Season Intro: Brandon Valley & Divide County

Practices are well underway in North Dakota and South Dakota. We will not have to wait much longer for games to get rolling.   In this article, we have a combo platter with a Team Preview from North Dakota and South Dakota.   PHD is highlighting the Brandon Valley Lynx and the Divide County Maroons!   See below for in-depth info....   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><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" style="width:310px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Program: Brandon Valley   Mascot: Lynx   Head Coach: Craig Nelson (4th year at BV, 13 years as HC)   Class: AA   2023-24 Record: 18-6 (State Runner-up)   Player Info - Starters   Comments from Coach Nelson   [player_tooltip player_id='2328479' first='Aiden' last='Zerr'] (2025) |6'3 F| - 10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 50 assists, 9 steals, 5 blocks, 70 FT%, 54 FG%, 23 3FG%   "Started all 24 games. Does all the dirty jobs. Great cutter, slasher with great hands to be able to catch everything and finish from tough angles inside. Aiden is going to Notre Dame to play baseball."   [player_tooltip player_id='1761714' first='Landon' last='Dulaney'] (2025) |6'1 G| - 7.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 87 assists, 50 steals, 8 blocks, 66 FT%, 46 FG%, 23 3FG%   "Started all 24 games. Great athleticism. Great playmaker. Humble and hard-working w/ great leadership skills. Guards the other teams best player. Has a 2.5 assist/turnover ratio on the year, leads us in steals, rebounds, and assists. Landon was the 200M and 400M Champ at last year's State Track Meet. Signed at SDSU for Football."   [player_tooltip player_id='2338417' first='Brayden' last='Miller'] (2025) |6'0 G| - 7 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 25 assists, 13 steals, 50 FT%, 38 FG%, 39 3FG%   "Started 10 games. Brayden is a very, very good shooter that does not need a lot of time to get his shot off. Will need him to be more of a playmaker for us as well this season."   [player_tooltip player_id='1641563' first='Briggs' last='Knutson'] (2026) |5'10 G| - 3.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg, 40 assists, 14 steals, 71 FT%, 32 FG%, 26 3FG%   "Started 10 games. Great defender. Poised, great leader from the PG position. Led the Lynx Football team as starting QB to a State Runner-up finish. Can knock down open shots when needed. Led us in charges taken. Briggs had a fantastic football season and that should carry over into the hoops season."   Player Info - Reserves   Comments from Coach Nelson   [player_tooltip player_id='2278036' first='Mach' last='Mayen'] (2025) |6'3 F| - 4.5 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 12 assists, 9 steals, 6 blocks, 69 FT%, 45 FG%   "Mach is a high flyer who can block shots and make a ton of plays. Also has nice vision and passing ability. 10 dunks last season!"   [player_tooltip player_id='1944190' first='Mason' last='Ennis'] (2025) |6'4 C| - JV last season   "Mason had a great JV season for us last season. Great finisher around the rim with both hands. Crafty post moves."   [player_tooltip player_id='2148816' first='Austin' last='Dowd'] (2027) |6'4 C| - JV last season   "Austin is a big physical body for a sophomore. Held his own at the JV level as a freshman and has a lot of upside to be a force down low."   [player_tooltip player_id='1641564' first='Brayden' last='Knutson'] (2026) |5'10 G| - JV last season   "Super solid in so many areas. Knockdown shooter. Can play the Point as well when needed."   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_085d62.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_085d62.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2677989" style="width:299px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   With Craig Nelson   PHD: What preseason thoughts are you having?   "Pre-season Team Thoughts: We have 3 starters and 4 returners from a Runner-up State Finish. We will have a lot of minutes and experience coming back at the guard positions, but with our offense running through our big men last year it will be a new look for these guards stepping into new roles as main playmakers and scorers."   PHD: Could you write a couple of sentences summing up last season?   "Great season, the guys last year shared the ball so well and that allowed them to exceed expectations just by playing so hard and so well together."   PHD: Who will be your primary ballhandler this year?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1761714' first='Landon' last='Dulaney'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1641563' first='Briggs' last='Knutson'] have both handled the PG position for the better part of 2 years now so we should have a ton of leadership coming back from those 2. [player_tooltip player_id='2338417' first='Brayden' last='Miller'] played JV Point Guard for 10 games last year until he got promoted to varsity starter cause he was playing so well."   PHD: How did the offseason go for your team/program?   "Good weight room commitment. Most of our top 8 or so guys just finished their FB season or are multi-sport in something else, which is great to see."   PHD: Who is a top player to watch?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1761714' first='Landon' last='Dulaney'] for sure, especially how good he is defensively. Our other 4 starters are each probably 8-10 ppg guys that we have to be balanced to be good."   PHD: Who are a couple of up-and-comers to look out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2148816' first='Austin' last='Dowd'] is a sophomore post that could see a lot of time."   PHD: Who do you think will be your best rebounders?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2278036' first='Mach' last='Mayen']. Jumps as high as any kid I've coached."   "[player_tooltip player_id='2328479' first='Aiden' last='Zerr'] - Boxes out so well and rebounds great for his size."   "[player_tooltip player_id='2148816' first='Austin' last='Dowd'] - Big and physical."   PHD: What are your team goals this year?   "Make the State Tournament."   PHD: Who will be your hardest worker?   "[player_tooltip player_id='1761714' first='Landon' last='Dulaney'], [player_tooltip player_id='1641563' first='Briggs' last='Knutson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2328479' first='Aiden' last='Zerr'], & [player_tooltip player_id='2338417' first='Brayden' last='Miller'] play about as hard as anyone I've coached. Super unselfish and humble kids that just want to help the team win. Also great vocal leaders."   PHD: Who are some of the top teams & players in your Region?   "Mitchell - Return nearly everyone from State Championship Team."   "Huron - Best player in the State ([player_tooltip player_id='1467166' first='Blake' last='Ellwein']) and other really good pieces."   "Washington - Returns full starting lineup from a #4 seed last year."   GOOD LUCK TO THE LYNX!!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-large is-resized"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/Preview-crop-823x540-1688699564-crop-746x490-1700852708.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2020/06/Preview-crop-823x540-1688699564-crop-746x490-1700852708.jpg?w=745" alt="" class="wp-image-2280782" style="width:320px;height:auto" /></a></figure>   Program: Divide County   Mascot: Maroon   Head Coach: Zach Johnson (2nd year)   Class: B   Region: 3   District: 5   2023-24 Record: 1-19   2023-24 Stats & Numbers   [player_tooltip player_id='2633396' first='Weston' last='Peterson']- 20 GP/ 5.0 PPG, 100 season points/ RPG 2.7 / 17 assist / 13 steals/ 3 blocks/ 10 treys/ 85% FT= 23/27/ 100 career points   [player_tooltip player_id='2633352' first='Damen' last='Bowling']- 20 GP/ 6.9 PPG, 139 season points/ RPG 5.3/ 23 assists/ 21 steals/ 7 blocks /28 treys/ 69% FT= 9/13/ 139 career points   Titus Stubbs- 13 GP/ 0.1 PPG, 1 season points/ RPG 1.0/ 0 assists/ 0 steals/ 0 blocks/ 50% FT= ½ , 4 career points   Brady Brown- 19 GP/3.2 PPG, 60 season points/ RPG 2.4/ 16 assists/ 7 steals/ 0 blocks/ 9 treys/ 50% FT= 5/10, 70 career points   Dean Kroshus- 20 GP/1.4 PPG, 27 season points/ RPG 3.1 / 11 assists/ 2 steals /8 blocks/25% FT= 2/8, 33 career points   Hunter Nelson- 20 GP/ 6.6 PPG, 132 season points/ RPG 2.5 / 15 assists/ 35 steals/ 9 blocks /15 treys/ 47% FT= 22/46 / 171 career points   [player_tooltip player_id='2211281' first='Stockton' last='Nelson'] 6 GP/ 9.8 PPG, 59 season points/ 5.5 RPG/ 13 assists/ 11 steals/ 3 block/ 2 treys/ 58% FT= 18/31 / 303 career points   Hayden Smithberg- 18 GP/2.4 PPG, 43 season points/RPG 3.9/ 6 assists/ 12 steals/ 9 blocks /36% FT= 8/22 / 45 career points   [player_tooltip player_id='2678531' first='Wyatt' last='Lokken']- 10 GP/0 PPG, 0 season points /RPG 1.0/ 1 assists/ 2 steal/ 4 blocks/ 0 career points   Zach Vigness- 18 GP/1.4 PPG, 26 season points/ RPG 3.2 / 7 assists/ 17 steals/ 6 blocks/ 31% FT= 4/13 / 30 career points   [player_tooltip player_id='2573797' first='Trayven' last='Head'] 10 GP/ 1.5 PPG, 15 season points/ RPG 1.2/ 4 assist/ 5 steals/ 1 blocks/ 50% FT= 1/ 2 / 15 career points   Ashton Jones 7 GP/ 0.3 PPG, 2 season points/ 0.5 RPG/ 0 assists/ 0 steals/ 0 blocks / 2 career points   Team Averages   PPG= 30.7 PPG Allowed: 68.3 Team eFG%= 28.4% Team FT %= 50.1% Turnovers per game: 20.15   Players to Watch   Comments from Coach Johnson   [player_tooltip player_id='2211281' first='Stockton' last='Nelson']- Jr. F 6'0" "Our best player, very smart, hard-nosed kid. Facilitates and gets to the basket well. Has started varsity since his 8th grade year. He is an All-District caliber player if he stays healthy."   [player_tooltip player_id='2633352' first='Damen' last='Bowling']- Jr. G 5'11" "Shot the ball at a high clip from 3 last season. He is creative offensively and can get hot. He made 6 3's in one game last season. Was also our best rebounder last season."   [player_tooltip player_id='2633396' first='Weston' last='Peterson']- Soph. G 5'10" "A quick guard that can get his shot off. He came a long way from the beginning of the year to the end of last season. Our final 5 games he was a double-digit scorer."   Hunter Nelson- Sr. G 6'0" "This kid has long arms and uses them to his advantage defensively. He led our team in steals last season and shows the ability to block some shots at times as well."   Dean Kroshus- Sr. C 6'2" "Dean has a nice touch from the elbow area and is a solid passer for a big man."   Brady Brown- Jr. G 5'10" "Brady is a smart player that can guard multiple positions for us. He showed a lot of promise in our summer league and I'm excited to see if we can get more out of him on the offensive end."   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_9b6dd9.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_9b6dd9.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2678475" /></a></figure>   With Zach Johnson   PHD: What can you tell us about last season?   "Last season was a rough one for our team. We lost our best player, [player_tooltip player_id='2211281' first='Stockton' last='Nelson'] to a broken hand in our 3rd game of the season. He was able to come back for the final 3 games of the regular season but with a young team returning only 2 players that had seen real varsity time we went 1-19. Despite this we got a ton of experience for our guys and seemed to improve as the season progressed. This off-season was a good one for us. We played in a few team camps and a league in Minot. Our participation was pretty good across the board, and I saw major improvement from a lot of our guys."   PHD: What does Divide County do on defense?   "Defensively we like to mix up our defense between man-to-man and various zone looks. We have a lot of quickness on this team, so we want to force turnovers and get out and run lanes to get easy looks in transition."   PHD: Who will be your primary ballhandler?   "Our primary ball handlers this year will be [player_tooltip player_id='2633396' first='Weston' last='Peterson'], [player_tooltip player_id='2633352' first='Damen' last='Bowling'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2211281' first='Stockton' last='Nelson']. Any of them should be capable of getting us into our offense."   PHD: What are your team goals?   "Some of my goals for this year's season include: Finish top 5 in District regular season play, and to qualify for the Regional Tournament."    PHD: Who will be your hardest worker?"   "Our hardest workers on the team in my eyes are Brady Brown and [player_tooltip player_id='2211281' first='Stockton' last='Nelson']. Both guys have motors and a desire to compete at a high level. Brady draws quite a few charges and makes the gritty plays that will hopefully translate to more wins this season."   PHD: Do you have an up-n-comer we should watch out for?   "[player_tooltip player_id='2678531' first='Wyatt' last='Lokken'] - Soph, 6'3" C is a player to watch for us. We will need him to be a rotation player for us this season after losing a couple "bigs" from last year. He is a big, strong kid-- if he can develop his touch and footwork a bit, he could be a key contributor for us."   PHD: Who are the top teams in your Region?   "Top teams in the Region in my opinion would be Westhope-NG, Bishop Ryan, MLS, Powers Lake."   GOOD LUCK TO THE MAROONS!!   <figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_a62e8b.png"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/12/image_a62e8b.png" alt="" class="wp-image-2678509" /></a></figure>

Practices are well underway in North Dakota and South Dakota. We will not have to wait much longer for games to get rolling.