Photo by Chris Drummond: Russell-Tyler-Ruthton forward Drew Werkman posts up against a Cherry defender in the Minnesota Class A semifinals at the Target Center in Minneapolis on March 24. RTR went on to win 61-57. Werkman is the Independent’s boys basketball Player of the Year.

The Russell-Tyler-Ruthton boys basketball team was dominant all season long. It completed a perfect regular season and, after falling to Dawson-Boyd in the Camden Conference championship, got revenge on the Blackjacks in the Section 3A championship and won the Class A state championship.

The team practically had an all-star lineup with a pair of Independent first-team all-area selections and a handful of other players who certainly had the talent to be argued as an All-Area selection. Among the standouts was Drew Werkman, the hyper-efficient post player.

The junior forward led the team with 550 points on the season and his average of 17.2 was second only to fellow first-teamer Aiden Wichmann’s 18.2.

While high volume often leads to a drop-off in efficiency, this wasn’t the case for Werkman. He shot an astounding 64% from the field, the highest of any player on the team with a minimum of one shot attempt per game. Despite his high volume of touches, he also rarely turned the ball over, averaging 1.1 per game.

“Just take shots that count,” Werkman said of his approach to the offensive end of the floor. “Don’t take dumb shots, don’t take poor shots. Try and take shots that… you know you’re comfortable taking all the time in games and practices. Shots that you’re consistent with.”

Werkman’s size and strength in the post made him a tough matchup for opposing defenders. Mixing that in with his ability to find open teammates and kick the ball out to shooters when the situation warranted it, his play was instrumental in the offense’s success.

When the team lost Aiden Wichmann to an injury for nearly two weeks, Werkman didn’t skip a beat to help his teammates fill the large hole that loomed in their offensive production.

“Some of us got to step up with losing one of the top scorers on the team. There are some of those guys like Blake [Christianson] coming off the bench, Tucker [Haroldson] now starting taking Aiden’s spot, Cody [Wichmann’s] got to step up, take some more shots, try to knock them down. Hayden [Gravley] taking some shots too, it’s everybody chipping in a little bit more than normal,” Werkman said.

In a game against Yellow Medicine East during Aiden Wichmann’s absence, Werkman set a career-high with 30 points on 15-20 shooting. It was one of four games on the season in which Werkman scored 25 or more points.

Werkman also excels as a rebounder, averaging a team-high 7.8 per game. He finished the season with 86 more rebounds than his next closest teammate.

Rebounding often is called an effort stat in that the players who work hard tend to grab the boards. This is certainly true for Werkman, who feeds of the crowd’s energy when he plays, adding that hearing the fans is maybe his favorite part of the game.

“When you get on your big runs and they’re all cheering and getting loud and then the other team calls a timeout and they’re still cheering as loud as they can… It’s kind of hard for the coach to talk in the huddle, it’s just awesome,” Werkman said.

As great of a player as Werkman is as an individual, he still places an emphasis on the importance of his teammates in the Knights’ success. When asked about his favorite moments on the floor from the season, he cited the ball movement he’d have with Aiden Wichmann, Haroldson and Gravley.

“We’re a non-selfish team. We share the ball, try to get everybody involved and just try not to make it a one-person game. It’s how basketball is supposed to be played,” Werkman said.

Playing the right way paid off as the Knights steamrolled their way through the state tournament. They blew out Nevis 80-62 in the quarterfinals and, after squeaking by Cherry 61-57, hung on for a 59-49 win over New Life Academy in the championship game.

The team will be losing key seniors — namely, Gravley, Aiden and Cody Wichmann, Haroldson and Camden Hansen — but with Werkman leading the group of returners in his senior year next fall, the Knights aren’t done putting in work yet.