Support the Timberjay by making a donation.

Serving Northern St. Louis County, Minnesota

A ‘point’ of consistency

Patrick Slack
Posted 1/18/17

FIELD TWP – Intensity and calm, aggressiveness and discipline.

North Woods has threaded the line between forcing opponents into mistakes while making very few on its own end all winter.

At …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

Log in

A ‘point’ of consistency

Posted

FIELD TWP – Intensity and calm, aggressiveness and discipline.

North Woods has threaded the line between forcing opponents into mistakes while making very few on its own end all winter.

At the forefront of that is sophomore point guard Cade Goggleye.

Tasked with running the Grizzlies’ quick-strike, fast-break reliant offense, as well as applying constant pressure on opposing ball-handlers, Goggleye has delivered nightly.

That consistency has carried over throughout the Grizzlies’ roster, making it no real wonder the Grizzlies are off to a 13-0 start.

“Cade has been playing very well this year, much as would be expected from someone who works so hard on his game,” North Woods head coach Will Kleppe said. “Cade is always improving. He works very hard to find the areas he feels need the most attention. He has great family support that helps him continue to develop his game in the offseason.

“He doesn’t need to be pushed to keep working, even though he started every game last year as a freshman. He just keeps working harder.”

As integral as Goggleye is to the offense running the point, his defense may be even more impressive.

“The part of Cade’s game that stands out to me is his defense,” Kleppe said. “His stats are impressive with his 19.3 points per game average and his ability to create his own shot, but he also leads the team in steals (five steals per game). He reads other teams well and helps direct our defense accordingly.”

Goggleye’s physical talent is obvious, but his mental acumen at a taxing position is just as vital.

“Cade has been an important part of our success because of his calm demeanor on the floor,” Kleppe said. “He’s in control and keeps his focus on what needs to be done. He has a keen perspective on what it takes to win each game.

“Cade knows, as does the rest of the team, that the 13-0 start does not mean anything if we don’t keep that focus and continue doing what has helped the team achieve that mark.”

Goggleye has saved two of his biggest games for the Grizzlies’ tightest contests of the season, both versus Mountain Iron-Buhl.

He tallied 19 points and eight assists in a 77-76 win on Jan. 2, then put up another 21 points and recorded five steals in a 66-55 victory on Friday.

“It was a very exciting atmosphere to play in,” Goggleye said. “Every game we have with MIB is on another level. I expected MIB to come out hot and they did, that’s for sure.”

With a pair of wins over MIB secured, thoughts of a perfect regular season have crept in.

The Grizzlies still have 13 games left before playoff time to make that happen, including a tall task slated for Thursday against Virginia.

No matter what takes place in that time, though, the ultimate goal remains taking that one big step beyond last year’s group and winning a section title.

"I had a good feeling we could be undefeated at this point," Goggleye said. "It would be nice to go undefeated, but our goal is to make it to state."

To do so, the Grizzlies will lean heavily on Goggleye’s consistent play, which has led to him reaching double figures in 12 of the Grizzlies’ first 13 contests, while also averaging 5.2 assists against only two turnovers per game.

“It’s been going really good this season,” Goggleye said. “We’re young and we make some mistakes from time to time, but that’s the process. My game has improved from last year, but there’s always room to get better.”

“We’re not there yet. I feel like we have way more room for improvement.”