This marks the start of the end of an era for Fargo South basketball. As much of a team game as it is, having the best player doesn't hurt. The Bruins have had one of the best in the conference for several years. Now as the senior leader it will bare watching to see how the other members of the team perform.
Here's what coach Smedshammer had to say
As you reflected upon it, is there a highlight or two that stands out from last season?
From a team perspective, we were overjoyed just to play the season. Going into the school year we didn’t even know if we were going to be allowed to play, so getting a full schedule in was great. The group from last year won a post-season game for the first time in their careers, so that was also a highlight and something we hope to build on this season. From an individual perspective, Adie Wagner became our school’s all time leading scorer.
Did you take your team to any camps this past Summer?
Like many teams, we played at some team camps and in league. Losing 4 starters from last year put added importance to what we did during the summer, and we needed to gain experience at a varsity level for a number of players. We definitely had a couple of kids step up their game and had a good summer.
What has Adie Wagner meant to your program over all the years she's been involved?
Having coached at South for 23 seasons, I’ve been fortunate to have coached some great players during that time, and Adie is definitely in that group. Adie has anchored our team every year she has played, leading us in scoring from her 7th grade season on, which has translated to her being South’s all time leading scorer. She has put in countless hours improving her game in the past, and still does. What I have enjoyed the most about coaching Adie for 6 years is watching her develop her game skills, maturity level, and leadership ability. She recently signed to play basketball and golf at MSUM.
Who are some of the players that you anticipate stepping into vacated roles?
Even though we lost 4 starters we return a number of players who have played a ton of varsity minutes and have started games for us in the past. Senior Brynn Nelson had a very good summer and we’re expecting her to play at an elevated level this year. Senior Laura Green is another player who we expect to play a lot of minutes and make significant contributions. Sophomore Teigan Malo came on strong the second half of the season last year and so we’re expecting her to continue her upward trajectory. We have a number of other players who haven’t played much varsity, but we’re hoping can step into the minutes we will need to fill. Hannah Carriveau, Grace Hoselton, and Emily Jordahl all will have an opportunity to earn that time and there are always a few surprise players coming from the freshmen and sophomore ranks who I think will see the varsity floor as well.
To boil it all down, what would make the upcoming season a successful one?
We want to end the year with everyone being healthy, the last 5 years we have had a ridiculous amount of season ending injuries throughout our team. We think we can be competitive in every game, and so if we play hard and enjoy our time together as a team, that will go a long way in calling our season a success.
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