The junior forward has done everything from score, rebound, pass and defend to help spark DWU’s 12-1 start to the season. He leads the team in minutes (36.6) and rebounds (9.3) per game. He’s logged a team-high five double-doubles, is second in points (14) and assists (4) per game.
He’s the only player in the Great Plains Athletic Conference to average at least 14 points, nine rebounds and four assists per game.
Oppold, however, is not caught up in the statistical categories. He’s just worried about taking the right shot and making the extra pass.
“I like to think I just let it come to me and make the right plays,” Oppold said. “I don’t really (care) about scoring. I am just making the right plays and passing it to my teammates.”
Oppold has been consistent and dependable all season. He’s played 30 or more minutes in all 13 games, while scoring in double figures in 11 games. He’s coming off back-to-back double-doubles to earn conference player of the week honors.
“I am just taking what I get and just shooting what’s coming to me,” Oppold added. “I put in a lot of work in the offseason. So it’s good to see it translating over.”
The translation started last season. Due to injuries and suspensions, the Tigers went through a roster overhaul midway through the 2019-20 season. It forced Oppold into the starting lineup and he began producing for the nationally-ranked Tigers.
The production is what DWU coach Matt Wilber envisioned when he recruited the Sioux Falls Christian product.
“I thought it was going to really transition well and it did,” Wilber said. “Obviously he took his lumps early his freshman year, and even the start of his sophomore year, there were some major ups and downs for him. But talk about a kid really transforming a lot of things about his game and continuing to get better and handling the mental side of things really well.”
Oppold credits playing with last year’s seniors like Ty Hoglund, Sam McCloud and Collin Kramer for helping him gain confidence on the court. It’s continued this season and with a team Oppold calls “the most together group I have ever been a part of.”
The Tigers have six players averaging between 7.8 and 16.8 points per game. They’ll routinely have four-to-five players scoring in double figures each game, while the ball moves around like a hot potato in their motion offense.
“We are not this ultimately high-assist team, but the ball gets spread around and he’s a high assist guy because he picks his spots,” Wilber said. “... Koln is just very skilled. He’s a talented kid and makes the right decision.”
Offensively, Oppold is a secondary ball handler behind point guard Nick Harden. Oppold has dished out a team-high 52 assists, including five or more in three of the last four games.
“I love getting my teammates involved,” Oppold said. “I know that if I am moving the ball, it’s going to come back around and it’s going to be better for me in the long run.”
While he’s hit 18 3-pointers on the season, Oppold also uses his 6-foot-4 bruising frame to manufacture points in the paint. He routinely posts up and maneuvers around the rim for points.
It’s not something he did at Sioux Falls Christian, but it stems from playing for Kent Mueller and the Dakota Schoolers on the AAU circuit.
“My summer there was the first time I really started posting up,” Oppold said. “Because (Mueller) was like ‘You know what Oppold, you go play the five.’ I was just rim running and getting post touches. That’s where it really started.”
Defensively, his frame allows him to guard multiple positions and said he feels comfortable guarding all spots on the court. He’s second on the team in steals (17) and third in blocks (9).
“I am not quick as some of these guards,” Oppold said. “But I think I can make up for it with my length. Obviously, I am not going to try to go out there and be on (Doane guard) Anthony Laravie. He’s a little quick, but I feel like I can guard one through five, if I just stay down and use my length.”
No. 18 Dakota Wesleyan University (12-1, 8-0 GPAC) will put its 12-game winning streak on the line against Concordia University at 8 p.m. today at the Corn Palace.
The Tigers’ winning streak trails only Indiana Wesleyan (17) as the longest active streak in the NAIA. It is also DWU’s longest winning streak since it started the 2014-15 season -- the NAIA Division II national runner-up season -- with 11 straight victories.
“We definitely are in a groove right now,” Oppold said. “We just feel good playing together and we just keep getting better together.”
DWU is currently the lone undefeated team in GPAC play, while Morningside College and Jamestown University are both 7-2 in league action. Concordia is 11-5 and 8-3 in the GPAC.
The Bulldogs rank No. 1 nationally in 3-pointers made (173) and fourth in the conference in scoring per game (82.75).
The Bulldogs have three players scoring in double figures, including a team-high 17.1 points per game from Justin Wiersema.
“They really fly around and move the ball,” Wilber said. “We have similar motion styles. Theirs is a little bit more perimeter based. They will put up 40 threes a night, then they slash and go and attack.”
It’s also a rematch of last year’s GPAC men’s basketball championship game, which the Bulldogs won 68-66 at a rocking Corn Palace.
“There’s going to be about 3,000 less people in the gym than the last time we played them,” Wilber said. “There were 3,200 here the last time we played them. There’s going to be about 200 I would guess in this one.”
"do it" - Google News
January 06, 2021 at 07:00PM
https://ift.tt/2KXgpXJ
Oppold is do-it-all Tiger: Dakota Wesleyan junior fills the stat sheet - The Daily Republic
"do it" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2zLpFrJ
https://ift.tt/3feNbO7
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Oppold is do-it-all Tiger: Dakota Wesleyan junior fills the stat sheet - The Daily Republic"
Post a Comment