Hanstad among 5 finalists named for Mr. Basketball award

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BISMARCK — Five players are in the running for this year’s North Dakota Mr. Basketball award.

The award is presented annually to the state’s top senior by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association. It will be presented Saturday night at the conclusion of the state Super A basketball tournament in Fargo.

This year’s finalists are Fargo Oak Grove guard Shayden Akason, Dickinson High guard Joe Hanstad, North Star forward Grant Lindahl, Midway-Minto guard Philip Schanilec and Fargo North forward Nick Schultz.

Hanstad, a two-time Class A all-state selection, played in 11 games this season after missing five weeks with a broken right wrist. He averaged 23.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game and finished his career with 1,835 total points, which is third on Class A’s all-time charts.

Despite playing in just eight regular-season games, Hanstad was named the West Region’s Senior Athlete of the Year.

The 6-foot-4 guard was the Gatorade Player of the Year as a sophomore and helped the Midgets to third-place finishes at the state tournament both his freshman and sophomore seasons.

Other nominees include:

r Schultz, a 6-4 forward and East Region Senior Athlete of the Year who averaged 18.7 points and 9.7 rebounds per game while shooting 50 percent from the field.

r Schanilec, a 5-11 guard and Class B Senior Athlete of the Year who averaged 31.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 4.5 steals and 3.1 assists per game this season. He was an all-state second team selection as a junior and scored 2,046 career points.

r Akason, a 6-2 guard who averaged 13.4 points, 7 assists, 3.4 rebounds and shot 55 percent from the field. He was the Region 1 Senior Athlete of the Year.

r Lindahl, a 6-7 forward who averaged 20.5 points, 8.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game. He shot 51 percent from the field and 84 percent while making 58 3-pointers. He was the Region 4 Senior Athlete of the Year.

Tags: joe hanstad, sports, midgets, preps, basketball