It’s time to discuss the championship Devils Lake just won.
If it feels like déjà vu, that’s because only two weeks ago, the girls’ basketball team ended a 37-year drought with a state title run. The boys followed that up last weekend by breaking an even longer stretch of 99 years without a championship. For the first time since 1925 — when there was only one North Dakota class — the boys brought home the gold.
A bittersweet end for Beau Brodina
As the oldest Brodina sibling, Beau went out with a flourish.
Baseball is Beau’s primary sport, and he sure has a lot of it in his future between his final season for Devils Lake and his upcoming career at Lake Region State College. But after an entire childhood of playing basketball, he suited up on the court for the final time on Saturday.
“My last basketball game hasn’t really set in yet,” Beau said. “But I’m sure over the next week or so, it will.”
Beau was more of an under-the-radar presence than his brother Parker, who was named to the all-tournament team. But Beau was a key starter on this team all year. He averaged just about 10 points per game and played consistently solid defense. He even had a 33-point outburst where he tied the school record for three-pointers in a game with nine.
As less of a natural basketball player than Parker, Beau had to work extra hard to get to this point. But now he can look back on it knowing that he was an integral part of Devils Lake history.
“I’m so proud of him,” said Dustin Brodina, Beau’s dad and head coach. “He doesn’t get a lot of the accolades like everybody else. You might not see him in the scoring column. But this weekend, I thought he D’d up some of the best players in the state, and almost shut them down, really. He’s just a great piece of this puzzle that we have.”
The Brodina legacy is cementing itself in Devils Lake
Anyone who followed either of Devils Lake’s championship runs likely ran into the last name Brodina more than a few times.
First, freshman Tylie Brodina won tournament MVP in the girls’ tournament. She showed exceptional maturity and calmness for a young player, and she hit big shots when the team needed them most.
“Looking back at my sister winning it all, there was high hopes in the household,” Beau said. “But we got it done.”
Parker joked after the boys’ semifinal win that he didn’t want to let his sister show him up. And while he was edged out by Wylee Delorme for tournament MVP, it was a worthy follow-up act to earn all-tournament honors and bring the team its first title in 99 years. All three Brodina high schoolers were not just starters on both championship teams, but were the cogs that made their wheels spin.
Another lasting part of the legacy is Dustin, who’s only in his third year of coaching the squad. This is a team that went 4-18 two years ago. Dustin turned things around in a hurry and made the boys a championship-caliber team within just a couple years. The camaraderie Dustin shares with his sons, and with all the players, along with the passion he puts into every game and practice, were key factors in getting Devils Lake this far.
Speaking of family legacies…
Another Devils Lake family leaving their mark is the Nelsons.
Devils Lake alum Grant Nelson is having enormous success at the collegiate level right now, playing for the University of Alabama as a future NBA draft pick. Joel Nelson, one of Grant’s younger brothers, has a lot to live up to. But he already has something Grant never had: a high school state championship.
Nelson is the tallest player on Devils Lake at 6-foot-6. He’s a smooth and wiry presence on the court, making him one of the team’s most natural athletes. He struggled with fouls early in the season, but became more consistent as the campaign went on. He averaged almost 10 points and six rebounds per game, and played nearly to the level of Delorme and Brodina over the final stretch of the season.
“I just watch his game. I learn from it,” Joel said of his brother Grant. “He teaches me stuff, and he just tells me and critiques me. And we help each other out.”
Nelson is a junior, so he still has another year to prove what he’s got. But with Grant becoming one of the most successful athletes in Devils Lake history, and Joel helping the team achieve its first championship in 99 years, the Nelson family will be remembered for a long time in this town.
Wylee Delorme proves king
Perhaps the greatest strength of this Devils Lake team was its depth. But at the end of the day, Delorme was the star.
Delorme led the team with 17.9 points per game in the regular season, and reached 1,000 career points in the process. He won state tournament MVP after putting up 59 points over three games. He made three-pointers under pressure that helped fend off comeback attempts, and was overall the most dynamic and deadliest force this team had.
Now he’s off to the University of Mary to play basketball. His Devils Lake career is over. But he sure made it count.
“I would have never done it without these guys,” Delorme said. “My team. My community. Everyone helped me get to this point.”
Devils Lake achieved a statistical rarity
Not only were the championships over the last few weeks meaningful to this community — which had been missing a title for so long — but it was rare even in North Dakota lore.
Before this year, only seven schools in the state had ever had their boys’ and girls’ basketball teams win championships in the same season. The first was Fargo South during the 1985-86 school year. Bishop Ryan was the first Division B school to do it in the 1993-94 season. Then Shanley did it in 1997-98, and Fargo North did it in 2001-02. Bismarck Century achieved the feat in 2018, and Minot did it in 2022.
Last year, Central Cass had both its teams win titles, making it the second Division B school to do so. With the Firebirds’ achievements this year, they became the sixth Division A school and eighth school in North Dakota history to take home back-to-back championships.
So this season will go down in the history books as the best basketball season Devils Lake has ever seen. It was one that reflected all the hard work that’s been put in to get to this point, with signs of success in the future and passing of the baton between family members.
It was truly a run to remember.
