North Dakota Preps

Any one see the games at Linton Shootout? I was surprised by the out come of both the Linton Hettinger game and the final of the Strasburg Hettinger game. Any one see the games?

I did see the HS vs SZ game. Brody Niewsma was the best player on the floor, and for that day at least, it wasn't close, in my opinion. If you look at the box score, you will see Hayden Sadowsky scored more than Niewsma. Trust me, that is not an accurate barometer of what occurred in the game. Sadowsky had to take more than 20 shots to get his points. I did not see him set up his teammates very well either. Conversely, Niewsma is the engine of SZ in every way and he put himself and his teammates in position to score high percentage baskets consistently throughout the game. HS was missing the younger Kludt, which definitely was a factor. But I see SZ winning this game 9 times out of 10. I did not get to see the LHMB vs HS game the night before but was very impressed with the Lions on Saturday. albeit against a Beach team that I would guess is not in the upper tier of Region 7.

Was at Linton/Hettinger/Scranton.

Linton played a few different defenses. Had a lot of success with the box and 1. I felt Sadowsky was not aggressive enough in commanding the basketball in situations where his team needed to score. Also felt that Linton was just a lot physically stronger. Kludt's injury completely changes the dynamic of that team. I imagine they become a legitimate contender when he gets to 100%.

What kind of injury did Kludt sustain? Did he get injured during the Linton game? Also I see Hettinger is scheduled to play a couple SD teams this week. Harding Co. and Lemmon. Any body know any thing about those teams?

Is Kludt's injury something serious (ACL type thing), or something more like a rolled ankle?

Ankle.

The SZ and HS game was very interesting. HS not having Kludt did make a difference. SZ is a strong team. They played a 1-3-1 zone most of the game that had HS out of whack. HS has not shot well at all in either of their first two games. In my opinion HS will improve and do well. Have to remember that the chemistry might not be there right now, as they have a few new pieces. They need to get back to a team offense as well.

One note about Nieuwsma, he is a very talented kid. Did get in a little foul trouble in the third that had him on the bench for a while, but I could attribute this to the terrible reffing in the game on both sides. Newspaper says 46 fouls; trust me it was hard to watch. Tanner Sanford from HS did play pretty good defense on him, but star players will most always get their points.

Referring to the SD teams from above: Lemmon is an average team. Watched them play last year and nothing impressive. If HS plays up to their potential, should be no problem in this game. Harding County is going to be a tough game from what I have heard. Guess they return some decent players from last year.

The reffing wasn't terrible!! When you have 2 teams always out of control the refs can only do so much and if you don't believe that then grab a whistle my friend!!!!