Syverson Seems Like A Veteran On Young Cobbers

Article reprinted courtesy of Fargo Forum and reporter Eric Peterson.

Moorhead-- Brady Syverson is a sophomore and in his first season at Concordia, yet he almost seems like a veteran on the men's basketball team.

"In 34 years of being a head coach, this is the youngest team by far I have ever had," Cobbers head coach Rich Glas said.

The Cobbers (1-0) have 22 players on their roster with no seniors – 18 players are freshmen or sophomores.

A former Fargo North standout, Syverson is one of the newcomers expected to make an impact for a team that lost its top seven scorers from last season.

Syverson played for North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, N.D., last season.

"He's going to have a critical role in the middle for us." Glas said of the 6-foot-6, 240-pound Syverson.

The new-look Cobbers will face a stellar test at 7 p.m. today. They play rival Minnesota State Moorhead (2-0) at Alex Nemzek Fieldhouse.

"It will tell us a lot. How far have we come?" Glas said. "They have some very good players and they do a good job with their team."

Concordia lost 89 percent of its scoring off last year's team, which went 18-8 overall and finished second in the Minnesota Intercollegiate Athletic Conference behind perennial power St. Thomas.

Syverson played in 30 games last season with NDSCS, averaging 3.1 points per game. He was coming back from a torn ACL, an injury he suffered in his senior year at North.

Syverson no longer wears a brace on his left knee and feels he is back to full health.

"I'm probably about where I was before the injury," Syverson said. "I would like to get a little quicker and more explosive."

Syverson is making the transition to being more of a full-time post player. In the past, he's been more of a wing player than a back-to-the-basket post.

"He's got big size on the inside that really helps us compete," said Concordia sophomore Jordan Bolger, who is one of the two returning players who saw extended varsity playing time last season.

At 6-6, 200 pounds, Bolger (who has primarily been a wing player during his career) is playing power forward for the Cobbers next to Syverson.

Concordia lost a key post player in the offseason. Six-foot-7, 200-pound center Scott Flotterud decided to not come out for basketball to focus on his academics.

Flotterud would have been a junior this season.

"We totally understand," Glas said of Flotterud's decision. "But that is a huge loss. We felt Scott was going to be an all-conference player for us."

That's another reason why the Cobbers need Syverson to develop into a solid scorer in the paint.

"You have to be able to score inside, and that's where Brady is really improving," Glas said. "He's going to be a critical factor in our ability to score."