Hall of Fame
Vonesh began school at UND in the fall of 1986 and graduated in 1992. During his time as a member of the Fighting Sioux men's basketball team, he distinguished himself as one of the best players in North Dakota history. For his career, Vonesh earned three All-NCC honors and three all-region honors, and he was the North Central Conference Most Valuable Player and an All-American as both a junior and a senior. When he finished playing in 1991, Vonesh had scored 2,052 points and grabbed 1,207 rebounds. At the time his points total was the most ever by a North Dakota player. Vonesh's career rebound total still ranks first on the career list. His first two seasons, 1986-87 and 1987-88, Vonesh played on Coach Dave Gunther's last two Fighting Sioux teams that went a cumulative 33-23. After missing the 1988-89 season with a stress fracture of the foot, Vonesh returned in 1989-90 and joined Coach Rich Glas's second team. The Sioux would go 28-7 that season and advance to the first of two straight NCAA Division II Elite Eights. UND won an NCC title that year by finishing 14-4, marking the first time in league history that a team had gone from finishing in last place (3-15 in 1988-89) to finishing in first place. At the Elite Eight in Springfield, Mass., the Sioux took third place, losing only to eventual national champion Kentucky Wesleyan.
