EAST GRAND FORKS — A school the size of East Grand Forks Senior High is often lucky to have one returning scorer in basketball with a proven background the previous season.
The Green Wave boys basketball team has three to start the 2024-25 season.
Senior Austin Rusling and juniors Carson McDonald and Chase Lindgren all averaged at least 16.0 points per game last season.
Rusling, who is signed at Minnesota State Fergus Falls, averaged 17.0 points and 6.0 rebounds while shooting 69 percent from inside the arc. He added 3.0 assists per game.
McDonald averaged 17.2 points per game last year while shooting 60 percent from inside the arc and 43 percent from 3-point range. He also had 2.0 steals per game.
Lindgren averaged 16.3 points per game while shooting 73 percent inside the arc and 48 percent outside it.
In the Green Wave’s first game of the season against Roseau, six East Grand Forks players finished in double figures.
Rusling had 41 points in Game 2 against Thief River Falls.
“Rusling is deadly,” East Grand Forks coach Josh Perkerewicz said. “He has a great 15-foot pull-up. He elevates well and gets to the top of his jump. Now, he’s added some things in the last couple of weeks we’ve seen with his ball-faking and pivoting. He’s tough to stop in the lane.”
McDonald had 14 points to aid Rusling’s effort against Thief River Falls.
“Carson is the energy guy,” Perkerewicz said. “If he can get going and make one, he’ll make the next two. When he gets in a zone, we want to find him. His range is halfcourt. He has the green light to shoot.”
Lindgren had 16 points in the opener against Roseau.
“Chase is going to be our guy to get us into things and settle us down at times,” Perkerewicz said. “His three ball is second to none, so he also has that green light. If he can get the ball in open court, he’s a great passer and really good at finding guys.”
With a wealth of options, the Wave challenge is finding the right way to score.
“It’s something they’re still working on,” Perkerewicz said. “There’s only one basketball, so we have to be able to do things offensively to make sure they’re getting the open looks we need. The dynamic is good.”
GGF boys basketball at-a-glance
Coach: Dan Carlson.
2023-24 record: 14-10.
Key returners: Sr. Cole Wilber (12.8 PPG, 3.7 RPG), jr. Brooklan Bruce (7.4 PPG), jr. Brayden Delorme (6.5 PPG), sr. Trey Wyman (2.1 PPG).
Top newcomers: Jr. Kaeden Kjonaas, sr. D.J. Perrault, jr. Zade Martin, jr. Quantae Henry, sr. Mikko Zamora.
Coach Carlson says: “It’s an interesting team because we lack size, and it’s going to be something we try to figure out all year. The first game against Dickinson, we weren’t up to speed in the first half. After that, we played three better halves. We have to move the ball and find a way to rebound. Other teams are going to have to guard us, too. We’ve always known (Bruce) is a dynamic player. Cole coming back is a stability guy and takes care of the dirty work.”
Coach: Kirby Krefting.
2023-24 record: 5-17.
Key returners: Sr. Pearce Parks (23.8 PPG, 4.0 RPG), sr. Cam Klefstad (14.5 PPG, 6.6 RPG), sr. JB Walters (4.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG), jr. Matt Dosch (3.3 PPG, 4.5 RPG), soph. James Schindler (3.2 PPG, 2.0 RPG).
Top newcomers: Jr. Jarrett Jonasson; soph. Reese Walters.
Coach Krefting says: “Coming into that long postseason of football, when there was a week to go before basketball, I was worried about the bumps and bruises but the returners caught on quickly. They know the system and philosophy and didn’t take long to get acclimated.We have room to grow but we can take what we’ve learned the last couple of years and get better and grow every day. The teamwork they have to make the extra pass and set screens and getting 50-50 balls … you can’t teach that. They just have it.”
Coach: Josh Perkerewicz.
2023-24 record: 16-12, lost to Pelican Rapids in Section 8AA semifinals.
Key returners: Sr. Austin Rusling (17.0 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 3.0 APG); jr. Carson McDonald (17.2 PPG, 2.0 SPG); jr. Chase Lindgren (16.3 PPG); jr. Brody Knutson; jr. Jez Jones; sr. Rylee Hams; sr. Weston Mahar; sr. Brayden Campos; sr. Maverick Martine; sr. Messi Kalenda; sr. Rylan Gravos.
Top newcomers: Soph. Raph Jones.
Coach Perkerewicz says: “We’ve been looking at playing 10 or 11 guys significant minutes especially on back-to-back games on the road. The way the schedule is for us, the month of December, six of our first seven games are on the road. You’re going to have to fight through adversity early in the season. Once we get to January, we should be getting comfortable at home.”
Coach: Destry Sterkel.
2023-24 record: 17-11.
Key returners (stats from 2024-25 season): Sr. Parker Erickson (17.0 PPG, 4.5 RPG), sr. Elliot Arntson (8.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG), jr. Isaac Sundby (4.0 PPG); sr. Greg Downs (12.3 PPG, 8.3 RPG); sr. Isaac Ortiz.
Top newcomers: Soph. Jacob Ortiz (13.7 PPG); sr. Jake Satterlund; sr. Will Zavarol (5.0 PPG); soph. Nathan Kaiser; jr. Gabe LeTexier; sr. Sawyer Horken.
Coach Sterkel says: “I thought we played pretty good basketball so far. We knew going in, we had some depth. I’m not sure we’ll play 11 or 12 players come playoffs but that’s a long way away and you can let the rotation sort itself out. We have good wings, good slashers and good post players. We knew we could run on teams and wear them down. That’s held true. The depth has been unfortunately nice with Parker missing some time with an ankle injury. We’ll lean on that depth to get us over that hump.”
