Record setting senior ends career with Tech basketball; commits to Augustana
COON RAPIDS – Tameron Ferguson played his last game as St. Cloud Tech basketball’s all-time leader in points and steals April 6 at the Minnesota Basketball Association’s All-Star series.
The next day he was named a finalist for the All-Star McDonald Award, recognizing Minnesota’s most outstanding senior player and on Thursday he committed to play in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference for Augustana, coordinating his commitment with sophomore brother Don Don Ferguson’s transfer to the school from Coppin State. They will play under first-year head coach Cody Schilling.
Tech’s coach and the Fergusons’ dad, Don Ferguson, coached the two games the All-Star team played at Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids. The event pits Minnesota’s top 40 basketball players against each other and Tiger assistant coaches Steve Burton and Terrance Waits Sr. were also on the roster. Albany’s staff coached a team in the girls event with seniors Alyssa Sand and Kylan Gerads playing.
Tameron Feguson’s highlights from two wins included a buzzer-beating three pointer from half court, a righthanded dunk off a bounce pass and a transition lob to a teammate who slammed the ball at the rim.
It was the end of a special run for the Tiger transplant. In three years since Don Ferguson was hired from Osseo, Tameron Ferguson set the career high in points with 2,159 and steals with 452. This year he averaged 35.4 points per game and set the school single-game scoring record with 51 points in the season opener against Hiawatha Collegiate (16-13). He also led all players in the state by more than 100 points with 1,026 points in his senior season.
“I think the things colleges like about him is when we watch him play it’s never forced, it’s always in the rhythm of the game,” Don Ferguson said.
The Tigers made the Class 3A state tournament in the first year the Fergusons were with the program when Don Don Ferguson was a senior and climbed to No. 3 all-time for Tech in scoring.
"(Tam) is one of those ones that would always try to keep up with us,” Don Ferguson said. “So you saw it in the fourth grade – in basketball and football he was just different. His speed and his understanding of the game at that young age was just different.”
Seventh grader Telen Ferguson is Don Ferguson’s youngest son. He plays point guard and “thinks he’ll break the record,” Tameron Ferguson said.
“I don’t think it will be broken for a while,” Tameron Ferguson said. “I hope he could break it. It would be three Fergusons in the top five.”
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Despite losing for the second year in a row to Alexandria (25-7) in the Section 8-3A championship, Tameron said he enjoyed what he felt was one of his most competitive seasons of basketball. He grew a few inches in the offseason and plays travel basketball.
Alex’s defensive traps and zones gave Tech (19-10) trouble in the two games after the Tigers beat the Cardinals on Jan. 26 when they were missing Minnesota-commit Grayson Grove and high major recruit Chase Thompson. The Tigers were blown out at home Feb. 13 and in the section championship March 14 by a score of 91-48. Alexandria lost the state Class 3A third-place game to DeLaSalle (22-10).
The year was highlighted by wins over Detroit Lakes (24-4) in the section semifinal and a sweep of Sauk Rapids-Rice (18-9). In addition to the regular season loss to Alex in the month leading up to the playoffs, the Tigers fell to Maple Grove (20-9), ROCORI (12-15) and Brainerd (17-10) and narrowly beat St. Cloud Apollo (6-21) and Fergus Falls (14-14).
Tech senior Mekhi Edwards, who joined the program for one year from Irondale, said the players gelled more and more on the court as the season progressed. A second scoring option as a 6'6" wing, Edwards had 14.3 points per game and is committed to play Division I junior college basketball at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, North Dakota. The Wildcats went 31-2 in 2023-24 and lost in the NJCAA North Central District Championship.
“I feel like we're all together,” Edwards said. “Like, on the court, off the court, at school we’re always together.”
Edwards wasn’t the only senior who moved to St. Cloud and played a year of varsity basketball. Palmer Baynes was the Tigers’ shooting guard after a year for Sartell-St. Stephen.
“We all talk a lot,” Baynes said. “For me being a new transfer, it’s definitely nice.”
He added that there were no egos getting in the way of team goals.
“Coach Don is a great coach,” Baynes said. “He explains everything well and believes in me.”
Edwards and Baynes both knew Don Ferguson as a coach and had played with Tameron Ferguson before 2023-24. Edwards said the Tigers looked to the point guard as a leader and Edwars said Tameron Ferguson's handling and vision were his best traits.
“He’s good at getting to the rim, everything,” Edwards said.
There were four other seniors on Tech: Jaden Harris, Ismael Traore, Ben Schmitt and Amarr Boyongo.
Contact reporter Reid Glenn at rglenn@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on St. Cloud Times: Tameron Ferguson ends record basketball career at St. Cloud Tech
