Midseason Report: North Dakota Class A Surprise Teams
We are at about the midway point of the basketball season already. Instead of wondering where the time went and why it can’t slow down, let’s take a look at some of the teams that have been surprises, good or…
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Continue ReadingWe are at about the midway point of the basketball season already. Instead of wondering where the time went and why it can’t slow down, let’s take a look at some of the teams that have been surprises, good or not so good, so far this season.
Jamestown
After winning 12 games and getting to state last year, expectations were that this Jamestown team would be improved. But to be the top-ranked team in the state and undefeated at this point is a surprise. The Blue Jays have talent certainly but their dominance over even the other perceived contenders in the WDA has been incredibly impressive. The defensive performances in the second halves in particular has been eye-opening. They are a state title contender without doubt.
West Fargo
The Packers won 22 games and went to the third-place game last year in the state tournament but lost a big chunk of the core of that team. West Fargo’s program is stable enough that there wasn’t going to be a big dropoff by any stretch but there were expected to be more growing pains than there have been. The Packers are arguably a top four or five team in the state and have a chance still to win the EDC. The big man duo of Luke Lennon and Hunter Lyman plus the steady guard play from Matt Miller has been critical.
Bismarck Century
Perhaps the dip from the Patriots should’ve been more predictable. When a team loses multiple college-level players and longtime starters, it isn’t always just going to be as easy and plugging new guys in and continuing the roll. Century struggled in the early part of the season and a big reason for it has been the inconsistent play of the non-returning varsity guys. Treyton Mattern and Cade Feeney have been good, combining for nearly 40 points per game. The Patriots are seemingly headed in the right direction as of late though, and this will not be a team people want to see in March.
Bismarck Legacy
Bismarck Legacy won nine games a year ago and struggled to produce points consistently pretty much all season. The Sabers have a good young core of guys playing at a solid level right now. Rhett Clements has been one of the best players in the WDA and Troy Hilz has been solid on the perimeter.