Six seniors end high school hoops career for Colfax

COLFAX — A group of six seniors, some with four years experience at the varsity level and one with just a year, ended their final season with a loss in the regional final to Eau Claire Regis last week. In the past four years, the Vikings had an overall record of 48-40 and 39-20 in conference play. Five of the players, Jarod Rudi, Kedar Davis, Brett Prince, Andrew Harmon and Isaac Lee were all on the Dunn-St. Croix Conference Championship team a year ago while Alex Knudson joined the team this year.

After playing varsity ball for three years, Rudi, with his athletic abilities and experience was expected to play a big role for the Vikings this year. But five games into the season, a freaky fall in the game against Boyceville resulted in tendon damage to his ankle and he missed most of the season, playing in just 10 games. In his four years however, he played in 81 games, scored 435 points, snared 232 rebounds, picked up 126 assists, 73 steals and 75 blocked shots. He scored 163 of his points his junior year and had a high game of 14 points against Fall Creek the same year, and led the Vikings in blocked shots with 34. He was named honorable mention All Conference as a junior for his efforts.

Davis played in two games as a freshman and 17 as a sophomore but began to make his name known during his junior season. He was second on the team in scoring last year which included 51 triples and 42 of 74 free throws, was fourth in rebounds with 71, first in steals with 36 and third in assists with 48. Known for his ability to slither through several defenders and get to the basket, as well as knocking down shots from way behind the three point line, Davis scored 615 total points with 326 as a senior to lead the Vikings. He had a total of 110 three points shots made out of 346 attempts for 31% and was pretty steady at the free throw line, hitting 135 of 196 attempts for 68%. He finished with 166 rebounds, 146 assists and 103 steals. He was the high scorer for the team in nine games this year and had a career high of 30 points in the regional semi-final against Mondovi. Davis was rewarded by being named a Second Team All Conference as a senior.

Harmon played in three games as a sophomore, saw extended action as a junior but  really came around his senior year. He scored  248 points this year to put him third for the team, and he was 21 of 39 at the charity stripe at 53%. Playing as a wing, he could often be found in the corner of the three point circle where he knocked down 43 of 129 triples at a 33% clip. Defensively, his long arms allowed him to pull down 106 rebounds while coming up with 17 steals. Totals for his high school career were 278 points, 136 rebounds, 41 assists 18 steals and 16 blocked shots. His high scoring game also came against Mondovi in the regional contest with 19 points.

Prince also saw a little action on varsity as a sophomore, playing in four games, then split time with the junior varsity and varsity as a junior. As a late blooming senior, he finished fourth on the team in points with 186 which included 34 of 84 three pointers for 40%. But he was also Mr. Cool at the free throw line, draining 42-of 58 freebies for 72% and collected 107 rebounds and 14 steals. He was the only player on the team who had more assists (50)than turnovers (40) this year. He turned out to be one of the top defenders for the team and was called on to cover some very good shooters over the course of his career. His two year totals are 210 points, 130 rebounds, 61 assists and 16 steals. Prince had a high game of 21 points with six triples in a game against Elmwood-Plum City He was an All Conference Second Team selection this year and intends to use his basketball talents at UW-Barron next year.

Lee was a two year varsity player and also split time on the junior varsity and varsity his junior year. As a senior, he made some timely three point shots and like Prince, was often asked to defend the other team’s better shooters. He dropped in 85 of his total 90 points this year and finished with two seasons with 36 rebounds, 23 assists and 14 steals. He was a 31% three point shooter making 18 of 57 and hit 10 of 21 free throws for 47%. His high game was 10 points against Boyceville this year.

Knudson played junior varsity his freshman year then took two years off before coming back out this season. He played in all but one game and made himself known as a three point specialist, canning 16 of 44 for 36% and was 5 of 7 from the foul line. He finished with 59 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, five steals and 12 blocks which was fourth for the team. He scored a career high nine points against Amery on 3 of 5 triples.

“All of these seniors played a big part of our success over the last few years,” coach Garrett Maas said. “They all contributed in some way and improved from the beginning of their high school careers until the end. Jarod Rudi was missed and if he had been at full strength all year, he would have had a great senior season. It will be hard to replace this group next year,” he added.