North Dakota Catchup: Region 4
The season is approaching its end. With less than a month left in the regular season, teams all across the state are hoping to be rounding into form and playing their best ball. With two months worth of interesting development…
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Continue ReadingThe season is approaching its end. With less than a month left in the regular season, teams all across the state are hoping to be rounding into form and playing their best ball. With two months worth of interesting development to this point, now is a good time to take a quick look at the landscape of hoops in North Dakota ahead of the postseason.
Here’s where things stand in the Region 4:
Four Winds/Minnewaukan, St. John Top The Rankings
If there was any doubt that Region 4 is the best in the state before the year started, there can’t be any now. Four Winds/Minnewaukan was a consensus top-three team in the state in the preseason and several others were viewed as potential top-10 teams. Fast forward to February and Region 4 is represented in the top two spots as the Indians are the No. 1 team in Class B while St. John is ranked No. 2.
Four Winds has been dominant throughout the year, losing just once (to Thompson last week, thanks in part to a banked in free throw) on the season. The Indians’ high-end talent, size, athleticism, skill and depth have been on display at various points all year. Doug Yankton’s missed some time, and the team hasn’t missed a beat. When he’s playing, he’s elite. But the Indians have better depth than just about anybody else in the state. Bronson Walter is one of the best big men in Class B. JaeShaun Shaw and Jayden Yankton have both taken steps forward in their game. And after those two, Four Winds has another four or five guys that can play and produce in complementary fashion.
St. John was a fringe top-10 team in the preseason and have risen to the No. 2 team in Class B thanks to a 14-1 start to the season. The Woodchucks haven’t been tested near as much as some of the other top teams in the state, but they’ve got good wins over New Rockford-Sheyenne (the only team to beat St. John), Beulah and Cavalier plus have games remaining with Hatton/Northwood and Langdon/Edmore/Munich. The strength for the Woodchucks is undoubtedly their offensive balance, as five guys average at least 12 points per game. They don’t have a lot of size, but Bradley Defender is one of the best two-way players in Class B. Michael Dunn has taken his game to another level as a junior. Zach Anderson is a talented scorer even if he hasn’t shot the ball as well as he did a year ago. Tyreece Gunville and Adam Jollie are rock-solid as well.
New Rockford-Sheyenne Battle Tested
The Rockets won Region 4 a year ago, upsetting Four Winds/Minnewaukan in the region finals to get to state. With two starters from that team back, there was a belief that the Rockets would be competitive again in 2019-20. To this point, they’ve been a mixed bag, taking losses to elite teams like Rugby, Four Winds, Hatton/Northwood and St. John while earning impressive wins over teams like Shiloh Christian, St. John and Langdon/Edmore/Munich. Bo Belquist is one of the best guards in the state and Hunter Thompson has been steady in his senior year. Evan Ulrich is having a solid junior year and can dominate the paint like few other guys in the region. Nathan Holzwarth and Nick Berglund have been excellent in complementary roles. If there’s a weakness with this team, it’s the lack of scoring juice. But the Rockets have the experience, defensive ability and athleticism to beat anybody.
LEM, Dunseith Peaking
Langdon/Edmore/Munich has been in and out of the top-10 a couple times throughout the year but seems to be peaking now. The Cardinals have won five of their last six and currently sit at 13-4 on the year with games against St. John and Midkota still to go. Grant and Simon Romfo have been terrific all year and the depth and balance are strengths for this group.
After a brutal start to the year, Dunseith has won six games in a row to improve to 10-7 on the season. The Dragons took losses early to teams like Rugby, Dickinson Trinity, St. John, Shiloh Christian and LEM, but have gotten right in recent weeks. They finish the year with Four Winds and Rugby, so it’ll be interesting to see if they are geared up to make noise in the postseason or if they’ve simply taken advantage of a soft portion of the schedule.
Benson County, Dakota Prairie Lurking
What makes Region 4 so tough isn’t just that it is loaded at the top – it’s got incredible depth. It’s got seven teams in the top-33 of the QRF with Benson County and Dakota Prairie both enjoying strong seasons to this point.
Benson County is 12-4 with a season split against Dakota Prairie plus double-digit losses to Four Winds, St. John and LEM. Carter Tandeski is one of the best forwards in the region and the Wildcats have an experienced group that can defend and pound the paint.
Dakota Prairie is 10-5 on the year with four games left against some solid competition. The Knights have a solid outfit with guys who have experience, can hit shots and defend but ultimately this team’s fate rests with superstar senior guard Tyler Loe. One of the best pure scorers in the state, Loe is capable of popping 30-plus points on anybody – which can make any team uncomfortable in a win-or-go-home setting.