Dancin' in the Dakotas
Two North Dakota State seniors are having an unforgettable last year.
By Steve Hallstrom -- March 16, 2009

It's been said that if you really want to learn what someone's about, just add pressure.

Ben Woodside - #10

College: North Dakota State University Year: Senior Height/Weight: 5-11/185 Position: Guard Hometown: Albert Lea, Minn. Trivia: Woodside, the Summit League Player of the Year, scores 22.8 points per game, including 60 against Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 12.

Basketball fans in North Dakota are enjoying the results of that experiment, especially when it comes to North Dakota State’s Ben Woodside and Brett Winkelman. In a season that’s been loaded with team and individual expectations (NDSU is headed to its first-ever NCAA Tournament) these Bison seniors have ascended to the top two spots on the school’s all-time career scoring list.

But you don't have to wait for the start of the game to see that there is something very different about them. Both have a relationship with God that impacts their lives, their games and even their pre-game rituals.

"Before each game, I pray for both teams so that there are no injuries," said Woodside, the Summit League Player of the Year. "Then during the games I pray during breaks and dead balls, mostly at the free throw line, that He would help me play for the glory of the Lord."

Even pre-game introductions have become a place for praise. When they shake hands during the starting line-up announcements, Winkelman and Woodside look up in unison and point both index fingers to the sky.

"It's never been hard for me to do," said Winkelman, a 6-6 forward who is averaging 18.7 points per game. "I'm not scared to let people know who I am, so I don't mind being in the public eye and letting them see I'm not just a basketball player."

Make no mistake, he is not just a basketball player. In February he was named the men’s NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year, as he currently holds a 3.88 GPA in industrial engineering and management. Pretty heady stuff, if you will, for a young man in Fargo, N.D., to have any kind of basketball bragging rights over the Dukes and Michigan States of the world.

"I've been blessed in so many ways,” he said, “that it's very satisfying to see your school achievements recognized along with the basketball accomplishments."

*****

What Winkelman and Woodside accomplished last summer holds a place in their hearts that no athletic feat can rival. Playing for an Athletes in Action team in Taiwan, the two had a chance to play high-level basketball against several national teams while sharing their faith on a daily basis.

"We went to orphanages, talked to fans after the games and visited churches,” said Winkelman, a native of Morris, Minn. “We handed out basketball cards with our testimonies on the back and had translators to help us."

The greatest thrill came on the final day of the trip.

"We were just sitting there eating our lunch, and there were two girls sitting next to us," said Woodside, a native of Albert Lea, Minn. "We were talking about the tournament we were playing in through our translator, and all of a sudden they just said, 'We want to have what you have. Will you pray with us?' And right then and there we prayed with them and led them to the Lord. It was amazing."

*****

Amazing could also describe the duo’s entire senior season. In January, Winkelman came down with the stomach flu right before North Dakota State’s game against Oakland (Mich.) University. The two teams were expected to challenge for the Summit League title, so even though it was only January, it was a potential early-season cap-feather for both schools.

Brett Winkelman - #22

College: North Dakota State University Year: Senior Height/Weight: 6-6/220 Position: Forward Hometown: Morris, Minn. Trivia: In February, Winkelman was named the men’s NCAA Division I Academic All-American of the Year. He's also No. 2 on NDSU's all-time career scoring list.

Forget about playing, Winkelman couldn't even eat.

"I think I ate a half-piece of toast and had a few swigs of Gatorade, but I couldn't keep anything down,” he said. “I thought there was no way I could help the team, but I prayed for strength that afternoon and could sense God telling me that somehow I'd be OK.

“That night was unreal. Between plays I was so weak that I could hardly stand up, but when they put the ball in play, I felt like I had all the strength in the world."

Thirty-three points, six rebounds, three steals and one blocked shot later, Winkelman’s night was done.

Weak legs? He made 6-of-8 attempts from 3-point range.

The Bison lost 77-76, but not before Winkelman had logged 32 of the gutsiest minutes head coach Saul Phillips had ever seen.

"Winkelman was unbelievable for us tonight,” Phillips said after the game. “It was even more amazing when you consider that he was literally on his back all day long with a stomach virus. He played with a piece of toast in him. That was his pregame meal. I told him to get the same virus before every game. And it didn't affect him or his game at all. He was brilliant."

And across the postgame radio airwaves, fans heard Winkelman tell the real story: "Once it came game time, I didn't really have much strength,” he said, “but I recited my favorite Bible verse, through Christ who strengthens me, and I really looked to Him to give me strength tonight."

*****

Woodside has put on the cape several times himself.

The senior sharpshooter stands just 5-foot-11, but he has become a giant in NDSU program lore. The only player in school history to eclipse 2,000 points, Woodside put up 60 points in a game against NCAA Tournament-bound Stephen F. Austin at a tournament in Des Moines. The game went into three overtimes, and Woodside wasn't sure he was good for more than two.

"In the second overtime, I felt really tired, like I didn't have anything left,” he said. “I just kept praying 'Lord, give me a little more strength.' I was still tired, but it seemed I got an extra little kick to finish it out."

Finish it out, he did. Although NDSU lost 112-111, Woodside played 51 of the 55 minutes. His 60 points were a school and Summit League record.

And he only got better as the night wore on, scoring 49 of his 60 points in the final 8:51 of the second half and the three overtimes. He made 30 of 35 free throw attempts, tying the Division-I record set by LSU legend Pete Maravich in 1969.

None of that, however, compares to his crowning moment, the one that sent NDSU to the NCAA tournament last week in Sioux Falls, S.D.

*****

As expected, North Dakota State – the Summit League regular-season champions – had to get past Oakland in the conference tournament finals in order to reach the NCAA Tournament. An even game throughout, Oakland center Keith Benson dunked home the tying basket with 11 seconds to play.

With the score knotted at 64, Woodside took the inbounds pass, charged up the floor and hit a 17-foot leaner with 3.3 seconds left to give the Bison a two-point lead. Oakland’s Johnathan Jones raced back down the court in time to heave up a long, potential game-winning 3-pointer, but it bounced off the back iron and sent the North Dakota State players – and their fans – into a frenzy.

North Dakota State had just pulled off what not too long ago seemed unthinkable – making the NCAA Tournament in its first season of eligibility. The school has just completed a five-year transition from Division II, and Woodside and Winkelman were there from the beginning. Four of the team’s five starters are fifth-year seniors who chose to redshirt their freshman year in hopes that maybe, just maybe, they could make it to the “Big Dance” by the time they were seniors.

They had only one chance, but they certainly took advantage of it. And the entire country has gone along for the ride.

The Summit League final was televised live on ESPN2, the school's first nationally televised men's basketball game. The highlights and postgame reaction became the second story on ESPN's SportsCenter that night, and Woodside has already made several appearances on regional and national television and radio.

"It feels like we've been in the spotlight for a reason," said Woodside, who finds his name on an occasional NBA draft projection. "God has given me my ability, and basketball is just another way of praising Him. Hopefully, people see that."

Winkelman added: "It does seem like so many things have fallen into place for us this year. I don't know if you could write a better script. I'm guessing God wrote this script for us so that we can somehow bring glory to His name."

Steve Hallstrom is the Sports Director at WDAY TV (ABC) in Fargo, N.D.
Photos courtesy of NDSU Media Relations.