Hi-Line Athlete Profile: Warren Edmondson, MSU-N Basketball

This time of year is an exciting one for fans of the Montana State University-Northern men's basketball team. That's because another Frontier Conference season is about to play out and that means the Lights have their most important games of the season ahead of them.

Northern resumes its Frontier schedule this week with home games against the University of Great Falls and Carroll College on Thursday and Friday in the Armory Gymnasium. The first back-to-back set will kick not only restart the conference season, but also serve as the starting point for the Lights chase of a bid to the NAIA national tournament, which they missed out on last season.

One reason the Lights (12-2, 1-1) have a chance of earning their way back into the NAIA tournament, has been the play of senior Warren Edmondson.

Edmondson, who is from Portland, Oregon and transferred to MSU-N after playing two years at Portland Community College, has become an integral part of the program in what will be his second and final year of eligibility for the Lights.

As a junior, Edmondson made an immediate impact on the floor for the Lights, shooting an impressive 42.6 percent from 3-point range and leading the team in made 3-point field goals with 69. That performance earned him honorable mention All-Frontier honors.

This season, Edmondson has his sights set higher. And after a solid start to he season, which includes an average of 12.1 points per game and a 37 percent mark from beyond the arc, as well as rebound (4.9 RPG) and assist (2.2) rates that have gone up tremendously, he is meeting the mark.

In 14 games, Edmondson has connected on 32 shots from deep, which ranks 34th in the nation, while his average of 2.2 made 3-point fields is 45th. The senior guard, who stands 6-2, even earned Frontier Conference Player of the Week after scoring 22 points, getting seven rebounds and making 5-of-7 shots from thee.

Edmondson has also taken his game at the offensive end to different heights this season. Last year, he averaged in double figures and scored double-digit points 23 times. Yet, he never scored 20 points, but already during the 2015-16 season, Edmondson has achieved it four games and on three different occasions, he has hit at least five 3-pointers in a game.

However, when it comes down to it, the Portland native chose Northern because the Lights had a history of winning and that's something that he hopes to continue this season. If the Lights are going to contend in the Frontier and for an NAIA berth, every game is critical, including this week's games against UGF and Carroll.

But, before Edmondson and his teammates take the floor for a pair of critical games, the Havre Daily News caught up with the senior for five questions.

HDN: Why did you choose to come to Northern?

Edmondson: "There was just something that I liked about it. I like the way people care in Havre about the program. At Northern, there is a winning tradition and the people take a lot of pride in their athletics, so, I kind of liked that about it."

HDN: Have you ever gotten used to the cold temperatures?

Edmondson: "In Oregon, it's more rainy than cold, so I definitely wasn't ready for temperatures below 30 or below zero. So, it was a change, but I have adapted to it."

HDN: If there is one player that you model yourself after, who would you say it is?

Edmondson: "It would be Steph Curry. I really like the way he worked hard on his ball handing in the offseason and I like how when we comes off screens, he can get his shot off so quickly."

HDN: What is a goal you want to achieve as an individual this season?

Edmondson: "League MVP. I have worked really hard and I worked really hard this offseason on my shooting and on my game to try and get to a point where I could compete for that and I think so far, I have done pretty well."

HDN: What do you guys need to do to achieve your goals this season of winning the Frontier and getting to the NAIA national tournament?

Edmondson: "I think we need to just be patient. I feel that teams that make it far have players that know what they are capable of doing and know what they are good at and they accept their roles. I think role teams get a lot further than teams with just talent."