Turning up the ‘D’ key for Bulldogs

BY MICHAEL LYNE | West Central Tribune

PAYNESVILLE — At the helm for his fifth season at Paynesville, Rick Hendrickson’s squad enters 2022-23 with three returning starters from a 16-11 team.

“The Bulldogs return a good amount of varsity experience and our firstyear players will provide solid depth for us,” Hendrickson said. “If we can improve our defense and take care of the basketball, we think that we can be competitive throughout the season.”

Looking to lead Paynesville are returning starters in senior guards Eli Nelson, Max Athmann and Grayson Fuchs. The trio will need to help make up for the key roster losses of Chase Bayer (12.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game), Bennett Evans (4.9 ppg and 5.5 rpg) and Tafadzwa Juma (1.3 ppg).

Paynesville junior Eli Nelson races upcourt during the first half of a non-conference game against YME Friday, Jan. 7, 2022, at Paynesville.

Joe Brown / West Central Tribune

Nelson led the Bulldogs in scoring in 2021-22. He recorded a team-high 337 points with 135 rebounds, 71 assists, 70 steals and one block in 27 games. That’s 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 2.6 steals per game.

Athmann and Fuchs also helped pave the way for the Bulldogs in 2021-22.

Athmann tallied 182 points, 67 rebounds, 46 steals, 39 assists and four blocks, averages of 7.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.0 steals and 1.7 assists per game. Fuchs notched 168 points, 94 rebounds, 39 assists, 36 steals and four blocks, which is 6.5 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.4 steals per game. Fuchs has accepted a baseball scholarship from Division II St. Cloud State.

“We have a balanced and wellconnected team and players who have stepped up in senior leadership roles,” Hendrickson said. “We want to continue to improve each and every day, so that we are most prepared come tournament time.” ◀