Class B Region 1 “Oakes Thunder” Team Preview
With the reclassification of most every school in North Dakota let’s take a look at some schools that are primed to be contenders this year. This article will feature the Oakes Thunder coming out of Class B Region 1 District…
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Continue ReadingWith the reclassification of most every school in North Dakota let’s take a look at some schools that are primed to be contenders this year. This article will feature the Oakes Thunder coming out of Class B Region 1 District 1.
The Thunder went an impressive 18-4 last season getting talented wins over then ranked Grafton, Central Cass and Northern Cass before coming short of a State birth to Kidder County at regionals. The Thunder loose star Laikyn Roney who averaged 19 points 7 rebounds a game and defensive anchor Emma Muggli 8.5 points and 6 rebounds a game but keep some talent around in senior leader Lilly Thorpe, and rising Juniors Ann Muggli and Kassidy Jackson. Last season Lilly was third on the team in scoring with 8 points and 7 rebounds a game while Ann and Kassidy averaged 5.1 and 3.7 points a contest. Ann the little sister of Emma will be looked too in holding down the post area like her sister. Ann has an athletic build and a motor that helps her propel up and down the court. She’ll be a player this year that will be looked too in guiding this young talented team along counterpart Kassidy that’s an outside threat both offensively and defensively. Ann has shown in the past that she’s got a mean streak like Emma, so she’ll need to contain that energy for plays on the ball. So long as she acts like a pogo stick, she’ll be fine all night long deflecting balls or making extremely tough shots for the opposition.
Kassidy in her own right is a skilled guard that can hold her own on the court. She’s got a burst of speed behind her and can hit from almost anywhere on the court. She’ll be an X factor for the Tornadoes in tight games. If she can shoot 37% from the field consistently and be a defensive playmaker, they’ll be a tough team to guard and beat on both sides of the court.
Aside from these 3 Oakes has a relatively nice class of Juniors that all saw the floor last year in some way shape or form. With a few freshmen coming up that will get plenty of playing time in Oakes’s fast paced motion offensive and decisive trapping defense this team is going to be trouble even without a star caliber player. Oakes took victories over Barnes County, Enderlin, and most promptly Sargent County who I’ll note being another top tier contender they’ll have to go through for a state-run in their newly restructured district last year.
My prediction is the Thunder take District 1 by storm struggling with wins over Sargent County and Maple Valley and make another appearance at regions where they’ll play a tough opponent from a stacked District 2 bracket.