MaxPreps 2013-14 North Dakota preseason boys basketball Fab 5

With Sparks, Weisbeck and Nagel returning, St. Mary's Central is the team to beat in North Dakota.

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Dec 6, 2013, 12:00am
MaxPreps 2013-14 North Dakota Boys Basketball Preseason Fab 5 presented by the Army National Guard

Click here to see the boys basketball preseason Fab 5 from every state

1. St. Mary's Central (Bismarck)

2013 finish: 20-4
Coach: Joe Mueller

St. Mary's returns its three top players from last year in all-conference selections Darius Sparks, Ben Weisbeck and Scott Nagel. Weisbeck finished second in the conference in scoring at 18.5 points per game while Sparks was fifth at 15.1. Nagel just missed finishing in the top 10, coming in at No. 11 with 11.3 points an outing.  St. Mary's went 20-4 on the season, but lost in overtime to eventual state champion Shanley in the first round of the Class A tournament.

2. Fargo Davies (Fargo)

2013 finish: 15-8
Coach: Bart Manson

Davies was one of the highest scoring teams in the state last year and two of the top scorers on last year's team, Tanner Kretchman and Andrew Kozlowski, return in 2013-14. Kretchman was the third-leading scorer in the conference at 24.2 points per game. Kozlowski was also a consistent threat at 16.2 points per outing. Fargo Davies lost to eventual champion Shanley in the second round of the state tournament but defeated Bismarck Century for third place.

3. Century (Bismarck)

2013 finish: 17-8
Coach: Darin Mattern

Century returns one of the top big men in the Western Dakota conference in Tyler Rudolph, a 6-foot-6 forward who averaged 13.9 points and 8 rebounds as a junior while leading Century to a 17-8 overall record and a fourth-place finish at the state tournament. Rudolph was all-conference last year, along with returning senior Robert Hutchins and sophomore Dalton Feeney. Hutchins averaged 11 points per game while Feeney was one of the conference's top free throw and three-point shooters as a freshman.

4. Shanley (Fargo)

2013 finish: 20-4 Class A state champion
Coach: Shane Alderman

Shanley loses one of the state's leading scorers and rebounders in A.J. Jacobson, who poured in 26 points and grabbed nearly 13 rebounds a game in leading Shanley to a state title last year. However all is not lost. Shanley returns Patrick Strom, a 6-2 guard who averaged 19.7 points per game as a junior.

5. Milnor

2013 finish: 22-6 Class B state champion
Coach: Ben Nelson

Milnor captured the Class B state championship last year and loses just one player from that squad. Briton Bussman (6-3) and Wyatt Mund (6-4) each return after finishing as the team's top two scorers last year. Bussman was one of the top scorers in the state at 24.8 points per game while Mund averaged 17.4. Bussman is a returning all-state second team selection.

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