Randall tops list: Barton, Stemen, Roemmich, Moser on first team

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Sun file photo / Kevin Cederstrom Kidder County’s Adam Randall (right) heads the 2009-10 Jamestown Sun All-Area Boys’ Basketball Team. Randall finished his standout career with 2,190 career points.

Talk about it

Just how hard is it to score 2,190 career points in high school boys’ basketball?

According to the Hoopster, only 16 players in the history of North Dakota boys’ prep ball have scored more career points than Kidder County’s Adam Randall, and there’s never been a 2,000 career point scorer in the Class A ranks — Valley City’s Jeff Boschee came up 6 points short (1,994).

Toss in Region 3 Senior Athlete of The Year, North Dakota Senior Athlete of The Year and the 2009-10 Mr. Basketball award, and it’s no surprise that Randall headlines this year’s Jamestown Sun All-Area Boys’ Basketball Team.

“He was the player that everyone hopes for because he makes everyone on your team better,” Kidder County coach Paul Olson said. “He can score points, he’s a good passer, great defender, good rebounder. If you were on the court with him you were a better player.”

Randall, a 6-foot-4 guard, was voted All-State three times in his career — the past two seasons he was elected to the All-State first team. The senior led the Pirates (20-7) to a Region 3 championship and a fourth-place finish at the state Class B boys’ basketball tournament this past season, averaging 26.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.2 steals per game.

Randall is joined on the first team by Carrington’s Devin Barton, LaMoure’s Aaron Stemen, Linton’s Trent Roemmich and Central Prairie’s Nic Moser.

“In the run to the state tournament, first of all I thought the team played really well, but Adam was the guy who drew a lot of attention in those big games,” Olson said. “Good players play really good when they need to and he did. He was going to get the big rebound when you needed it, and make the big shot when you needed it. He made a heck of a run for us down the stretch.”

This is Randall’s second year being named to the All-Area first team. Along with his 2,190 career points, Randall ended his prep career with 902 total rebounds and 295 total assists.

It’s tough to imitate 6-6, 260 pounds, and the state’s toughest Class B teams this season figured out just exactly how hard it is.

Carrington senior captain Devin Barton didn’t just show up for the state Class B tournament, he owned it. Barton averaged 20.0 points and 12.7 rebounds over the three games played, scoring the first 6 Carrington points in the state championship contest vs. Lewis & Clark-Berthold.

Carrington won the state title 65-59 behind Barton’s 18 points, and Barton went on to be selected as the state tourney MVP.

“If he established low-post position, he was there to stay,” Carrington coach Nate Monson said. “It’s a case where you really can’t prepare if you don’t have a kid that big on your team. You can simulate some things in practice, but it’s tough to simulate 6-6.”

Behind Barton’s presence in the middle, the Cardinals knocked off the No. 1-ranked North Star Bearcats in the Region 4 title tilt, and ended the season with a 25-2 overall record and the team’s first state championship since 1995.

Barton posted season averages of 16.3 points and 9.9 rebounds per game, was voted to the all-state second team, and surpassed 1,200 career points. Barton will be suiting up for the University of North Dakota football team in the fall.

A search for the prototypical high school basketball player would begin and end with LaMoure’s Aaron Stemen.

Height, speed, awareness, a marksman shooter’s touch — Stemen’s got it all.

If it wasn’t for Adam Randall and Kidder County, it’s difficult to say just how far Stemen and the Loboes could have reached this past season. LaMoure fell to Kidder County in overtime of the Region 3 championship game, 56-51 — Stemen scored 23 points.

“Aaron has a lot of talents. It’s nice when you have a 6-4 guy that can play wing like he does,” LaMoure coach Darren Thielges said. “When our offense became stagnant and needed to score, we had a guy athletic enough that could score.”

Stemen led the Loboes to a 16-9 overall record and picked up co-District 5 Senior Athlete of The Year honors with Central Prairie’s Nic Moser. Stemen’s season averages of 18.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.2 blocks per game earned the senior standout All-State second team honors.

Stemen was selected to the All-Area second team a season ago.

“The nice thing about him is that he’s a good guy,” Thielges said. “He probably could have scored more this year than he averaged, but he didn’t put personal goals above team goals.”

Stemen converted 50 of 182 shots from three-point land this season for 39 percent, while shooting 47 percent from the field (116 of 250) and 64 percent from the free-throw line (101 of 158). Stemen will continue his basketball career next year at Jamestown College.

Linton’s Trent Roemmich is beyond question the best North Dakota high school basketball player that was denied access to All-State status throughout his career by the voters.

Just look at Roemmich’s 2009-10 senior numbers: 17.6 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.9 steals and 1.3 blocks per game.

Staggering stats and pure athletic ability aside, Roemmich is a straight A student and arguably one of the nicest kids one could meet.

“He’s one of the best athletes I’ve ever had, or to have come out of this school,” Linton coach Dan Carr said. “He’s very versatile and a great kid. Trent is very team orientated, he’ll do what you want him to do, and he’s a great competitor.

“He’s everything a coach would like to see in a player.”

Roemmich, a 6-2 forward, was the driving force behind the Lions’ success the past 2 seasons, guiding the team to an overall record of 45-3 and its first state championship since 1985 during that time frame. The Lions defeated Dakota Prairie 82-63 in the state championship game a season ago.

Roemmich was named to the All-Area second team last year. The Lions wrapped up the 2009-10 season with an overall record of 19-3.

In the closing seconds of a tight basketball game, there’s only one kid the Jamestown Sun sports staff wants holding the basketball: Central Prairie’s Nic Moser.

It’s one of those cases where if Moser were to miss the shot, the team could walk off the floor and say that was without a doubt our best chance at the ‘W.’

Otherwise known as Mr. Clutch, Moser came up with spectacular game-changing shots time and again throughout his career, none burning brighter than Moser’s three-quarter court Hail Mary to beat Ellendale 66-63 at the buzzer in the 2009 District 5 title game.

“Nic wants to take the big shots and throughout his career he made big shots for us,” Central Prairie coach Paul Erbele said. “He also hit a lot of big free throws and sealed games a lot of games at the line. He really worked on his shots, and this year he was able to put the ball on the floor and got to the basket, which made him tougher to stop.”

A 6-1 senior guard, Moser wrapped up the 2009-10 season with averages of 18.0 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game, and also shot 73 percent from the free-throw line. The Firebirds ended the season with a mark of 16-6 overall, while Moser earned co-District 5 Senior Athlete of The Year accolades.

This is Moser’s second year being named to the All-Area first team.

Second Team

r Jackson Unruh, 6-4 senior forward, Carrington. 10.6 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 89 assists, 49 steals. Unruh was a team captain and a four-year starter for the 2009-10 Class B champions. Unruh led the Cardinals in assists and steals, and shot 43 percent from the field and 60 percent from the free-throw line.

r Alex Knudson, 5-6 senior guard, Edgeley-Kulm. 15.0 ppg, 2.5 spg, 1.5 apg, 3.4 rpg. Knudson’s lightning-quick speed and deadly three-point shooting helped the Rebels to a 6-15 overall record. Knudson hit 35 treys on the year and shot 68 percent from the free-throw line.

r Derek Burchill, 6-5 senior center, Valley City. 14.0 ppg, 9.0 rpg, 3.0 bpg. Burchill played a leading role in Valley City’s first year in the Class B ranks. The Hi-Liner’s won the District 5 championship and ended the season with an overall record of 17-6.

r Tanner White, 6-3 junior guard, Ellendale. 14.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 4.3 apg, 2.4 spg. White was the floor leader for the 14-9 Cardinals. White shot 48 percent from the field and 70 percent from the line to help the Cards advance to the Region 3 tournament.

r Brett Allmaras, 5-10 senior guard, New Rockford-Sheyenne. 18.2 ppg, 8.0 rpg, 2.3 spg, 3.2 apg. Allmaras shot 48 percent from the field.

r Jason Hagen, 6-0 senior guard, Oakes. 15.1 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 2.5 spg, 2.8 apg. Hagen scored 1,034 points during his prep career and was named all-district three times.

r Brock Knodel, 6-2 senior forward, Central Prairie. 15.0 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.0 apg. Knodel was an integral part of Central Prairie’s success the past 2 seasons, playing alongside Nic Moser. Knodel converted 74 percent of his free throws during his senior year, and help the Firebirds advance to the Region 3 title game a season ago.

r Stephen Guler, 5-10 junior guard, New Rockford-Sheyenne. 17.2 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 2.0 spg, 4.8 apg. Guler converted 34 percent from three-point range, and sank 46 percent of his shots from the floor.

r Danny Nieuwsma, 6-0 senior post, Strasburg-Zeeland. 15.2 ppg, 7 rpg, 20 steals, 20 blocks. Nieuwsma led the Clippers in scoring and blocked shots, while patrolling the paint as the team’s undersized post presence. It worked, however, as they posted a record of 17-8.

r Travis Brandvold, 6-1 senior guard, Litchville-Marion-Montpelier. 13.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 37 steals, 94 assists. Brandvold stepped up in the absence of 6-6 senior forward Dillon Carpenter, who missed a majority of the season with an injury. Brandvold helped lead the team to a 13-10 record and a runner-up finish in the District 5 tourney, pacing the team in free-throw percentage (71 of 90), rebounds (141) and assists.

Sun sports writer Michael Savaloja can be reached at (701) 952-8461 or by email at mikes@jamestownsun.com

Tags: class a, class b, sports, basketball, randall, barton, stemen, roemmich, moser, boys