Stepping into a bigger role

Never will you get him to use it as an excuse but Henry Sibley power forward Mike Rostampour was nowhere near 100 percent this summer after suffering through a bout of mononucleosis. That didn't stop him from taking to the road with the Minnesota Pump N Run and giving it his all in ways that only Mike Rostampour can.

In Vegas a ten to 15 pounds lighter (because of the mono) Mike Rostampour battled, fought, bumped, and annoyed Duke commit Joshua Hairston to the point that Hairston was overly frustrated and his mom was calling out Mike from the stands. Mike only played parts of the game because of foul trouble but Mike had his affect on the contest wearing on Hairston and then Kevin Noreen took the future Blue Devil to task on the other end. This was another example of what Mike does in a game. He defends as hard as anybody out there and Mike can move his feet with just about any forward. Rostampour rebounds like a beast and you will never see Mike hanging back on a play as he's usually the first player down the floor.

The first season for the Minnesota Pump N Run was a strong one and Rostampour played his part. In addition to battling with players from around the nation Mike also enjoyed playing with this team and his become more of an offensive weapon.

"It (AAU) was great overall," Rostampour said. "I had a really good experience playing with some of the top level players in Minnesota and not to mention Wisconsin (referring to Steve Tecker). They were also really tight guys off the court as well. Winning our first national tournament in Denver really set the tone for us this summer and I think after we saw that we could beat some of these nationally known AAU teams. It really helped us realize that we were going to do some good things this summer."

Despite being a senior this coming season Mike is still somewhat of an inexperienced talent. He grew several inches between his sophomore and junior years so he's still getting used to being a true frontcourt player. And as a Sibley Warrior Mike didn't get the minutes that other division one recruits would get as a junior because of their frontcourt depth.

Playing with the Pump N Run was big for Mike just in terms of getting more games under his belt. By mid-June the Pumps had played 44 games and Mike is grateful for the experience.

"Mostly what playing with Pump N Run did for me was just getting more of a feel for the game and to take what worked in those games into the upcoming season," Rostampour explained. "My shot has definitely improved along with some other things. But I know I still have a lot of things that need work and that's what I'll be doing these next three and a half months.

Rostampour currently holds offers from North Dakota State and UW-Milwaukee. Mike is also garnering interest from several other division one schools.

"Loyola-Chicago, Colorado State, Northern Colorado, Florida Gulf Coast and Iowa State have shown the most interest lately besides the two schools that have offered me so far," Rostampour. "I have not yet planned any visits, but I plan on having that all taken care of before the season starts."

Coming off the bench for most of last season Rostampour averaged 8.1 points and five rebounds a game as a junior. He shot 59 percent from the floor on 120 shot attempts and 62 percent from the foul line on 98 free throw attempts. From a statistical aggressive standpoint Mike had more offensive rebounds than defensive rebounds and he led the team in personal fouls. With Mike Bruesewitz, Chris Halvorsen, and Maurice Hernandez taking their combined 47 points a game to college basketball next year Rostampour is the new leader.

"We have all the pieces to be a championship team," Mike stated. "All we need to do from now till December 7th (Season opener) is to work our butts off and good things will happen."