Team Preview: Turtle Lake-Mercer/McClusky Trojans
The Trojans became the surprise team of the year last year after beating both the Solen Sioux and Washburn Cardinals to advance to the state tournament and represent region 5. Now looking to defend their title we talked to two of their standout players from last year Trapper Jacobs (JR) and Seth Laframboise (SR) about the upcoming season.
Trapper Jacobs (Guard)(JR)
1. Who do you feel will step in the place of your senior point guard from last year Blake Anderson?
JP Piazzaro was our back up point guard last year and we are hoping he can step up and handle the ball for us as Blake did, Gunner Jacobs, Seth Laframboise and I will also have to help as he adapts to that role. On the defensive side it’ll be tough to replace Blake but hopefully, JP can fill his shoes.
2. What do you feel you bring to the table this year as a team, that you didn’t last year?
Shooting is something that we are definitely better at. The underclassman that are coming up can all shoot very well which should add weapons to our offense.
3. What are some weaknesses your team will have to work on this year?
Defense, limiting turnovers will both be things we need to be better at. We have a lot of young guys coming up that don’t have much experience in varsity games so getting the older guys to help them adapt will be huge for us.
4. Who is gonna be your biggest competition this year?
In the district, Washburn and Wilton are always favored but we never rule anyone out, we walk into every game with the mindset that there is a chance of losing and we gotta give it our all, for the region Shiloh will be tough but we believe with our abilities we are capable of doing anything.
Seth Laframboise (Forward)(SR)
1. Who do you feel will step in the place of your senior point guard from last year Blake Anderson?
It’s gonna be tough to replace Blake because of his ball-handling ability and rebounding but JP Piazzaro has a great chance to step up and be the true point guard we need.
2. What do you feel you bring to the table this year as a team, that you didn’t last year?
This year I feel we have improved from outside the arc, we have a lot of guys who can stretch the floor for us.
3. What are some weaknesses your team will have to work on this year?
Our weakness is gonna be our size. If we can work hard on defense enough to the point where we can make up for the lack of height, we should be able to overcome that weakness.
4. Who is gonna be your biggest competition this year?
We’ll just have to wait and see until the regular season starts, there’s always a chance for any team to make a run.
This team improved a lot over the course of last season and is looking to make another run at state this year! These two players will be a large part of how much success this team is able to have this year. Will they be able to call themselves back to back region 5 champions?
Featured Image credit to Bismarck Tribune