Q&A: Oak Grove & South Prairie-Max

Prep Hoops Dakotas (PHD) has two North Dakota Class A Team Previews for basketball fans to check out.   We are looking at the Grovers from Oak Grove and the Royals from South Prairie-Max, these Team Previews are coming at you via Q&A style!   This is a fun/interesting article as both squads are from the same Class but they are from different geographic regions in North Dakota. OG is on the east side of the State and SPM is out West. Oak Grove is a private school in the heart of Fargo and South Prairie is a public school on the southern end of Minot. OG is on their own and SPM is a co-op. OG has a veteran coach & SPM has a younger coach. Kyle Card is going into his 17th year as the HC at Oak Grove. Jade Larson is going into his 2nd year as the head coach at South Prairie-Max. These two programs have similarities but they are also different in many ways. Enough chatter, let's get to the hoops.....   See below and you will get a good read on the Grovers & Royals.   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/TeamPreview.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/TeamPreview.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-2632356" style="width:294px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   School: Oak Grove   Mascot: Grovers   Head Coach: Kyle Card   Class: A   Region: 1   2023-24 Record: 3-18   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_009791.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_009791.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2639315" style="width:280px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   With Coach Kyle Card   PHD: How would you sum up last season?   "We lost our best player to an ACL at the end of the summer, so we were kind of in a rebuilding mode at that point. We had a great group of seniors, but most of them had no varsity experience. Therefore, we struggled to get things going in the right direction. We also played a lot of younger, inexperienced kids, so the overall season was a great learning experience for them. Hopefully, it will pay off this year."   PHD: Who will be your primary ballhandler this year?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2092234' first='Kai' last='Zabel'] started last year at the point as a freshman and did a great job. We threw him into the fire right away and he handled himself pretty well. He was our leading scorer last year, so we will build on that, as well as add some more scoring options for him to distribute the ball. He is super quick and fast with the basketball, so we are excited for this year and beyond."   PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?   "We had a great summer, playing in about 30 games at various team camps around the area. Most of our top 8-9 players were able to play together on the court, so our chemistry began to come together as the summer went along. We are having a few open gyms now and the kids continue to gel."   PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?   "Jack Deitz, Carter Wendelbo, & Greyson Dockter, seniors. [player_tooltip player_id='1541564' first='Noah' last='Meidinger'], [player_tooltip player_id='1404851' first='Karter' last='Koenig'], [player_tooltip player_id='2447420' first='Will' last='Olson'], Zach Winter, Aidan Zuger, juniors. [player_tooltip player_id='2092234' first='Kai' last='Zabel'], [player_tooltip player_id='2237763' first='Aidan' last='Saunders'], [player_tooltip player_id='2237756' first='Pierce' last='Thomsen'], sophomores."   PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2092234' first='Kai' last='Zabel'], [player_tooltip player_id='2237763' first='Aidan' last='Saunders'], & [player_tooltip player_id='2237756' first='Pierce' last='Thomsen'] are sophomores this year and will have major impacts for our team for the next three years. [player_tooltip player_id='2411681' first='Ryder' last='Soper'] & [player_tooltip player_id='2573786' first='James' last='Chaffee'] played a little bit with the varsity this summer, and showed a lot of great things."   PHD: Who do you think will be your top interior players?   "We have very little size, so will need to rely on our speed & quickness in order to be successful. Jack Deitz will be our main interior player. [player_tooltip player_id='1541564' first='Noah' last='Meidinger'] is undersized for the interior but does not back down from much, so we look for him to add some inside strength for us."   PHD: What are the goals for the team this year?   "Improve on our number of wins from last year (3). Finish higher in the Region."   PHD: Who are some of the top teams & players in your Region?   "Kindred ([player_tooltip player_id='1484338' first='Brooks' last='Bakko'], [player_tooltip player_id='1169144' first='Karson' last='Ouse'], [player_tooltip player_id='1169146' first='Presley' last='Peraza']). Wahpeton ([player_tooltip player_id='1184569' first='Treyton' last='Mauch'])"   PHD: Any last comments about the upcoming season?   "We are excited to make the next step, but it will take a lot of buy-in from all of our guys. We had a great summer, and are hoping it will carry over into the season. We have a lot of athletes, so we need to take advantage of that and get up in down the court the entire game."   BEST OF LUCK TO THE GROVERS!!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_90df6e.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_90df6e.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2639456" style="width:357px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Schools: South Prairie   Mascot: Royal   Head Coach: Jade Larson   Class: A   Region: 3   2023-24 Record: 12-12   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_36c59e.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/11/image_36c59e.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2639458" style="width:295px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   With Coach Jade Larson   PHD: How would you sum up last season?   "In our first year as a co-op, we had a good group of Seniors that had a lot of experience, and we were able to finish the season in the top 4 of the region, which is South Prairie's top finish since they became a high school. We made a lot of accomplishments as a team and shot the ball really well from the outside."   PHD: Who will be your primary ballhandler this year?   "Kingston Kizima (Senior) and [player_tooltip player_id='2608319' first='Jayden' last='Huesers'] (Junior). We will be relying on them to bring the ball up confidently and to get our offense started. They are both aggressive players and can score around the rim as well as the perimeter."   PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?   "The offseason went well. We played in a league and attended 3 team camps. We had a lot of new young players coming to everything and a lot of kids putting time into lifting, skills, and playing on other teams. We have a lot of kids involved in other sports as well, so they are busy."   PHD: Who are a few of your top players to look out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2608322' first='Brayden' last='Francis'] (Senior) - He is our only returning starter. He is a physical player and not afraid to get in around the rim. He is a solid defender and can also hit mid-range well. [player_tooltip player_id='2608323' first='Hayden' last='Bohl'] (Senior) - He is an extremely hard worker and physical player. Hayden is very quick and can get up and down the court as well as anyone. [player_tooltip player_id='2639470' first='Jaxin' last='Anderson'] (Senior) - Jaxin is another aggressive player and very athletic for a big man. He makes things very difficult around the rim as a defender and can score quickly. He can also step out and hit a three if left alone. [player_tooltip player_id='2608318' first='Jaret' last='Eklie'] (Junior) - Jaret is another tall athletic kid who can score inside and outside. He is also a good passer and works hard."   PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?   "Wiatt Ness (Junior) - Great shooter"   "Noah Mahlum (Junior) - Good all-around player, makes plays."   "Watkins Nicholas (Senior) - Really improved since last year, hope to see some good things happen in the post from him this year."   "Luke Anderson (Junior) - Another aggressive player who gets to the line a lot and plays solid defense."   PHD: Who do you think will be your top interior players?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2608322' first='Brayden' last='Francis'] has good footwork and knows when to cut to the basket."   "[player_tooltip player_id='2639470' first='Jaxin' last='Anderson'] is very quick and explosive."   "Watkins Nicholas is a strong body that is hard to move around."   PHD: What are the goals for the season?   "The team goals for the season are to consistently improve a little bit every day, to improve our defensive performance and hold teams to less than their average, and to improve on our culture as a team and co-op from last season."   PHD: Who will be your hardest worker?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2608323' first='Hayden' last='Bohl'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2608322' first='Brayden' last='Francis'] are two of our hardest workers. They always play with a high intensity while consistently keeping emotions in check."   PHD: Who are the top teams & players in your Region?   "Our region is very competitive across the board. Stanley will be returning some key players, the top one being [player_tooltip player_id='1716899' first='Drake' last='Schlosser']. DL-B returns [player_tooltip player_id='1466820' first='Jake' last='Schaefer']. Bottineau and Turtle Mountain have some good young players coming back. I think our Region is more even than it was last year, and it depends on who has improved the most during the off-season."   PHD: Any last comments about the upcoming season?   "It is going to be a fun season, and I have a great group of guys coming back and a good group of freshmen coming in that love the game. We hope to surprise a lot of people and find our own way as a team to improve on the success we had last year."   BEST OF LUCK TO THE ROYALS!!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/NorthDakota.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2022/09/NorthDakota.jpg?w=865" alt="" class="wp-image-1606306" /></a></figure>

Prep Hoops Dakotas (PHD) has two North Dakota Class A Team Previews for basketball fans to check out.