Dakotas Hoop Chat
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We are chatting with two South Dakota coaches and one North Dakota coach in this season preview article. We shot a series of questions at the coaches and they gave us back some interesting information. Take some time to read…
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Continue ReadingWe are chatting with two South Dakota coaches and one North Dakota coach in this season preview article. We shot a series of questions at the coaches and they gave us back some interesting information. Take some time to read below about the Cubs, Chargers, and Imperials. We have many players below that you will want to hear about and the coaches gave us some dynamite material.
See below for PHD’s conversations with Grant Johnson (Alcester-Hudson), Brian White (Sully Buttes), and Logan Klitzke (Napoleon-G-S).
Q&A with coach Grant Johnson from Alcester-Hudson
PHD: What can you tell us about last season?
“Last season ended disappointingly with a loss in the first game of postseason play. We ended up going 6-15 and have a lot to improve on going into this season.“
PHD: How did the offseason go for your squad?
“During the offseason, the boys put in a lot of hours training in the gym and went to several camps in our area.“
PHD: Who are some of your young up-and-coming players?
“ Evan Haak Evan Haak 6'0" | SF Alcester-Hudson | 2027 State SD is a talented Freshman who could play important minutes for us. Tommy Walth is also a talented underclassman but he unfortunately tore his ACL during football season. Jackson Meyer, Ethan Brown, Izaac Sommervold, and Logan Rodriquez are all freshmen who could play in the future.“
PHD: What style of basketball will your team play?
“We will hopefully play more uptempo than we have in the past. We plan on playing more man-to-man defense and more aggressive. In order to do this successfully we will have to have some underclassmen step up for us.“
PHD: What are some of your team goals?
“Some of our team goals are to go above .500 this season and compete for the Conference Title.”
PHD: Who will be some of the top teams in your Region?
“Some of the top teams in our region are Viborg-Hurley, Centerville, and Freeman.“
Top Statistical Returners for the Cubs
Jose Topete-Lopez Jose Topete-Lopez 5'11" | SF Alcester-Hudson | 2025 State SD (2025) |5’11 G| – 9.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg, .4 apg, 1 spg
Ethan Bovill Ethan Bovill 6'1" | CG Alcester-Hudson | 2025 State SD (2025) |6’1 G| – 9 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.9 spg
William Hallaway (2024) |6’5 G| – 1.8 ppg, 2 rpg, .7 apg, .4 spg
Mateo Kleinhans (2024) |6’1 G| – 5.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, .7 spg
Evan Brown (2025) |5’10 G| – 5.3 ppg, 2.5 rpg, .8 apg, 1.5 spg
Dominic Van Egdom Dominic Van Egdom 6'5" | PF Alcester-Hudson | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’5 F| – 10.6 ppg, 8.5 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.2 spg
Q&A with coach Brian White from Sully Buttes
PHD: What can you tell us about last season?
“Last season was an uphill climb as we played a lot of really difficult competition. Our challenging schedule made us better as the season went on and we ended up being a pretty good basketball team by the end.“
PHD: How did the offseason go for your team?
“We had a great offseason and I am really excited about what this team has the ability to do this upcoming season. We are going to be very young and undersized, but this is a very gritty group of kids who I believe will be able to play tough defense against our opponents.“
PHD: Who are a few of your top returning players?
“Our top three returning players are Logan Severson Logan Severson 6'2" | SF Sulley Buttes | 2024 State SD , Trevor Marshall Trevor Marshall 5'11" | SG Sully Buttes | 2025 SD , and Wesley Wittler Wesley Wittler 5'11" | CG Sully Buttes | 2026 State SD . These three will be the backbone of our team this season. Both Logan and Trevor can attack the rim and provide physicality, great defense, and rebounding. Wesley can score from anywhere on the floor – he has deep range but can also get to the rim. He is one of the top sophomores in South Dakota and we look forward to watching him improve this season.“
PHD: Who are a few of your up-n-coming players to watch for in the future?
“We are excited about some other guys like Gavin Colson and Gavin Barber. Gavin C brings energy on both ends of the floor with his shooting, driving ability, and multi-positional defense. Gavin B brings the physicality and athleticism to guard anyone on the court after his success on the football field. Other contributors will be Eli Mercer, Preston Kinney, and Teghan Westphal. All these guys have roles to play and allow us to utilize multiple styles.“
PHD: Do you have any final comments on your team?
“Even though we are young and undersized, this is a gritty group of kids. We will aim to get after teams defensively and look to build on last season’s improvement. It should be an exciting year!“
Best of luck to the Chargers this season!
Q&A with coach Logan Klitzke from Napoleon-G-S
PHD: What can you tell us about last season?
“Last season we went 8-14. Overall, we were young and still gained a lot of experience. The season was a grind, and every game was a fight.“
PHD: How did the offseason go for your team?
“This offseason went well. We went to a team camp in Rapid City and had a lot of good competition. We had open gyms working on different skills and playing together as a team.“
PHD: Who are a few players to look out for this season?
“A couple of our top players are Trevor Moos Trevor Moos 6'4" | PF Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter | 2024 State ND , senior. He has the speed that will outrun anyone on the court great for fastbreaks. As well as a great midrange shot.“
“Carter Haas, senior. Defensively really good footwork as well as a good ball handler.“
“ Tristan Schaffner Tristan Schaffner 6'1" | CG Napoleon-G-S | 2025 State ND , Junior. The point guard who runs the offense well. His aggressiveness gets him to the hoop and he finishes well.“
PHD: Who are some of your young up-n-coming players?
“A couple of upcomers coming in the near future are Bill Schmidtt, Sophomore. He has really good ball handling as well as a shooter.“
“Jackson Piatz & Brenden Zenker, Freshman“
PHD: What style of basketball will you play?
“We are going to have to play very fundamental basketball this year and trust each other as a team. We have to capitalize on the little things that add up to the big plays.“
PHD: What are your goals for this season?
“Team goals this year. Make it to Regionals and be above 500.“
PHD: Who do you see as the top teams in your Region?
“Top in the Region – South Border (has a lot of returners that play very good basketball), Edgeley, Ellendale, LaMoure.“
Imperial Schedule
Nov 17 – First Practice
Dec 8 – vs. Center-Stanton @ Linton
Dec 9 – vs. GlenUllin/Hebron @ Linton
Dec 15 – vs. Sargent County @ Napoleon
Dec 18 – vs. Barnes County North @ Napoleon
Dec 21 – vs. Enderlin @ Enderlin
Dec 29 – vs. Garrison @ Bismarck State
Jan 2 – vs. New Rockford/Sheyenne @ New Rockford
Jan 5 – vs. Solen-Cannonball @ Jamestown Civic Center
Jan 6 – vs. Drake-Anamoose @ Jamestown Civic Center
Jan 12 – vs. Medina-Pingree-Buchanan @ Medina
Jan 13 – vs. Oakes @ Gackle-Streeter
Jan 20 – vs. Ellendale @ Napoleon
Jan 22 – vs. Kidder County @ Steele
Jan 26 – vs. Linton/HMB @ Napoleon
Jan 30 – vs. LLM @ Napoleon
Feb 2 – vs. South Border @ Wishek
Feb 5 – vs. Griggs-Midkota @ Glenfield
Feb 8 – vs. EKM @ Napoleon
Playoffs start on Feb 8
Best of luck to the Imperials this season!