Johnny Tauer, head coach of the University of St. Thomas men’s basketball team, recently spoke with SB Nation for a story about the team’s quick transition from D-III to playing at a high level in D-I.
From the story:
The Tommies’ arrow is pointing up dramatically. They swept their two matchups in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, which followed a dominant start to league play, where they won their first two Summit games by an average of 23 points. That’s built on what was evident on a national stage when the Tommies put a scare into Marquette three weeks ago, keeping the game within the balance until there were seconds remaining. ...
They’ve also been good from distance (35.7%) despite losing three-point aficionado Riley Miller over the offseason. Every player Tauer puts on the court is a threat from deep, and the Tommies had seven players make at least one three in their win over Idaho on Wednesday night.
Then there is Bjorklund who, along with Anthony, has been Tauer’s standout. His story has been told on this site before and should be told again. He began his time on campus at St. Thomas as a student running his own social media company before calling Tauer and asking if he could try out in 2020, years removed from playing anything other than intramurals.
Now, in his final year, he’s having an all-league first team caliber season (13.9 ppg, 4.5 rpg) with his blend of athleticism and versatility in the front court.
“I think Parker is as unique a story as there is in college basketball, I’m admittedly biased,” Tauer said in October. ...
“We know there’s a lot of work to do, but we’re really pleased with progress so far,” Tauer said.
