I first started at the Bemidji (Minn.) Pioneer as an intern in the summer of 1996. That would begin six years as a news reporter, sports reporter and copy editor for a small, six-day-per-week daily newspaper in northern Minnesota. I wrote a large range of stories from multiple beats, to features to sports, my favorite being the coverage of the Red Lake Reservation High School basketball team named the Warriors. Here is a collection of my stories from my time at the Pioneer.
Oct. 18, 1998
By Devlyn Brooks
And then there were six.
That's the number of familiar names one would see comparing a 1997-98 BSU men's basketball roster to a 1998-99 roster.
Guards Todd Fazio and Nathan Patnode and forward Brandi Winfrey -- graduated.
Two-year backup point guard John Frie quit school.
Forward Jon Solheim and Robert Ruda and guards William Fetch, Troy Hagen and Jeffrey Joerger -- all gone due to various reasons from personal issues to lacking the desire to play.
The losses have taken a heavy toll on this year's team, one season after the Beavers had made some strides in catching the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference's elite teams.
Which means fourth-year head coach Dave Gunther (19-57 at BSU, 446-277 in 26 years) will have some interesting decisions to make.
How do you replace Fetch, the team's third leading scorer; Fazio who had about seven points a game; or even Frie, who might have advanced to the starting point guard position this year?
"You hate to lose that kind of experience," Gunther said Friday after his team's second practice of the year. "(But) you go with the people you have and get the new people ready."
Good plan. So, who is back?
There's team-leading scorer B.J. LaVelle, who averaged 11 points per game and played more minutes than anyone else.
Also back after a season-ending injury late last year is sophomore shooting guard Seth Greenwaldt who ripped up his knee with six game left. Before his injury he was adding 8.1 points per game, and his absence was a factor in the team's last games.
Junior center Ben Caron, who also tore up his knee in the last game of the season, averaged 10.3 points per game last year and will be responsible for anchoring this year's squad in the middle. He is the only true center on the roster.
The Beavers will also depend upon big seasons from returning forwards Ken Ponto and Mac Smith. Ponto averaged 8.3 points while appearing in all 27 games last year, and Smith contributed 7.8 points per game and supported Caron with center's duties.
Junior Colby Bragg was redshirted last year.
Joining the Beavers are freshman Kris Pederson of Pequot Lakes, Joey Riccio of California, Andrew Koppi of St. Paul and Pat Laughlin, who played football for BSU last year, and sophomore Chris Lehman of Esko.
In addition, junior college transfers, Larry Smith of Minneapolis Community College and Carlos Barnes of Gogebic Community College in Michigan will complete the roster.
Gunther said his lineup will feature some depth on the perimeter, but it will be less experienced inside.
The freshman and transfers should have an "immediate impact," he added.
Gunther said Barnes and Riccio are battling over the point guard position, but LaVelle should start at the shooting guard spot, with Greenwaldt seeing a lot of minutes.
Caron should keep the center position, while Ponto, Mac Smith and Larry Smith will probably share the forwards' duties.
The Beavers finished with an 11-16 overall record last year, with a 4-8 NSIC conference record. It was good enough to tie them for fourth in the conference behind Southwest State, Winona State and Northern State.
Those were the first conference games the team had won in more than two seasons, and it was a glimmer of what the Beavers might do in 1998-99 with an experienced cast.
But that was before all of the personnel losses.
If the Beavers are to continue their upward progression in the league this year, a lot of questions about who will play what role will have to be answered fast.
The Beavers will open their season at home Saturday, Nov. 14, versus Mankato State.
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