⚜ Girls ⚜
For the Sheyenne boys, much attention will go the way of their Saul Philips-bound big man, but the perennial contender that Tom Kirchoffner has helmed will be far from a one-man show this winter!
What were the highlights of last season for your team?
"The highlight of last year was winning the EDC Championship – our 2nd in 3 years. They were playing their best basketball at the end of year as they won the 4 tournament games by a margin of 26.5 ppg."
"In addition, setting a school record for points allowed in a season at 54.1 PPG."
How do you plan on building upon what you taught your returning players last season?
"We feel we have a great culture here at Sheyenne – it’s WE > ME. Our seniors have done an excellent job of being leaders and communicating the expectations to everyone. As always it will be a player led team."
What effect do you think the lack of summer camp & extra workouts will have on your players?
"I feel it helped us grow as individuals and as team. Players took it upon themselves to get out in their driveway and to do workouts on their own. We did hold camps later in the summer where we focused mainly on ball handling and shooting – so in theory we should be more skilled. We did have a few scrimmages without scheming and our guys didn’t miss a beat."
Who are some of the players who will need to step up to replace your very successful graduates? "We will have a committee of guys looking to fill those all-conference players but our seniors – Jacksen Moni, Barika Kpeenu, Jah’Heem Leake, Gage Anderson, & Ben Manson are guys that will be relied on to lead us." How have you seen Jacksen Moni improve?
"Jacksen has progressed the most out of any player that I have ever coached, and we feel pretty fortunate to watch the best player in the state every day. He’s more consistent & confident with his shot and he has improved his explosiveness the last few months. His strength on & off the court is that he gets everyone involved – he is a student of the game and is a great student in the classroom." Is there a certain aspect of the game that you think will be the strength of your team? "The strength of our team will be our chemistry – our guys don’t care about individual success; they just want the team to do well. We have great size and great guard play, and all players have the ability to score from the outside." Who do you think the leaders for your team will be this season? "Our staff likes to empower everyone on the team to be a leader – we always want our teams to be a player led team and we feel we have a great group of seniors leading us. We have a lot of guys that are in multiple sports so that will be difference maker for us." Is there anything else you would like people to know about your program or your players?
"We currently have three former players playing college basketball – Zach Westphal at the University of Minnesota Crookston, Blake Berg at St. John’s University, and Zion Dettmann at Bismarck State College. We have two former players playing football – Tyler Terhark at NDSU & Hayden Reynolds at UND. Also, Ryan Reynolds is playing baseball at Valley City State University. We are proud of them and we will continue to follow their success."
In an era of increasing sports specialization, that's a testament of the success that can happen for cross-sport athletes!
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