Miles Barnstable helps lead Tommies men as team's star rises
ST. PAUL, Minn. — It's hard to quantify growth, but it's worth a try for a University of St. Thomas basketball team that entered Division 1 in 2021. By any measure, this season is another step forward.
"We've had some big wins and we've had some tough losses, too," said Tommies head coach Johnny Tauer. "But to be 12-5 at this point in the season, ranked in the top 100 in the NET rankings for the first time in program history, the excitement around the program, holistically, I don't think I could be much happier."
When reloading from three key graduating starters, the Tommies turned to Division 3 UW-Whitewater junior transfer guard Miles Barnstable. He has been a high-scoring revelation, averaging 15 points a game and coming off a 30-point explosion.
"There's a lot of great Division 3 players, now they're not all as good as Miles," said Tauer. "He's special. And there's no doubt, last year when we were recruiting guys, there were a lot of Division 1 guys available, really good Division 2 transfers, we really zeroed in on him on the perimeter for myriad reasons, but one of them is he's a prolific scorer."
Barnstable says there's been some bumps in the road while transitioning from D3 to D1.
"I was just fortunate enough to come here in the summer with these guys and be able to work out with them," Barnstable said. "I kind of struggled a little bit in the year, but it's been looking seamless. But there's still more to it, but yeah, it's been a good transition."
Wednesday night, South Dakota State comes to St. Paul to face the Tommies amid their budding rivalry. Last year, SDSU beat St. Thomas three times, all by narrow margins. There's a little extra motivation for a team that dominates on home court.
"We didn't beat them last year, so beat them this year," said junior guard Kendall Blue. "We always want to win every game we play… but it always a little more fun when you got a conference rival, especially at your home court, you got to defend home court."
Progress continues for the Tommies, with a growing jurisdiction of Minnesota basketball fans.
"We've got a $200 million arena coming next year. We look forward to the day we're eligible to play in the NCAA tournament. And those are all things on the horizon," said Tauer. "I think what our guys are so good at is understanding today, this is the only thing we get to do."
