North Dakota Preps

I realize that we are not yet halfway through the football season and this is very premature but I was recently having a basketball discussion and thought that I would put this out here to see if anyone had any early thoughts. I have provided some of mine below:

Lamoure - LM - 2 time defending District champs enter this season as the favorite. This year's edition, however, will have a much different look and approach offensively than the last couple of years. While their calling card will continue to be defense, look for the Loboes to get out and run much more than they have previously. They will be lead by junior Brady Thielges and senior Jared Meikljohn, both very talented guards who can score and defend. Kenny Hodem, a senior, is a smaller guard but is very hard nosed and can stroke it if given room, a very heady player as well. Anthony Olson, a sophomore, was pressed into action late last year with some injuries, and did very well. Defends much bigger than he is and is as quick and athletic as any player you will find in the district. Another sophomore to watch for is Parker Stemen, who played extensively ths summer and continues to get better and better. He will push for a starting role and is going to be very very good. The Alber kid coming over in the LM co-op will help with size and toughness. Lamoure also will have a very promising freshman class with Drew Thielges likely to play major minutes and Quinn Alo also providing size off the bench I could see LLM dropping some games early but will be cranking come playoff time.

Edgeley-Kulm-Marion - The Rebels lost a bunch to graduation but return Logan Hanson and Tallen Berg, two of the better players in the District and Region. Hanson is a left hander who has as pretty as a 13 foot jumper as you will see, very tough to defend. Berg is a hard nosed, athletic defender who can slash and score. Nitscke (cant remember his first name) is another solid player who can shoot. They also have a Johnson kid who is 6-9 and continues to get better. Like Lamoure, a very talented freshman class with Connor Entzi, a likely starter, leading the way. They also get 2 very solid players from Marion who will help with guard play. Once they start playing together, they will be very formidable.

Pingree Buchanan Kensal - The Rebels return everyone from a year ago and will challenge for the District title. Lead by junior Nic Blaiskowki and sophomore Cole Diede, the only potential weakness is depth if they get into foul trouble.

Barnes County North - Lead by twin posts, Brad Clemens and Anderson (first name?), and Jacoby Kramlich, BCN returns some good talent from last years team. Very well coached, the Bison are going to be in the mix for the Dsitrict title.

Ellendale - Coming off a tough season last year, Ellendale is hoping to rebound. They return 3 starters in senior forward James Johnston, junior guard Chase Durheim and sophomore post Adam White. Senior Shawn Hofer is a very quick and athletic guard who can score, Junior Zac Dathe will add some scoring and length, Junior TJ Belmore is a long and athletic defender and rebounder and junior guard Joe Cegla is a tough defender on the dribble. Junior Logan Wang is a strong post player as well and Kellemon Hinton will provide some quickness and athleticism. If they get some solid leadership, and these players can learn to play together and maximise each others strengths, they will significantly improve from their win-loss numbers of last year.

Projected Senior Player of the Year: Logan Hanson, EKM

My predictions:
1. LaMoure-LM
Lost a very talented senior class most notably the region player of the year in T. Thielges. However they have some solid players returning in B. Thielges, Meiklejohn, Hodem, and Olson. Parker Stemen and another Thielges (drew) could also play big roles.
2. Edgeley-Kulm-M
Logan Hanson and berg are two players that have played well for the rebels for three years now. Hanson may be the 2nd best senior in the region behind Jacobson from south border. Nitscke plus the addition of a few Montpelier kids and freshman Conner enzti will also help.
3. Pbk
This spot IMO is up for grabs between the last 3 teams. Blaskowski is a really good scorer and diede is an alright point guard. if they wanna make a push for a district title this would be their year with a decent class of seniors. Although I do not think that will happen.
4. Ellendale
Adam white is a special player and if he can continue to get better he might just be good enough to keep them in some games by himself. Obviously he'll need some help though and that will have to come through Johnston, Enge and Durheim.
5. BCN
Part of the reason I've got them at 5 is because is I don't know too much about them. I know they do have a few good players in Clemens and Kramlich.

Just a note, Jacob Enge, referenced above, transferred back to Frederick. However, Ellendale will have 6'4 Zac Dathe who transferred in from Fargo.

Any thoughts on the upcoming District 5 season?

Big win for EK. That certainly confirms what people have been saying about them having the ability to contend for the district/region. Anyone at the game to give a little breakdown?

Lamoure-LM continues their early season roll with a win 65 to 46 win over Lisbon.

Barnes and Stutsman tourneys will go a long ways toward identifying the contenders and pretenders in District 5 this year.

After seeing a few games of both stutsman and barnes county tournies, I would say It looks like LLM will 3 peat. However, EKM will definitely be in the mix, but who knows if Adam white can dominate and ellendales role players can step up and help with scoring, ellendale could be a contender.

Now that the first part of the season has concluded, here are some thoughts on District 5 teams based on what I have seen.

Lamoure-Litchville-Marion

The Loboes played at the highest level of any dictrict 5 team in December, dropping only one game and beating some quality teams along the way. They simply have the most weapons with B. Thielges, Olson, D. Thielges and Meiklejohn all capable of carrying the scoring load on any given night. Hodem has developed into a defensive stopper and Stemen and Albers are also contributing strongly in their roles. As always, they will defend you from baseline to baseline and make teams earn their points. It will take a great effort to challenge this team.

Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier

A very good, balanced team, also with only one loss yet this season. Led by Hanson who has developed into a very good all around player but also supported by a very good freshman in Entzi who is going to be special. Hanson has great touch out to 15-16 feet and is very effective in the low block. Nitschke is a very good point guard who is flourishing with the opportunity after sitting behind some great players the last couple of years and Berg defends exceptionally well. They gained a lot with the addition of Montpelier, gaining 6 players, 3 of which are contributing significant minutes in Greer, Harr and Miller. If any team in the District can come close to matching the athleticism of LLM, it is EKM, who also defend pretty well.

Pingree Buchanan Kensal

A knee injury to their best player, Nic Blaiskowski, who had just surpassed the 1,000 career points mark, certainly changed the complexion of things for the Rebels. However, the cupboard is far from bare with Baker and Perleberg both stepping up and playing well in his absence. They will also get Diede and Guthmiller back in January which will help greatly as well. This is still a good team that has the ability to make things interesting in the District. Hoping that Nic has a strong recovery, really feel for a kid that worked his butt off in the off season.

Barnes County North

The only team in the District that I havent seen this year. Clemens seems to be having a really good year, as expected and Kramlich and Fletcher also are capable of taking over when needed. It seems like things may be starting to gel for the Bison, they will be even tougher inside when Anderson returns in January. This is always a well coached team that is a tough out for any team in the district.

Ellendale

A season of ups and downs thus far for the Cardinals. When the scoring is balanced and they protect the ball, they can be a good team. Howver, they have been inconsistent on both fronts. White continues to see double and triple teams at times, meaning there are opportunities for other guys to step up, which has happenned at times. White is now being asked to handle the ball more and needs to improve in his decision making and passing. When Johnston sets his feet and squares up, he can be deadly from the outside but he needs to hit the glass more on both ends. Needs to shoot more, in my opinion. Hofer has shown the ability to score which will be needed more consistently during the stretch run. Durheim is a solid point guard with the potential to be very good, he defends well on the ball but could be more assertive on the offensive end. Dathe defends well with his length but needs to be more assertive on the offensive end as well. Wang has contributed solid minutes off the bench and probably has earned even more time, he rebounds well and can defend the post. This team just needs to keep working and coming together as a group.

BCN with a convincing 55 to 27 win over PBK puts them solidly into the District 5 title mix.

LLM over BCN tonight 86 to 45.

A couple important match ups in District 5 tonight.

LLM over EKM 64 to 50
Ellendale over BCN 47 to 44

Here is how the District sits going into the final week of the regular season:

1. Lamoure-LM 3 and 0, PBK left to play.
2. Ellendale 2 and 1, EKM left to play.
3. PBK 1 and 2, LLM left to play.
4. EKM 1 and 2, Ellendale left to play.
5. BCN 1 and 3, done with district play.

With the District 5 regular season now complete, I thought I would get other's thoughts on the All District 5 team, here is my take:

1. LLM - Jared Meiklejohn, Sr., Brady Thielges, Jr., Anthony Olson, So., Kenny Hodem, Sr.
2. EKM - Logan Hanson, Sr., Connor Entzi, Fr.
3. Ellendale - Shawn Hofer, Sr., Adam White, So.
4. BCN - Jacoby Kramlich, Sr.
5. PBK - Shawn Baker, Sr.

Others potentially in the mix: Tallen Berg, Sr., EKM; Brad Clemens, Sr., BCN; James Johnston, Sr., Ellendale, Drew Thielges, Fr., LLM

Just a note that I hope Hodem makes this team, I know on the boys side that teams rarely get 4 players but LLM went unbeaten and really werent pressed in District play, its not a stretch to think that they have 4 (or more really) of the top 10 players in the District. Hodem is 5'6 but I bet he gets 4-5 rebounds a game, great ball handler and is an absolute defensive stopper.

you are sure right about Hodem. He has no quit in him. Last night against SB, he was in the mix under the basket trying to get a rebound. He got shoved out of the lane to the floor, he got back up, dove into the mix head first and came out with the ball. The crowd gave him a standing ovation for hiseffort.

That being said, he is one cog on the gear. Theses guys play hard as a team and coach Thielges doesn't cut them an ounce of slack even when they are up by 20.

A couple of tight contests in the first round of the District 5 tourney in Ellendale last night.

#4 seeded PBK overcame a 6 point halftime deficit to defeat # 5 seeded BCN on a shot from Cody Horn that fell at the buzzer. PBK moves on to play LLM on Monday. Monster game from Brad Clemens of BCN, virtually unstoppable.

#3 seeded Ellendale defeated #2 seeded EKM 46 to 43 for the first time in 3 meetings this year. Shawn Hofer, Zach Dathe and Adam White teaming up to lead Ellendale to the victory. Freshman Connor Entzi from EKM with another good effort. This young man continues to develop into a very good player. Ellendale will now wait to face the LLM vs PBK winner in the District 5 championship. At the beginning of the season, the Cardinals were picked to finish last in the District. EKM will face BCN in a Regional qualifier game on Monday.

Monday games predictions:

#1 LLM over #4 PBK 55 to 39. Loboes are just too balanced and defend too well for the
Rebels. Cole Diede gives them a shooters chance but at the end of the day, I see Kenny Hodem shutting him down.

#2 EKM over #5 BCN 51 to 42. Seniors Logan Hanson and Tallen Berg will not let the Rebels season end short of the Regional. Clemens and Jacoby Kramlich will certainly have something to say about that but I think the Rebels prevail with their depth and athleticism.

District 5 Tournament games tonight are postponed until Tues, 2.19.
3rd night date and time TBD.