ndfan wrote:State champion the last ten years if u had to rank them one through ten how would it go.
2000 Fargo oak grove
2001 north border
2002 mpcg
2003 mpcg
2004 Dickinson trinity
2005 new rockford shyenne
2006 trinity
2007 parshall
2008 grafton
2009 linton
1. 2001 North Border - Came out of Region 2 when it was as strong as it had ever been. Beat MPCG in the first round of regionals who as we saw went on to win two state championships in a row following that year. Beat Fordville-Lankin by 27 who was ranked high in the polls all year all before the championship game. Beat defending state champion Oak Grove in the first round by 9 when nobody gave them a chance. The next night beat Dickinson Trinity who was also favored to win and then the game against one of the best teams in ND history not to win a state title, the 2001 Cando Cubs. Finished 26-2, had 5 all-conference caliber players in the starting line-up. This team would've ran a few of these teams off the floor that are on this list.
2. 2003 MPCG - Two Mr. Basketball finalists in the starting line-up, finished undefeated, One of the best MPCG teams of all-time. Very close to #1 on the list. NB's road to the title and total body of work in their first year together was more impressive.
3. 2000 Oak Grove - Great team, finished unbeaten and would give most teams huge match-up problems with Aaron Ankrum and Sean Keating in the game.
4. 2005 New Rockford Cheyenne - Very decorated group of seniors as far as sports goes. Played in the best State Championship game I've ever seen. Starting 5 line-up one of the most complete on the list.
5. 2002 MPCG - Came out of Region 2 when the top four finishers were all ranked in the top 10 of the state poll. Weren't as dominant as the 2003 team and had close calls in state tournament. Incredible on defense, played in one of the lowest scoring championship games in tournament history. I think the final was 39-36 with Craig Nelson sealing the win with a steal on Berthold's last possession.
6. 2008 Grafton - Really got hot in tournament play, almost didn't make the state tournament after a crazy Region championship game with Midway-Minto. Had everything you want in a team to go deep in a tournament. Dominant big man (Kliniske), good shooters (Wysoscki & Medina), solid defense in backcourt (Collette & Holland), good rebounding after AK, (White brothers). Would be tough against anyone on this list.
7. 2007 Parshall - Fun team to watch. Packineau brothers are almost impossible to match-up and keep up with. I forget the name of their post player that was the final piece of their big three but he was tough offensively and played great in the state tournament. Very good team.
8. 2006 Dickinson Trinity - I like this team better than the 04 team because I felt they had more threats and were just as good defensively. Played in a "boring" title game to most common fans but that was one of the better defensive games I've ever watched. Two coaches that live and die by defense and whose teams mirror that philosophy went at each other and the Titans win their 2nd championship in 3 years off a buzzer beater from future Bison football player Landon Smith.
9. 2004 Dickinson Trinity - This one might raise some eyebrows but after Chad Glasser I don't seem to remember a whole lot of other firepower on this team. If you have a team good defensively or a standout defender which most of these teams ahead of them do have, I think you'd have a lot of success against them. Great team though, Chad Glasser played amazing in the state tournament. It's too bad Cavalier got beat in the semi's it would've been fun to watch Glasser-Trenbeath battle like they did in the fall that year in the state championship football game.
10. 2009 Linton - This one might not sit too well with everyone out there since it was so recent and they were convincing in their wins. I just don't think the field was that strong when they played and think any of these other teams would give them a lot of problems.
There isn't a "bad" team on this list so hopefully nobody takes offense to this. Hard to take the 10 champions of a decade and decide who goes where 1-10 but this is my opinion on it.