The EDC Power Rankings
The 2016-17 season is just around the corner and we started things with the Power Rankings in the EDC. Fargo Davies (1). There are a couple seniors that need to be replaced (Olson and Rayl) but there is more than…
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Continue ReadingThe 2016-17 season is just around the corner and we started things with the Power Rankings in the EDC.
Fargo Davies (1). There are a couple seniors that need to be replaced (Olson and Rayl) but there is more than enough talent on this roster to overcome their graduation. Leading scorers and top producers Jake Paper and Matt Veit return from a 21 win team plus Andy Bear, Ty Settness, Jaden Klabo, and Casey Axtman are all capable of big contributions. Big expectations and rightfully so, they are serious contenders to win the title.
West Fargo (2). What is next for the state runner up? Good question. The frontcourt graduated but tough guy point guard Simon Haboniman and big game shooter Joe Pistorius return. Having that level or returning guard will keep them in contention for the top of the league and up front Matt Thompson and Cooper Chwialkowski should cushion some of the graduation blow. Expect guard guard Abdi Sufi to help on the wing.
Devils Lake (3). They return Zach Dahlen and Jacob Mertens who are two of the best players in the state and four of their top five scorers. This is the year that they have been working towards for a long time and expectations will be very high for them. Nik Desai and Hunter Fee are key pieces for the team.
GF Red River (4). Austin Slaughter and Jordan Polynice are versatile and talented kids that should have big years plus Cody Robertson is solid. They should have some expectations for next year without a doubt but they had a load of talent last year and every game we watched them play they didn’t seem to have any type of consistent plan of attack so they lost 11 games. Don’t count them out as they have talent but they need consistency.
WF Sheyenne (5). They won 11 games last year which is short of expectations but the Mustangs have seven of their top eight guys back including leading scorers Chase Erickson and Collin Trottier not to mention Christian Kuntz, Josh Thiele, Hayden Reynolds, Carter Bonnema, and Gavin Moeller all return after productive contributing seasons. They should take a big jump with nearly the entire team returning.
Fargo North (6). Expect a big jump for Fargo North next year after a 13-11 season. They have Siman Sem back to run the high paced offense and five of their top six players from last year overall in a big senior class that will have high expectations. Matt Pietsch, Aaron Matejka, and Dan Hollaar all return.
Fargo Shanley (7). The 2018 class of kids looks very promising. They played a good part in getting Shanley 13 wins and they will only get better as Cam Saville, Jake Kava, and Kaleb Christmann all return and will have others from their class soon joining. Senior-to-be Jake Reinholz will also be a key piece next season.
Valley City (8). The Hi-Liners pulled some upsets last year but they were young and at times lacking consistency. Top three scorers Hunter Burchill, Levi Nix, and sharp shooter Nate Rodriguez all return and they should add about five or six wins to their total. They did have nice wins over North, Sheyenne, and Davies a year ago and they will be capable of those type of wins next year.
Fargo South (9). Improved to 6 wins last year and we really like Caleb Johnson but three of the top four players graduated and there just doesn’t seem to be enough experience to improve much on last year’s victory total.
Wahpeton (10). The top returning scorer from a team that won seven games last year is Devin Wichael who had 32 points for the year. Every contributor with more graduated. This is going to be an entire new team and expectations are very low right now.
GF Central (11). Winless last year but they do return Debyn Johnson in the backcourt and Aaron Knutson up front but they need more help than that. Expect a couple wins though.