Dec. 7âJAMESTOWN â There has been a lot of turnover at the Jamestown High School head boys basketball coach position of late.
Here’s hoping the fourth head coach in four years will be around for a while.
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On May 29, Tim Ranum was named the new head coach of the Jamestown High School boys basketball team. Ranum was an assistant coach on the Blue Jay boys basketball staff for the past two seasons under head coaches Jason Carroll and Luke Anderson.
In the past two seasons, the Jays have gone 12-35. Ranum hopes to improve upon the current record, and he has the experience to do so.
Ranum was the head boys basketball coach at Carrington High School for seven seasons where he was named District Coach of the Year twice. In 2018, his team won the Region 3 championship. During his time at Carrington, the Cardinals advanced to the Region 3 Championship in 2017, 2018 and 2019.
As his first season as a head coach at the Class AA level is ramping up, Ranum is excited to explore the Jays’ potential.
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«I think as a whole the kids were kind of disappointed with how the football season went … but now kids have kind of switched gears,» Ranum said. «A lot of kids have put in a lot of effort to improve and get better every day and now there is some excitement in the air and we’re ready to get going.
«Most of this group is brand new to playing varsity basketball so they might be a little anxious but also really excited to go out and prove out to people what they can do,» he said.
The Blue Jays lost eight seniors to graduation, leaving only three kids â Madden Skunberg, Edison Walters and Liam Frey â who saw significant time last year.
The lack of varsity experience hasn’t been a cause for concern for Ranum.
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«We do have some seniors who I think are going to help out,» Ranum said. «Gradin Thorlakson didn’t play last year but he has a lot of athleticism â he’s really long and he’s got a great motor so I think he’s going to have a chance to make a difference for us throughout the year.
«Abel Dolokelen, he’s going to get a lot of time on the court pretty early as well,» he said.
Moving down the list, the new head coach made mention of several other Blue Jays who are expected to play key minutes.
«Eric Van Berkom â a sophomore â got put in the varsity games late in the year last year in a few different situations,» Ranum said. «He didn’t see a whole lot of time but he’s probably a guy who is going to get thrown into the fire pretty early and be able to guard the big guys. We’re excited about his skill-set.»
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As for the Class of 2027, Ranum said he has been impressed with the group’s overall athleticism.
«Eli Olson has been a force in open gyms,» Ranum said. «He doesn’t have a whole lot of polish to his game yet but we’re excited. You’ve got guys like Kale Verke, Jamison Kleinjin and Mason Joseph, those are guys that you see on the football field contributing a lot and we’re hoping that kind of translates to the basketball court as well.»
Since the Blue Jay football season ended on Oct. 24, Ranum began holding open gyms for his athletes to get shots up in an unofficial practice type setting
«You give the kids the opportunity to show their skills and compete,» Ranum said. «It gives us a better idea of what we are working with as a coaching staff going into the year.»
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While numbers at open gym sessions varied, Ranum and his staff are expecting around 40 kids out from the program this season. The Blue Jays began practices on Nov. 24 and will play their first official minutes of the season on Dec. 5 at Grand Forks Central. Tipoff for the nonconference tilt is slated for 7:15 p.m.
With four different head coaches in four years, Blue Jay fans have gotten used to watching different styles of basketball. Ranum said fans can expect this year’s team to utilize pace during the games.
«We’re going to try and get up and down and create opportunities,» Ranum said. «We don’t have a lot of size so we’re going to try and create some pressure on defense and do some different things and be really versatile.
«We’re really going to stress the pace and intensity,» he said. «It might look crazy and chaotic right away but hopefully we’ll get that under control and I think you’ll see a great group of kids out there that will bring some pride to the community. I am looking forward to representing that.»
