Update on former Iowa HS b-baller Daniel Jansen

[MrAugustana]

Would have loved to see Jansen in a UNI or Iowa uniform this year. He is very talented.

I'm pretty happy you didn't.

 

[Treeball20]

Wow, even on a severely sore wheel he played great. He could have done some real damage at either UNI or Iowa...it's too bad because the younger one is gonna be an even better complete player, as long as he's fully healthy. Could break all of Dan's records. It's too bad the state schools missed on Dan, but they will really be kicking themselves for missing out on Levi, mark my words.

Congrats to Moc-FV grad Daniel Jansen and all the other Vikings on their national championship!

 

[MrAugustana]

Thanks to everyone who put up with me posting all of Dan's awards and stuff the past few weeks. Just figured you guys would find it interesting (which I think most people seemed to). It's exciting to have had a player of his caliber at my alma mater for the past four years.

In one last awards/recognitions update (I think), Jansen was named the D2 Bulletin Men's Basketball Player of the Year today. That makes two Player of the Year awards for Daniel (NABC and D2 Bulletin). He and Schilling were also named to the D2 Bulletin All-America team (1st Team for Daniel, 2nd Team for Schilling) and Coach Billeter was named D2 Bulletin Coach of the Year, which is his second Coach of the Year award this season (D2 Bulletin and Basketball Times).

Exciting couple of seasons for Augustana University and a great career for Mr. Jansen. Here's to hoping I'm posting a similar thread like this in 2-3 years for Dan's younger brother, Levi. I think he's going to be a special player for the Vikes.

 

[MrAugustana]

One last update from me (I would imagine) on Daniel Jansen. He officially signed a professional contract to play overseas for Limburg United in Belgium, Germany. Interestingly enough, Jansen signed with the same team as fellow Iowan Seth Tuttle, who formerly played for UNI.

Here's the full story from Augie's website: http://goaugie.com/news/2016/7/26/m...ntract-to-play-professionally-in-belgium.aspx

Jansen signs contract to play professionally in Belgium

HASSELT, Limburg, Belgium – Former Augustana men's basketball student-athlete Daniel Jansen has signed a contract to play professionally for Limburg United, the Belgian League club announced Tuesday.

Jansen, a native of Orange City, Iowa, becomes the 21st former Viking to sign a professional contract, the first since Cameron McCaffrey was signed by Nuova Alius Pallacanestro in Italy in 2013.

"I am so excited to get this opportunity to continue my dream of playing professional basketball," Jansen said.

"It really is surreal that the opportunity is here and I will be leaving in a couple weeks. I think it goes to show how great God is, and I hope and pray to continually serve and honor him while playing overseas. Coach Billeter and the entire coaching staff has done an amazing job of getting me prepared and ready to succeed at the next level. I want to thank my teammates and everyone involved at Augustana who has made by four years some of the best times of my life and for helping me realize my dream of becoming a National Champion. Augustana has been an amazing place for me and I will always cherish my time there.

Limburg United also announced the signing of Iowa native and former Northern Iowa standout Seth Tuttle and Ben Simons of Drake University. Jansen will be one of two rookies playing for Limburg United in 2016-17, joining Gonzaga's Eric McClellan who also signed with the club.

Limburg United advanced to the semifinals of the Belgian League playoffs last season, dropping a five-game series (3-2) to eventual champion Oostende. Limburg United will play internationally in the 2016-17 FIBA Europe Cup which is in its second year of competition.

"We are all very happy for Dan and his family," Augustana head coach Tom Billeter said. "When Dan came to Augustana four years ago, we discussed at great length what it would take for him to someday play professional basketball. Through all of his hard work and dedication we are extremely excited that Dan is able to see his dreams become a reality. We wish him nothing but the best. All of us that had the privilege to watch Dan play, know Limburg United just signed a great one."

A 6-foot-9, 240-pound forward, Jansen was named the NABC National Player of the Year his senior season and was named First Team All-America by four different publications. He earned all-tournament team honors at the Elite Eight after missing the first game of his career in the quarterfinals before returning to help Augustana to its first National Championship. He scored 25 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the national title game. Jansen was the first player at Augustana to score over 2,000 career points and finished his career as the school's all-time leading scorer with 2,255 points. He grabbed 857 career rebounds to finish fifth all-time.

In 2015-16, Jansen averaged 20.6 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game while shooting 53.5 percent from the field. He scored in double-digits in 33 of 35 games played, including 20 or more points in 19 games. Jansen was named the NSIC and Central Region Player of the Year for the second straight season while earning All-NSIC First Team honors for the third straight year. HE became the NSIC's all-time leading scorer in 2015-16, scoring 1,521 points in 88 career conference games.

Augustana men's basketball won a school record 34 games in 2015-16, finishing the year 34-2 on its way to the program's first National Championship. The Vikings won their second straight NSIC Regular season and Tournament Championships before winning the NCAA Central Region Tournament for the first time in school history.

Located in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Augustana University is a member of NCAA Division II and competes in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.

Congratulations to Dan and to Augie's program for the goals that have been accomplished and the future that is in store. Look forward to seeing how his pro career goes. Regardless of how it all shakes out, he will always be a legend at Augustana. Here's to hoping his brother, Levi, will carry on (or, in an ideal world, exceed) Dan's legacy over the next four years.