Benjamin Short | Coach
Beresford Boys Basketball
Please tell us about this year’s team. Who are the leaders? Predictions for the season?
Short: “This year’s team is going to be led by upperclassmen with quite a bit of experience. Malachi James, 3-year starter, Tiegen Nyhaug, Ashton Oberle, with 2 years of experience as starters, and two seniors, Hayden Schilling and Payden Hoffman, who bring maturity on and off the court that will help our younger guys develop and feel more comfortable when their names are called.”
What does the season look like this year? What challenges will the team face?
Short: “We are very excited about this upcoming year. Our first three games are against top 10 teams in Class A, saying that our goal is to finish with 15 wins and a shot at hosting a first-round playoff game come March.
We were immediately faced with adversity before the season even started. Losing Malachi James for the season is a huge blow. Malachi would have likely been a 25+ points per game guy, a first team all-conference, likely a 1st or 2nd team all-state selection as well. That practice was pretty emotional when it happened, knowing that it likely wasn’t an outcome that he would just be able to walk off. Now the challenge is shuffling our lineup and guys accepting new roles that include younger players who might have thought they had a year now have to play pivotal minutes if we want to reach our team goals for the season.”
What are the team’s strengths this year?
Short: “I mentioned our upperclassmen, Tiegen Nyhaug, will be expected to lead us offensively this season. Tiegen has committed to play basketball at Dakota Wesleyan University following this year. His outside shooting ability and size will allow mismatches and hopefully a very productive year. Two guys that might not be on people’s radar are Senior Hayden Schilling and Junior Hayden Homandberg. These two lefties give us a dynamic backcourt. Schilling is an amazing communicator and loves sharing the rock. Schilling’s high motor and basketball IQ hopefully allow us to play smart and to run our offense fluidly. Homandberg has tons of potential. Homandberg has worked tirelessly on his shot, and it has shown in the first week of practice. Homandberg length allows us to be flexible on matchups both offensively and defensively. Junior Ashton Oberle and Trey Kurtenbach will be vital pieces to our program as well, and their competitiveness should give us an equal attack throughout our varsity games.”
Which will be challenging games this year?
Short: “Like always, our region is the most challenging in the state. Competing against high-level competition. Also playing against our conference foes from the Big East, our schedule is littered with potential state tournament teams. So, showing up night in and night out, no nights off, being consistent, and playing at our standard of basketball is a must. It should be an exciting year!”