Lindenwood University’s men’s basketball team held the nation’s leading scorer to just 11 points as it won its first-round Heartland of America Athletic Conference Tournament game by an 82-75 score over Evangel on Thursday night.
Terre Haute North grad Andre Dickson scored 16 points as Lindenwood improved to 19-12 on the season going into Saturday night’s game against HAAC regular-season champion Mid-America Nazarene.
Dickson is winding down a successful Lindenwood career which saw him earn all-HAAC honors last year and has seen him rank among the league leaders in assists and free percentage over the past two seasons.
Lindenwood Coach Ryan Cherepkai, also a Terre Haute native, was contacted out of the blue by Dickson — a 2002 North grad — and quickly agreed to take him into the Lions’ program.
“I originally remember Andre playing at the Boys Club in the mid 90’s as a little guy while my brother [Ross] and I were playing against his two older brothers [Nate and John],” Cherepkai recalls. “Andre and I somewhat found each other as he saw that Luke Blank signed with us, then he e-mailed me asking if we were interested in having him play for us, of course I remembered him being an Indiana All-Star type player and it was a no-brainer for us.”
Dickson has started 25 of 31 games this season, averaging 10.8 points, 2.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game. He is shooting .412 from the field.
Dickson is a little older than the traditional college-aged student-athlete, and Cherepkai thinks that’s a benefit to him.
“He has been steady as well as spectacular in his two years for us,” Cherepkai said. “The advantages of him being a little older are that he takes nothing for granted and understands exactly what we need for him as our point guard to do to have success. Andre has some people very interested in his services overseas next year, and I believe that the interest will only increase as his career comes to a close.
“He has been great to coach over the last few years and I will definitely miss him on both sides of the ball next year.”
Since graduating from North seven years ago, Dickson has attended two different junior colleges, dropped out for a while, moved to Buffalo, N.Y., and then started to get the itch to play again.
“I started to miss playing the game so I went to Mayville State in North Dakota, didn’t like it there so got ahold of Cherp and I enrolled at LU,” Dickson said. “My career has been a helluva ride. Through all the setbacks and injuries, it’s been great and I’ve loved every moment.”
Included on that ride was a serious back injury during an automobile accident as a youngster.
“Things didn’t go quite the way I had planned but everything happens for a reason. I’m happy with the way things turned out, and through my journey through college I’ve met some great people.”
Several former Lindenwood players have had overseas careers, and while Dickson would like the opportunity to continue his career he is also planning for the day when he no longer takes the court.
“I’ve been getting contacted by some agency about playing overseas,” he said. “Sports management is what I’m studying, and I’m in the process of taking the test to become a sports agent. Mainly I’m going to go into business.”
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• Craft shooting well — Terre Haute South freshman Megan Craft has continued her outstanding shooting skills as a member of the Vincennes University women’s basketball team this year.
VU (22-8) hosted 10th-ranked Monroe Community College Tribune on Saturday night in a NJCAA District Tournament game, playing for a chance to go to the NJCAA National Basketball Championship.
VU used an 11-game winning streak in the second half of the season to put itself in such a good position.
Craft has done her share and more, averaging 7.4 points and 2.4 assists per game for the 18th highest scoring team in the country.
She ranks ninth in the country in 3-point percentage at 49 percent, hitting 48 of 98 treys. Craft also is shooting .512 from the field (63-123) and .872 from the line (41-47).
VU is leading the nation in free throw percentage. The 362-for-499 performance yields a 72.5-percent clip at the charity stripe.
VU is also in the NJCAA’s top 5 in 3-point field goal percentage with 56 percent (fourth in the country).
Sophomore Hope Elam, who will be transferring to Indiana, remains the nation’s fourth-leading scorer and rebounder.
Joey Bennett is a former Tribune-Star sports reporter and copy editor who now teaches and coaches at Northview High School in Brazil. He can be reached at tribstarcollegereport@yahoo.com.
College Report
College Report: North grad Andre Dickson winding down successful basketball career at Lindenwood
- College Report
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Catching up as the school year winds down
Odds and ends from here and there as the school year quickly winds down. For starters, high jumper Nick Jaeger of Terre Haute South was named the Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference’s male track & field newcomer of the year:
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College Report: Lively earned collegiate upgrade with strong play
Hillary Lively signed to play Division II basketball at Maryville (Mo.) during her senior year at North Vermillion, but those plans changed and she would up at nearby Danville Area Community College — where she recently concluded an outstanding two-year career.
Lively was impressive enough to earn a Division I scholarship to Southeast Missouri State of the Ohio Valley Conference, and both her future and past college coaches think she will continue to succeed there.
“She fits what we need,” SEMO coach Ty Margenthaler said. “She has college experience, she is strong and physical and plays well around the basket and moves well.
“Her strength, rebounding and touch around the basket will be a big help. On the defensive end, she’ll be able to guard a true center.” -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley prep athletes getting ready for next level
The NCAA “regular” signing period begins Wednesday for all sports except football, field hockey, soccer, track and field, cross country and men’s water polo.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Conferences honor Valley softball players
Several Wabash Valley area college softball players have been honored by their respective conferences for outstanding play this spring.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Jake Newton makes big impact for Lincoln Trail College
Jake Newton had a long time between playing in competitive basketball games, a span of about 18 months, and used the frustration from that long dry spell to produce a stellar freshman season for Lincoln Trail College this winter.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed earns SEC Player of the Week honors
After belting three home runs during a five games last week, Kentucky sophomore left-handed pitcher/first baseman A.J. Reed was named Southeastern Conference Player of the Week.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Spring newcomers making marks
Several freshman baseball and softball NCAA Division I players from the Wabash Valley have already made immediate impacts at their new schools, while others are waiting for their turns to shine.
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COLLEGE REPORT: A.J. Reed named third-team preseason baseball All-American
Two-way sophomore standout A.J. Reed was one of three University of Kentucky players named third-team preseason All-America by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Sponsler honored after big week for Wabash men's hoops
Wabash College freshman Ross Sponsler of Terre Haute North was named the North Coast Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week for the period ending Jan. 6.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad Hughes finds success after facing preseason adversity
A.J. Hughes knew he was in for a battle as he competed with three other walk-on punters in the preseason for the lone starting job on the Virginia Tech football team.
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Etling, Meggs enjoying great year
It’s been a great year so far with more to come for a pair of longtime friends and St. Patrick’s School classmates.
Former Terre Haute resident Jack Meggs quarterbacked the Bellevue Wolverines football team to the Washington Class 3A state championship this fall, culminating with a 35-3 win over Sammamish Eastside Catholic — Bellevue’s fifth straight crown.
Danny Etling, meanwhile, has completed graduation requirements at Terre Haute South and is preparing for an upcoming high school all-star game and his first college classes in a couple of weeks. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Valley’s women’s college hoops players start strong
Several women’s college basketball players from the Wabash Valley have gotten off to good starts this season on the hardwood. Highlights:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Mayhew, Mascari provide fall highlights
Several dozen Wabash Valley athletes enjoyed successful fall seasons collegiately in cross country and tennis this year. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Former North teammates start strong in college
Former Terre Haute North teammates Ross Sponsler and Matt O’Leary made their college basketball debuts last week and had outstanding initial performances. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Shoemaker OBP leads Chisox farmhands
Former Indiana State, Olney Central and Northview baseball standout Brady Shoemaker opened a lot of eyes last summer in the Chicago White Sox farm system, earning him a spot on a mlb.com blog team that highlighted the team’s outstanding minor leaguers at each position.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Boeglin has plenty of ISU memories, but not all are related to basketball
Melanie Boeglin, an All-American who played on the women’s basketball team at Indiana State from 2002-2006, will be inducted into the 21st class of the Indiana State University Athletics Hall of Fame on Thursday.
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COLLEGE REPORT: North grad leading DePauw volleyball in winning streak
DePauw’s volleyball team has won seven straight matches entering this weekend’s DePauw Invitational, including four straight wins last weekend to capture the Rose-Hulman invitational title.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Engle moving up football coaching ranks
Michael Engle graduated from DePauw University in the spring of 2011 with a degree in political science and future plans to advance his studies in law school.
Being a coach’s son and a competitive athlete by nature, Engle has put those plans on hold for now. -
COLLEGE REPORT: From Terre Haute South to Division I competition to coaching careers
Adriane Wunderlich and Katelyn Bishop both turned stellar high school careers at Terre Haute South into Division I collegiate careers at Indiana State and Southern California, respectively.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Former prep athletes getting ready for fall college season
An impressive total of at least 122 Wabash Valley athletes and coaches will be competing collegiately for the first time during the upcoming school year or have changed schools to continue their careers.
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COLLEGE REPORT: SP’s Boetjer is Indiana’s Miss Softball
South Putnam’s Brooke Boetjer, who will be a freshman on the Indiana University softball team next spring, was named the 2012 Indiana Miss Softball last month between games at the North/South All-Star games in Carmel.
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College report: North grad Mayhew is second team all-American at IU
Indiana University running standout Zach Mayhew of Terre Haute North was honored earlier this month as a second-team All-American by the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
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College report: Bloomfield runner to join IUPUI track, cross country teams
Bloomfield track/cross country standout Julie Riggins will be joining the developing IUPUI program next fall as one of six incoming recruits.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Roberts takes coaching position at UNC-Greensboro
Terre Haute native Mike Roberts is continuing his climb up the college basketball coaching ladder, recently departing Rice for a spot as the associate head coach at North Carolina-Greensboro.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Valley grads playing role for No. 13 Vincennes
A few springtime odds and ends:
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COLLEGE REPORT: Shouse making his mark for Danville Community College
Derek Shouse definitely flew under the radar in his one season of playing for the Terre Haute South boys basketball team last winter.
Not highly recruited, he made his way to Danville Area Community College as a walk-on with the hopes he could find his way onto the court at some point. -
COLLEGE REPORT: Bullock finds sunny home to continue tennis career
Most college athletes progress along similar paths to get to their final destinations athletically, but Terre Haute South grad Taylor Bullock’s route to the Eckerd College women’s tennis team was a little different than most.
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COLLEGE REPORT: TH South QB entertains Division I offers
Danny Etling’s trek to being a big-time college quarterback took a huge step this week when the Terre Haute South junior picked up a scholarship offer from Purdue, according to 247sports.com.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Seibert stepping up her game
Terre Haute South grad Haley Seibert has seen the usual ups and downs of her freshman basketball season at Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne and is making the most of her opportunities this season.
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COLLEGE REPORT: Vikings Waters, Barton excited about college basketball
West Vigo grad Lauren Dailey helped the Lady Vikings basketball program to a lot of success at the end of the 1990s, and went on to play for Eastern Illinois from 2001-2004.
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