Today is the first day of the final month of the year, & of the decade for that matter. That means that the practices will very soon give way to games in North Dakota! Couldn't be much better of a time to drop another preview. The next coach who was kind enough to take some time & answer this year's questions was Fargo North's Ted Critchley.
I'm curious which memories stand out as the highlights of last year?
"I think our most positive memory would have to be defeating West Fargo whom I believe was #2 in the state at the time and had already beaten perennial power Davies High School. We had an amazing game the night before against our traditional rival from Fargo South and I truly the believe that the energy from the night before carried into the next game where we battled West Fargo and beat them for the first time in over five years. This is a huge compliment to both of those programs in the genuine excitement that we had in successfully competing against both perennial powers."
Did you take your team to any camps this past Summer?
"We stayed pretty busy during the summer clinic sessions held over the summer. We were very similar to other Class A schools by going to tournaments most notably the Breakdown tournaments out of Minnesota. We along with other teams took advantage of these tournaments on several occasions which included a second-place finish before losing a close game to Moorhead in the championship. I think that we learned to become more confident and, hopefully, this translates to more success during this particular winter season."
Have you already had players in the gym working on their game this Fall?
"We encourage a lot of our players to participate in other activities especially sports outside of the basketball season. Therefore many of our players are busy being athletes on the football fields, cross country courses, soccer fields, and tennis courts."
"I think the league this year will be extremely talented and entertaining. We have improved significantly but so has everyone else. Therefore it is hard to predict where we will be in the end, but I do believe that our guard strength and parity at the guard position will prove to be advantageous for us. Our guards are not all the same as we have some who can really shoot, others who can put it in on the floor, and a smaller percentage that can do a little bit of both. However, our experience and improved competitiveness will hopefully provide us with some more positive results this upcoming season."
Thinking about the roster that you will have, who will need to step up to replace players that graduated or otherwise moved on?
"We have a strong nucleus of players returning most notably led by Cayden Rickard and Carson Critchley. Cayden was an all-league player a year ago whereas Carson was the second leading three-point shooter for the regular season in Class A which included breaking the three-point field goal record in a season at North High that was held for over twenty-five years. Blayne Anderson and Carter Peratt also return as starters which means that we will finally be bringing back significant and talented experience. Aaron Melby looked real good in the summer session and, hopefully, he can recreate some of the defense and playmaking ability of departed Keaton Hoeg who graduated last year. Both players are really good with the ball in or out of their hands. Most importantly, both players have a way of making deflections in a wide variety of ways. Alijah Armstrong is another strong defensive presence for us and his defensive intensity and competitiveness will be crucial for the Spartans this winter. Jacob Brosius had a good summer as well by participating in AAU for Inspired Athletics. In fact, we had several players participate in this particular spring/summer program and returned much better and far more confident. We have quite a few other players who will be in the mix as well with talented sophomores like Luke Loberg and Jalen May."
As things are today, is there a certain aspect of the game that you think will be the strength of your team, be it the guard play or in the post or transition offense/defense, etc.?
"Carson has already received some college interest that has been increasing as of late. He, along with Cayden Rickard received basketball scholarship offers from Dickinson State University, with Cayden also receiving an offer from Valley City State University. Carson’s interest has picked up a bit more as of late as he did not play AAU this past season but some more schools as of late are asking for visits so time will tell where he ends up. Both players will more than likely make a decision before the beginning of the season so the players timelines are pretty short at this particular moment."
Are there other players that have already shown you that they will be leaders both on and off the court this Winter?
"Cayden Rickard will be our primary leader as he does so much for us. He ranked in the top 10 in almost every statistical category last year in the EDC so his playmaking and abilities alone foster leadership. This year I hope to see him become more verbal in his communication and encouragement of others. He has done a nice job in developing this. Carson Critchley is our most experienced player as he has been on the varsity in some capacity or another since 9th grade. He is a coach’s son so his understanding and IQ in regards to where this particular coach is coming from should prove useful in both player awareness and understanding. Aaron Melby’s versatility and acceptance of role will also serve as a leadership attribute as he always puts the team first. Not sure if this is the place to put it, but I think Carter Peratt will have an outstanding season and be one of the most improved players in the league with his length and ability to step out of from the post position."
Ultimately, what do you hope to accomplish this season?
"We are heading into year five so we are hoping to qualify for the EDC tournament without having to win a play-in game to do so. We would also like to play in a state qualifier to see where we can go from there. I believe these are our two most important goals on the floor. As a team, we hope to come together and enjoy the process to see if we can get the on-court performances that we and every other team in the league are seeking."