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Mar. 23—MINNEAPOLIS — After the conclusion of Saturday's press conference following Dawson-Boyd's victory against Cherry in the Class A state championship game, junior Gunner Liebl joked with seniors Brayson Boike and Drew Hjelmeland.
"You two are going to miss me next year," Liebl said in a Williams Arena hallway.
But, truth be told, Liebl will miss Dawson-Boyd's two monster leaders.
The three Blackjacks have been playing together for quite some time.
After all, they led Dawson-Boyd to its first state championship and Camden Conference titles in each of the past three seasons.
Boike, a 6-foot-8 senior guard, committed to the Division II Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, was an All-Area First Team pick the last two years.
He averaged 29.3 points on 65.3% shooting and 7.3 boards in three games at the Class A state tournament to earn All-Tournament honors.
Hjelmeland, a 6-7 senior forward who was an All-Area Second Team selection last season, averaged 15.0 points on 53% shooting, 9.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists at state to also secure All-Tournament honors.
"I'm gonna miss those two a lot next year," Liebl said. "We played together from junior high all the way up to now. It's just kind of unreal that I'm not gonna be able to play with them anymore."
But, with Liebl entering his senior season next fall, he should help the Blackjacks remain competitive in conference and section play.
He will be Dawson-Boyd's lone senior who returns with a load of experience.
And there is some good news to that.
Liebl just proved he can go toe-to-toe with the state's best this past weekend.
The 6-0 junior guard averaged 16.0 points on 48.7% shooting, 4.6 assists and 4.3 boards per contest. His 20 points in Saturday's championship was his tournament best.
He was also named to the All-Tournament team.
"It was pretty cool to compete with the top guys in the state," Liebl said. "Sometimes I gotta go out there with something to prove for the town of Dawson. They all showed up for us. You got to get their money's worth."
Liebl took a leap in all facets this year and it comes after a strong football season where he was on the All-Area football team.
The dual-threat quarterback completed 65.3% of his passes for 2,102 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also ran for 593 yards and 13 touchdowns on 88 carries.
"It started certainly in football," Dawson-Boyd head boys basketball coach Cory Larson said. "You could see him being a little bit more of a leader on the field. He definitely started to take more control on the court during the winter season as well."
Liebl will have two other returning starters back with him next year, Jaxton Hastad and Carson Stratmoen.
Hastad, a 6-3 sophomore guard, has risen as a defensive stopper.
He was key in the Blackjacks' state semifinal win against Red Lake County with 15 points, eight boards and six assists on Friday at Williams Arena.
"I think these guys (Boke, Hjelmeland, Liebl, Stratmoen) got (Hastad) to be passionate about basketball," Larson said.
Well, that surely paid its dividends.
And, with Stratmoen, the Blackjacks get a lights-out perimeter shooter back. He showcased that in the state championship.
Stratmoen, a 6-0 sophomore guard, knocked down four second-half 3-pointers in Saturday's heavyweight fight with Cherry. He finished with 12 points.
Three of Stratmoen's 3-pointers came in a 2-minute, 28-second span early in the second half. His fourth gave Dawson-Boyd a 67-61 lead with 5:34 to play.
"He has shot a lot of threes in his life; he's an excellent shooter," Larson said. "You're going to see him expand his game to become not just a shooter, but more of a scorer."
Liebl has no concern with Hastad and Stratmoen.
He also knows there are players who will step up in the future.
"I know (Jaxton and Carson) are going to put in a lot of time in the off season," Liebl said. "But then we got a couple other guys coming up like Mason and Colten Bothun. We should be returning some pretty good guys."
Now with their first state title, Larson hopes that success helps drive the next crop of athletes who come through his program.
"I think whenever you get to this point you hope it motivates other kids to put a little bit more time in because you know that feeling and you'll take certainly nothing for granted," Larson said. "All these younger kids that were in the stands here (Saturday). I always tell them, 'Cheer loud and dream about being here some day yourself.'"
Class A: Noah Asuma, Cherry; AJ Bessler, Nevis; Brayson Boike, Dawson-Boyd; Carson Brown, Cherry; Connor Duden, Red Lake County; Owen Chervestad, Red Lake County; Drew Hjelmeland, Dawson-Boyd; Gunner Liebl, Dawson-Boyd; Kale Misegades, Henning; Noah Sundquist, Cherry
Class AA: Ezekial Austin, Albany; Elliott Burnett, Albany; Sam Hondl, Albany; Reid Klug, Caledonia; Waleed Muhammad, Breck; Miles Newton, Breck; Carson Ohnstad, Waseca, Gannon Reidinger, Montevideo; Damerius Russell, Waseca, Deron Russell, Waseca
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"You two are going to miss me next year," Liebl said in a Williams Arena hallway.
But, truth be told, Liebl will miss Dawson-Boyd's two monster leaders.
The three Blackjacks have been playing together for quite some time.
After all, they led Dawson-Boyd to its first state championship and Camden Conference titles in each of the past three seasons.
Boike, a 6-foot-8 senior guard, committed to the Division II Southwest Minnesota State University in Marshall, was an All-Area First Team pick the last two years.
He averaged 29.3 points on 65.3% shooting and 7.3 boards in three games at the Class A state tournament to earn All-Tournament honors.
Hjelmeland, a 6-7 senior forward who was an All-Area Second Team selection last season, averaged 15.0 points on 53% shooting, 9.7 rebounds and 6.0 assists at state to also secure All-Tournament honors.
"I'm gonna miss those two a lot next year," Liebl said. "We played together from junior high all the way up to now. It's just kind of unreal that I'm not gonna be able to play with them anymore."
But, with Liebl entering his senior season next fall, he should help the Blackjacks remain competitive in conference and section play.
He will be Dawson-Boyd's lone senior who returns with a load of experience.
And there is some good news to that.
Liebl just proved he can go toe-to-toe with the state's best this past weekend.
The 6-0 junior guard averaged 16.0 points on 48.7% shooting, 4.6 assists and 4.3 boards per contest. His 20 points in Saturday's championship was his tournament best.
He was also named to the All-Tournament team.
"It was pretty cool to compete with the top guys in the state," Liebl said. "Sometimes I gotta go out there with something to prove for the town of Dawson. They all showed up for us. You got to get their money's worth."
Liebl took a leap in all facets this year and it comes after a strong football season where he was on the All-Area football team.
The dual-threat quarterback completed 65.3% of his passes for 2,102 yards and 21 touchdowns. He also ran for 593 yards and 13 touchdowns on 88 carries.
"It started certainly in football," Dawson-Boyd head boys basketball coach Cory Larson said. "You could see him being a little bit more of a leader on the field. He definitely started to take more control on the court during the winter season as well."
Liebl will have two other returning starters back with him next year, Jaxton Hastad and Carson Stratmoen.
Hastad, a 6-3 sophomore guard, has risen as a defensive stopper.
He was key in the Blackjacks' state semifinal win against Red Lake County with 15 points, eight boards and six assists on Friday at Williams Arena.
"I think these guys (Boke, Hjelmeland, Liebl, Stratmoen) got (Hastad) to be passionate about basketball," Larson said.
Well, that surely paid its dividends.
And, with Stratmoen, the Blackjacks get a lights-out perimeter shooter back. He showcased that in the state championship.
Stratmoen, a 6-0 sophomore guard, knocked down four second-half 3-pointers in Saturday's heavyweight fight with Cherry. He finished with 12 points.
Three of Stratmoen's 3-pointers came in a 2-minute, 28-second span early in the second half. His fourth gave Dawson-Boyd a 67-61 lead with 5:34 to play.
"He has shot a lot of threes in his life; he's an excellent shooter," Larson said. "You're going to see him expand his game to become not just a shooter, but more of a scorer."
Liebl has no concern with Hastad and Stratmoen.
He also knows there are players who will step up in the future.
"I know (Jaxton and Carson) are going to put in a lot of time in the off season," Liebl said. "But then we got a couple other guys coming up like Mason and Colten Bothun. We should be returning some pretty good guys."
Now with their first state title, Larson hopes that success helps drive the next crop of athletes who come through his program.
"I think whenever you get to this point you hope it motivates other kids to put a little bit more time in because you know that feeling and you'll take certainly nothing for granted," Larson said. "All these younger kids that were in the stands here (Saturday). I always tell them, 'Cheer loud and dream about being here some day yourself.'"
Class A: Noah Asuma, Cherry; AJ Bessler, Nevis; Brayson Boike, Dawson-Boyd; Carson Brown, Cherry; Connor Duden, Red Lake County; Owen Chervestad, Red Lake County; Drew Hjelmeland, Dawson-Boyd; Gunner Liebl, Dawson-Boyd; Kale Misegades, Henning; Noah Sundquist, Cherry
Class AA: Ezekial Austin, Albany; Elliott Burnett, Albany; Sam Hondl, Albany; Reid Klug, Caledonia; Waleed Muhammad, Breck; Miles Newton, Breck; Carson Ohnstad, Waseca, Gannon Reidinger, Montevideo; Damerius Russell, Waseca, Deron Russell, Waseca
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