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Schilling's the best of the best
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There was just a bit of minor confusion Thursday among the people in charge of the boys' basketball state tournament. It was a safe bet that Ellsworth's Cody Schilling would break the boys' state record for career points during the Panthers' Class 1A quarterfinal game against Granada-Huntley-East Chain, and indeed he did.
The 6-5 senior came in needing 23 to break the record held by 2006 Braham grad Isaiah Dahlman. At halftime, when Schilling had nine points, Lisa Lissimore of the Minnesota State High School League pulled a marker from her quiver and wrote two little letters (CS) on the basketball as it sat on the scorer's table at Mariucci Arena.
The plan was to present the ball to Schilling after he broke the record. The confusion was about when that presentation would take place.
Schilling's final basket in Ellsworth's 59-41 victory gave him 23 points and a record total of 3,367. Outside the defending state champions' locker room, Northfield athletic director (and tournament manager) Tom Graupmann made a very nice little presentation, saying a few words and handing the CS ball to Schilling as TV cameras and tape recorders rolled.
If you missed it, don't worry. There will be a re-enactment.
There was a mixup somewhere between the time the ball was CS'd and the time it was handed to Schilling. Because a few minutes later, it was cradled in Lissimore's left elbow. It's a good bet that when Schilling walks to midcourt at Target Center on Saturday along with the rest of the 1A all-tournament team, he formally will take possession of the CS ball for good.
By then, the record will be an afterthought for its new holder.
"We came down here to get a state title, not a scoring record," he said. "Hopefully that's what we'll do in the next two days."
Back on Feb. 2, I saw a pretty darn good crowd eruption in the little Ellsworth gym. Against Remsen (Iowa) St. Mary's that Saturday afternoon, Schilling reached the 3,000-point plateau and the joint went bananas. This time, with space available for about 9,600 more fannies in 10,000-seat Mariucci than in the Ellsworth bandbox, the tribute was something to remember.
The Ellsworthians went crazy, yes. But hats off, as well, to the fans from Granada-Huntley-East Chain, who joined in the standing ovation for the farm boy from southwest Minnesota.
Ellsworth coach Markus Okeson joked about prodding Schilling to shoot: "How many 3,000-point scorers do you have to tell, 'Shoot the basketball!'?"
Schilling, however, can pass it a little bit, too. He already held the overall state record for career assists, and he increased that mark to 1,423 with seven assists Thursday. Schilling also is No. 1 all-time among boys in free throws made, No. 2 in free throw attempts and No. 2 in baskets made.
But the most glaring number is this: he stands way down at the No. 8 spot in field goal attempts.
"He takes good shots," Okeson said.
And he makes them, too. That's what those initials on the ball must mean: Can Score.
Featured comment
Should play small D1 or D2
He should play at either a small Division 1 or a Division 2 like Winona State. He will get more playing time and a better college … read more experience. Look how many minutes Isaiah Dahlman is getting at Michigan State. 3 minutes per game. That sounds like a great way to spend your college life when you were the #1 scorer in Minnesota state history. Take the Joel Mcdonald route and dominate D 2 ball
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