North Dakota First Look: Bismarck
Bismarck High School won 15 games last season, finishing fourth in the WDA in the regular season and fourth in the WDA tournament. Armed with a 10-player rotation, the Demons won with stifling defense and excellent balance. With half that…
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Continue ReadingBismarck High School won 15 games last season, finishing fourth in the WDA in the regular season and fourth in the WDA tournament. Armed with a 10-player rotation, the Demons won with stifling defense and excellent balance. With half that rotation back in the fold, Bismarck should be equipped for another strong winter.
GO-TO PLAYER: Cadee Rychman
Rychman led the Demons in scoring a year ago, averaging 9.9 points per game. She’ll have to take her game to another level as a scorer as a senior if the Demons are going to improve further. And she’ll have plenty of opportunity to put up numbers as the depth and balance likely won’t be quite as good this winter. If her efficiency can be a little better, she’ll be an all-league player.
BREAKOUT CANDIDATE: Jilee Golus
Golus was a rotation player last year and showed signs of being a high-end talent. She shot nearly 50 percent from the 3-point line on limited attempts and was a solid spark scorer off the bench. She’ll get a lot more minutes as an upperclassman and if she can continue to be efficient on greater volume, she’s got a chance to be an all-league player.
QUESTION: How will the Demons generate more offense?
Defense was a huge strength for BHS last year as they forced 20 turnovers per game and held the opposition to 33 percent shooting from the field. If the Demons are going to take another step this winter, the offense needs to improve even just a little bit. They won 15 games and didn’t have a double-figure scorer and while that speaks to their balance, it also speaks to their striking inability to consistently score.
OUTLOOK
Bismarck was right in the thick of things in the WDA last year and made a decent run in the WDA tournament before losing in the third-place game to fall short of the state tournament. With five rotation players back in the fold, the Demons don’t lack for experience. If some of those rotation players take another step and become difference-makers, this is a team that can compete for a top-four spot again.