Helena's Jaxan Lieberg joins Tevin Wetzel at Carroll, flipping Montana State commitment

Wetzel, a Carroll College hardwood commit since last fall, outstretched his arms as Lieberg flushed the basketball, reminiscent of the iconic LeBron James-Dwyane Wade Miami Heat photo snapped some 15 years ago.

“After that dunk — it got our team going and kind of solidified the win for us,” Lieberg said.

“Somebody getting that picture is sweet. It’s going to be awesome when me and Tevin are older and looking back on it.”

In recent weeks, as Lieberg pondered his future, it became clear the two would reunite to chase something more than Helena High’s first state trophy since 2014.

Lieberg, following first cousin Jaedon (who played under former Saints head coach Kurt Paulson), decided Carroll was his home, purple and gold the colors he’d don the next four years, flipping a Montana State football preferred walk-on commitment.

Pictures, like the one of his state fast break with Wetzel, playing with his older cousin made up Lieberg’s latest Instagram post dated late-March, chronicling a high school journey ending on a high athletic note.

“Just my gut feeling, honestly,” Lieberg said. “I love football and basketball, but when that state tournament [ended], it kind of hit me that I’d never play organized basketball ever again…

“It was hard for me, it was a lot harder than I anticipated. That helped change my mind a lot.”

Lieberg said Carroll and Montana Western were the only two basketball programs to offer a scholarship, perhaps because of his perceived affinity for football. Carroll, Lieberg said, offered late in the season, after he had announced a commitment to the Bobcats.

Basketball, Lieberg said, holds a more enjoyable and special place in his heart. Continuing his career at Carroll with a high school teammate is icing on the cake.

“[Tevin] is one of my best friends and we’ve grown up together, so it’s going to be nice to keep playing with each other,” Lieberg said.

“It was fun playing with him during high school, and it’s just going to be a lot more enjoyable. We can go out and play four more years together and see how much we can accomplish together.”

The 6-foot-3 Lieberg was a three-time Helena IR All-Area Player of the Year and Class AA All-State selection. He averaged 18.1 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game as a senior, knocking down 54 3-pointers at a 41.2% clip. Fourteen times during the regular season and postseason Lieberg paced Helena High in scoring.

Lieberg joins a Carroll roster returning all five of its season-ending starters, including Frontier Conference Freshman of the Year and leading scorer Isaiah Crane.

Bozeman graduate and former Montana Gatorade Football Player of the Year Kellen Harrison started Carroll’s final six games as three of the Saints’ five starters in their Frontier Tournament semifinal loss to Providence were freshmen.

Carroll paced the Frontier in scoring (79.9 points per game) and 3-point field goal percentage (34.7%), finishing second in overall field goal percentage (48.4%). The Saints, under first-year head coach Dan Pearson, won five of their final six games to finish 15-15 overall last season.

“I love the way they play basketball there,” Lieberg said. “They’re a really fast-paced team, they like to shoot the ball, they like to score. …

“I think that’s my way of playing. I think I’ll really fit in at Carroll. The schooling there is great. The alumni that went to Carroll are great at supporting. It’s just an awesome community.”

Lieberg and Wetzel will be the first two Helena products to play men's basketball at Carroll since Capital’s Brayden Koch. They’re the first two Bengals boys basketball players to don purple and gold since Lieberg’s cousin.

Lieberg said he plans to study biology with hopes of potentially becoming an orthodontist.