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  • Sibley East senior Marshall Bjorklund recently passed his sister Tera as the school’s all-time leading scorer in basketball. Pat Christman

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March 21, 2010

Bjorklund develops into inside force for Sibley East

6-foot-8 senior holds school records in points, rebounds and blocked shots

By Chad Courrier Free Press Staff Writer

ARLINGTON — From the time Marshall Bjorklund took the court for warmups Friday, his facial expression and body language never changed.

Through each blocked shot or rebound, he was all business. He collected a tough pass and dunked on the break, then powered through three defenders along the baseline, flushing the ball with two hands, and he hardly raised an eyebrow.

But when the horn sounded on Sibley East’s 76-57 victory over Foley in the Section 5AA championship game Friday at St. Cloud, he was all smiles, celebrating with teammates that have worked together for eight years to claim this trip to the boys basketball state tournament.

“That’s Marshall,” Sibley East coach Todd Warzecha said. “On and off the court, he just doesn’t get rattled.”

Sibley East (23-4) plays Braham in the quarterfinal round of the Class AA tournament at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the University of Minnesota’s Williams Arena. It’s the first state tournament for the Wolverines since 1998, just a few years before this current group started playing youth basketball together.

“It’s pretty sweet,” Bjorklund said. “It’s what we’ve always wanted. It feels good, but we’re not done. We’re hoping to make some noise.”

Bjorklund, a 6-foot-8 senior center, has been a fixture in Sibley East basketball since his freshman season, compiling 1,877 points, 1,274 rebounds and 381 blocked shots, all of which stands as program records.

He joined the varsity lineup about five games into his freshman season, and Warzecha knew right away he was coaching someone special.

“The best thing about Marshall is that he has the talent, and he’s the hardest-working kid. When your best player is the easiest one to coach, that’s a good situation.”

Bjorklund is averaging 25.1 points and 15.0 rebounds this season and shooting 75.7 percent from the field. He has a jump shot, but he doesn’t have to use it much, usually taking the basketball into the lane against undersized opponents.

Borklund is also averaging 4.2 blocked shots and 1.7 steals, and he’s added 2.0 assists per game, a skill that was impressive in Friday’s championship game as he beat the double- and triple-teams with passes to open teammates for 3-pointers.

Bjorklund comes from a strong basketball family. His older sister Tera played at Colorado University and moved on to the WNBA for a few seasons, as well as playing overseas. Another sister, Jenny, had a strong high school career and played at Minnesota State for one season. At the section tournament last week, Bjorklund passed Tera’s school scoring record of 1,818 points.

“I guess I always had something to prove to be as successful as they were,” Bjorklund said.

He’ll also be playing Division I basketball at North Dakota State, where he’ll be studying agriculture. He’s attended summer camps at Fargo, N.D., and he was inspired by the Bison’s appearance in the NCAA tournament last season, even though he

couldn’t get a ticket to go to Minneapolis to watch that game.

“I just fell in love (with NDSU),” he said.

He’s been working on a jump shot because he’ll likely be a power forward at NDSU. In high school, he hasn’t had to shoot from the perimeter, usually taking the ball hard to the basket.

“I don’t have the words to describe how he’s developed,” Warzecha said. “He’s averaged a double-double the last three seasons, but the best thing abut him is his character, his work ethic and his humility. His goals are team goals.”

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