ND Roundtable Discussion

In this article, we are chatting with three North Dakota coaches. We have one AA team and two A teams. PHD shot a series of questions at these coaches and they gave us back some refreshing responses. Take some time to read below about the Hawks, Grovers, and the Skyhawks. We have several players below that you will want to hear about. We heard from three good coaches and you are going to want to read this!   Team Information   Team: Horace Class: AA Region: EDC   Team: Oak Grove Class: A Region: 1   Team: Shiloh Christian Class: A Region: 4   See below for PHD's conversations with Kyle Cummings (Horace), Kyle Card (Oak Grove), and Brad Miller (Shiloh Christian).   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/Preview-crop-823x540-1688699564.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/Preview-crop-823x540-1688699564.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2058335" /></a></figure>   Q&A with Kyle Cummings from Horace   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Hawk-Logo.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/11/Hawk-Logo.jpg?w=1024" alt="" class="wp-image-2273336" style="width:199px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   PHD: Could you write a couple sentences summing up last season?   "Last year was the inaugural varsity season for the Hawks. They ended the season with a 3-19 record against a loaded EDC conference. There were a couple of bright spots during the season when they were competing against some of the top teams in the EDC. Inexperience definitely showed down the stretch in games. We look forward to using that valuable experience gained last year to take a step in the right direction this season."   PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?   "This offseason our guys put a ton of time into the weight room. Our focus was on getting stronger as a team. We held summer skills sessions twice a week through the months of June and July as well. The quote we tried to emphasize was “There will come a time in the Winter, that asks what you did all Summer.” We also attended a couple of team camps this summer at MSUM, Concordia, Horace High, and Stillwater, MN."   PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1327797' first='Carter' last='Evanson'] – Returning sophomore, knock-down three-point shooter, improved his all-around game, he will look to be a three-level scorer for us this season. Great on-ball defender."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1189404' first='Brady' last='Westphal'] – Returning junior, can really shoot it from the outside, has a nice floater game when attacking closeouts. He has really focused on increasing his foot speed to become a better defender."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1322499' first='Moose' last='Diomande'] – Returning Senior, long and athletic. He can play above the rim and has really improved his catch-and-shoot game. At his best attacking in straight lines and getting to two feet in the lane. He will have to guard multiple positions this season with his size, strength, and athleticism."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1200747' first='Mike' last='Siffoi'] – Quick guard with a great handle on the ball. Does a great job of playing in the ball screen and getting to the free-throw line. A goal for him will be moving without the ball and playing off of his catch. He should be able to pressure full court and stay in front of other ball handlers in the backcourt."   PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1680906' first='Aiden' last='Green'] – 9th grader who played JV most of last season. Aiden is going to be a fun project for the next couple of years. He is a talented ball-in-hand guard with a lot of potential. Aiden's best ball is ahead of him when he learns how to use his voice as a floor general and learns to compete all the time."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1651918' first='Brett' last='Livingston'] – another 9th grader with a high ceiling. Brett is long and athletic for his age. He will be fun to work with once he understands how valuable discipline is on both sides of the floor."   "[player_tooltip player_id='1541297' first='Kaiden' last='Peterson'] – Kaiden saw some varsity action last year as a 9th grader. He has put in a ton of time into his game and the weight room. I can't wait to see his hard work pay off on the floor this year."   PHD: What style of basketball will your team play?   "This year our focus will be on playing a disciplined style of half-court defense focusing on keeping the ball in front of us and limiting our opponents to one shot or less on defense. Offensively, we will try to get out and run in transition whenever possible flowing into more of a pattern-based offense to get our playmakers the ball in space."   PHD: What are a couple of your team goals this year?   "This year our focus is going to be on competing every day to get better. At the end of the year, we want to compete in the EDC tournament."   PHD: In your opinion, who are some of the top teams in your Region?   "The East is going to be competitive this year just like most years. At the top of the Conference is Davies, North, and Grand Forks Central, they will be fun to watch. South, WF Sheyenne, and WF High have a lot of guys coming back and will compete as well, Red River and Shanley graduated a lot last year but are always well-coached!"   Best of luck to the Hawks this season!   Q&A with coach Kyle Card from Oak Grove   PHD: Could you write a couple sentences summing up last season?   “We finished the season 11-10 and lost in the first round of Regions to Hankinson. We lost 90 percent of our scoring and rebounding, and with [player_tooltip player_id='1534510' first='Luke' last='Johnson'] also out for the season, it is going to require a lot of hard work from the players, and a lot of patience from the coaches.”   PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?   “We spent a lot of time in our own gym with fundamental skills as well as open gyms twice a week. We also traveled to many team camps in the Midwest.  Between varsity and jv, we probably played over 40 games.”   PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?   “We lost our top player, [player_tooltip player_id='1534510' first='Luke' last='Johnson'], to a torn ACL at the last team camp of the summer. He was having a great summer and we were running a lot of our offense through him. Therefore, we will need to find some other scoring this season to be successful. It will be very much a team effort with balanced scoring. Some of the top names will be John DeJong, Ryan Saunders, Jack Deitz, [player_tooltip player_id='2092234' first='Kai' last='Zabel'], Greyson Dockter, and [player_tooltip player_id='1144950' first='Luke' last='Swenson'].”   PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?   “We will probably start a freshman at point guard, [player_tooltip player_id='2092234' first='Kai' last='Zabel']. Some other freshmen who may help us this year include Will Ness, [player_tooltip player_id='2237763' first='Aidan' last='Saunders']. A couple of sophomores of note include; [player_tooltip player_id='1541564' first='Noah' last='Meidinger'], [player_tooltip player_id='1404851' first='Karter' last='Koenig'], and Will Olson.”   PHD: What style of basketball will your team play?   “As usual, we will try to play a fast-paced style game, but a lot of that will be dictated, by how much our younger kids develop early in the season. Defensively, we will need to find a defense that works for us and see if we can stop some of the high-scoring teams in our region.”   PHD: What are a couple of your team goals this year?   “We would like to finish in the top half of our Region and see what happens come tournament time.”   PHD: Who are some of the top teams in your Region?   “I think Kindred will be the top team in the state for Class A and could rival a couple class AA schools with all of their talent back, and a couple new additions to the roster. Central Cass will be strong again, and Wahpeton will be solid.  Northern Cass is going to sneak up on some people if you take them lightly.”   Best of luck to the Grovers this season!   Q&A with coach Brad Miller from Shiloh Christian   PHD: What can you tell us about last year?   "The Skyhawks will be competing in the Class A Division this year. Last year we ended up taking Second Place in the Class B State Tournament."   PHD: Who are some of your players to watch this season?   "This year we have 3 starters back [player_tooltip player_id='1372160' first='Atticus' last='Wilkinson'] 6'6” - Strong player who averaged 14 ppg last year. [player_tooltip player_id='1718651' first='Isaac' last='Emmel'] 5'11' guard - Excellent 3-point shooter averaged 9 ppg. [player_tooltip player_id='1219808' first='Caden' last='Englund'] 6'2' point guard averaged 10 ppg.   PHD: Who are some of your up-n-comers?   "Up and comers are: [player_tooltip player_id='1481868' first='Wyatt' last='Westin'], Carter Seifert, Devon Davis, James Melberg, Sam Benson, [player_tooltip player_id='1510913' first='Carson' last='Quam']."   PHD: What style of basketball will you play?   "We will try and play faster this year."   PHD: How did the off-season go for the Skyhawks?   "The kids had an excellent off-season and continued to improve."   PHD: Final thoughts on the upcoming season?   "We play almost all of the other Class A teams this year so should be an exciting year."   Best of luck to the Skyhawks this season!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/TeamPreview.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/10/TeamPreview.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1634111" /></a></figure>

In this article, we are chatting with three North Dakota coaches. We have one AA team and two A teams. PHD shot a series of questions at these coaches and they gave us back some refreshing responses. Take some time to read below about the Hawks, Grovers, and the Skyhawks. We have several players below that you will want to hear about. We heard from three good coaches and you are going to want to read this!