.jpg)
High scoring senior lands spots on both Arrowhead, IRC teams
Caid Chittum took a giant leap forward on the basketball court this winter.
The Ely senior was an offensive machine, setting single-game and single-season scoring records as the Timberwolves made a remarkable turnaround after a losing season in 2023-24.
Chittum’s performance was both noticed and recognized, as he won spots on both the All-Iron Range Conference and All-Arrowhead Conference boys basketball teams, as picked by league coaches.
Chittum was one of a dozen All-IRC honorees and part of a 10-person All-Arrowhead group.
Ely Head Coach Tom McDonald was on the sidelines as Chittum made huge progress from his junior year and helped the Wolves to a 17-win season.
“I was really happy for Caid on making both all-conference teams,” said McDonald. “He did not get on the Arrowhead team as a junior and this was the result of the great progress he made as a player since last year. His mid-range game was incredible and he really was unstoppable for us this year.”
Chittum finished his career with 1,467 points and set a single-season school record this year with 713 points, topping the mark of 694 set by Eric McDonald in 2006.
Chittum also scored 50 points in a win over Bigfork, setting the school’s single-game scoring mark in the process.
League champion Deer river put two members on the All-IRC group - Caden Schjenken and Nick Bakkedahl.
The All-Arrowhead Team was dominated by Cherry, which won the Section 7A title and placed second in the State Class A Tournament.
The Tigers’ Noah Sundquist, Isaiah Asuma, Noah Asuma and Carson Brown.
Chittum joined Deer River’s Caden Schjenken and Greenway’s Stephen McGee V as the only players to make both the All-Arrowhead and All-IRC squads.
Two other Wolves received All-IRC honorable mention. They were juniors Jack Davies and Drew Johnson.
Davies also averaged over 20 points per contest this winter and dished out 5.9 assists per game as well, while Johnson almost averaged a double-double, finishing with an average of 12.9 points, 9.2 rebounds as well as 5.5 assists per night.
“Jack had another solid year and keeps getting better year after year,” said McDonald. “His scoring went up but even more impressive were his assists as he went from 68 assists last year to 166 this year. Drew was a force for us on both ends of the floor. He led us in rebounding and blocked shots and had some monster games for us this year.”
