Josh Vaughan, a backup guard for the North Dakota State men's basketball team, has been calling East Lansing, Mich., frequently this winter.
That's where his former high school teammate, Isaiah Dahlman, plays basketball - for Big Ten powerhouse Michigan State.
Dahlman, a true freshman, is playing nearly 20 minutes a game for the 15-4 Spartans.
"I'm not surprised at all. I knew what he was capable of," said Vaughan, a redshirt freshman who played with Dahlman at Braham High School, located about 40 miles north of the Twin Cities.
Dahlman helped lead Braham to a 95-4 record in three years, including 65 straight wins and three Class 2A state titles. Dahlman, playing for Vaughan's dad, Bob, had 3,366 career points and averaged 33 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game as a senior.
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"He's an unbelievable scorer," Vaughan said of the 6-foot-6, 185-pound Dahlman. "You can't stop him with those long arms of his."
With guards Maurice Joseph and Raymar Morgan out of the Spartan lineup with injuries, Dahlman got the call to play more. In 18 games, he's averaging nearly 20 minutes, five points, 2.3 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game.
Dahlman, who'll return home Wednesday when the Spartans play at Minnesota, played 38 minutes and scored a season-high 11 points in his first college start last month against Chicago State.
"He told me he got really tired in that game," Vaughan said. "He's going to have to gain some weight.
"Right now, he's playing a role. That's not what he wants because he can't shoot as much. But his time will come."
In the last two state high school tournaments, Dahlman played against area schools Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton and Pelican Rapids. His younger brother, Noah, a senior who NDSU heavily recruited, signed with Wofford College in South Carolina.
Bison recruit sets
school scoring mark
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Bison recruit Eric Carlson broke the Shakopee (Minn.) High School career scoring record last week when he had 22 points in an 87-56 win over Red Wing.
Carlson, a 6-6, 190-pound forward, has 1,438 career points, surpassing the previous record of 1,423 set by Tim Theis in 2001.
"I knew it would come eventually but it's not that big of a deal," Carlson was quoted as saying in the (Minneapolis) Star Tribune. "I'm happier that we won the game."
Carlson, often used as a post player for 11-2 Shakopee, averages 27.2 points per game, which ranks third among Twin Cities metro schools.
Green, Oral Roberts
atop Mid-Con again
Caleb Green is a big reason Oral Roberts is aiming for its third straight regular-season title in the Mid-Continent Conference - the league the Bison will join next year.
The 6-8 forward averages 20.1 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, which ranks 22nd and 15th respectively in NCAA Division I.
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Fortunately for the Bison, Green - last year's Mid-Con player of the year - is a senior.
Andre Smith, NDSU's only senior, would rank ahead of Green in rebounding with his 9.8 average. But Bison players don't qualify for NCAA statistics until they become eligible for postseason play in the 2008-09 season.
Bison guard Ben Woodside would rank 16th with his 5.9 assist average.
Misc.
It was reported during a recent TV telecast that Mike Broghammer, a 6-7 sophomore for Hopkins (Minn.) High School, is being heavily recruited by NDSU. Broghammer averages nearly six points per game for 10-1 Hopkins. ... NDSU, aggressively recruiting for a big guy to replace Andre Smith, has only one scholarship to offer for the next two seasons. "Our plan remains the same, we are building for the 2008-09 season," Bison coach Tim Miles said, referring to the season when his team becomes eligible for postseason play. ... Winston-Salem State, NDSU's opponent Saturday night, won the Division II national championship in 1967. The school becomes eligible for Division I postseason play in the 2009-10 season. ... Bobby Collins, in his first season as Winston-Salem's head coach, was an assistant for the 2001 Hampton team that upset Iowa State in the first round of the NCAA tournament. ... Clarence "Big House" Gaines, who passed away in 2005, had an 828-447 record while he was head coach at Winston-Salem from 1946 to 1993.
Readers can reach Forum reporter
Kevin Schnepf at (701) 241-5549
Schnepf's NDSU media blog can be
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found at www.areavoices.com
