Notes from the North (1/5/18)
In this installment of Notes from the North, we’ll take a trip around the NHR Top Ten Rankings for teams in Northern Minnesota, as well as highlight a handful of players not on these teams that are putting together some nice starts to their seasons.
Northern MN Teams in the Prep Hoops Top 10
Willmar – #7 in AAA – The Cardinals are off to a 11-0 (4-0 conf.) start with two conference matchups in front of them next week. Tuesday, they will be at home against Fergus Falls and Friday they will be on the road at Sauk Rapids-Rice. Leading the way for Willmar this year is senior Noah Slagter with 21.5 PPG, but perhaps just as important is the depth they have displayed. Six other players are averaging at least 5 PPG, with junior Drey Dirksen chipping in 11.2 PPG and junior Ty Roelofs adding 8.5 PPG.
Perham – #4 in AA – Perham has raced to a 10-0 (3-0 conf.) start, with a conference matchup versus Hawley tonight at home. They have two non-conference tilts at home next week against Park Rapids on Tuesday and Detroit Lakes on Thursday. The Yellowjackets have a trio of players averaging double-figures, juniors Jensen Beachy with 18.5 PPG and Josh Jeziorski with 15.8 PPG, and senior Martin LaFond with 12.7 PPG.
St. Cloud Cathedral – #6 in AA – St. Cloud Cathedral is 7-2 (2-0 conf.) to start the season. The common thread for a lot of these teams is their balanced attacks, and Cathedral is no different. Senior Michael Schaefer is headlining the team with 25.1 PPG. Mitch Plombon in only 5 games is averaging 13.4 PPG for his senior season. Two others are also averaging in double-figures with junior Jackson Baustian-Jangula netting 11.9 PPG and sophomore Jacob Stoltzenberg chipping in 10 PPG. In the coming week, they will be at Pequot Lakes on Tuesday and at Mora on Thursday for a conference matchup.
North Woods – #2 in A – The Grizzlies have been very dominant on their way to a 9-0 start, and they feature one of the most explosive backcourt duos that you will find in northern Minnesota. Senior Tate Olson dropped 36 against Ely on 12/15 and junior Cade Goggleye poured in 62 in a game against South Ridge earlier this season. Next week they have games at Two Harbors on Monday and at home vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl on Friday before they square off with…
Nevis – #7 in A – Nevis has started the season 7-0 (2-0 conf.), but this week will offer a couple of serious tests for the Tigers. On Saturday 1/13 at Duluth East High School they’ll square off against North Woods, pitting two of our top ten teams against each other. They had a long break over the holidays, with no games from 12/19 until beating Northland 112-36 last night. Junior Michael Landquist and senior Tom Wormley are the two players that make Nevis tick, and they’ll need big performances from them this week. Their slate of games starts with a pair of conference games, Pine River-Backus tonight at home, at Walker-Hackensack-Akeley on Tuesday, at Lakeview Christian on Friday, and North Woods on Saturday. However, before Saturday’s matchup with the Grizzlies, they have a huge conference tilt on Thursday at…
Cass Lake-Bena – #6 in A – The Panthers have roared to a 11-0 (3-0 conf.) start on the back of a very balanced scoring attack. In the semis of the Park Rapids Holiday Tourney, they had five players in double-figures; Noah DeLapaz and Arnold Kingbird with 17, Michael Reyes with 15, Ethan Brown with 11 and Jarell Jacobs with 10. Their roster will hopefully get a boost in the next couple of weeks, as they await the return of junior Jared Brown. He averaged double-digits in scoring last season, and has been out all year with a broken finger. CLB beat rival Red Lake the first time around in Red Lake, and the two teams square off again in Cass Lake tonight. Before their matchup against Nevis Thursday they play at Deer River on Tuesday.
Players to Watch
Pelican Rapids is off to a mediocre 4-4 start, but they are hoping the recent performances from Oakley Kress can jump-start their conference portion of the schedule. The senior guard had 22 in a win against Underwood on 12/28 and came back the next day with 29 versus West Central in a loss.
Breckenridge is off to a strong start with a 7-2 record, with their only losses coming to Fergus Falls and Perham by a combined 8 points. Senior Derek Dahlgren and junior Noah Christensen are a dynamic duo that will be tough to match up against down the stretch. Dahlgren had 27 against a tough Perham team, and Christensen had 23 points and 11 boards in a win over Morris last night.
The Becker Bulldogs are off to a sluggish 2-7 start, but one bright spot has been senior Lucas Dertinger. During a three-game stretch in December he posted lines of 29 points and 8 rebounds against Big Lake, 35 and 6 against Princeton, and 40 and 6 against Monticello.
Pine River-Backus is off to a slow start compared to their expectations at 4-4, but they have a couple of players who can consistently score the basketball. Senior Nick Ackerman is averaging 22.4 PPG and junior Torry Hirschey is close behind with 17.6 PPG to start the season.
It has been a tough start to the season for Sartell, currently 1-9, however, they have been getting solid contributions from junior Thomas Gieske. Over the holidays he turned in two very nice games, with 22 against Princeton and 21 against Rogers.