North Dakota Preview: Our Redeemers
Our Redeemers was a mostly middling team through the regular season last year, but got hot at the right time, winning four games in the Region 6 tournament. The Knights earned two excellent wins, beating Bishop Ryan in the District…
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Continue ReadingOur Redeemers was a mostly middling team through the regular season last year, but got hot at the right time, winning four games in the Region 6 tournament. The Knights earned two excellent wins, beating Bishop Ryan in the District 12 tournament and knocking out state-ranked Rugby in the Region 6 semifinals before losing to the Lions in the championship. With a solid core of returners back, Our Redeemers has a chance to be very strong in 2019-20.
KEY RETURNERS: Zach Hendrickson, Levi Weekley, Landon Lang
The Knights graduated just two seniors from last year’s team and return two of their top three scorers.
Zach Hendrickson emerged as a go-to player for ORCS in just his freshman season, showing the ability to create his own shot, get to the rim, knock down shots from the perimeter and make his teammates better. As he gets bigger and stronger, he’ll become even more difficult to slow down. He’ll need to take on an even bigger role as a sophomore with his brother Matthew gone to graduation.
Weekley had his share of big moments for the Knights last year in his sophomore season. The 6-foot-5 forward is an excellent perimeter shooter and has the length to defend multiple players inside and out. He gave the team a consistent third scorer and will now have an elevated offensive role as an upperclassman.
Lang started last year and provides a steady hand with the ball as a secondary playmaker on top of rock-solid defense on the perimeter.
STEPPING INTO NEW ROLES: William Sanders, Ethan Stenvold, Rylan Vibeto, Jared Brown
Sanders was a key role player for the Knights last year as a sophomore, providing solid defense. He’ll take on a bigger role this upcoming winter, starting and likely taking on greater offensive responsibility handling the ball.
Stenvold is a senior who should be able to provide solid depth on the wing.
Vibeto and Brown were on the team last year as freshmen, though neither saw a whole lot of varsity time. They’ll have opportunities to earn minutes in complementary roles this winter and could give the team some juice off the bench.
QUESTION: Can the Knights build off their strong finish to 2018-19?
ORCS was just 8-11 in the regular season last year and lost five games by more than 15 points each. Something clearly clicked in the postseason as the Knights beat Bishop Ryan and Rugby. The talent disparity came back later when a superior Bishop Ryan team beat them in the championship, but the Knights showed they have the ceiling to beat very good teams. Was that run just a flash in the pan? Or could it be a sign of a team full of young guys showing major progress?
SEASON OUTLOOK
Our Redeemers looks like a team that could take a significant step forward in wins this winter. After going 8-11 in the regular season, the Knights finished the year with four more in the postseason. And with five of their top seven guys back, this team has the experience necessary to take strides forward. Hendrickson and Weekley give them two upper-echelon players in the area and there’s a solid core of role players filling in around them. Expect this team to compete towards the top of Region 6 again.