North Dakota Preps

Was interested to see what peoples thoughts are of the season so far? Any teams not as good as expected? Any teams better than expected? I know it’s still early!

It's still very early, but here are some of my thoughts: Region 4 looks way deeper than I thought going into the year. Minot Ryan is still the favorite, but I think I personally underestimated Westhope-Newburg, Alexander, Williston Trinity and Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood. Bowman County looks like the best team in Region 3 and everybody in the second tier is playing for second. Langdon, North Star and Cavalier appear to the favorites in Region 2. Hankinson has been a pleasant surprise for me in Region 1, but do they have enough firepower to contend with Linton, Sargent County and E-K-M?

Thundersnow wrote:It's still very early, but here are some of my thoughts: Region 4 looks way deeper than I thought going into the year. Minot Ryan is still the favorite, but I think I personally underestimated Westhope-Newburg, Alexander, Williston Trinity and Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood. Bowman County looks like the best team in Region 3 and everybody in the second tier is playing for second. Langdon, North Star and Cavalier appear to the favorites in Region 2. Hankinson has been a pleasant surprise for me in Region 1, but do they have enough firepower to contend with Linton, Sargent County and E-K-M?

I feel in Region 2 North Star has already separated itself from the pack. My only concern with them is that they are not a deep team with the younger Hagler still injured (not sure when he is able to return) only playing 6 players. MPCG and MM were getting some early recognition, but have struggled. I feel Langdon is a bit overrated early and do not see them challenging North Star. Saw Cavalier play last night and they looked good, but they only played 5 players until 2 min left in the game, so depth will hurt them against better teams. I thought Nelson Co would be a top team in the south district and they still might be, but North Star handed it to them last week.

North Star never has a deep bench. The last time they won a region championship, they played 6 players in a double OT game. The sub only got in because someone fouled out very late in regulation. All other 4 players played the entire game.

I'd say Hankinson is going to be a very tough out in Region 1 once the playoffs come around. They are a young team playing with a lot of confidence, and they have a very deep bench for the first time in years. They have a big upcoming game with Sargent County, the preseason favorite, but I'm not sure if SC has the bench or guards this year to contend with the defensive pressure they'll get. Their new head coach, Carter Mauch, has implemented a different philosophy by being more aggressive, and really has his kids believing right now.

Hankinson beat a very good EKM team in Edgeley, and this was no easy task as EKM will contend once the playoffs start. Linton looks to be doing very well also, but I haven't seem them play yet. The contending teams in R1 at this point are Linton, Hankinson, Sargent County, EKM, & Lamoure. Lamoure has played a tougher schedule than most, and this will benefit them towards the end of the year.

Another early season thought is that Class B is alive and well, we've had some great games and pretty packed gyms. And, the new class A has been fun to follow, with a lot of teams playing some non conference games with challenging schedules. I've said it before, but basketball overall (BBB at least) is going to benefit greatly in ND with the new changes.

I heard Schmidt is back for South Border. Just wondering if that is true, anyone know?

walleye$fishing wrote:I heard Schmidt is back for South Border. Just wondering if that is true, anyone know?

It's true.