Braham's Dahlman named AP Player of the Year, again

By Pioneer staff reports

March 28, 2006 at 11:00 PM

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- On the outside, life couldn't have been much better for Isaiah Dahlman and Braham the last three years.

Dahlman and the Bombers won three state titles in a row, vaulting the small town in east-central Minnesota into the headlines typically dominated by the metro area.

One would think Dahlman, a versatile 6-foot-7 forward named Tuesday as The Associated Press' Player of the Year for boys' basketball for the second straight season, would never want it to end.

"After we won that game he said, 'Dad, I'm just glad it's over,"' Dahlman's father and Bombers assistant coach Nate Dahlman said.

As the wins, and the titles, started piling up for the Bombers, so did the pressure and the attention. It all came to a head this season, when Dahlman was one of the state's hottest recruits, and the unquestioned leader of a team that lost nine seniors from 2005.

The calls came every day -- from coaches, media, friends and fans -- and the pressure started to wear on him.

"For him, it was extremely hard," Nate Dahlman said. "He had so many expectations placed on him. You could even see where the pressure became so great on Isaiah. This was his team. I think it made him physically sick. ... He did not want to let his teammates down, his coaches down, his community down."

He certainly didn't. He helped lead the Bombers to their third straight title this season, though he needed plenty of help from his teammates like brother Noah Dahlman and Alex Thiry, and broke the state's career scoring record.

Now, he can finally relax and start reaping some of the benefits, and get ready to head to Michigan State in the fall.

Isaiah Dahlman became the fourth Minnesota player to repeat as player of the year since the award's inception in 1990. Other two-time winners include Hopkins' Kris Humphries, Monticello's Joel Przybilla and Duluth East's Rick Rickert, who shared the award with Adam Boone in 2000 before winning it outright in 2001.

Dahlman was joined on the AP's first team by St. Thomas Academy senior Bryce Webster, Tartan senior Kwadzo Ahelegbe, Duluth East senior Cory Johnson and Watertown-Mayer senior Matt Janning.

"It was definitely a relief," Dahlman said of the last game. "The expectations, there was lots of pressure. Once that buzzer sounded, it was like, 'Wow, we did it.' I kind of feel like it was time to move on."

Braham will still have a few Dahlmans on the team, including Noah, an honorable mention All-State selection this year, and Jonah, who will be a sophomore.

Isaiah, meanwhile, is heading to East Lansing, far away from the place where he has been the star for so long, which may have played a role in him spurning the Gophers for the Spartans.

"There's no doubt," Nate Dahlman said. "If he would have stayed here in Minnesota, he'd have been under the microscope for four to five years. The pressure won't be there to elevate a program or carry a program. It was just, for him, a chance to get away. And we supported that decision."

Isaiah has received plenty of grief for shunning the home state Gophers, but it was clear that he was looking forward to getting away from it all. He'll be joining one of the premier basketball programs in the nation, which will afford him some much-needed anonymity, for once.

"It really didn't factor into my decision, but now that I've made it, it's one of the rewards," Isaiah said. "It's going to feel good to start over as a freshman. I can't wait for that. It's great to be in the spotlight, but there it's a whole new level, and you have to work that much harder."

Now, Isaiah speaks with the carefree excitement of youth, a refreshing change for his father, who watched his son carry the burden of expectations for so long.

"It's like the whole world is lifted off his shoulders," Nate Dahlman said. "Now he's thinking about prom, he's thinking about the green-and-white (of Michigan State). He's looking forward, and that's what young people should be doing."

2006 AP All-State boys basketball team

The Associated Press All-State team for Minnesota boys basketball, as voted on by statewide media.

PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Isaiah Dahlman, Braham

FIRST TEAM

-Isaiah Dahlman, SR, Braham

-Bryce Webster, SR, St. Thomas Academy

-Kwadzo Ahelegbe, SR, Tartan

-Cory Johnson, SR, Duluth East

-Matt Janning, SR, Watertown-Mayer

SECOND TEAM

-Cole Aldrich, JR, Bloomington-Jefferson

-Trevor Mbakwe, JR, Henry Sibley

-Cameron Rundles, SR, DeLaSalle

-Blake Hoffarber, JR, Hopkins

-DeAngelo Brackins, JR, International Falls

HONORABLE MENTION

Brooks Albrecht, SR, Hutchinson; Caleb Anderson, SR, Perham; Kit Avery, SR, Southwest Christian; David Baker, SR, Orono; Brady Balzum, SR, Ada-Borup; Rickey Batsell-Parks, SR, Minneapolis North; Armond Battle, SO, Benilde-St. Margaret's; Doug Beal, SR, Belle Plaine; Jordan Becker, SR, Blue Earth Area; Jimbo Bell, SR, Holy Family; Landon Benson, SR, Mankato East; Luke Berg, SR, Yellow Medicine East; Jared Berggren, SO, Princeton; Eric Bergman, SR, Becker; Andrew Bernstetter, JR, Holdingford; Broderick Binns, JR, Cretin-Derham Hall; Steve Birman, JR, Duluth Denfeld; Elijah Blakesley, JR, Maple River; Sam Blank, JR, Winona Cotter; Cole Boden, SR, Hill City; Steve Boger, SR, Holy Trinity; Patrick Bowlin, SO, Winona Cotter; William Braziel, JR, Minneapolis Roosevelt; Marcus Brumm, JR, Lakeville South; Bryce Brunz, JR, Mankato West; Tyler Cain, SR, Rochester John Marshall; Brodie Camp, JR, Bagley; Shawn Cariveau, SR, Climax/Fisher; Eric Carlson, JR, Shakopee; Trent Carlson, JR, Belle Plaine; Jay Cary, SO, Hibbing; Jon Cassens, SR, Prior Lake; Santino Clay, JR, Richfield; Freddie Coleman, SR, St. Paul Johnson; Matt Condon, SR, MACCRAY; Chris Conley, SR, Alexandria; Nate Daniels, SR, Bemidji; Guard; Tony Dahlen, SR, Norman County East; Noah Dahlman, JR, Braham; Eric Dalbey, SR, Mora; Jermain Davis, SR, Cooper; Tyler Day, SR, Laporte; Mark Del Greco, SR, East Central; Jamar Diggs, SR, DeLaSalle; Eric Dilbeck, SR, Barnesville; Derek Domino, SR, Spring Lake Park; Joe Drapcho, JR, Waconia; Tyler Drinkall, SR, Rushford-Peterson; Jake Driscoll, JR, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton; Steven Duncan, SR, Hopkins; Brent Dunkelberger, SR, Waconia; Zach Eastman, JR, Chaska; James Eayrs, SR, Roseville; Brent Egan, JR, Sauk Centre; Jerrel Enerson, SR, Andover; Robert Eppinger, SR, Minneapolis Henry; Brady Fairbanks, JR, Cass Lake-Bena; Jesse Fisher, JR, Pequot Lakes; Robbie Fedor, SR, Monticello; Zach Filzen, JR, Northfield; Ben Flavin, SR, Lakeville North; Dan Fragodt, JR, Benson; Ivan Franklin, SR, Stillwater; Justin Gilge, SR, Kelliher/Northome; Shasha Goncharenko, First Baptist; Lance Gonzalez, SR, Minnesota Academy for the Deaf; Alex Gornick, JR, Chisholm; James Granstra, JR, Southwest Star Concept; Matt Gratzek, SR, Stephen-Argyle; Marty Gregor, JR, Chaska; Tyler Grey, SR, Montevideo; Jacob Grundman, SR, Osakis; Chris Hamblin, JR, Eagan; Chris Hamers, JR, Onamia; Jordan Hansel, SR, St. Cloud Tech; Charlie Hanson, SR, Granada-Huntley-East Chain; David Hanson, SO, Maranatha; Stephen Hanson, SR, Maranatha; Dwayne Hardy, SR, Richfield; Desmon Harper, SR, Minneapolis South; Andy Hartman, SR, Eagan; Nick Haugen, SO, Rockford; James Henderson, SR, Roseville; Mike Hendricks, SR, Alexandria; Todd Herman, SR, New London-Spicer; Scott Herold, JR, Pierz; Mike Herrick, SR, Breckenridge; David Hicks, SR, St. Thomas Academy; Marcus Hill, JR, Breck; Paul Hill, SR, Minneapolis North; Max Hintz, JR, Woodbury; Max Holmgren, SR, New Life Academy; Greg Holzhueter, JR, Minnesota Valley Lutheran; Brian Hosfield, SR, Armstrong; Eric Hostetter, SR, Stillwater; Eric Hugoson, JR, Fairmont; Taylor Huseby, SR, Pelican Rapids; Tom Imbu, SR, Columbia Heights; Jeff Janssen, SO, Fairmont; Alfred Jaryan, SO, Bloomington Kennedy; Tyler Jendro, SR, Royalton; Edy Jensen, SR, Minnesota Transitions; Adam Kado, SR, St. Paul Central; Andy Kochneff, JR, Cloquet; Jontae Koonkaew, SR, Apple Valley; Ben Kreklow, SR, Blaine; Zach Krumwiede, SR, Martin County West; Alex Lamb, SR, AlBrook; Wade Lang, SR, Osakis; Justin Larson, SR, Alexandria; Trevor Larson, SR, Chatfield; Kyle Lawrence, SR, Virginia; Jon Leuer, SR, Orono; Erik Lien, JR, Moorhead; Matt Lien, SR, Nevis; Jake Lindstrom, SO, Park-Cottage Grove; Luke Linell, SR, Farmington; Thomas Loberg, SR, Grygla-Gatzke; Mike Lochner, SR, Maple Grove; Nevin Lubarski, SR, Stephen-Argyle; Drew Lundberg, JR, Owatonna; Tyler Macomber, SR, Elk River; Jake Magner, SR, Grand Rapids; Nathan Maher, SO, Rockford; Mark Mann, SR, New Life Academy; Michael Martin, SR, Atwater-Cosmos-Grove City; Romaine Martin, SR, Minneapolis North; Jefferson Mason, R obbinsdale Cooper; Kyle Mathiowetz, JR, Marshall; Lucas Matich, SR, Coon Rapids; Cory Mattson, SR, Hawley; Eric McDonald, SR, Ely; Rhett McDonald, SR, Cambridge-Isanti; Peter McKeown, SO, Hill-Murray; Jordon McMichael, SR, Breck; Ryan McPartland, SR, Le Sueur-Henderson; Travis Meiners, SR, Dover-Eyota; Jake Merrill, JR, LaCrescent; Brad Meyer, SR, Winona; Bryan Millard, JR, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's; Kyle Minett, SR, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton; Matt Moorman, SR, Melrose; Cory Mountain, SR, AlBrook; Chad Mulder, SR, Renville County West; Kevin Muller, SR, Cass Lake-Bena; Alex Nelson, JR, Kingsland; Luke Nelson, SR, Caledonia; Brett Newton, SR, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton; Cory Nietfeld, JR, Paynesville; Adam Nistler, SR, Kelliher/Northome; Al Nolen, JR, Minneapolis Henry; Leif Nomeland, SO, Osakis; Seth Noreen, JR, St. Cloud Apollo; Mike Nourie, SR, Nicollet; Blake Olson, SR, West Central; Ryan Ostendorf, SR, Virginia; Josh Ortmann, JR, Buffalo; Fred Perry, SR, Rogers; Brent Pederson, SR, Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley; Josh Peterson, SR, Goodhue; Doug Plumb, SR, Hastings; Mike Pohlkamp, SR, Pierz; Elijah Poindexter, SR, Burnsville; Kendall Proell, SR, Osakis; Jesse Quick, SR, Tower-Soudan; Jon Rakhola, SR, Esko; Xavier Reed, JR, Osseo; Sammy Ricks, SR, St. Paul Johnson; Nick Rieder, SR, Rochester Lourdes; Andrew Risbrudt, SR, Ashby; Deonte Roberts, SR, St. Bernard's; Nate Robertson, SR, Forest Lake; Bryan Rosett, SR, Park-Cottage Grove; Anthony Robinson, SR, Cass Lake-Bena; Scott Roehl, SR, Princeton; Theo Rothstein, SO, St. Michael-Albertville; Alex Roverud, SR, Spring Grove; Josh Roysland, SR, Fosston; Alex Rubin, JR, Robbinsdale Armstrong; Tommy Saffert, SR, Mankato West; Andrew Sather, SR, Norman County East; Jonas Sauve, SR, Barnesville; Cody Schilling, SO, Ellsworth; Dan Schmitz, JR, Hinckley-Finlayson; Travis Schultz, SR, Russell-Tyler-Ruthton; Joel Schwenzfeier, SR, Kittson Central; Tucker Sheley, JR, Pequot Lakes; Ryan Shimek, SR, Prior Lake; Sal Simmons, JR, St. Paul Johnson; Parker Skophammeer, SR, Albert Lea; Brady Soule, JR, Lakeville South; Landon Stanfield, JR, Brainerd; Scott Stebe, SR, Clearbrook-Gonvick; John Stevens, JR, Austin; Joe Stoll, SR, Pillager; Justin Stommes, JR, Rocori; Joe Sunnarborg, SR, Esko; Justin Sutton, JR, Swanville; Chop Tang, SR, Mankato East; Chris Taylor, JR, Wayzata; Jordan Taylor, SO, Benilde-St. Margaret's; Bryce Tesdahl, SO, Crosby-Ironton; Matt Theis, JR, Eden Valley-Watkins; Alex Thomas, JR, Maranatha; Kyle Townswick, JR, Willmar; Mark Torell, SR, Robbinsdale Armstrong; Zach Towle, FR, Concordia Academy; Brett Traxler, SR, Belle Plaine; Greg Trnka, SR, Bethlehem Academy; Anthony Tucker, SO, Minnetonka; Dan Vandervieren, SR, Hopkins; Jesse Van Sickle, SR, Lake Crystal-Wellcome Memorial; Hayden Vavra, SR, Cambridge-Isanti; Bryan Virnig, JR, Pierz; Wally Voss, SR, Andover; Kevin Warren, SR, Bethany Academy; Joe Westlin, SR, St. Louis Park; Steve Wheeler, SR, Bloomington Jefferson; Preston Whitaker, JR, St. Cloud Apollo; Alex White, SR, Eastview; Juan Wilborn, SR, Minnesota Transitions; Chad Willenbring, SR, Rocori; Blake Williams, JR, Blake; Bryant Williams, SR, Edina; Kenny Williams, SR, Champlin Park; Stavon Williams, SR, Minneapolis Roosevelt; D.J. Winfield, JR, Mountain Iron-Buhl; Taylor Witt, JR, Morris; Ryan Wittman, SR, Eden Prairie; Andrew Woitas, SR, Sleepy Eye St. Mary's; Mike York, SR, Burnsville; Tim Zander, SR, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted; Ben Ziesemer, SR, Minnesota Valley Lutheran; Max Zwart, SR, Edgerton.

Past AP POY

Past AP boys basketball

players of the year

Past players of the year for Minnesota boys high school basketball since The Associated Press first started the award in 1990:

2006-Isaiah Dahlman, F, Braham

2005-Isaiah Dahlman, F, Braham

2004-Spencer Tollackson, C, Chaska

2003-Kris Humphries, F, Hopkins

2002-Kris Humphries, F, Hopkins

2001-Rick Rickert, C, Duluth East

2000-Adam Boone, G, Minnetonka and Rick Rickert, C, Duluth East

1999-Shane Schilling, F, Minnetonka