North Dakota Class A Burning Questions
Basketball season is right around the corner. Teams are firing up practice this week and games will be starting in less than two weeks. With that in mind, here are some things I’m curious about heading into the season: How…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingBasketball season is right around the corner. Teams are firing up practice this week and games will be starting in less than two weeks. With that in mind, here are some things I’m curious about heading into the season:
How good can Jamestown’s juniors be?
Jamestown completed an undefeated season in 2018-19 on its way to a state title. The Blue Jays completely destroyed the competition from start to finish last year. They’ll enter the year as the preseason No. 1 team thanks in large part to Boden Skunberg being back, and a belief that the junior class has a handful of difference-makers. Carson Lamp and Jacob Hilgemann both played spot minutes off the bench and looked good. Both will be relied upon in bigger roles this winter. Brooks Carrol was another guy who looked like a potential breakout candidate over the summer.
Does Fargo Davies have a go-to guy?
Fargo Davies made a run to the state title game last year and while they return two starters and the top two bench guys from last year’s team, I’m curious to see how they fill the void left from Braeton Motschenbacher. Motchsenbacher was the team’s best shooter and shot-creator. He was awesome in late-clock situations for them and controlled the game. I don’t question if the Eagles have enough talent to win another 20-plus games and make a run to the state tournament. They have the cumulative talent and depth. But it is going to be interesting to see who emerges offensively. Cole Hage seems like the logical bet. Grayson Haman had a really good summer. Cam Van Dam is a super-utility guy; maybe he becomes even more effective as a pure scorer.
Will Legacy be the best Bismarck school?
Bismarck and Bismarck Century were both ahead of Bismarck Legacy last year in the WDA standings and both schools are consistently among the best in the state. But both are staring down the barrel of a rebuild as graduations hit them hard.
Bismarck returns one regular rotation player in Nick Hinscz, who averaged two points per game as a junior. The Demons have some intriguing young talent in Max Tschosik and Gunner Swanson but they’ll be breaking in an entirely new team in 2019-20.
The Patriots aren’t facing quite the same wholesale rebuild, but after Cade Feeney, they are going to be quite green as well. Feeney is one of the best two-way players in the state and he’ll have a lot on his plate. Justice Coleman, Andrew Leingang and Ian Ely saw varsity time off the bench last year and will be relied upon in much higher-wattage roles this year.
Bismarck Legacy has gone to state each of the last two years and returns three starters including double-figure scorers Rhett Clements and Nick Kupfer. Joe Buzalsky and Keagen Woodbury give them two solid returning guards as well. The Sabers have the talent to compete for a top-four spot in the WDA.
Can newcomers help out the West Fargo schools?
West Fargo and West Fargo Sheyenne have really promising returning talent. Matt Miller and Hunter Lyman give the Packers a very good point guard-center combo and Blake Berg and Tyler Terhark form arguably the best wing pairing in the state. Zion Dettman should have little problem stepping into a bigger role for the Mustangs. Carson Hegerle is a breakout candidate on the wing for the Packers.
I like the returning pieces for both teams. The question for both will be what they can get out of the newcomers. The Packers have four solid returners including Carter Birrenkott, but after that, there’s a lot of unknown. The Mustangs are in a similar spot. Both programs have shown a knack for developing kids and there’s little reason to doubt they’ve got players ready to take on bigger roles, but figuring out who they are and the degree to which they can make an impact could decide who wins the EDC.