Minot High’s boys basketball team is the reigning state champion.

The Magicians know that, and understand the burden it carries.

And they’re relishing it.

“We want that title on our back,” senior forward Braydon Lund said. “We love people coming after us. We know we will get everybody’s best game. We love having the target on our back.”

Minot opens its season tonight, as it hosts St. Mary’s at 7:30. And while many of last season’s contributors are back for the Magi, a few missing pieces remain.

Former starters Nick Soltis, Noah Bosh and – perhaps most notably – Dakota Halvorson all graduated in June.

Halvorson was the floor general for the Magicians, averaging a team-best 17.4 points per game. For his efforts, he was a Mr. Basketball finalist, was named senior athlete of the year and picked up a scholarship to Minot State, where he’s currently redshirting.

Halvorson’s contributions will be sorely missed.

“Dakota just had the ability to go get a basket,” Minot coach Dean Winczewski said. “It seemed like anytime we needed something to happen we had that guy that could take the ball and go get one. It wasn’t just Dakota, though. Obviously he was a huge part of our success at shooting and scoring, but he was great and getting other people involved and he did some great things defensively. Noah Bosh and Nick Soltis did some great things, and their attitude and toughness is what we are trying to establish right now. We want that toughness and a chip-on-our-shoulder mentality. We can’t be satisfied with what we’ve done. It’s great and we are all happy for it, but it doesn’t mean anything this year. We have to line up and crate our own identity. We will do some of the same things, but we also have to tailor things with what we have.”

Minot’s returning class is highlighted by the inside-out duo of senior forward Braydon Lund and senior guard Ben Bolinske.

“I’m a senior along with Braydon and we will have to play more and shoulder more of that scoring load,” Bolinske said. “But it’s also dependent on the younger guys, as well. They’ll have to step up and play their role.”

Lund averaged a double-double with 11.9 points and 10 rebounds per contest last season. Bolinske poured in 4.8 points per game while adding 2.85 boards and 2.3 assists per outing, which included a 20-point outburst – his season high – during the state title game against Century.

“We have a lot of guys that can score, and a lot of it will be dependent on matchups,” Winczewski said. “Bolinske went and had 20-plus in the state title game. Braydon Lund has had games where we just kept throwing it in to him. (Junior) KyJuan Johnson had games where he was in the upper teens, and Justin Engg was the same way. We have a number of kids that have proven they can score. I think this year, what will be a challenge for us is making sure our kids recognize who gets the ball on the flow, where they need to get it and be unselfish enough to take sure they get it. Now it just a matter of recognizing roles and shifting some responsibility and some people will have to take on some greater responsibility in scoring.”

Johnson – who averaged 5.7 points per game – will attempt to fill the shoes Halvorson left in the backcourt.

And he’s not shy about it.

“I can go get a bucket whenever I need to, but I need to look out for my teammates and put them in good situations,” Johsnon said. “I’ve been working on my jump shot all summer.”

Other returning seniors include guard Wesley Borgen, forward Seth Peterson, guard DiAndre Booker, guard Cody Reynolds and forward Jesse Roberts (4.5 points per game), while Engg (5.8 points per game) rounds out the rotation fans will see most nights.

“You could see any combination of those starting games, finishing games and playing a ton,” Winczewski said. “This season for us, it will be matchup based. … We are going to have seven to eight kids and maybe even nine that could start a game.”

The Magicians would love nothing more than to repeat as state champions. They know there’s pressure, but it’s nothing many of the players haven’t experienced in other sports. Football was ranked first in the state for the majority of the year and fought it’s way all the way to the Dakota Bowl for a second consecutive season. The Minot golf team was also a favorite to take home a state title this past season, while the boys track team experienced several highs at state.

“We have so many kids that are multi-sport kids and they were pulled in different directions, which is awesome, and that’s part of the reason our program has taken a step forward because our kids aren’t just basketball players and it helps them be competitive and stronger,” Winczewski said. “You can see the confidence they have from being in competitive sports programs. We have kids excel in the things they do and you can see that here at practice. It’s just a matter of putting it out on the floor.”

Know the foe

Minot High and St. Mary’s aren’t starting their seasons with non-region games.

Both teams are getting a taste of West Region action right off the bat.

“They’re going to be athletic and very guard oriented,” Winczewski said. “They have three starters back. (Senior forward Casey) Uhler is very good kid that’s shoots it well and is very athletic. (Senior guard) Noah Kopp is a very good player and very creative and is able to get in the lane. They have a lot of kids back and they’re going to be the same as us in determining roles.”

The Saints finished last season with a 6-17 record and lost nine of their final 10 games. They averaged 48.7 points per game while allowing 57.1 points per contest. Minot won both meetings by double digits, the first of which was a 72-46 drubbing on Jan. 29 in Magic City Campus. During the second meeting on Feb. 12, Minot won 66-53 in Bismarck.

“We’ve had nine practices, so you are going be a little vanilla,” Winczewski said. “We are tired of beating up on each other and excited to get out there. It will be a good test right away. St Mary’s has a good team and we are going to have to play really well.”

John Denega covers Minot High athletics and general assignments. Follow him on Twitter @JohnDenega_MDN.