ALBANY - Senior point guard Tyler Dahl joined elite company with the Albany boys basketball team when he reached the 1,000-career-point milestone last week.
Dahl is averaging 23 points, 9.7 rebounds and five assists per game this season. Dahl became the third boys player in the history of the Albany to eclipse the milestone when he scored 25 points in a 69-48 loss to Iowa-Grant in the championship game at the River Ridge Holiday Tournament.
Dahl, who has scored 1,015 points joins Isaiah Shell (1,595 points) and Mark Zurfluh (1,057 points) as Albany boys who have eclipsed 1,000 career points. Zurfluh was the Comets' point guard on a team that advanced to the state tournament at the University of Wisconsin Field House in 1993.
"It didn't hit me how big of an accomplishment it was," Dahl said. "I was hoping to hit it (1,000 career points) this year. I didn't know when. I didn't keep tabs on it. Winning means more to me than scoring points."
Dahl is a four-sport athlete at Albany. He runs cross country in the fall, plays basketball in the winter and plays baseball and runs track in the spring. He has applied to attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and UW-Stout.
Dahl said basketball is his passion, and he will try to play basketball in college.
"He's in a great group of players," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "Tyler and those other guys are all gym rats. Tyler has put in a ton of hours and time. When you put in the work like that the accomplishments will come. He has definitely earned it."
Dahl takes on the ball-handling duties as the point guard for the Comets. As a four-year starter, he spearheads the Comets' attack as the leading scorer and rebounder for an Albany team that is 6-3 overall and 2-1 Six Rivers East. He is a playmaker who continues to work hard on the defensive end.
"He can jump out of the gym," Doescher said of Dahl. "He's very aggressive for his size. Those rebounds and assists he gets are all true. If you have never seen him play it's all the little things he does. He is one of our best defenders. He is a complete player. A lot of it is due to his work ethic and never-quit attitude."
When Albany hosts Pecatonica (6-2, 2-0 Six Rivers East) tonight in a Six Rivers East Conference clash, Dahl will be in the middle of it. Both Pecatonica and Barneveld are unbeaten in the conference. Dahl knows the Comets are one upset win away from pulling into a tie with the conference's preseason favorite.
"Pec is tall and lanky," he said. "They are very experienced. It will be a good matchup if we show up."
He recalls how the Vikings' press turned the tide the last time they played Pecatonica.
"We have to take care of the basketball," he said. "I think one of the biggest things is we can't get down on ourselves. We have to play within ourselves and not get discouraged if we get down a couple of points."
His knack for getting rebounds and steals has jump-started the Comets into contention in the conference.
"I didn't have to do as much of that in the past," Dahl said of the rebounding. "I think this year I just have a bigger will to do it."
Whether Albany wins a conference title this year, Dahl is always measuring the success of the team.
"The recurring goal every year is we want to be better than last year," Dahl said. "We don't want to settle being 6-3. We want to keep climbing the ladder. We want to get more wins than last year. We want to score more points and get more rebounds than last year. We want everyone to get better. We believe that is a successful season."
Dahl is averaging 23 points, 9.7 rebounds and five assists per game this season. Dahl became the third boys player in the history of the Albany to eclipse the milestone when he scored 25 points in a 69-48 loss to Iowa-Grant in the championship game at the River Ridge Holiday Tournament.
Dahl, who has scored 1,015 points joins Isaiah Shell (1,595 points) and Mark Zurfluh (1,057 points) as Albany boys who have eclipsed 1,000 career points. Zurfluh was the Comets' point guard on a team that advanced to the state tournament at the University of Wisconsin Field House in 1993.
"It didn't hit me how big of an accomplishment it was," Dahl said. "I was hoping to hit it (1,000 career points) this year. I didn't know when. I didn't keep tabs on it. Winning means more to me than scoring points."
Dahl is a four-sport athlete at Albany. He runs cross country in the fall, plays basketball in the winter and plays baseball and runs track in the spring. He has applied to attend the University of Wisconsin-Platteville and UW-Stout.
Dahl said basketball is his passion, and he will try to play basketball in college.
"He's in a great group of players," Albany coach Derik Doescher said. "Tyler and those other guys are all gym rats. Tyler has put in a ton of hours and time. When you put in the work like that the accomplishments will come. He has definitely earned it."
Dahl takes on the ball-handling duties as the point guard for the Comets. As a four-year starter, he spearheads the Comets' attack as the leading scorer and rebounder for an Albany team that is 6-3 overall and 2-1 Six Rivers East. He is a playmaker who continues to work hard on the defensive end.
"He can jump out of the gym," Doescher said of Dahl. "He's very aggressive for his size. Those rebounds and assists he gets are all true. If you have never seen him play it's all the little things he does. He is one of our best defenders. He is a complete player. A lot of it is due to his work ethic and never-quit attitude."
When Albany hosts Pecatonica (6-2, 2-0 Six Rivers East) tonight in a Six Rivers East Conference clash, Dahl will be in the middle of it. Both Pecatonica and Barneveld are unbeaten in the conference. Dahl knows the Comets are one upset win away from pulling into a tie with the conference's preseason favorite.
"Pec is tall and lanky," he said. "They are very experienced. It will be a good matchup if we show up."
He recalls how the Vikings' press turned the tide the last time they played Pecatonica.
"We have to take care of the basketball," he said. "I think one of the biggest things is we can't get down on ourselves. We have to play within ourselves and not get discouraged if we get down a couple of points."
His knack for getting rebounds and steals has jump-started the Comets into contention in the conference.
"I didn't have to do as much of that in the past," Dahl said of the rebounding. "I think this year I just have a bigger will to do it."
Whether Albany wins a conference title this year, Dahl is always measuring the success of the team.
"The recurring goal every year is we want to be better than last year," Dahl said. "We don't want to settle being 6-3. We want to keep climbing the ladder. We want to get more wins than last year. We want to score more points and get more rebounds than last year. We want everyone to get better. We believe that is a successful season."
