BISMARCK, N.D. (NDAPSSA)- Stanley High School forward Wyatt Hanson has capped off his high school basketball career by being named the 37th recipient of the Mr. Basketball award Saturday, March 17 at the Bismarck Events Center in Bismarck. The award is presented annually to the top senior player in the state by the North Dakota Associated Press Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
Hanson tallied 11 of 20 first place votes and received 69 points based on a 5-3-1 voting scale. Finishing second in the voting was Kyler McGillis of St. John with one first place vote and 37 points. Trae Steckler of Mandan was third with 5 first place votes and 32 points followed by Joe Pistorius of West Fargo with 1 first place vote and 23 points and Fargo Oak Grove’s Andrew Christianson with 1 first place vote and 19 points.
“It’s a pretty cool feeling that all my hard work and time spent working on my game has been recognized”, said Hanson, who led the Blue Jays to back to back state tournaments. “To know that some of the top people across the state think I am the top player across the state means a lot to me”.
Hanson, who has been a member of the varsity team since the 8th grade, and has started since his freshmen year, averaged 21.1 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season and was named the Region 8 Senior Player of the Year. Hanson finished his career with 2249 points, which puts him 19th on the Class B all-time scoring list.
Hanson will continue his basketball career at NCAA Division Two Minnesota State-Moorhead in Moorhead, Minnesota, a member of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference.
“He has put in a lot of time over his years” said Stanley head coach Kory Anderson. “He’s a great player, he can do it all. He can defend, he can score in many different ways he not just one dimensional”. It feels good for me to have watched him grow from where he was when he was younger and where he is now”.
McGillis, a 6-1 guard and Region 4 senior player of the year, averaged 29.2 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists this season for Region 4 champion St. John.
Steckler, a 6-4 forward from Mandan, averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds in helping the Braves to a third place finish in the State Class A Boys Tournament. He was also the West Region senior player of the year. Steckler is headed to the University of North Dakota next year to play football for the Fighting Hawks.
Pistoruis, a 6-3 guard, averaged 22.5 points, 4.5 assists and 2.9 steals in helping West Fargo to a fourth place finish at the State Class A Boys Tournament. He was also named the Class A senior player of the year and the Gatorade player of the year.
Christianson, a 6-3 guard from Oak Grove and Region 1 senior player of the year, averaged 25.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.7 assisting in leading the Grovers to the regular season Region 1 championship and a runner up finish in the region tournament.