Surprises So Far - Good and Bad

[defensewinsgames]

Most teams are at the half way point in terms of number of games right now. What are some of the surprises so far in each region? Teams that are doing better than expected, teams that are not doing as well as expected, unexpected players standing out, etc. Let's hear what you got!

[Sportsrube]

I don't know about surprises, but it is pretty obvious that the power in Class B Boys is sitting in the eastern half of the state. Four Winds, Kindred, Enderlin, Thompson, Central Cass, HVC........ I know anything can happen in a State Tournament, but I see the east dominating it this year. Beulah may be an exception but after that I would be surprised if any western team made a run at State.

[chief45]

I don't know about surprises, but it is pretty obvious that the power in Class B Boys is sitting in the eastern half of the state. Four Winds, Kindred, Enderlin, Thompson, Central Cass, HVC........ I know anything can happen in a State Tournament, but I see the east dominating it this year. Beulah may be an exception but after that I would be surprised if any western team made a run at State.

Anytime you have a talent like Beulah has you have a chance, but after watching 5 Beulah Games I just don't think they have enough firepower to compete with the Kindreds & Four Winds of the state. With that being said, if I had to pick some west teams to try and compete I would take Beulah (Stud player gives them a chance), Bismarck Shiloh Christian (Size and depth), Bowman County? (Young but good Guard Play). Again these are like dart throws, I'm not saying these teams would win, but they could compete on a good night.

[The Schwab]

I don't know about surprises, but it is pretty obvious that the power in Class B Boys is sitting in the eastern half of the state. Four Winds, Kindred, Enderlin, Thompson, Central Cass, HVC........ I know anything can happen in a State Tournament, but I see the east dominating it this year. Beulah may be an exception but after that I would be surprised if any western team made a run at State.

Anytime you have a talent like Beulah has you have a chance, but after watching 5 Beulah Games I just don't think they have enough firepower to compete with the Kindreds & Four Winds of the state. With that being said, if I had to pick some west teams to try and compete I would take Beulah (Stud player gives them a chance), Bismarck Shiloh Christian (Size and depth), Bowman County? (Young but good Guard Play). Again these are like dart throws, I'm not saying these teams would win, but they could compete on a good night.

IMO the Region 1 champ will play FWM in the late game on Saturday at the "B". Those two teams will be quite a bit better than the other 6 teams that will be at the state tournament. IMO the region 7 champion will be just as good or better than those other region champs not named (Kindred, Enderlin or FWM). If I had to pick a winner of region 7 right now, I would say that Bowman will come out.

[defensewinsgames]

Here are a few teams out east I'm "surprised about":

Positive:
- Northern Cass: Wasn't sure what they would have after losing Crockett but I didn't think they would be as good as they are right now (played North Border and Enderlin close). Looking at the standings this region is pretty much where it was picked in the Hoopster at the start of the year but Northern Cass is going to be a sneaky team come regionals I think.

- PRFL: They are 5 and 1 in the region right now (only loss to MayPort on December 16th). Now they have all of the top teams left to play so we will see where it ends up but even if this team ends up 5 or 6 in the region, they were picked 9th in the Hoopster so playing better than expected. Looking at region 2 that was the one that surprised me where they currently sat.

- South Border: same deal as PRFL. They are 5 and 6 right now when they were picked to finish at the bottom of that district. Have a couple nice wins over NGS and Kidder.

- North Star: I knew they would be good but as young as they were I didn't think it would be this good. 10 and 1 with a win over Rugby is a good place to be right now.

Negative:
- HCV: they have played a brutal schedule so I understand that. The 6-5 isn't as surprising to me as just what some of those losses are. Two losses to Thompson including a drumming in Thompson, a drumming at Four winds, and a drumming vs. Enderlin. Has me questioning if they belong in that top tier.

- Langdon: I knew there would be a drop off but a slide to 3-7, I didn't see coming. Losses to Cavalier, HN, Rolla all at home are a bit surprising. They are young and really won't lose anyone going into next year but I thought they would play good enough defense this year to keep them fighting for .500.

- Dakota Prairie: I still think this team is going to be dangerous come a tournament setting because they have two good players when they are playing well. The guard is an outstanding player. Another case where the losses are more puzzling to me than the record. Hatton by 20, Langdon by 20, and Cavalier by 20 are all games I thought they would probably win but at least be competitive in.

[vikingman]

Ditto on North Star. Ranked 24th in Hoopster, starting one senior and then the next 6 players are sophs or younger, only loss is to 4 Winds. Ranked 11th now.

Dane Hagler is quite the player. He probably wouldn't impress people from Kindred or 4Winds so much, but I was at Cando for 35 years and never saw anyone who could dunk like that. I've only seen 2 or 3 games, but he's had more dunks in those games than Vote or Hagler had in their entire careers.

Yes, Evan Lindahl had some great dunks, but I'm much more impressed with seeing 6'4" dunking than 6'9"

[defensewinsgames]

Ya other than the one senior they play all Sophomores (one junior plays a little I think).

[maddog1971]

My surprise of the year is Powers Lake. After talking with many from Powers Lake last year at the B, I was told that the community new they would compete but not be ranked as one of the best teams in the state and to actually be favored to be back at state. Also Central Cass. I am really surprised to see them playing that well. I was expecting quite a bit more from Sargent County. They have a really good team but it is not coming together for them right now the way I know they can play. and Thompson. Way better than I thought they would be. They have been surprising teams early. Hopefully they can keep it together all season.

[chief45]

My surprise of the year is Powers Lake. After talking with many from Powers Lake last year at the B, I was told that the community new they would compete but not be ranked as one of the best teams in the state and to actually be favored to be back at state. Also Central Cass. I am really surprised to see them playing that well. I was expecting quite a bit more from Sargent County. They have a really good team but it is not coming together for them right now the way I know they can play. and Thompson. Way better than I thought they would be. They have been surprising teams early. Hopefully they can keep it together all season.

I like Powers Lake, Small Town Good ol' class B Basketball. They have an excellent Coach, but my only knock on them is that they have not played any top tier competition. That is not their fault, and they are still definitely favorites out of Region 8. I fully expect them to come out of region 8, but I do not consider them a top 10 team.

Thompson looks really good. I have watched 5 of their games and they impress me more and more every time I watch. They are disciplined and their Freshman play much older than they are. Even with their loss against Kindred last night I would consider them the favorites to come out of Region 2.

Have not seen Central Cass Play, but they hung around with Enderlin, so I expect them to be a tough out come postseason.

[Sportsrube]

As far as Region 3/District 6 goes I would consider Medina-Pingree-Buchanon somewhat of a surprise. They have 5 or 6 wins already and will probably come in as the #2 or #3 cede in the District Tournament. Coach Young has been thru some difficult seasons and is finally enjoying some success.

[WalkingStick]

Region 1
Positives: Sargent County - Some very quality wins over OG & Dunseith on the season.
Negatives: Oak Grove - but this is one team no one wants to play come tournament time no matter their seeding; they always seem to get things figured out after getting battled tested during season.

Top 4 Predictions: Enderlin, Kindred, Central Cass, Northern Cass

Region 2
Positives: Thompson
Negatives: HCV - however they will be just fine, in my eyes. They just need to figure out more effective scoring...they've struggled as of late against good teams.

Top 4 Predictions: Thompson, Hillsboro-Central Valley, North Border, Grafton (Top 3 interchangeable honestly)

Region 3
Positives: Medina/Pingree-Buchanan, South Border, LaMoure-LM
Negatives: Linton-HMB - I don't see them as D6 favorites and if they don't win their district, they won't be in the final 4

Top 4 Predictions: LaMoure-LM, Ellendale, Medina/Pingree-Buchanan, Edgeley-Kulm-Montpelier

Region 4
Positives: North Star - For reasons already given above
Negatives: Dunseith - struggled more than I thought they would.

Top 4 Predictions: Four Winds-Minnewaukan, North Star, Dunseith, Harvey-Wells County,

Region 5
Positives: Standing Rock, Wilton-Wing, Flasher
Negatives: New Salem-Almont - Season is still young and this obviously can/will change

Top 4 Predictions: Flasher, Shiloh Christian, Standing Rock, New Salem-Almont

Region 6
Positives: Surrey
Negatives: Rugby - not our Rugby of old probably, Des Lacs-Burlington

Top 4 Predictions: Bishop Ryan, Surrey, Rugby, Our Redeemer's

Region 7
Positives: Bowman County, Beach
Negatives: Beulah - Struggled a bit too much early on.

Top 4 Predictions: Bowman County, Dickinson Trinity, Hazen, Beulah

Region 8
Don't know enough here to give much of a rundown...Powers Lake hasn't really played anyone so I'm not sure how to take their undefeated record and squeaking by poorer teams.

Top 4 Predictions: Stanley, Powers Lake, Divide County, Trenton

[hoophoophoop]

Here are a few teams out east I'm "surprised about":

Positive:
- Northern Cass: Wasn't sure what they would have after losing Crockett but I didn't think they would be as good as they are right now (played North Border and Enderlin close). Looking at the standings this region is pretty much where it was picked in the Hoopster at the start of the year but Northern Cass is going to be a sneaky team come regionals I think.

- PRFL: They are 5 and 1 in the region right now (only loss to MayPort on December 16th). Now they have all of the top teams left to play so we will see where it ends up but even if this team ends up 5 or 6 in the region, they were picked 9th in the Hoopster so playing better than expected. Looking at region 2 that was the one that surprised me where they currently sat.

- South Border: same deal as PRFL. They are 5 and 6 right now when they were picked to finish at the bottom of that district. Have a couple nice wins over NGS and Kidder.

- North Star: I knew they would be good but as young as they were I didn't think it would be this good. 10 and 1 with a win over Rugby is a good place to be right now.

Negative:
- HCV: they have played a brutal schedule so I understand that. The 6-5 isn't as surprising to me as just what some of those losses are. Two losses to Thompson including a drumming in Thompson, a drumming at Four winds, and a drumming vs. Enderlin. Has me questioning if they belong in that top tier.

- Langdon: I knew there would be a drop off but a slide to 3-7, I didn't see coming. Losses to Cavalier, HN, Rolla all at home are a bit surprising. They are young and really won't lose anyone going into next year but I thought they would play good enough defense this year to keep them fighting for .500.

- Dakota Prairie: I still think this team is going to be dangerous come a tournament setting because they have two good players when they are playing well. The guard is an outstanding player. Another case where the losses are more puzzling to me than the record. Hatton by 20, Langdon by 20, and Cavalier by 20 are all games I thought they would probably win but at least be competitive in.

Its pretty funny that PRFL are 5-1 in their region, and they only win Richland has is against them by 20, Region 1 will always be the toughest region hands down

[The Schwab]

Its pretty funny that PRFL are 5-1 in their region, and they only win Richland has is against them by 20, Region 1 will always be the toughest region hands down

Region 1 has been very tough the last few years and is always a very good region, but they are not always the toughest region.

[WalkingStick]

Its pretty funny that PRFL are 5-1 in their region, and they only win Richland has is against them by 20, Region 1 will always be the toughest region hands down

Region 1 has been very tough the last few years and is always a very good region, but they are not always the toughest region.

PRFL isn’t really that good…they have played a weak part of their region schedule so far…so calling R1 strong because an improved Richland squad rolled a decent & improved PRFL team (likely to finish in the 7-9 spot of R2) is pretty unknown and biased.

[justplayalready]

Region 6
Positives: Surrey
Negatives: Rugby - not our Rugby of old probably, Des Lacs-Burlington

Top 4 Predictions: Bishop Ryan, Surrey, Rugby, Our Redeemer's

R6 looks like 6-7 teams that could win it, and may be won by team under .500...The 6 or 7 that could win it, aren't guaranteed to even get out of districts...depends on how some injuries shake out(Yale)

I think Ryan and Velva have the 'best" chances as of today...

[defensewinsgames]

PRFL isn’t really that good…they have played a weak part of their region schedule so far…so calling R1 strong because an improved Richland squad rolled a decent & improved PRFL team (likely to finish in the 7-9 spot of R2) is pretty unknown and biased.

Ya agreed. My comment on PRFL was more commenting on the fact that they finished last in the region last year and this year have road wins over Cavalier and Hatton (this one by quite a bit) with a 5-1 region record halfway through the season. I think it is clear that PRFL isn't in the top tier of Region 2 but are performing a lot better than the pre-season picks of that region I saw.

[defensewinsgames]

Its pretty funny that PRFL are 5-1 in their region, and they only win Richland has is against them by 20, Region 1 will always be the toughest region hands down

Region 1 has been very tough the last few years and is always a very good region, but they are not always the toughest region.

Ya I think it tough to say the were significantly tougher than the Region 2 with Grafton, Thompson, and HCV from 3 to 5 years ago. Wasn't long ago Region 2 was kind of ruling the state b tourney. Just one example. I do think Region 1 is very good this year and the strongest region at the top. Region 2 is no slouch either though. Unfortunate that only two teams are going to come our of the following group: Enderlin, Kindred, Central Cass, Thompson, HCV, North Border. I think that would probably be 6 of my top 10 teams in the state (and maybe 6 of the top 7).

[chief45]

Region 6
Positives: Surrey
Negatives: Rugby - not our Rugby of old probably, Des Lacs-Burlington

Top 4 Predictions: Bishop Ryan, Surrey, Rugby, Our Redeemer's

R6 looks like 6-7 teams that could win it, and may be won by team under .500...The 6 or 7 that could win it, aren't guaranteed to even get out of districts...depends on how some injuries shake out(Yale)

I think Ryan and Velva have the 'best" chances as of today...

When will Yale return? DLB played Beulah to 1 point earlier this year without him, so I would think adding him into the mix would put DLB up with Velva & Minot Ryan come tournament time.

[balla45]

He is out for the season.

[The Schwab]

Its pretty funny that PRFL are 5-1 in their region, and they only win Richland has is against them by 20, Region 1 will always be the toughest region hands down

Region 1 has been very tough the last few years and is always a very good region, but they are not always the toughest region.

Ya I think it tough to say the were significantly tougher than the Region 2 with Grafton, Thompson, and HCV from 3 to 5 years ago. Wasn't long ago Region 2 was kind of ruling the state b tourney. Just one example. I do think Region 1 is very good this year and the strongest region at the top. Region 2 is no slouch either though. Unfortunate that only two teams are going to come our of the following group: Enderlin, Kindred, Central Cass, Thompson, HCV, North Border. I think that would probably be 6 of my top 10 teams in the state (and maybe 6 of the top 7).

Absolutely agree that they haven't been significantly tougher than other regions. For years and years region 2 was the toughest region followed by regions 7 and 4.

As far as the top 10 teams. I don't know if I could put HCV in the top 10 at the current time as they have only 1 win over a good team. They may very well be a top 10 team, I just don't think I would put them there. I think outside of Kindred, FWM and Enderlin it's pretty much up for grabs. I realize that HCV beat Kindred, but that was the first game of the year and Kindred wasn't at full strength.

[maddog1971]

This might be the first year in a long time that a private school might not make it in....
How about this state tournament
Region 1 Enderlin
Region 2 Thompson
Region 3 Ellendale
Region 4 4winds
Region 5 Flasher
Region 6 Velva
Region 7 Bowman County
Region 8 Powers Lake

NOW that would be a B tournament.

[chief45]

This might be the first year in a long time that a private school might not make it in....
How about this state tournament
Region 1 Enderlin
Region 2 Thompson
Region 3 Ellendale
Region 4 4winds
Region 5 Flasher
Region 6 Velva
Region 7 Bowman County
Region 8 Powers Lake

NOW that would be a B tournament.

Wouldn't that be a dream. Likely will not happen. Here are my midseason Region winner predictions with help from classbbasketball.com as I have not seen all potential region winners play yet.

Region 1 - Kindred - Shutdown defense & incredible depth
Region 2 - Thompson - this could change by year end, but right now this is the best region 2 team
Region 3 - Ellendale - Again I could see LLM, but since Ellendale just beat them recently ill pick Ellendale
Region 4 - Four Winds - No explanation
Region 5 - Bismarck Shiloh Christian - Flasher plays Bowman Friday, if Flasher wins I'd put them above Shiloh
Region 6 - Minot Bishop Ryan - they are criminally underrated.
Region 7 - Beulah - Brandt Gets it done one last time
Region 8 - Stanley - Tougher schedule prepares them for PL

[The Schwab]

It is definitely possible. I would think that between regions 5, 6 and 7 we will end up with at least 1 private school, but this is the best shot at an all public state tournament since it last happened in 2009. Coincidently that year there was only 1 large school (just like maddogs tournament would have).

[WalkingStick]

Bishop Ryan is best team in R6 right now...actually shocked they haven't been ranked or at least RV.

[maddog1971]

This might be the first year in a long time that a private school might not make it in....
How about this state tournament
Region 1 Enderlin
Region 2 Thompson
Region 3 Ellendale
Region 4 4winds
Region 5 Flasher
Region 6 Velva
Region 7 Bowman County
Region 8 Powers Lake

NOW that would be a B tournament.

Wouldn't that be a dream. Likely will not happen. Here are my midseason Region winner predictions with help from classbbasketball.com as I have not seen all potential region winners play yet.

Region 1 - Kindred - Shutdown defense & incredible depth
Region 2 - Thompson - this could change by year end, but right now this is the best region 2 team
Region 3 - Ellendale - Again I could see LLM, but since Ellendale just beat them recently ill pick Ellendale
Region 4 - Four Winds - No explanation
Region 5 - Bismarck Shiloh Christian - Flasher plays Bowman Friday, if Flasher wins I'd put them above Shiloh
Region 6 - Minot Bishop Ryan - they are criminally underrated.
Region 7 - Beulah - Brandt Gets it done one last time
Region 8 - Stanley - Tougher schedule prepares them for PL

To be honest your State tournament line up is IMO probably what will happen.