North Dakota Preps

This forum seems to generate around the "best" players- but typically this is based on offense- points per game, etc. I would like to hear your opinions on players who aren't necessarily the stars on their teams but are the ones that come out every night, hustle their butts off- diving after loose balls, playing great defense, etc- but are really not their team's main go-to offensive player. I've been a fan of basketball for many years and I still love watching kids who bring their heart into every game, even if they aren't putting up 15+ points/night. I think we seem to forget about the players that aren't necessarily the stars of their team but make their teams better as a whole.

I really like the idea of this topic, but unfortunately, because they're SILENT difference makers I can't really think of anyone

Obviously you don't get my point. I used the word "silent" for the case being these aren't your typical stars (the ones that get all the glory for scoring 30 points in a game). I've seen some very good scorers play incredibly horrible defense. The normal fan sitting in the stands probably doesn't notice the guy that's working his butt off, causing turnovers on defense, hustling after every loose ball. Most seasonal fans pick out the guy that's making all the points- that's what stands out to them. Next game you go to, pay a little more attention to the players making these plays, there's typically one on every team (if you're lucky you have more than one). I guess I made this topic to give these kids some recognition since typically they are overlooked.

Tanner Sanford- Hettinger-Scranton

Oak Grove's Blake Richards & Luke Teigen - both are hard-working defenders that don't score very often. Richards has the capability to score and has come up huge in two games this year (20 & 11).

sportsphenom wrote:Obviously you don't get my point. I used the word "silent" for the case being these aren't your typical stars (the ones that get all the glory for scoring 30 points in a game).

I got what you meant dude. I was joking.
Dalton Steede from Our Redeemer's comes off the bench as a 6'8" sophomore and puts in hard defensive minutes. Blocks shots but not in a super exciting way, just a smart way. If they kept track of a ratio that was shot attempts over or near you:shots that went in over or near you he'd lead the state in that statistic. If he had the same offensive game as he did defensive he'd be a name everyone would know.

Another big guy who I feel like not a lot of people know is Brock Messer from Dickinson Trinity. I've only seen him play a couple times but he's a big presence on the court. If he doesn't block he'll adjust shots and gets really good offensive position. He'll give a good turn and hook if you need it. While he may not be the star, the game feels different when he's in.

sportsphenom wrote:This forum seems to generate around the "best" players- but typically this is based on offense- points per game, etc. I would like to hear your opinions on players who aren't necessarily the stars on their teams but are the ones that come out every night, hustle their butts off- diving after loose balls, playing great defense, etc- but are really not their team's main go-to offensive player. I've been a fan of basketball for many years and I still love watching kids who bring their heart into every game, even if they aren't putting up 15+ points/night. I think we seem to forget about the players that aren't necessarily the stars of their team but make their teams better as a whole.

In order to encourage a "Never give up" attitude and facilitate the hard work and team player ethics, Lets give some shout outs to the unsung heroes of the 2015-2016 Basketball Season, play-makers and the likes of big dreamers and success driven basketball athletes. Let them know that we were watching and we saw what they did. I didn't see it all, but sure like to read about them.

Edger wrote:

sportsphenom wrote:This forum seems to generate around the "best" players- but typically this is based on offense- points per game, etc. I would like to hear your opinions on players who aren't necessarily the stars on their teams but are the ones that come out every night, hustle their butts off- diving after loose balls, playing great defense, etc- but are really not their team's main go-to offensive player. I've been a fan of basketball for many years and I still love watching kids who bring their heart into every game, even if they aren't putting up 15+ points/night. I think we seem to forget about the players that aren't necessarily the stars of their team but make their teams better as a whole.

In order to encourage a "Never give up" attitude and facilitate the hard work and team player ethics, Lets give some shout outs to the unsung heroes of the 2015-2016 Basketball Season, play-makers and the likes of big dreamers and success driven basketball athletes. Let them know that we were watching and we saw what they did.

I like this Idea, but IMO these are different players usually

hard work
team player ethics
play makers
big dreamers
success driven....

winner-within wrote:
I like this Idea, but IMO these are different players usually

hard work
team player ethics
play makers
big dreamers
success driven....

I agree. Redfox and ThreeIrons are top notch examples, but I'm sure that there are more out there who contributed in a big way or big ways.

Broncos811 wrote:

sportsphenom wrote:Obviously you don't get my point. I used the word "silent" for the case being these aren't your typical stars (the ones that get all the glory for scoring 30 points in a game).

I got what you meant dude. I was joking.
Dalton Steede from Our Redeemer's comes off the bench as a 6'8" sophomore and puts in hard defensive minutes. Blocks shots but not in a super exciting way, just a smart way. If they kept track of a ratio that was shot attempts over or near you:shots that went in over or near you he'd lead the state in that statistic. If he had the same offensive game as he did defensive he'd be a name everyone would know.

Another big guy who I feel like not a lot of people know is Brock Messer from Dickinson Trinity. I've only seen him play a couple times but he's a big presence on the court. If he doesn't block he'll adjust shots and gets really good offensive position. He'll give a good turn and hook if you need it. While he may not be the star, the game feels different when he's in.

Big Messer fan.

A silent difference-maker in Region 1 is Nick Mauch from Hankinson.

He's their point guard, a 3 year starter, and is a very good defender. He rarely ever turns the ball over. I'd say he falls in this category because Region 1 has had a lot of very big name guards - but Nick can compete with anyone & can definitely take over a game as he proved against Oak Grove this year. Think he had 29 points in that one.

He's been a very consistent player and hard-worker for the Pirates, when he's off the court you can really see a difference in their team's play. I expect him to take on more of a leadership & scoring role in 2016-2017, and to be a top 10 player in Region 1 as a Senior.