Magic Acts Are Underway in Basketball
Magic acts seem to be in order when late February and March roll around. Every year, the public is treated to remarkable performances in basketball. It fits into the "March Madness" theme that defines hoops in late winter and early spring.
As we talk about dancing and who gets invited to the big show, a little "Saturday Night Fever" has magically struck the land of the Dakotas.
In the storied history of men's basketball at The University of South Dakota, no player had made 10 three-point field goals in a single game. Now in less than a week, on consecutive Saturdays, both Jake Thomas and Louie Krogman of USD have knocked down 10 shots from beyond the arc.
On February 27 at USD's DakotaDome, Jake Thomas delivered for Dave Boots' Coyotes. In a 105-86 pounding of Chicago State, Thomas scored 40 points, including a school record 10 three-point baskets (16 attempts). He had seven in the first half on his way to breaking his own record set in 2009-10. His 40 points is the most for a Coyote player since Turner Trofholz went off in a 2005 NCAA Tournament game vs. Nebraska-Kearney. Coyote fans will remember that Trofholz had 42 points in the first-round 94-84 win at the Auraria Center in Denver. It was the highest point total by a USD player ever during a national tournament and the fourth best total in history. Thomas became the 11th player in school history with 40 points and just one of three (Barry Glanzer, 42 points, Feb. 20, 1981; and Jeff Nannen, 40 points, Feb. 20, 1979) to do it in the DakotaDome.
On March 5 in Houston, Texas, teammate Louie Krogman answered Thomas with another scintillating performance. Krogman hit 10-of-14 3-point field goals and scored a career-high 37 points to lead USD to a 96-87 win. When most players struggle to hit better than 50 percent from 15 feet, these two guys were knocking down 20 foot jumpers at better than a 62 percent rate (71 for Krogman). As they head to the Great West Tournament next Wednesday in Orem, Utah, you wonder if USD can find its way to the championship game and another bit of shooting "fever" on Saturday, March 12. Do the Coyotes have another player that can strike it deep for 10 three-pointers? Or will we see Krogman and Thomas both hit for 10 in a game - now that would be something.
February Big Month for Big Games
Interestingly, February has been a big month for big games at USD. Five of the top nine scoring performances have come during February, including Jack Theeler's 49 points vs. Northern Iowa on February 4, 1967. Don Jongewaard had 45 on Feb. 3 against North Dakota State while Barry Glanzer had 42 points vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 20, 1981. Jim Truelson scored 42 against Creighton on Feb. 4, 1957 while Jeff Nannen had 40 at the DakotaDome vs Morningside on Feb. 20, 1979. Both Glanzer and Nannen broke out on the same day (Feb. 20), two years apart. Twenty-six of the 63 performances of 30 points by an individual Coyote happened in February.
Glanzer Gets 600th Coaching Win
Burnell Glanzer of Tripp/Delmont/Armour continued his move up the all-time wins list in South Dakota boys basketball by picking up coaching career victory 600, which places him third all-time. His .749 winning percentage (600-201) ranks first. He is third in wins behind Larry Luitjens at 708-281 and Gary Munsen at 647-250. Last Thursday, Jim Schlekaway of Mobridge-Pollock recorded win 500 in an illustrious boys basketball coaching career. It is noteworthy that the three coaches with the most careeer wins in SD (Luitjens, Munsen and Glanzer) are currently coaching with teams that have shots at the state tournament. Munsen's team has already advanced to the State AA while the other two coaches are still alive.
Boots Records 23rd Straight Winning Season
South Dakota head basketball coach Dave Boots owns one of the more remarkable records as a head coach at the University of South Dakota. When his Coyotes defeated Houston Baptist, 96-87, in Texas on Saturday night (March 5), Boots clinched a winning record for the 23rd consecutive seasons. He has had 22 teams compete in conference play and those teams also have never finished below .500. This is a coach that has had 20-win campaigns for seven straight seasons entering the 2010-11 campaign and owns 16, 20-win seasons at USD (17 overall in his career). His teams have won at least 16 games every year since 1988-89. Only once in those 23 years, 2008-09, did USD not play in a league as they were in a transition year before they joined the Great West. Boots has recorded the five top wins season ever at USD and owns a 596-259 (.702) career record and is 481-196 (.717) at USD. He may hit two milestones in a single season during 2011-12, by capturing his 600th career win and 500th victory as the Coyotes' basketball mentor.
As we talk about dancing and who gets invited to the big show, a little "Saturday Night Fever" has magically struck the land of the Dakotas.
In the storied history of men's basketball at The University of South Dakota, no player had made 10 three-point field goals in a single game. Now in less than a week, on consecutive Saturdays, both Jake Thomas and Louie Krogman of USD have knocked down 10 shots from beyond the arc.
On February 27 at USD's DakotaDome, Jake Thomas delivered for Dave Boots' Coyotes. In a 105-86 pounding of Chicago State, Thomas scored 40 points, including a school record 10 three-point baskets (16 attempts). He had seven in the first half on his way to breaking his own record set in 2009-10. His 40 points is the most for a Coyote player since Turner Trofholz went off in a 2005 NCAA Tournament game vs. Nebraska-Kearney. Coyote fans will remember that Trofholz had 42 points in the first-round 94-84 win at the Auraria Center in Denver. It was the highest point total by a USD player ever during a national tournament and the fourth best total in history. Thomas became the 11th player in school history with 40 points and just one of three (Barry Glanzer, 42 points, Feb. 20, 1981; and Jeff Nannen, 40 points, Feb. 20, 1979) to do it in the DakotaDome.
On March 5 in Houston, Texas, teammate Louie Krogman answered Thomas with another scintillating performance. Krogman hit 10-of-14 3-point field goals and scored a career-high 37 points to lead USD to a 96-87 win. When most players struggle to hit better than 50 percent from 15 feet, these two guys were knocking down 20 foot jumpers at better than a 62 percent rate (71 for Krogman). As they head to the Great West Tournament next Wednesday in Orem, Utah, you wonder if USD can find its way to the championship game and another bit of shooting "fever" on Saturday, March 12. Do the Coyotes have another player that can strike it deep for 10 three-pointers? Or will we see Krogman and Thomas both hit for 10 in a game - now that would be something.
February Big Month for Big Games
Interestingly, February has been a big month for big games at USD. Five of the top nine scoring performances have come during February, including Jack Theeler's 49 points vs. Northern Iowa on February 4, 1967. Don Jongewaard had 45 on Feb. 3 against North Dakota State while Barry Glanzer had 42 points vs. Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 20, 1981. Jim Truelson scored 42 against Creighton on Feb. 4, 1957 while Jeff Nannen had 40 at the DakotaDome vs Morningside on Feb. 20, 1979. Both Glanzer and Nannen broke out on the same day (Feb. 20), two years apart. Twenty-six of the 63 performances of 30 points by an individual Coyote happened in February.
Glanzer Gets 600th Coaching Win
Burnell Glanzer of Tripp/Delmont/Armour continued his move up the all-time wins list in South Dakota boys basketball by picking up coaching career victory 600, which places him third all-time. His .749 winning percentage (600-201) ranks first. He is third in wins behind Larry Luitjens at 708-281 and Gary Munsen at 647-250. Last Thursday, Jim Schlekaway of Mobridge-Pollock recorded win 500 in an illustrious boys basketball coaching career. It is noteworthy that the three coaches with the most careeer wins in SD (Luitjens, Munsen and Glanzer) are currently coaching with teams that have shots at the state tournament. Munsen's team has already advanced to the State AA while the other two coaches are still alive.
Boots Records 23rd Straight Winning Season
South Dakota head basketball coach Dave Boots owns one of the more remarkable records as a head coach at the University of South Dakota. When his Coyotes defeated Houston Baptist, 96-87, in Texas on Saturday night (March 5), Boots clinched a winning record for the 23rd consecutive seasons. He has had 22 teams compete in conference play and those teams also have never finished below .500. This is a coach that has had 20-win campaigns for seven straight seasons entering the 2010-11 campaign and owns 16, 20-win seasons at USD (17 overall in his career). His teams have won at least 16 games every year since 1988-89. Only once in those 23 years, 2008-09, did USD not play in a league as they were in a transition year before they joined the Great West. Boots has recorded the five top wins season ever at USD and owns a 596-259 (.702) career record and is 481-196 (.717) at USD. He may hit two milestones in a single season during 2011-12, by capturing his 600th career win and 500th victory as the Coyotes' basketball mentor.
Comments
Post a Comment