Welcome to our 2020-21 Class B boys season preview series. Every other day a Region preview will be published at nodakbasketballhub.com. You can also find all the previews including the girls’ previews under the 2020-21 Season Links tab on the home page of our website. After we preview all eight regions, we’ll drop our Top 10 Preseason Power Rankings. 

Click here to find all the Region previews.

Also, here’s the schedule for the upcoming boys previews:

Region 5 – Thursday Nov. 26
Region 6 – Sunday Nov. 29
Region 7 – Monday, Nov. 30
Region 8 – Wednesday, Dec. 2
2020-21 Preseason Power Rankings – Thursday, Dec. 3

Four Winds-Minnewaukan brings back a lot of talent but Region 4 features a handful of teams that have the talent to compete for a that top spot. Let’s dive into the 2020-21 Region 4 preview.

District 7

7. Lakota

2019-20 record: 10-12

After a season where they finished with 10 wins, Lakota is looking to try to climb in the District 7 standings. The Raiders return seven upperclassmen and a class of five freshmen.

6. Warwick

2019-20 record: 10-11

Warwick returns its top two scorers from 2019-20 in senior Julian Hill and sophomore Mark Fassett Jr., but did lose four seniors. Hill is one of the top players in Region 4 and averaged a double-double (16 ppg, 10 rpg) last season. Hill is a do-it-all type of player and averaged just under three assists per game as a junior and knocked down 30 3-pointers. Fassett Jr. led Warwick with 61 made 3-pointers in 2019-20 and added 15.5 points per contest, 4.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists. The Warriors have some height with senior 6-foot-5 Jerison Lenoir and Cayden Feather standing in the middle. Lenoir will see an increased role this season and Feather averaged 3.1 and 2.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Also, keep an eye out for eighth-grader Dwight Hunt. He doesn’t have a lot of varsity experience but has some potential play making abilities at that guard spot. The Warriors lost a good chunk of close games last season, so look for them to finish out games better in 2020-21.

5. Dakota Prairie

2019-20 record: 14-9

Dakota Prairie returns just one student-athlete with varsity experience in junior Cade Stein. The Knights will also call on Garrett Syverson and Garret Haakenson to make plays this season. Senior Blake Hanson will lead this District 7 team that features three seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and three freshmen.

4. Benson County

2019-20 record: 16-6

Outside of senior Blayne Anderson, Benson County will have to find some scoring after graduating four key pieces from its 2019-20 team. Anderson earned All-District honors last season and averaged 15.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.8 steals per game. Seniors John Fischer, Carson Tracy and Cole Wentz will see their roles increased in 2020-21 and watch out for some underclassmen to make a splash in the rotation. Head coach Dan Treleaven is high on sophomores Lane Benson and Gunnar Larson along with freshmen Macyn Olson and Chas Bisbee.

3. Harvey-Wells County

2019-20 record: 3-18

Harvey-Wells County will be one of the deeper teams in Region 4. The Hornets return nine student-athletes that averaged two points per game or more last season that includes senior Tyson Tipton. The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 11.7 points and 3.3 rebounds per game last season and led the team with 39 3-pointers. Sophomore Tate Grossman (9.2 ppg, 6.5 rpg) had a stellar freshman season and is one of the better Hornet players at finishing around the rim. Grossman has potential to be a top player in this region and has strong court vision. The Hornets also bring back one of their better defenders in junior Alex Erickson and last season he averaged 7.8 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. Head coach Trent Roemmich has a good group of student-athletes heading into the upcoming season but they’ll need to learn how to close out games. In 2019-20, the Hornets lost six games by six points or fewer.

2. New Rockford-Sheyenne

2019-20 record: 15-8

New Rockford-Sheyenne returns one double-digit scorer in senior Evan Ulrich and two other student-athletes in that saw varsity action in 2019-20. Ulrich is a talented big man with the ability to step outside and knock down long range shots. He made 45 3-pointers last season and averaged 13.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Senior Johnny Grann and junior Nick Berglund played a solid amount of minutes last year but the Rockets will need them both to take a step forward in their game. Berglund averaged 6.5 points and 4.3 rebounds per contest as a sophomore, while Grann added 5.8 points and 3.1 rebounds as a junior. Berglund is a gritty player but will to score more in 2020-21 for NR-S. The Rockets will need to get production out of upperclassmen Koven Walford (Sr.), Hunter Johnson (Sr.) and Kaden Jensen (Jr.), who all spent most of their time at the junior varsity level in 2019-20. Head coach Tyler Cook has three strong players in Ulrich, Grann and Berglund but will need others to step up for NR-S to have a shot at winning a Region 4 title this year.

1. Four Winds-Minnewaukan

2019-20 record: 23-1

Four Winds-Minnewaukan returns a talented group of 10 upperclassmen for the 2020-21 season. The Indians did, however, lose Doug Yankton to graduation but return three student-athletes that averaged over 10 points per contest last season. Senior Bronson Walter and Jaeshaun Shaw along with junior Jayden Yankton were All-District players in 2019-20. Walter, the 6-foot-10 center, averaged 14 points per game and seven rebounds, while Jayden Yankton added 12 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.1 steals per contest. Walter is a dominant player in the paint and Jayden Yankton is the Indians best 3-point shooter. Shaw is a solid point guard for FW-M and averaged 10.5 points and 2.6 assists per game as a junior and is one of the top defenders in Region 4. The Indians have some nice depth with a deep senior class. Seniors Keldon Keja (led team in assists), Caelen Lohnes, Jonah Jackson and Jacob LaRock will be called on to make more plays in 2020-21. And junior Jacolby Pearson and sophomore Kelson Keja, who had junior varsity season’s in 2019-20 will be in the running for some varsity minutes. FW-M returns a lot of talent and head coach Rick Smith should have his team ready to roll once the season starts.

District 8

6. Rolette

2019-20 record: 0-20

Rolette is coming off back-to-back seasons with 20 losses and they’ll be young again in 2020-21. Nine of the 10 student-athletes that return for the Comets are juniors, sophomores and freshmen. Ashtyn Wendlen is the lone senior for Eli Luna’s squad. Rolette does return three solid scorers in junior Ben Kraft (6.1 ppg), sophomore Montgomery Grant (6.8 ppg) and freshman Blake Mattson (6.1 ppg, 7.3 rpg).

5. St. John

2019-20 record: 20-4

Senior Michael Dunn will lead this St. John squad that features four seniors and 12 sophomores. The Woodchucks don’t have a junior on their roster, so some underclassmen are going to have to step up and fill in spots for this team. Dunn did a little bit of everything for St. John as a junior and averaged 13.8 points, 3.9 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.2 steals per contest. Senior Jaeton Parisien will also have look to score more and has the ability to do so. St. John also returns two players in seniors Tate LaFloe and Ethan McGillis that are high energy guys and play good defense.

4. Rolla

2019-20 record: 6-14

Rolla returns nearly its whole roster from 2019-20 but will still lack height with just one student-athlete over 6-foot-0. The Bulldogs return three double-digit scorers in senior Xavier Mitchell (14.1 ppg, 7.7 rpg), junior Deryk Thomas (11.3 ppg, 2.8 rpg) and sophomore Mitchell Leas (23.2 ppg, 4.1 rpg). Leas is a strong shooter and a player that has a high basketball IQ. He’ll continue to grow into one of the top players in Region 4. With nine out of 10 varsity players back from last season, Rolla has the potential to compete for a District 8 title.

3. Dunseith

2019-20 record: 13-12

Dunseith returns one of the top scorers in Region 4 along with seven upperclassmen. Junior Ethan Morin made 51 3-pointers in 2019-20 and averaged 18 points, 6.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists per game as a junior. He’s not afraid to take it to the rim and can hit from anywhere on the court. He’ll be the leader again this season. The Dragons also return senior Julius Grant (4.1 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and junior Chad Parisien (5.1 ppg). Dunseith will also have to get some production out of student-athletes that were on junior varsity last season that includes junior Dante Davis and sophomore Corben House. House has the potential to be a solid player for the Dragons.

2. Langdon Area-Edmore-Munich

2019-20 record: 18-6

Landgon Area-Edmore-Munich returns a trio of seniors that will lead the Cardinals this season. Grant Romfo returns as L-E-M’s leading scorer and is coming off a junior year where he averaged 15.4 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He also knocked down 44 3-pointers. Simon Romfo and Jagger Worley return as the two other senior student-athletes and combined for 18.3 points per game 9.6 rebounds last year. Simon Romfo is one of the better passers in Region 4 and at 6-foot-4, Worley gives L-E-M a solid post presence. Head coach Andrew Haaven will lean on five sophomores to fill out the rest of his lineup as the Cardinals return just three letter winners.

1. North Star

2019-20 record: 8-15

North Star brings back one of the deeper teams in Region 4 as they didn’t graduate any seniors. Head coach Jesse Vote will have the option to play with a 10 player rotation and keep everyone fresh for the fast paced offense they run. The Bearcats welcome back all five starters and senior Caleb Svir (12.1 ppg, 5.1 rpg) and freshmen Dane Hagler (12.1 ppg, 4.8 rpg) return as their top two scorers. Last season, six student-athletes averaged five points per game or more.