Boys hoops in the Northland is just about a week away, but the excitement for teams like Duluth Marshall has just begun. What was once a young team now brings in a bunch of of veteran presence.

“For the past three years we’ve basically had the same starting squad which has been amazing,” said senior forward Josh Johnson. “It was really rough at the start as everyone knows, but now it’s really come to fruition, it’s become strong. We’re all really good basketball players, we know what we’re doing, we’re all smart.”

“I mean it’s a huge advantage, most of the top players in the area graduated last year so I think we have a really, really good opportunity to take advantage of teams that are tied down in a rebuilding phase this year,” added Brooks Johnson, another senior forward. “I don’t think there’s any reason that we’re not the top team in the area this year.”

The road to the state tournament for the Hilltoppers begins on December 5th when they host Two Harbors.