Jamestown boys will return talent, picked fourth in WDA

Dec. 8—JAMESTOWN — Ryan Larson loves the game of basketball.

"I try to play every day (for) around two to three hours a day," Larson, a senior at Jamestown High School, said. "I played AAU basketball and went to numerous camps during the summer. It is a team sport unlike any other. It is fast-paced and requires constant focus.

"I'm hyped for the season to start and can't wait to get going," he said. "I know that Coach (Jason) Carroll is also ready to get started. He has been eager to start coaching all of us and get his ideas into action on the court."

The Blue Jays officially began practicing on Nov. 20 and will open the season with a home game against West Fargo on Dec. 8.

"I am excited," Carroll, the newly named head coach of the Blue Jays, said. "I know there is a lot of talent there so it will be fun to see where this goes. We have some guys that are returning who have some starting experience and a few other guys returning with some varsity experience so it should be a fun year."

Jamestown High School announced the hiring of Carroll as the new head coach of the JHS boys basketball program on June 30. Carroll replaces former head coach Jacoby Lloyd who submitted his resignation in May. Lloyd spent six seasons with Jamestown and now acts as an assistant coach for the Bismarck Legacy program.

"The Blue Jays have been pretty good the last few years," Carroll said. "You can't argue with the success that the Blue Jays have been having lately. Keeping it on that track will be fine with me but you always want kids to improve and want the program to get stronger if you can. That will be my challenge."

Getting past the other teams in the West Region will also be a challenge for the first-year head coach.

The 2023 Annual Hoopster magazine pegged Jamestown as the No. 4 team in the West Region.

"That four prediction that they have us at, that's even going to be tough," Carroll said. "Century graduated a large number of their starters but they seem to always be in the mix. Bismarck didn't lose a ton to graduation so I expect Bismarck High to be really strong and Minot every year is strong. Those teams along with Legacy are going to be hard to deal with."

Jamestown will be hard to deal with in its own right.

"There are a lot of competitive athletes returning and there have been many players at open gyms preparing for the season," Larson said. "I believe we are a contender for a state championship, but we need to play one game at a time and stay healthy."

After being picked to finish fifth in the WDA last year, the Blue Jays shocked everyone and pulled off a top-four finish to punch their ticket to the state tournament for the first time since 2020. The Jays ended up finishing sixth at the tourney and are returning all but three members of the 2022-23 squad.

Besides Larson who averaged 11.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game, the Blue Jays will also bring back senior Dalton Lamp who averaged more than 12 points every night and led the team in steals with 42. Lamp was also responsible for dishing out 49 assists and draining 55 treys.

In the junior class, the Jays have Noah Meissner and Thomas Newman back. Meissner was scoring at least 11 points every game while Newman came onto the scene in mid-January and blew up the scoreboard. Newman finished out the year averaging more than 10 points in every contest. The pair of juniors also usually combined to nab at least six boards every game.

While the Blue Jays' opponents will know to look out for their key returners, Carroll has got a few more sleepers in the gym who could end up making a splash for the Jays.

"Caleb Schiele was a cornerback for the Blue Jay football team and he just seemed to get stronger and better every game for the football team," Carroll said. "If that tends to be his habit in the sports that he plays, I would have to say that he has a shot at being a little bit of a dark horse.

"Jackson Rose was a new transfer in from Rugby last year and I know he didn't get a chance to know the system very well but when he got into form where he knew the program a little bit more, he played some minutes for the varsity and they were valuable and meaningful minutes," he said. "I think he definitely has a chance to be a dark horse."

Schiele did not have any official stats from last season but Rose, a 6-foot-5 senior, made three steals, eight assists, two blocks and a pair of treys. Rose averaged 1.9 rebounds per game.

Due to the change to the Jays' coaching staff, Rose, along with the rest of the Blue Jay roster, will have to get to know a slightly new system again this year, but according to Carroll, it will be one that only heightens the strengths of every player on the floor.

"I want our team to play with good pace and I want them to consistently work hard every time they are on the floor," Carroll said. "I think we'll play a brand of basketball that people will enjoy and I think we'll be fun to watch."