The Top 5 Most Surprising Teams in Class B Basketball 2017
There were a lot of teams in class b basketball this year that really exceeded their expectation. In this article, we look at the top 5 teams to exceed their expectation for this years North Dakota Class B basketball season.
5. Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky – Turtle Lake was the underdog at this year’s state tournament and surprised a lot of teams by making it out of region 5 which looked like a 2 team race the whole way through between Shiloh Christian and Solen. Turtle Lake clicked on all cylinders during tourney time led by Blake Anderson (senior) and Trapper Jacobs (sophomore). Jacobs provided a lot of the scoring for them and Anderson was a contributor on both sides of the ball. They also received a lot of help in rebounding from Tanner Freeman (senior) and some scoring offensively from Seth Laframboise, (junior). Though they struggled at the state tournament they had a successful season and will look to be back next year.
4. St. Johns – The St. Johns Woodchucks had a very successful season and were on the brink of a state tournament birth before that was stopped by state runner-up Four Winds-Minnewauken. The Woodchucks went 19-0 in the regular season and 5-1 in the post season. Their only loss of the year came in their last game of the year. The Woodchucks were lead on offense by Kyle McGillis (junior) and Dalton Prouty (junior).
3. Hillsboro-Central Valley – The Burros didn’t surprise anyone by making the state tournament but they may have surprised people by winning it. The Burros had tough a road on their way to a title run but showed lots of perseverance by taking down Thomson in the region title game and the eventually battling their way to a state championship over #1 Four Winds Minnewauken. They had solid expectations for this year but not many people expected them to knock off the number one team. The Burros were lead by Kyle Henningsgard both offensively and defensively. Hennignsgard hit the buzzer beater to win the state championship for his team as well.
2. Stanley Blue Jays – The Stanley Blue Jays have talent… and a lot of it! The Blue Jays almost knocked off the number one team in the first round of the state tournament and then went on to battle a tough #5 Bishop Ryan team and ended up coming up short in that one as well. They finished in seventh after beating TLMM in a consolation game. Though Stanley wasn’t very successful in the tournament, I don’t think many people expected them to be there. Region 8 was quite a toss up and Stanley represented it well. Wyatt Hanson and Kaedon Hanson led them in every aspect and they will be expected to be back in the tourney next year.
1. Ellendale Cardinals – The Cardinals played outstanding throughout the tourney and showed great determination after knocking off #2 Dickinson Trinity in the first round. Brennan Vance played very well all season and even hit the buzzer beater to beat #2 Dickinson Trinity. The Cardinals then went on to come up short against the state champions, Hillsboro-Central Valley. The Cardinals had to get through two tough teams in Region 3, Linton Lions and the Carrington Cardinals. Both teams were ranked higher than them but Ellendale raised their level of play to the point where they surprised almost everyone in Class B basketball.