Way-Too-Early Preview: West Fargo
West Fargo was one of the disappointing teams from Class A last year, going into the season with expectations to contend for a league and state title. A season marred with inconsistencies, the Packers fell short of a state tournament…
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Continue ReadingWest Fargo was one of the disappointing teams from Class A last year, going into the season with expectations to contend for a league and state title. A season marred with inconsistencies, the Packers fell short of a state tournament appearance. There’s plenty of cause of optimism though, as three starters return including two all-league caliber players in Carson Hegerle Carson Hegerle 6'3" | SG West Fargo | 2022 State ND and Carter Birrenkott Carter Birrenkott 6'5" | PF West Fargo | 2021 State ND , along with an intriguing host of young, unproven talent.
Go-To Guy: Carson Hegerle Carson Hegerle 6'3" | SG West Fargo | 2022 State ND
Hegerle averaged 11.2 points and 3.3 assists as a sophomore, excelling in transition and on the defensive end of the floor. At 6-foot-3, Hegerle is a big, athletic guard who can get to the paint and finish from the mid-range at a high level. There’s another level he can get to though, as he shot just 25 percent from the 3-point line and less than 60 percent from the free throw line. If he gets those numbers even moderately up (33 percent from deep and even in the 70 percent range from the FT line), he could be a Player-of-the-Year guy in the EDC.
Breakout Candidate: Noah Daniel
Daniel played about 10 minutes per game for the varsity team as a freshman and in small spurts, showed a lot of potential as an athletic wing who can get to the rim and defend. He’ll have to cut down on his fouls, but he plays an aggressive style defensively and can be a menace in transition. As the game slows down for him mentally, expect a guy who can make an impact as a slasher with the length and athleticism to guard all sorts of players.
Question: Can the Packers Shoot?
The Packers disappointed last year and one of the main culprits was the team’s inability to shoot. It made their offensive predictable and bogged down the paint – taking away the strength of three of the team’s best players. They shot just 32 percent from the 3-point line and made just 5.3 3-pointers per game. Nearly half of those are gone with Matt Miller Matt Miller 6'1" | PG West Fargo | 2020 State ND graduating.
So who is going to shoot? Brett Limke Brett Limke 6'1" | PG West Fargo | 2022 State ND started as a sophomore and showed some ability to knock down shots. He’ll need to take that sophomore-to-junior jump. Joel Pease is a lengthy wing who has some ability to space the floor. Hegerle will need to improve in that area. That could be one of the biggest keys for this team going into next year.
Outlook
West Fargo went into last season with incredibly high expectations off a state tournament run from the previous year. The Packers won’t go into this year with the same level of hype, but if there is development from some of the young players who saw fringe minutes, it’s a team that has a chance to contend in what should be a collectively down EDC. A lot of their success will depend on how big of a jump Hegerle and Birrenkott take, but those two could be one of the best duos in the league.