Wilber adds six names to 2014-15 men’s basketball roster

MITCHELL, S.D. – Dakota Wesleyan University men's basketball coach Matt Wilber brought his recruit total up to 10 for the 2014-15 season with the addition of six names released Monday afternoon.

Scott Van Winkle, Austin Bicknase, Cole Casper, Mitch Heumiller, Kevin Petersen and Ben Robinson will all be freshmen on the Tigers' roster this upcoming season. Van Winkle, Bicknase, Casper, Heumiller and Petersen all come to DWU from South Dakota, and Robinson joins the squad from Sioux City, Iowa.

Van Winkle comes to DWU from Bon Homme High School in Tyndall, S.D. The 6-foot-1 guard earned three varsity letters for the Cavaliers, and averaged 17.1 points, 5.4 assists and 5.3 rebounds per game through mid-February of his senior season. He earned All-South East South Dakota and All-Little Missouri Valley Conference honors as a junior, and set the school record for points in a game with 41. Van Winkle, whose older brother, Jared, is a defensive back on the Tiger football team, also lettered three times in football and four in track. He took fourth in the 300-meter hurdles at the Class A state track meet, as well as fifth in the pole vault and broke the school record in the 300 hurdles and the 800-meter relay as a junior. He is also a member of the National Honor Society, the honor roll and an academic all-state selection.

Bicknase joins the Tiger basketball program after earning two varsity letters at Harrisburg High School. The 5-9 guard shot 44 percent from the field, including 49 percent from long range while averaging 7.3 points per game as a senior. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the honor roll.

Casper, a 6-0 guard, comes to DWU from Lake Preston High School. He earned four varsity letters and was a three-year starter for the Divers, and averaged 17.3 points, give rebounds and 4.5 assists through 15 games in his senior season. He had accumulated more than 1,100 points and earned all-conference honors as a sophomore and junior. Casper also lettered four times in both track and football, and earned all-conference football team as a senior and participated in the state track meet as a junior. He is a member of the National Honor Society and the honor roll, is his class valedictorian and was an academic all-state participant.

Heumiller is a 6-1 guard from Mobridge-Pollock High School. He earned three varsity letters for the Tigers and averaged 16 points, five rebounds and 3.7 assists per game his senior seasons. The Mobridge, S.D., native earned all-conference honors and was named to the 2013 Class A All-Tournament team. He also lettered four times in track, three times in golf and twice in football, and took 16^th at the Class A state golf meet in 2013 and placed in three relays at the 2013 Class A state track meet.

Petersen, a 6-6 forward, joins the Tiger men's basketball program after earning two varsity letters at Brandon Valley High School. He averaged 3.1 points and 2.90 rebounds per game as a senior, and was part of the Lynx's second-place finish at the 2012-13 Class AA state tournament. He also earned one letter in football.

Robinson joins the Tigers after three varsity seasons at Sergeant Bluff-Luton High School. He is the school's season free-throw percentage record holder, and started one season for the Warriors. He also lettered three times in football and twice in track.

"I am so excited that all six of these guys chose to continue their basketball careers here at Dakota Wesleyan," said Wilber, who recently wrapped up his first year as the team's head coach. "They're all great guys who will work hard and be good representatives of DWU basketball."

Wilber's latest six signees join freshmen Jon Harmening (Jackson, Minn.); Gunnar Johnson (Castlewood, S.D.); Nathan Stadem (Baltic, S.D.) and Jordan Terronez (Watertown, S.D.), who have already signed to join the program next season.