ABOVE: Oliver Tordsen.

FAIRMONT – Fairmont Cardinals 6-foot-8 senior center Oliver Tordsen is focused on team building this season in hopes of helping his Cardinals boys basketball team get a shot at the state tournament this season, citing a desire to see all starters put up double-digit points.

In his junior season, Tordsen averaged 11.7 points, 8 rebounds and 1 block per game and earned co-MVP honors on the team. Now early in his senior season, Tordsen is currently averaging a double-double with 12.7 points and 12.7 rebounds per game.

“He is a captain for us,” said Fairmont boys basketball coach Jared Thompson. “He works incredibly hard on both offense and defense. He has a bright future athletically and academically.”

Tordsen hails from a basketball family, growing up playing with his brothers which planted the seed that would turn into his athletic career as a Cardinal.

“All my brothers kind of played basketball,” said Tordsen. “So my oldest brother’s probably my biggest inspiration.”

Tordsen is a three-sport athlete participating in track, football and basketball, staying busy in as many seasons as possible.

“I like the challenge of having all three,” said Tordsen. “I feel like it develops skills like leadership and time management and all that.”

Preparing for a game is methodical for Tordsen as he takes in as much as he can from game film and the squads below varsity to get a feel for what the opponent is going to throw at the team.

“We usually watch the B-squad as a team,” said Tordsen. “Then we can usually see some of the plays and stuff. We watch film and then we see their plays, and then as you’re watching the B-squad, you can see the other team’s plays and stuff. As the team, we all kind of sit there and point that out, so that kind of gets you ready.”

Tordsen’s faith in his team is high, believing that through focus and teamwork, there is no reason not to make a run deep into the playoffs.

“I want to make the state,” said Tordsen. “It’s going to take a lot, but I think that we definitely have the skills to do it, to make state. I want to see sharing the ball more. I want to see all five starters have above [double] digits. It’s like, that’d be nice to have [double] digits for everyone.”

Off the court, Tordsen is focused on academics, though he hasn’t decided where he is going to further his education he plans to go into either a biology or pre-med program. Tordsen does plan to continue his athletic career and is currently deciding on whether or not it will be in track and field or basketball.

Tordsen views Jackson County Central, Redwood Valley and Blue Earth as the teams to beat this year. The three schools are very competitive, but Tordsen is hoping for another shot at Redwood Valley in the playoffs.

As the season continues Tordsen and the Cardinals are focused on their next opponents, who will be Martin County West as the Cardinals host the Mavericks at 3:30 p.m. in Fairmont on Saturday.