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Every year, some NSIC coach says his team is “ready to surprise people.” Sure. Terrific. Add it to the stack of preseason clichés next to “play the right way” and “one game at a time.”
But this UMD men’s basketball team? They might actually mean it.
Because here’s what the Bulldogs have that most teams don’t: enough shooters to light up Romano Gym like a malfunctioning slot machine. If there’s a team in the conference more equipped to turn an ordinary Tuesday night into a 3-point nuclear event, I haven’t seen it.
Let’s be honest: UMD’s win condition is not a mystery. They’re going to shoot. A lot. And probably very, very well.
This roster looks like someone hit “simulate season” on a video game and maxed out all the shooting sliders. Siwek, Hanson, Katona — these guys could hit jumpers in an airport hangar at 3 a.m. with the lights off. Romano’s tight rims? Please. These dudes shoot for sport.
Add the redshirts — Leach, Fowlkes, Molhoek — all finally free after years in the practice bunker? That’s a lot of fresh legs ready to fire.
And then the freshmen roll in like a new shipment of fireworks.
Brooks Johnson: smooth as a Lake Superior skip-rock. Wyatt McBeth: a freshman who already defends like an angry bouncer. Peyton Rogers: size, muscle, and just enough snarl to survive the NSIC paint.
Put it all together and you’ve got a Bulldogs team that can drop 86 without breaking a sweat.
But because this is Duluth, and because nothing here comes without a “yeah but,” let’s talk about the elephant under the rim: These guys might not defend the rack if you tied a GPS tracker to it.
UMD’s one flaw — and let’s say it with love — is that opponents may walk into Romano Gym, look at the lane, and think, “Oh wow, wide open parking.” Between the smaller lineups, the youth, and the shoot-first DNA, the Bulldogs could give up a few too many layups for comfort.
Translation: They’ll win some games 94-89. They’ll lose a few 92-90. And we’ll all pretend defense is optional because the offense is too fun to complain about.
This team has “barnburner season” written all over it.
They’re not built to grind. They’re built to sprint, sling, and score by avalanche.
The NSIC has the usual batch of bruisers who want to slow the game to the pace of a meat raffle. UMD? They’re going to throw five shooters out there and dare you to keep up.
And if they get rolling — one of those Romano nights where the rims soften, the student section wakes up, and the threes fall so fast the PA guy starts to sound tired — then the Bulldogs aren’t just dangerous.
They’re a problem.
This team could shock some folks. They could win the division. They could also give up 48 points in the paint to some 6-foot-5 bruiser who’s built like a woodpile. But the entertainment value? Through the roof.
UMD might not stop anybody at the rack this year. But they’ll torch enough scoreboards to make you forget.
Romano Gym, winter 2025: Bring earplugs. Bring caffeine. Bring a calculator. The Bulldogs are ready to run.
