Recruiting Report: Will Madler (2019)
Five-foot-11 senior Will Madler didn’t play basketball as a junior because of injury but the football standout should also make Bismarck basketball a contender this winter now that he’s healthy.
This is of course a basketball site but of course top basketball players are also top football players and Madler is one of the better football players overall. His recruitment makes that obvious.
“As far as recruiting, there has been zero basketball recruiting for me,” Will said. “For football I have been in contact with a few Division II schools like Northern State, Minnesota State-Moorhead, Minot State, and then NAIA schools like Dickinson State, and Jamestown.”
Bismarck was one of the better Class A teams for much of last winter but a mid-winter stretch of three losses in six games followed by a bad WBA showing led to an early exit. Would that of happened of Madler was around? Tough to know but Madler wants to have an impact this winter.
“Last season I didn’t get a chance to play in because I broke my foot during the football season. However, I attended every practice I could and went to all the home games. I believe that helped me stay in the loop as to what was going on with our schemes and what the team was doing to improve.
“That knowledge has transferred over to this summer greatly. When I got back on to the court for summer open gyms and team camps I didn’t feel a step behind. This off-season I really worked on trying to be more effective on the offensive end. My Coach, Jordan Wilhelm, wanted me to focus on becoming a scorer and to create for others.”
How is the Bismarck team looking for this upcoming winter?
“This upcoming season we return some key parts,” Will said. “Joe Jahner is coming back for his fourth year on the varsity squad, and then there are two other guys that had valuable minutes last year in Canyon Stonecipher and Matt Trolliey.
“I also think you will see the box score filled with names like Jake Kerzmann and Dillion Sicble. I think we have capabilities of making some noise in the State Tournament, but we can’t be too focused on that or we could be knocked out like last year’s team.”
Watch the Demons next year as it could be a big 2018-19 season. Both on the gridiron, and the hardwood. With Will Madler leading.