CSM picked to finish third in RMAC Pre-Season Coaches Poll;

Minschwaner, Armstrong named to Pre-Season All-RMAC Team

GOLDEN, Colo. (Nov. 1, 2010) – Colorado School of Mines is picked to finish third in the 2010-11 RMAC Men’s Basketball Pre-Season Coaches Poll, as announced today by the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The Orediggers, who went 17-12 overall (14-5 RMAC) last season, garnered one first-place vote in the Pre-Season Coaches Poll.  Two Orediggers earned recognition on the Pre-Season All-RMAC Team, including Dale Minschwaner and Sean Armstrong.

Minschwaner, a 6’6”, 215-lb. junior center from Albuquerque, N.M. (Sandia Prep), was a unanimous Pre-Season All-RMAC pick.  Minschwaner earned Second Team All-Central Region (NABC), First Team All-RMAC, First Team All-East Division and East Division Player of the Year recognition as a sophomore.  One of five Orediggers to play in all 29 games (27 starts) last winter, Minschwaner led Mines in scoring (16.6 ppg; ninth in the RMAC) and rebounding (7.0 rpg; fourth in the RMAC) last year.  Minschwaner also led CSM in points scored (482), total rebounds (204), defensive rebounds (147), blocked shots (40) and steals (44) in 2009-10.  Minschwaner will begin his junior season ranked third in the CSM record book in career blocked shots average (1.4) and fourth in career rebounding average (6.9).

A 6’1”, 191-lb. senior guard who hails from Blue Springs, Mo. (Blue Springs High School), Armstrong also garnered Pre-Season All-RMAC honors.  Armstrong, who earned Second Team All-East Division recognition last year, started all 27 games in which he played and led the RMAC in three-point field goal % (tied - .500; 27-of-54).  Armstrong, who finished the 2009-10 season ranked fifth in the RMAC in assists per game (3.8) and sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.4), was second on the team and 11th in the RMAC in scoring (15.4 ppg) last year, as well.  Armstrong led CSM in assists (103) and recorded team-second-best totals in steals (41) and points scored (417) last winter.

The Orediggers made their first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division II Tournament and established a new single-season program record for conference victories in 2009-10.  CSM earned a share of the RMAC Regular-Season East Division title in 2009-10, as well as the #1 seed in the East Division for the RMAC Shootout.  The 2009-10 campaign also marked a program-record sixth consecutive winning season for the Orediggers.

CSM will begin its 2010-11 season by hosting Tabor College (NAIA; Hillsboro, Kan.) on Saturday, November 13th, at 7:00 p.m. at Lockridge Arena.  Mines will also host Concordia University (NAIA; Portland, Ore.) on Saturday, November 19th, at 7:00 p.m.