A PHD Commentary: Cole Bergan

When South Dakota State, North Dakota State, and North Dakota offered Aberdeen Central combo forward Cole Bergan a scholarship this month it put the young 2018 talent in the potential for elite company. No player is guaranteed anything especially at the age of 15 but the work ethic, skill level, and potential of Cole Bergan has put him out ahead. What type of company is Cole in?  If you look around the seven state area only two other players have received multiple scholarship offers out of the 2018 class: Tre Jones of Apple Valley, Minnesota (brother of national champion and NBA first round pick Tyus Jones) and Joe Wieskamp of Muscatine, Iowa (committed to Iowa).  That’s it.  Jones, Wieskamp, and Bergan (according to national databases). Keep in mind this is a great year in Wisconsin and Missouri for players and Illinois will always have several young talents receiving early attention so the Midwest has a load of young talent in this class.  That said Bergan, Jones, and Wieskamp are amongst the early standouts in the seven state area. . Minnesota has a fantastic 2018 class so it won’t be long before others join the first three multiple scholarship guys.  Same can be said for Iowa.  Nebraska only has two kids with D1 offers in the entire state, South Dakota has no others besides Bergan, North Dakota has three, and western states Montana and Wyoming have some scholarship players but none identified this early with offers. What we are saying is that Bergan has quickly put himself in elite company. Why is Cole in the possession he is in?  Several reasons.  It starts with physical gifts.  Cole has good size at around 6-foot-6 and has good genes as his father played at Northern State.  What Cole also has is a nice starting skill set for a forward.  His face-up and skill perimeter game are improving but off to a nice start.  Bergan has a good touch turning over a shoulder plus Bergan is dependable with his feet set from distance.  Bergan is also an active player so he can score moving without the ball.  He has the ability to impact the game as a rebounder, scorer, defender, and a leader. With agility, skill, and most importantly a work ethic, Cole has the potential to become a division one basketball player. There are no guarantees.  With all prospects this has to be kept in mind.  Cole has the potential and the early offers but anybody that has followed recruiting over the years knows that things change.  Right now Bergan is in elite company.  It’s on him to stay there.  So far he’s off to a great start and PHD believes he will continue to lead Aberdeen Central and Martin Brothers to success in the future.