skip navigation

Pillager Boys Basketball (Season Preview)

By Craig Olson, 01/06/21, 4:00PM CST

Share

The Pillager Huskies completed the 2019-2020 boys’ basketball season tied for runner-up honors in the Park Region Conference with a 10-4 conference record.  They finished 16-11 overall.  With the loss of 4-year varsity starter Spencer Schaefer, the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Pillager, 3-year varsity starters Ty Swenson and Carson VanVickle, and 2-year starter Judah Beard to graduation, the Huskies have some question marks to address going into the 2020-2021 season.

“We have a large number of seniors and juniors on the team and will have good team speed,” said Head Coach Jim Bentson, entering his twelfth year at the helm.  “We do have some inexperience at the varsity level and with our bench.”

Returning letter winners include seniors AJ Gratke (Forward), Cole Hiltner (Forward) and Griffin Decker (Guard).

Coach Bentson, who will be assisted by Kent Janicke and Chris Berent, will be looking for varsity contributions from seniors Eli Shingledecker (Guard), Jimmy Winkelman (Guard), Gabe Grimsley (Guard) and Blake Clark (Forward), along with juniors Grayson Beard (Guard), Jacob Dixon (Guard), Zion Loucks (Guard), Tytan Skeesick (Forward) and Evan Imgrund (Center).

Bentson says Moose Lake-Willow River, Crosby-Ironton and Pequot Lakes will be the top teams in Section 7AA, while New York Mills is the team to beat in the Park Region Conference.