Oct. 15—GRAND FORKS — Luke Winkel and Carson Johnson were crosstown rivals in high school.
The two guards hail from Ankeny, Iowa. Winkel went to Ankeny Centennial, while Johnson attended Ankeny High School.
They remained opponents in college. Winkel committed to St. Cloud State and Johnson went to Minnesota State Moorhead, both of which are Division II programs in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
"We grew up playing against each other," Winkel said. "We have a good relationship — it's very competitive."
Last year, Johnson transferred to Denver to follow his head coach, Tim Bergstraser. He was named the 2025-26 Summit League Player of the Year as a sophomore.
Winkel stayed with St. Cloud State for another season and earned a first team All-NSIC selection for the second year in a row. This offseason, he entered the transfer portal and committed to UND, which "felt like home."
Denver joined the West Coast Conference this year, so Winkel and Johnson won't meet as conference opponents again. But Winkel is confident his skills will translate to Division I basketball, just as Johnson's have.
"I'm very confident in myself," Winkel said. "Basketball is basketball at the end of the day. I've played competitive basketball my entire life. I never doubt myself going against Division I talent, and the good thing is we play so much during practice and we get great looks. Everyone's competitive, so that has made the transition easier. ... Especially nowadays with the portal, a lot of guys go Division II, and (the NSIC) is consistently top three, top five Division IIs in the country. There's a lot of comparison just in my time here from NSIC to the Summit League — there's a lot more athleticism and length here, but the NSIC is very competitive."
Winkel, a 6-foot point guard, averaged 18.7 points, 3.6 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game as a sophomore with the Huskies. He was a constant presence on the court for St. Cloud State, starting in all 32 games and averaging 33 minutes.
Winkel guided the Huskies to a 20-2 conference record and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Fighting Hawks head coach Paul Sather has been impressed with his play in practice.
"He's a very good everyday guy when it comes to how he competes," Sather said. "He's a better passer than what I was giving him credit for, which is really good. I thought he was a very good player, but he's not just a scorer. He's a guy that really can make the guys around him better and make a lot of right plays, and it's shown in practice. Through 15 practices, I don't know if he's even our top four or five shot attempts guy. His team wins a lot in practice. He just has that winner in him, and the ability to compete at a high level and find ways to win and make winning plays on both sides of the floor. We've been really happy with what he's brought."
Winkel was also a defensive presence at St. Cloud State, finishing with a team-high 44 steals last season.
On paper, he's a good fit for the Hawks' defensive system, which emphasizes forcing turnovers.
"I love the system," Winkel said. "I love how we trap, and I think my ability to hawk the ball and read eyes is something that I can add value to the team by doing."
UND lost last year's starting point guard and leading scorer, Greyson Uelmen, to the transfer portal.
Winkel is one of the players expected to help fill Uelmen's role at point guard this season.
Freshman guard Jayden Moore, a 5-foot-10 three-star recruit from Hopkins, Minn., is also expected to contribute.
"It's going to be both of those guys," Sather said. "Luke brings a couple years of college basketball experience with him. I've been really impressed with Jayden Moore, and we're going to need them both. Just the way we play, the style of play that we have, we're going to need them both. We also talk about having them on the court at the same time, which we'll see where that goes. But I think they're both doing an awesome job, and they're both guys that we really believe in, and I'd say they're both ready to come in and help."
Moore and Winkel are typically on opposite teams during practice.
"It's great for both of our developments," Winkel said. "He's someone that can really play defense, and it's tough to guard on the ball, so that's helped me adjust."