The Northland Preview

Ryan James November 14, 2019 @ 05:25 PM

The Northland Conference is eight teams that play some good basketball in the northern part of Minnesota. NHR takes a closer look at the league today.

Conference Commentary

State Contender: Cass Lake-Bena

The Panthers have the league MVP back in Jarell Jacobs plus another pair of starters from a 28-2 team. They are looking for a return trip to the state tournament after missing the big event in 2019. The Panthers will start the year outside of the top ten with a chance to crack the rankings quickly.

Potential Top Ten: Nevis, Pine-River Backus, Red Lake

Pine River-Backus was 23-5 last season plus they return their best two players. Meanwhile, at Nevis, the Tigers went 18-11 with one of the younger teams in the state. Four double figure scoring level talents return. The Red Lake "dip" to 18-11 will be short lived. Two of their three top guys are back and this group is young (no seniors playing this season).

Compete with Most: Blackduck, Northome/Kelliher, WHA

The Drakes from Blackduck have a chance to flip around their 10-16 record led by Dylan Moen. The Mustangs have a very similar story as Blackduck after their 12-15 year and Ethan Dreher coming back. The best of this bunch will be the WHA Wolves. Cole Rasmussen is a double-double.

Rebuilding: Laporte

Laporte won only one game a year ago but they should be better. However, the rebuild is still in motion as the Cats are likely still a single figure win team.

Predicted Order of Conference Finish