District 9C Tournament Extra: Randall Gardipee, Box Elder

Randall Gardipee has been a standout basketball player on the Hi-Line for the last four years. And great season after great season, Gardipee has even managed to be more of an impact player in his final season for the District 9C Box Elder Bears.

There have been some memorable moments for the Bears in recent years, especially last season. A year ago the Bears had big games like a triple-overtime win over Big Sandy to win the 9C title. But there have been no letups since that historic win at the Havre High gymnasium, and a big part of that has been because of the play of the 6-2 Gardipee. Gardipee has helped lead the Bears to a flawless regular season, 18-0 overall and 10-0 in league play. And, this weekend, the Bears are putting all of those wins on the line as they face the rest of the field at the District 9C basketball tournament in Havre.

But the Bears are also the No. 1 Class C program in the state. And they have garnered so much attention because of their ability to put points on the board in a hurry. Most of Box Elder’s wins were blowouts this season, and Gardipee, an All-State and All-Conference selection as a junior, has paced the efforts with more than 20 points per game. Even more impressive, Gardipee as well as the rest of the starters have rarely played a fourth quarter this year. But that hasn’t stopped Gardipee from adding five boards, four assists, one block and one steel per game as well.

Gardipee is also known as an excellent defender. Having a long wing span, he can really shut ball handlers down. He's also unselfish, and is one of the best passing big-men in this year's 9C tournament. He's a great teammate and has become a great leader for the undefeated Bears.

Gardipee is a three-year starter, but doesn’t consider this the end of his basketball playing career. Nothing has been finalized yet, but Gardipee plans to play basketball at the college level next season. But before that can happen, Gardipee also has a 9C title to defend this weekend, a Northern C title to win next weekend, and a Class C state title to bring home to Box Elder next month.

Here’s five questions with Gardipee following the Bears’ semifinal win over North Star on Thursday afternoon.

HDN: What was the toughest thing about going undefeated during the regular season?

Gardipee: “The other team just wants to beat you so bad. They were playing harder against us and teams were always trying to mix things up so they could beat a top-ranked team. But we just had to keep our heads, we have the talent.”

HDN: With all your big leads and big wins, you and the rest of the starters didn’t play too many fourth quarter minutes. Do you think that helps or hurts you moving forward?

Gardipee: “We will be all right. We practice hard, and on Thursdays we practice against each other and mix it up. We try to play tough games against each other. But we should be fresh now that it’s tourney time, and that is the time to be fresh if you want to go on a run.”

HDN: Is there a Class C team in the state you can’t handle right now?

Gardipee: “If you put any team in front of us, we are going to play Bears’ basketball. Any team that faces us is going to have to play their best.”

HDN: Where does your love of basketball come from?

Gardipee: “Since I was a little kid I just started watching basketball and I really liked it a lot. But I have been playing since fourth grade, I think, and the Lakers are my favorite team to watch. I don’t know about college, I watch the NBA more than anything and I just really like watching the Lakers.”

HDN: Do you have a favorite play the team runs, or do you prefer when coach Jeremy MacDonald lets the team just play?

Gardipee: “I like when we run our screen plays, I like coming off of picks. But I also like when he lets us get out and run, we can get out and shoot. I love seeing the ball go up and in, it really gets the team going.”