North Dakota Catchup: WDA
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…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
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 WDA:
Jamestown Alone At The Top
The Bluejays went into the year as the No. 1 team in the state, lost that spot for about a week when they lost to Minot, regained it and haven’t looked back. It’s been a mostly dominant season for a Jamestown team that, despite breaking in almost an entirely new core, hasn’t shown any sort of greenness. Everybody knows about Boden Skunberg and he’s been terrific in a lot of areas beyond simply piling up points, but the Bluejays have gotten predictable breakouts and then some from guys like Carson Lamp (15.6 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.4 assists), Brooks Carroll (15.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, 42% 3-pointers) and Keith Levin (8.7 points, 8.0 rebounds). This team has the depth, the shooting, the size, the high-end talent and the defensive acumen to win another state title.
Demons Skip Rebuilding, Go Straight To Contending
Nobody turned over the roster as much as Bismarck from last year to this year. The Demons rolled out an all-senior lineup last year and it was marginally successful. Coming into this year, the whole thing changed and nobody knew what to expect. The results have been overwhelmingly positive as Bismarck is in the driver’s seat for the No. 2 spot in the WDA thanks to incredible depth and a defensive style that nobody is prepared for. Bismarck comes at you in waves defensively, pressing and trapping all over the floor, turning teams over and putting up bulk numbers with pace (at the cost of efficiency). Sophomore forward Treysen Eaglestaff and a junior core featuring Max Tschosik, Gunner Swanson and Logan Schaubert all average double figures in scoring and five more guys average 4-8 points per game.
Minot In The Thick of Things
When it comes to talent from top-to-bottom, few can match the Magicians on the offensive end of the floor. The backcourt duo of Jaxon Gunville (23.4 points and 4.0 made 3-pointers per game) and Deonte Martinez (14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists) has been as advertised as one of the elites in the state and Easton Larson (12.6 points, 8.1 rebounds) has been consistent inside. The Magicians get enough solid play from the complementary guys like Tucker Olson, Derry Lentz and Caden Johnson to keep them right there with Bismarck in the hunt for the No. 2 spot in the league.
Bismarck Century and Bismarck Legacy In The Hunt Despite Inconsistency
Bismarck Century went into this year with more questions and unknown than many of the previous years and while the Patriots haven’t been great, they’ve got an established style of play and culture that keeps them on the map. The formula of Cade Feeney, slow tempo and elite defense is proven to bleed wins while role players like Ian Ely, Jordan LeBeau and Anthony Doppler find their collective way.
In a year where a number of teams have dealt with injury problems, no team has been hit harder by it than Bismarck Legacy. The Sabers lost what should’ve been two perimeter starters including arguably their best returning player in Nick Kupfer before the season started and has seen a number of regulars miss time throughout the year. Rhett Clements has taken his game to another level as a senior and a sophomore/junior core of Ben Patton, Keagen Woodbury, Logan Wetzel and Zander Albers has progressed nicely as the season’s gone along.
Dickinson and Mandan heading in opposite directions
Heading into the year, there was a lot of optimism surrounding Dickinson and Mandan as potential contenders in the WDA. Mandan did it a year ago and was returning perhaps the best duo in the state with Elijah Klein and Jaxton Wiest while Dickinson required some projection but returned an experienced and talented core, yet to realize success.
Early in the year, it looked like Dickinson was on its way towards realizing that success, earning solid wins and getting phenomenal play from Jaiden Wright and Kobe Krenz. Mandan wasn’t enjoying that success, struggling without Wiest (injured/hobbled to start the year) and breaking in new varsity regulars around Klein.
Fast forward to the turn of the calendar and Dickinson has fallen on hard times, suffering three straight losses with matchups against Jamestown, Mandan and Minot coming in the next two weeks. It’s been too much Wright, Krenz and friends as the Midgets attack has become unbalanced.
Mandan, coincidentally since a loss to Dickinson, has won four straight and is now in the mix for a top-four spot in the league. Wiest is back and while he’s finding his way still offensively, he impacts the game immensely and guys like Jayce Lowman (14.8 points per game) and Tyler Thilmony (9.7 points, 40% 3-point shooting) have emerged as difference-makers. Klein hasn’t put up ridiculous numbers (19.4 points and 9.2 rebounds) but his presence is unquestionable.
Both of these teams have shown that at their best, they are capable of beating anyone even if those stretches have come and gone at times. Can Dickinson turn things around over the next few weeks? Can Mandan continue its surge towards the top of the league? The next few weeks of the year and the WDA Tournament (which will be a bloodbath) will be very interesting.
Other Noteworthy Things
It hasn’t been a great year for Bismarck St. Mary’s as the Saints are just 4-11 on the season. But there’s reason for optimism in the form of what looks like a really solid class of sophomores coming up the ranks. Nick Schumacher, Jackson Uhler and Evan Gross (11.6 points on 38 percent 3-pointers) all have shown signs of growth this year and look like solid building blocks for the future.
Tristin Davis has taken a big step forward for Turtle Mountain with Wyatt Enno out. The junior guard is averaging 16.8 points on solid efficiency plus 6.9 rebounds and 4.0 assists.
It’s been a long year for Watford City, but senior forward La’Vores Monroe has been a double-double machine, averaging 14 points and 10.6 rebounds.
Williston was a team that went into the year with some optimism about taking a step forward, but the Coyotes have struggled mightily. Jorn Everson is averaging 16.3 points and 5.3 rebounds and he’s got the ability to do a lot of good things and impact the game, but he hasn’t taken as big of a sophomore-to-junior jump as I thought he would. Will Olson is turning in a nice statistical season, averaging 18 points on solid efficiency plus 6.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists.