Morrison County Record’s All-Area Boys Basketball Team

Guard

Preston Weber, senior, Pierz

Weber posed a match-up nightmare for opposing teams this season, able to overpower foes with his size and blaze by them with his quickness. The senior was the Pioneers’ leading scorer with 19.2 points per game, crossing the 1,000-point threshold during the season, and also hauled in 3.9 rebounds and distributed 2.6 assists per game.

 

Guard

Josh Wenzel, junior, Little Falls

Wenzel helped the Flyers form a wicked inside-outside combination with fellow all-area member Valentine, averaging 12 points per game. The All-Granite Ridge Conference junior was even more precise from beyond the arc than inside it, sinking 49 percent of his three-point attempts during the year, while also averaging 2.1 rebounds, 1.6 steals and 1.3 assists per game.

 

Forward

Luke Wentland, junior, Royalton

A series of excruciating injuries didn’t prevent Wentland from inflicting plenty of pain on opposing teams this winter. He averaged 13.1 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while helping lead the Royals to the sub-section finals despite suffering torn ligaments in one ankle, spraining the other and also spraining his knee, limiting his minutes but not his production.

 

Forward

Caleb Janson, senior, Pierz

Janson, The Record’s Player of the Year, was as versatile as he was spectacular this winter, using his athleticism to guard the opposing team’s top player, no matter the position, while also posting 22 double-doubles in 27 games. Janson, the Central Minnesota Conference’s Most Valuable Player, averaged 18.2 points and 15 rebounds per game.

 

 

Center

Matt Valentine, senior, Little Falls

Valentine, the Granite Ridge Conference’s Most Valuable Player, was easily one of the most imposing players in the area this season. He was an efficient scorer, averaging 15 points on 57 percent shooting from the field, while grabbed 9.3 rebounds and passing out 1.7 assists per game.

 

Honorable mention