By RICK PETERSON
TopSports.news
Dillon Claussen probably could have started for a lot of college basketball programs accoss the country last season as a freshman.
But on a Washburn University team that was loaded with veterans, the 6-foot-8, 215-pounder knew he would have to wait his turn to crack the lineup and was perfectly content with his role off the bench while making an immediate impact for a 30-4 Ichabod team that made it all the way to the NCAA Division II semifinals.
Sophomore Dillon Claussen is averaging 22.5 points and 12.5 rebounds for 2-0 Washburn. [File photo/TSN]
"Oh man, it was amazing,'' Claussen said. "I like to say that was probably the best freshman year I could have imagined. We went to the Final Four and I got to play with a bunch of other experienced players.
"As a senior, Andrew Orr had a lot of experience in the league so he taught me a lot and then I still got to play in the games, so I was super happy with it and it definitely taught me a lot and prepared me for this year when I have a bigger role.''
Claussen played an average of 15.4 minutes per game last season and averaged 7.4 points and 3.9 rebounds with 25 blocked shots while shooting 67.4 percent from the field and 70.2 percent from the free throw line.
And Claussen gives a lot of credit to last year's veterans for helping him adjust to the college game.
"Coming in as a freshman you don't know totally what it's like to be a college player and they'd been on top of their leagues,'' said Claussen, an Omaha, Neb. native. "Michael Keegan had been playing forever, Andrew Orr had been on the top of the (MIAA), really since his sophomore year.
"He'd had a huge role and (Jacob) Hanna was a super good player in his conference, so taking tips from all of them on and off the court they taught me how I could be a better person and player.''
Washburn coach Brett Ballard agreed that the season Claussen had playing behind Orr and with the other veterans was a big factor in his progress.
"I think it's really beneficial when you come into a program with great leadership and maturity,'' Ballard said. "I think Dillon would have gone a lot of places and been successful later on, but I do think it just helped elevate him and accelorated that process a little bit because he got thrown in the fire with guys that showed him how to do it.
"And then he had to go against a guy like Andrew Orr every day. So I think that competition for Dillon in practice was really beneficial, too. You saw it last year. Andrew Orr was great and there were games the last month and a half where it was basically 50-50 because we just felt like Dillon had earned that right to play. That just showed you where he was at last year and he's taken some steps this year.''
Claussen demonstrated that in Washburn's season-opening trip to Florida on Nov. 1st and 2nd while making the first-two starts of his college career.
Claussen scored 22 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in Washburn's 101-53 season-opening win over Augusta, Ga. and followed that up with 23 points and 12 rebounds in an 89-77 win over No. 3-ranked Dallas Baptist.
Ballard feels like those performances could be a preview of things to come.
"In think you see the skill and the ability and then you couple that with his mentality,'' Ballard said of Claussen. "He's just a mature, humble but hungry and comfortable kid. It's a combination of things.
"You can be mature and humble, but if you're not confident then that doesn't always work out and you can be over-confident and not humble and that doesn't work out. He's just got the right balance of what you look for in a high-quality player. He's talented yes, but the mental aspect is off the charts good.''
Washburn will return to action this weekend in the Central Regional Challenge at Pittsburg State, facing Minnesota State-Moorhead at 7 p.m. Friday and Winona State at 5 p.m. Saturday.
And while junior All-MIAA guard Jack Bachelor is Washburn's only returning starter, Claussen thinks the Florida trip showed that the Ichabods still have the talent to make another deep run in D-II.
"I feel like last year really set the tone for what we can be as a team and even though we lost a lot of dudes, like Jacob Hanna, Michael Keegan, Brayden Shorter, Andrew Orr -- four starters -- we definitely have the same goals and maybe even higher if we can,'' Claussen said.
"Coach has said all year that other people might not see us as the same team as last year because we're losing all those minutes, but I know I have confidence in my teammates and the people that we have that we can do the same thing if not better this year.''
