With a change on the bench and the graduation of a current Moorhead State player, there are some shoes to fill. If the Fall proved anything, it's that the current players are willing and able to overcome the challenges.
Here's what head coach Matt Ellingson had to say
What are some of the highlights from last season for your team?
Highlights from last season include:
Second 20 win season in a row
3rd Straight season with a postseason victory
13 game win streak
7 guys averaging more than 7 points per game
6 outstanding young men graduated from our program and high school (Drew Hagen, Quentin Hegg, Parker Wood, Jacob Sobolik, Riley Kruger, and Zach Hilber)
How do you plan on building upon the principles your returning players were taught last season?
"Of the 8 guys who led us in minutes and points last year, we have 5 of those players returning. We will try and build off of their experience and look to them as leaders of our group. We want to build off of the foundation that was in place. Coach Bormann did an outstanding job during his 4 years at Moorhead High and we are thankful for his leadership and guidance over his tenure."
What effect do you think the lack of summer camp & extra workouts will have on your players?
"Although our Summer and Fall looked very different we have been creative in creating opportunities for our basketball players to prepare for this upcoming season. We have followed all of the national, state, and local guidelines concerning the pandemic to make sure we are providing a safe environment for any of the basketball opportunities we have been able to provide since last season. Our student-athletes and parents have been fantastic, they have been flexible and understanding during these times"
Who are some of the players who will need to step up to replace Drew Hagen & the others that moved on?
"We lost 6 outstanding young men to graduation (Drew Hagen, Quentin Hegg, Parker Wood, Jacob Sobolik, Zach Hilber, Riley Kruger) and we will definitely miss the impact that they had on the Moorhead Boys Basketball Program. With that being said we are excited about the student-athletes we currently have in our program as well."
"We return guys like Belind Alemadi, Trey Feeney, Brady Walthall, Blake Walthall and David Lindell who all saw Varsity minutes last year. We also return guys from our JV team who had a very nice season a year ago as well. We really like the youth in our program and are excited to see which of our younger players are ready to step into specific roles in our program."
Is there a certain aspect of the game that you think will be the strength of your team?
"I believe that one of the strengths that this group has is their willingness to share the basketball on the offensive side of the floor. When the basketball touches multiple hands each possession it makes a team more dangerous. Our guys really enjoy playing with each other and it shows on the court, showing the willingness to give up a decent shot to get a great one. I also think that our group possesses the ability to create a lot of deflections on the defensive side of the ball, we won't be the biggest team most nights but we can still be effective defensively by making the other team uncomfortable."
Who do you think the leaders for your team will be this season?
"We expect all of our players to be leaders. We believe that everyone has the ability to impact other people and it is all of our responsibility to make sure that is a positive impact and not a negative one. We have a group of Seniors that have had a great impact on the Moorhead High athletic community across multiple sports. We will lean on their experience and leadership abilities to get us through the highs and the lows that take place in every season."
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