn to deal with adversity a little bit," head coach Dennis Hutter said. "Things that come up, it could be an injury, it could be a tough loss, it could be a bad practice, whatever it might be, I think that's part of the growth. We are a young team with only one senior on the team, so all that stuff they still have to learn."
Hutter lost his starting point guard of five years this offseason.
Mackenzie Hughes played for Hutter at Mayville State before transferring to UND last year for her graduate season.
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Hughes led the Hawks in scoring, averaging 12.2 points per game.
Hutter and the program turned to the transfer portal to help replace her.
Junior guard Ciona Wells transferred from Western Oregon. Last year, Wells led Division II women's basketball with a 3.03 assist-to-turnover ratio.
Last year, the Hawks had a -6.48 turnover margin, which ranked 354th in Division I women's basketball.
"The point guard is a really valuable spot," Hutter said. "We're excited about the kid that we brought in that's going to take that spot over."
