Boys basketball: It's a Big Red Gym homecoming

Dec. 26—WILLMAR

— Sam Esboldt is home for the holidays. And he's bringing some people over for the holiday week.

It's his boys basketball team from St. Paul Humboldt.

Esboldt is a 2010 Willmar High School grad and is in his second year coaching the Hawks. He's also the assistant activities director at the school.

And now, Esboldt will have a homecoming of sorts when Humboldt takes on Willmar in Day 1 of the 2023

Bremer Bank Holiday Classic

.

"I'm super excited," Esboldt said. "One of my fondest memories of playing for the Cardinals is playing in that gym and playing in that holiday tournament and sizing up NLS every year. Still proud to say I never lost to 'em.

"I'm really excited to bring the guys out and see the atmosphere that I remember at the Big Red Gym."

The Hawks and Cardinals play at 7:15 p.m. Thursday in the final game of Day 1. The Bremer opens with MACCRAY vs. Redwood Valley at 2 p.m., followed by Dassel-Cokato vs. Barnesville at 3:45 p.m. and New London-Spicer vs. Central Minnesota Christian at 5:30 p.m.

"It'll be weird being on the other bench," Esboldt said, "so I'm not sure how I will react to that. But it'll be a good time."

During the week, Humboldt's team will stay with Sam's parents, Susie and Gary Esboldt.

"The guys will have air mattresses next to each other, so that'll bring them closer," Sam said. "We got a birthday on the team on Thursday, so we'll have a little birthday celebration. The guys are already playing an NBA 2k (video game) tournament. We'll do a couple different things that'll be low key .. but I'm really excited for us to be in the same household together eating meals and really coming together over the holiday."

Willmar head boys basketball coach Jeff Holtkamp taught Sam in middle school. He recalls Esboldt being a part of Willmar's 2008 state team and the game-winning shots he hit as a senior.

"He's gone on and coached at different places," Holtkamp said. Sam was an assistant coach at Brooklyn Center High School and Des Moines Area Community College, which won the NJCAA Division II national championship in 2020-21. He also was the director of basketball operations for the men's and women's basketball teams at Minot State University.

"It's kind of fun to play against him," Holtkamp added. "He and I know each other really well. I don't know a whole lot about the program overall."

Esboldt's program is off to a 5-1 start. The Hawks are averaging 72.7 points per game, best in the St. Paul City Conference.

"It's our second best start in the last 45 years," Sam said. "This is my second year here and trying to instill a winning culture and teach these kids how to win and what that looks like and what it takes. They've really bought in. We had three seniors that are really good on and off the court."

The three seniors are Albert Wellington, Pierre Stewart and Endale Witt. Wellington and Stewart are returning all-conference players. Beyond the seniors, Humboldt has three freshmen and an eighth-grader in the rotation.

"They've done a phenomenal job blending together those different age groups and personalities," Sam said. "We're also a co-op with a different school (Open World Learning) and two players (Witt and freshman Luke Hobday) so that's another added dynamic. I think it's a credit to (the player) as far as what they've been able to do early on here as far as coming together and keeping a united front."

While Humboldt is off to a historic start for its program, Willmar is hoping to stop its early season slide.

The Cardinals are 0-7 and are coming off a 65-60 loss to Sartell on Tuesday, Dec. 19.

"We've seen some steps," Holtkamp said. "We're so inexperienced; I can't say the word young because we do have a few seniors but a lot of them hadn't seen the court. And then we start off with the schedule we had with Marshall, then Brainerd, Alex and Sauk Rapids, three of the top teams in the CLC.

"We're trying to learn a lot about ourselves and gaining that varsity experience and those are tough teams to start the year off with."

The bits and pieces have been there. Holtkamp said the first 10 minutes against Alexandria were the best the team has played this season. Against Little Falls, Holtkamp said there were good looks that just didn't fall. Against Sartell, Willmar led by 10 points in the second half.

"We're making progress," Holtkamp said. "We're really working hard on not turning the ball over and that was the big thing against those top teams where you turn it over and they score in transition at will."

Over the first seven games, Holtkamp praised the efforts of senior Tucker Swanson, sophomore Avery Christensen and junior Jackson Schichels.

"Tucker has really stepped up, right now he's shooting 46% on 3-pointers and leading us in rebounding," Holtkamp said. "He's been a pleasant surprise for us.

"Avery and Jackson, we ask a lot of as far as the ball-handling and handling of pressure. That's a big ask for them being first-year starters against that quality of opponent we've seen the past couple games and they've really stepped up in that area."

Hoping to go into 2024 on a high note, Holtkamp is hoping the Bremer can instill some confidence into his team.

"Not letting a bad shot or a bad turnover affect their next possession and just growing with mistakes and moving on after making a mistake," Holtkamp said. "We want to get a lot better defensively in all aspects, on ball, off ball, help defense, just getting better at that. ... We just got to get more consistent in our defensive effort."

The Bremer will have a different look this week. Instead of predetermined match-ups over the two days, the Bremer will have a pair of four-team tournaments. Willmar is in the red bracket with Humboldt, NLS and CMCS. MACCRAY, Redwood Valley, Dassel-Cokato and Barnesville will play in the white bracket.

On Friday, the third-place game in the white bracket takes place at 2 p.m., followed by the championship game at 3:45 p.m. The third-place game in the red bracket is at 5:30 p.m., followed by the championship at 7:15 p.m.

"I think it's worth a shot to see how it goes," Holtkamp said. "It used to be a four-team tournament for the holiday tournament before it went to eight teams.

"It's a great field. There are a lot of good teams in there. Almost every year, there's a game that goes to overtime or comes down to a last shot. There's been a couple of those the last couple of years."

(Thursday/Friday at Willmar High School)

Thursday

White Bracket

MACCRAY (6-1) vs. Redwood Valley (6-1), 2 p.m.

Dassel-Cokato (3-4) vs. Barnesville (4-1), 3:45 p.m.

Red Bracket

New London-Spicer (3-4) vs. Central Minnesota Christian (3-2), 5:30 p.m.

St. Paul Humboldt (5-1) vs. Willmar (0-7), 7:15 p.m.

Friday

White Bracket

Third-place game, 2 p.m.

Championship, 3:45 p.m.

Red Bracket

Third-place game, 5:30 p.m.

Championship, 7:15 p.m.

Crusader Christmas Classic (at St. Cloud): Litchfield vs. Melrose, 3:30 p.m.

Grand8 Holiday Classic (at Perham): Paynesville vs. Sauk Centre, 3:45 p.m.

Rushford-Peterson Holiday Invite: Dawson-Boyd vs. Baldwin-Woodville, 4:30 p.m.

Windom Holiday Classic: KMS vs. St. James, 1:30 p.m.

Bremer Bank Holiday Classic (at Willmar): MACCRAY vs. Redwood Valley, 2 p.m.; Dassel-Cokato vs. Barnesville, 3:45 p.m.; New London-Spicer vs. CMCS, 5:30 p.m.; St. Paul Humboldt vs. Willmar, 7:15 p.m.

Crusader Christmas Classic (at St. Cloud): Litchfield vs. St. Cloud Cathedral, 7 p.m.

Grand8 Holiday Classic (at Perham): Paynesville vs. TBD. Third-place game: 11:45 a.m.; championship game: 3:15 p.m.

HLWW tournament: Minnewaska vs. HLWW, 7 p.m.

Rushford-Peterson Holiday Invite: Dawson-Boyd vs. Hayfield, 3 p.m.

Windom Holiday Classic: KMS vs. TBD. Third-place game, 4:30 p.m.; championship game, 6 p.m.

Bremer Bank Holiday Classic (at Willmar): TBD at 2 p.m.; 3:45 p.m.; 5:30 p.m.; 7:15 p.m.

Crusader Christmas Classic: Litchfield vs. Concordia Academy, 3:30 p.m.

Breakdown Granite City Classic: Mountain Iron-Buhl vs. BOLD, 2:45 p.m. (at St. Cloud Tech); BBE vs. Nevis, 3:30 p.m. (at Collegeville)

HLWW tournament: Minnewaska vs. TBD, TBD

SMSU Holiday Tournament (at Marshall): RCW vs. Red Rock Central, 1:45 p.m.; Montevideo vs. Jackson County Central, 3:30 p.m.

Rushford-Peterson Holiday Invite: Dawson-Boyd vs. Rushford-Peterson, 11 a.m.

Breakdown Granite City Classic: BBE vs. Mountain Iron-Buhl, 3:45 p.m. (at St. Cloud Apollo); BOLD vs. Cass Lake-Bena, 5:15 p.m. (at St. Cloud Apollo)

SMSU Holiday Tournament (at Marshall): RCW vs. Murray County Central, 12:45 p.m.; MACCRAY vs. Windom, 2:30 p.m.; Montevideo vs. Pipestone, 4:15 p.m.