North Dakota Preps

I have created this topic here, as basketball was being discussed in the football topic.

I know Bismarck and Minot have a pretty talented 9th grade class.

Jamestown will strugle after this year, even though they might struggle this year too. But not as bad as they will in the years to come. They do have talent coming up but they are I players and not team players.

Minot has Bosh, Crosby,Renow and Dakota. All Studs and I am probably leaving some of their team out but they should go undefeated this season as freshman, probably won't have a close game unless BHS Freshman can challenge them later in the season.

BHS has Jon Tharldson, Jacob Schulz, Hayden Gibson (Injured), Rolfes, Seibel, Fleck, Neubauer, Keller. When Tharldson and Schulz click these guys are hard to beat, coaches need to keep them together to make this team unbeatable the rest of the year with Gibson out. Minot beat them this weekend easily, but this was not their best effort for BHS after the Gibson injury.

Century has Chris Kraft a real all around kid good at any sport but he is going to need some more support than he has right now.

St Mary's/Mandan will probably struggle but it is early in the year and these young men are changing every day.

Dakota is on the sophmore team, and I think it's spelled Repnow

Does anybody have any scores for that freshman team? Their 3-0 and I hear they've been dominant.

For every 1 pt they give up they are scoring 2pts. And Dakota is playing up so they don't have him on the team.

Bismarck will be a different team when Gibbons does get back and I expect the score to be closer the next time they play. It always a good game between this two teams.

I've heard good things about the states Freshman class.
Minot's standout is Halvorson (Dakota), he's a great point guard, he can shoot, drive, and pass. The kid has a very bright future as he is playing up this year. Also i heard that Minot's freshman team
did top BHS' score, with Gibson out i would assume they're missing a good part of their team. I would think Tharaldsen and Schulz would take over down low though, they work well together. CHS has Kraft, who is a smart player who is very aggressive and strong. He needs some help down low and around the perimeter though. It will be exciting to hear who wins between, BHS, CHS, and MINOT. Three teams that are all around the same skill level.

Century's freshman team beat Minot's by 11. I watched the game.

The Century-Bismarck game should be very telling.

Riley Henderson was very impressive for Century in the game that I watched.

Devils Lake Halvorson(10th)
Wahpeton Christensen(10th)
Davies Tanner Kretchman(10th) Al Bates (9th)
South Colten Lloyd (10th) Drew Fahrman(10th)
Red River Chad Bartosh(10th) Ty Straus(9th)

ndbasketballfan007 wrote:Devils Lake Halvorson(10th)
Wahpeton Christensen(10th)
Davies Tanner Kretchman(10th) Al Bates (9th)
South Colten Lloyd (10th) Drew Fahrman(10th)
Red River Chad Bartosh(10th) Ty Straus(9th)

you forgot:
Patrick Strom(Shanley)soph
Andrew Kozolowski(Davies)soph
^^2 of the best ball players in the state, you CANNOT forget about them. PERIOD.

and al bates is brutal.

I didnt list the obvious. Yes Strom and Kozlowski are the best right now in the East. I was going by the topic. Up and coming. They already came.

ndbasketballfan007 wrote:I didnt list the obvious. Yes Strom and Kozlowski are the best right now in the East. I was going by the topic. Up and coming. They already came.

valid statement

WDA Sophomores Playing.
Ben Weisbeck has 4 double figure games, averaging right under 20 points per game for Saint Mary's.
Scott Nagel is also playing the sixth man role at Saint Mary's averaging about 7 points a game.
Taylor Schafer is sixth man at Bismarck and is averaging about 10 a game. Very good spot up lefty shooter.
Tyler Rudolph is starting at Century and is a very effective shooter at about 6'3".
Colter Hustad is playing off the bench at Minot. Good sized at about 6'5".
Jalen Jeanotte has also been playing big minutes at Turtle Mountain. Solid point guard.

Ben Holen (Century) and Darius Sparks (Saint Mary's) should add depth for their teams as they are both coming back from injury, and are probably in the top 10-15 sophomores in the state.

I do not think any freshmen are playing varsity basketball in the WDA.

Weisbeck and Schafer are really the only 2 sophomores that i am sold on from the WDA the others still have a lot to prove

I agree to an extent. I was listing every sophomore playing varsity in the WDA, however, I may have missed soem from Dickinson, Williston, and Turtle Mountain.

Other than Weisbeck and Jeanotte, none saw minutes as freshmen, and only Weisbeck and Schafer have gone over the 20 point plateau this season. Rudolph was solid in Gillette.

balla45 wrote:I agree to an extent. I was listing every sophomore playing varsity in the WDA, however, I may have missed soem from Dickinson, Williston, and Turtle Mountain.

Other than Weisbeck and Jeanotte, none saw minutes as freshmen, and only Weisbeck and Schafer have gone over the 20 point plateau this season. Rudolph was solid in Gillette.

Pretty sure Williston plays Seth Falcon. I think he's a sophmore. 5'10" guard. This is the only one I know of.

Dylan Skabo plays for Dickinson. 5'10" left handed guard. Really quick. This is all I know of for them.

Darius Sparks had 18 points in his first game of the season coming off a a broken wrist.
Scott Nagel had 8 points and 12 rebounds in his most recent outing.
Tyler Rudolph had 12 points and 8 rebounds in his most recent outing.
Taylor Schafer had 21 points in his most recent outing.

All of these upcoming talented players posted wins.

Indy5 wrote:

balla45 wrote:I agree to an extent. I was listing every sophomore playing varsity in the WDA, however, I may have missed soem from Dickinson, Williston, and Turtle Mountain.

Other than Weisbeck and Jeanotte, none saw minutes as freshmen, and only Weisbeck and Schafer have gone over the 20 point plateau this season. Rudolph was solid in Gillette.

Pretty sure Williston plays Seth Falcon. I think he's a sophmore. 5'10" guard. This is the only one I know of.

Dylan Skabo plays for Dickinson. 5'10" left handed guard. Really quick. This is all I know of for them.

Wow didnt know skabo plays ball, hes really good at football and started there as a freshmen on varsity.

Taylor Schafer is going to be the best from the sophomore class in my opinion

T$$ wrote:Taylor Schafer is going to be the best from the sophomore class in my opinion

I disagree with you.

Just in the WDA, Weisbeck averaged 26 points a game against Bismarck High, and is averaging about 20 points a night right now. I think Sparks and Schafer are playing at about the same level right now. The Minot kid is very talented, but their system does not allow for individual dominance, and he is already 6'5", with a father who is a few inches taller, so 6'7" - 6'9" is not out of the question for him. Rudolph may have the biggest upside in the WDA, as he is already 6'3" and looks like he will continue to grow.

This is not even including Kozlowksi and Strom, who along with Weisbeck have been playing at a higher level than any other sophomore this season. Kretchman is also very talented, but is not able to play this year because of a transfer. Other players like Christenson of Wahpeton and Halvorson of Devil's Lake are impressive as well.

Taylor is in impressive player, and I definitely respect his work ethic. From a pure shooting stand point, he is at or near the top of this class, but has not shown the other skills at this point.

As far as sophmore class talent goes. Bismarck/Mandan schools have plenty. Some are already contributing to Varsity. Weisbeck is definately the best on the court right now. CHS has a very good group of sophs, by the time they are seniors I see Rudolph, Holen, Schatz, Hutchins, Bargmann, Quist, Little, Bjorie Etc...will be one of the top teams in the WDA and the State. BHS, also has a nice group of sophs, they could also be very competative.

Darius Sparks and Scott Nagel of Saint Mary's seem to be the real deal. Sparks has all but one game in double figures (9 points vs. Valley City), and Nagel has come on strong lately, with games of 16 points and 7 rebounds and 17 points and 9 rebounds. Obviously Weisbeck is the real deal, and is quite possibly the best player in the WDA, but definitely in the top 3 along with Werner and Coyle.

Wahpetons ninth grade has not lost this year. closest game was seven points and they played horribly.

Almost missed these.

Schafer went over the 20 point plateau again with a 22 point effort against Jamestown. Hustad reached the 20 point mark against Turtle Mountain.

Irwin's game against Shanley was pretty impressive.