Freshman transfer stands out
Derek Magnuson leads Bethel University men’s basketball team in scoring and rebounds.
By Mathias Durie | Royal Report
Bethel University freshman Derek Magnuson received the pass as he cut toward the hoop. He caught it, took two steps, jumped up and slammed the ball home with a two-handed dunk that shook the backboard. The crowd erupted with excitement. A dunk that powerful doesn’t happen every day.
“People here play because they love it and they play because they love the guys they’re playing with.” — Derek Magnuson, freshman center
Magnuson is a 6’7” center for the Bethel men’s basketball team. He transferred from the University of Minnesota-Duluth (UMD) where he red-shirted last season. He was recruited heavily by Bethel during high school but decided to try out Division II. Even with a winning program at UMD, Magnuson said he wanted a more loving and unselfish culture, so he decided to transfer to Bethel.
“People here play because they love it, and they play because they love the guys they’re playing with,” Magnuson said. “It’s more of a community than I’m used to.”
During the preseason, the team started having bible studies once a week for each position group. Senior Ross Groeneweg is a teammate of Magnuson that led the bible study he was a part of. Groeneweg is the number two center for the Royals and has reached out to Magnuson to help him improve his game and get him to the place he is now. Magnuson responded well to his teammates offer and it shows in his level of play.
“This guy’s got some talent,” Groeneweg said. “He had a good attitude with that and that’s helped him.”
Magnuson is not the typical on the court leader of a team. He doesn’t yell at teammates if they mess up or tell them to keep playing hard if they are down. But you will see him leading by example by doing the dirty work down in the paint and never giving up on a play.
“He leads by getting boards and making those hustle plays,” Groeneweg. “And having other people feed off of that.”
Magnuson has started all six games for the Royals this season despite only joining the team two months ago. Teammates and coaches recognize how hard he has worked and how quickly he learns. He worked out with teammate Kyle von Schmidt-Pauli during the summer in an effort to put on the size needed to play center.
“His biggest strength is his ability to learn and his desire to grow as a player,” Coach Doug Novak said. “Sometimes he’s overly hard on himself, but he has a laser focus attention to detail.”
In a non-conference game against the University of Northwestern, Magnuson scored 29 points to lead all scorers and lifted the Royals to their fifth straight win. Being 6’7” and weighing 225 lbs, Magnuson clearly has a body built for basketball. It makes him a big threat to opponents on offense where he scored 25 points in the first half and by pulling down 3 rebounds on defense.
“If somebody comes in with a strength,” Coach Novak said. “We want to play towards that strength and grow the other parts of their game.”
Magnuson’s 2015 statistics:
• .642 shooting percentage
• .636 free throw percentage
• 7.3 rebounds per game
• 15.5 points per game
• 21 minutes per game
2015 Bethel leaders:
Scoring:
1. Magnuson 93
2. Hall 85
3. Tusler 62
4. Von Schmidt-Pauli 60
5. Hanson 41
Rebounds:
1. Magnuson 44
2. Von Schmidt-Pauli 41
3. Hanson 31
4. Hall 29
5. Casey 15
Blocks:
1. Von Schmidt-Pauli 6
2. Magnuson 5
3. Hall 2
4. Mattern 1
5. Canfield 1
Minutes:
1. Hall 189
2. Von Schmidt-Pauli 178
3. Nelson 142
4. Casey 132
5. Magnuson 126
