SD Boys BB Preview - Some Teams Already In, Others Looking to Find Spots in State Tourneys

With South Dakota Boys Basketball progressing past districts and into regions and the state tourneys, here is some of what I think I know (sorry Peter King). White River (21-1) is the only defending champion remaining in South Dakota boys prep circles. Both O'Gorman (AA) and St. Thomas More (Class A) have been eliminated.

Before we get into a look at various notes on teams to watch at region, it is noteworthy to mention that Derek Robey's Knights and David Hollenbeck's Cavaliers have been dominant recently. STM, which finished 20-2 this year, has won the last two A titles. Meanwhile, O'Gorman (6-16) has made AA history with its run of three straight titles and five championships in seven years. In fact, O'Gorman had reached the state AA title game in seven of the last nine seasons as 2012-13 began. 

AA -- Roosevelt Team to Beat

In the AA ranks, it is hard for me to believe that anyone will be able to knock off #1 SF Roosevelt, a team that dominated AA in the regular season and then won districts with a pair of double digit margins of victory. In this section, I look at several of the teams already in the State AA and one (Huron), which has to advance through a regional game. 

Lee Taylor's Rough Riders squad will be making its 10th state tournament appearance. Clearly the favorite, the Rough Riders will be the top seed when state tourney play is held March 14-16 at the Sioux Falls Arena. The Rough Riders won the 2000 crown, 55-54, over Rapid City Central. A year ago, the Rough Riders finished sixth. 

This is arguably the Rough Riders best team in history. It is an athletic bunch, especially at guard, led by Nate Cole, leading scorer Tyler Howard, and Jeremiah Clark. Brandon Boggs, Lucas Wilbur, Josh Kirkwold and Chris Phillips also make substantial contributions.  Roosevelt, 21-1, rolled through Districts by defeating O'Gorman, 67-52, as Cole had 24 points. Then, they defeated #2 Brookings, 62-38, in a District title game called by Taylor as his team's top defensive effort of the year. The Rough Riders allowed only seven points in each of the first three quarters against Brookings, building an insurmountable lead over the Bobcats. Howard led the way with 15 points and five assists. 

Roosevelt, which has been ranked #1 for 10 straight weeks in the KSFY/KWSN poll (Dec. 17, 2012), has scored at least 70 points in 14-of-22 games. The Rough Riders own a 1,591-to-1,160 scoring edge, which breaks out to 72.32-to-52.73 ppg and a 19.59 per game victory margin.  Roosevelt, which has only lost to an out-of-state foe in ranked Marshall, Minn., has won by double digits 17 times with 10 wins by at least 20 points. They have also scored 80 or more points seven times.

Teams to Watch in AA

#2 Brookings (16-6), led by guards Tyler Nagy and Braxton Carlson, will try on Tuesday to qualify for a second straight state tournament appearance, after finishing fifth a year ago (56-47 over SF Roosevelt). Brookings, which hosts Yankton (6-14) for a tourney bid on Tuesday, was 1-1 in the Districts with a 50-45 win over Watertown and a 62-37 loss to #1 Roosevelt. The Bobcats, led by head coach Travis Engebretson (sixth season) has made 33 state tournament appearances with 13 top-3 finishes, including five state titles. They defeated Aberdeen Central, 48-47, in 1987 for their most recent title. They also had championships in 1968 (69-57, Sioux Falls Lincoln), 1962 (42-39, Sioux Falls Washington), 1952 (50-49, Huron) and 1946 (30-27, Huron).  The Bobcats own a 1,137-to-1064 points differential, or 51.68-48.37 ppg edge and a 3.31 victory margin. Brookings fares well in tight games, going 8-0 in three-point decisions and 3-0 in one-point verdicts. They are 11-1 in games decided by six points or fewer. In addition, they have a pair of wins over Pierre by a combined three points. 

If someone is to knock off the Rough Riders, red hot Brandon Valley (16-6), which has seven straight wins, may feel like they are just the team. Led by Chase Marso, Jacob Adams and Nic Peterson, the Lynx defeated SF Washington, 56-43 and SF Lincoln, 71-43 for its seventh straight win, a district crown and a state tourney berth. The Lynx, which has nine wins by double figures, own a 1,225-to-1,080 scoring differential, which breaks out to 55.68-to-49.09 or a 6.59 victory margin. Directed by 12th-year coach Brent Deckert, BV, which will make its 11th tourney appearance, last won a state title in 1998 with a 63-58 decision over O'Gorman.

#3 Pierre Riggs (17-5) defeated Aberdeen Central, 61-38, and Huron, 49-48, to win Districts. The Governors, which last won a state crown in 1982 (Rapid City Central, 56-43) and also have titles in 1979 (Rapid City Central, 68-57) and 1944 (Huron, 29-28), has lost five games by a combined 11 points this year. The Governors, directed by head coach Terry Becker, may feel that they are also a team with a great title shot. They have 15 wins in 16 games with 13 by double figure totals.  Pierre has a 1,421-to-1,145 scoring differential, which breaks out to 64.59-to-52.05 ppg or a per game victory margin of 12.54. Pierre, which will make its 38th state tourney appearance, has the dangerous duo of Lane Severyn and Zach Hansen, who are headed to SDSU and Creighton, respectively, to play basketball. Severyn has 1,428 career points (Pierre school record), 633 rebounds (Pierre school record) and 190 3-point field goals. He has 461 points (21.3 ppg) and 183 rebounds (8.7 rpg) this season. Hansen has 1,300 points (2nd all-time at Pierre) with 631 rebounds.

Also keep an eye on Huron (15-7), which has won 5-of-8. In districts, they defeated Mitchell, 63-53, and lost to Pierre Riggs, 49-48, and has built a 1,153-to-1,071 scoring differential, or an edge of 52.41-to-48.68 ppg and a victory margin of 3.73. Huron, directed by 26th-year head coach Tim Buddenhagen, is led by USD recruit Justin Decker, a double digit scorer, Will Carr and Adam Zwanziger. Huron, which needs to win a regional game on Tuesday against Sturgis at Huron, has 11 state titles with 2004 the most recent championship. In all, they have made 48 state tournament appearances with 22 top-three finishes. The state titles include 1917 (23-22, Aberdeen); 1927 (18-17, Aberdeen); 1930 17-13, Yankton); 1936, 22-20, SF Washington); 1937 (29-16, Mitchell); 1945 (36-29, Aberdeen); 1958 (54-45, SF Washington); 1973 (50-48, Yankton); 1981 (70-41, Yankton); 1993 (76-65. Watertown) and 2004 (75-69, SF O'Gorman).

Class A -- Clark/Willow Lake Looks Like A's Top Squad

Unbeaten Clark/Willow Lake, Madison and Tea Area are among the favorites to wrap up region titles and move onto the State A at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City. 

#1 Clark/Willow Lake (20-0), which won District 3A, 60-30 over Redfield Doland, has not won a state title in its current coop although Clark made 16 state appearances and Willow Lake, one, with a combined five top-3 finishes but no state titles. A year ago, C/WL finished sixth (70-63 loss to Tri-Valley) at the State A Tournament. The Cyclones, under the leadership of coach Jerome Nesheim, own a 1,238-to-947 scoring differential, which breaks out to 61.9-to-48.35 ppg or a 13.55 per game victory margin. C/WL, which has won 12 games by double-digits, has completed regular season play. Senior guard and SDSU recruit Skyler Flatten, who averages 21.7 points per game,  has 1,593 points for his career. C/WL also has double figure scorers in Torry Kolden (10.8 ppg) and Tyson Jenkins (10-6) while Mitch Prouty (8.9 ppg) also makes solid contributions.  

Madison (20-2), led by Preston Nordling, Jesse Brown, among others, has been ranked in the top five for awhile and won District 5B. Led by 8th-year head coach Michael Ricke, the Bulldogs will meet another hot team in Dell Rapids in the region final. Madison had a 185-to-104 margin in district play, averaging 92.5 points in two wins (Flandreau Indian School, 101-42) and Elkton/Lake Benton (84-62). The Bulldogs own a 68.59-to-46.0 points differential, which breaks out to a Class A-best 22.59 points per game victory margin. Madison has seven straight wins, all by margins of 13 points or more. In addition, they have won 19 games by double figure totals with 13 by 20 points or more.

Tea Area (19-3), which is led by a trio of standouts in Riley Knutson, Mitchell Nissen and Connor Shaull, advanced to the region final against Dakota Valley with a 57-38 win over Lennox. The Titans, directed by 2nd-year head coach Chris Fechner, nearly went out in the first round, needing a last-second shot to slide by Harrisburg, 45-43. Tea Area owns a 1,332-to-1,000 scoring differential, which breaks out to a 60.55-to.45.46 edge and a victory margin of 15.09. The Titans have won 12 games by double figure totals and seven by 20 points or more. 

Two-ranked teams, #2 Sioux Falls Christian (20-1) and #3 St. Thomas More fell in championship games in their respective districts. SFC lost to Dell Rapids, 67-63, while STM, the two-time defending champs, lost to Spearfish, 41.36. It should be noted that both SFC and STM had two wins during the season over the team that vanquished their hopes for a state tourney bid.

Flying Under the Radar in Class A

Deuel (19-3), which has nine straight wins, will try and turn things around in the region final against top-ranked Clark/Willow Lake. Deuel, led standout guards Lincoln Swenson, and Justin Cassels, forward Brent Krause and 6-6 center Curt Boeke, lost to the Cyclones, 65-57, on Jan. 24. Deuel has defeated Hamlin, 64-47, and Sioux Valley, 45-38, to advance to regions.  The Cardinals, directed by ninth year head coach Mike Thyen, has 11 wins by double figure point totals and has outscored opponents, 1,351-to-1,123 or 61.41-to-51.05 per game for a victory margin of 10.36. Deuel does not have a state title and has yet to appear at a state tourney.

Spearfish (17-5), directed by head coach Erik Skoglund, pulled off a big surprise in the districts by taking down the two-time defending champions in St. Thomas More, 41-36. That win followed a 68-42 win over Lead-Deadwood in the opening round. Spearfish with five straight wins had lost to third-ranked St. Thomas More twice in the regular season. Overall, Spearfish, which has 11 wins by double digits, own a 12.41 victory margin because of a 1,342 (61.0) – to – 1,069 (48.59) scoring differential. Spearfish, which won the 2002 AA title, has made 15 state tournament appearances with the last at the 2009 State AA.  

Dell Rapids (17-5), which finished third a year ago at the 2012 A State Tourney, is a hot squad with 11 straight wins. After a 72-65 win over Aberdeen Roncalli at the Hanson Classic, the Quarriers have kept on winning, including a 65-51 win over Garretson and a 67-63 upset of SF Christian in the Districts. Dell Rapids, directed by head coach Jason Fersdahl, had lost twice by double digits to the Chargers in the regular season. In terms of numbers, Dell Rapids, which owns nine victories by double figures, has scored 1,258 points for 57.18 per game while allowing 1,087 for 49.41 per game and a victory margin of 7.77. In their 11-game winning streak they have a 59 ppg to 50 ppg edge over opponents The Quarriers, which won the 1976 B State title, has made 12 state tourney appearances, including two in a row. They were also runner-up in 1943 and third in 1971 and 2011.   

Others in the Mix -- Dakota Valley (17-5) and Aberdeen Roncalli (16-4) are other teams to keep an eye on.  Roncalli, which finished fourth a year ago, has won 8-of-9 as it moves to regions. The Cavaliers, directed by seventh-year head coach Todd Neuendorf, are led by double figure scorers in Kory Schwann and Kendal Deutsch, a solid guard tandem. Roncalli will try and go to state for the 13th time and add a second title to the A title they claimed in 1975. Dakota Valley, which was runner-up to St. Thomas More in the A final a year ago, also features a solid guard tandem in double figure scorers Brody (11.7 ppg, 4.3 apg) and Blake Van Ginkel (15.8 ppg) along with a solid inside presence in Andrew Reiff (10.1 ppg, 4.1 rpg) and Isaac Faldmo 9.0 ppg, 4.2 rpg). Dakota Valley, which averages 66 ppg, dispatched Vermillion (12-9), 60-47, to win the district. Roncalli defeated Groton Area, 60-36, to move on. The Panthers, directed by head coach Jason Kleis, are a team that likes to bang the 3 as shown by 127 3's on 357 attempts or 35.6%. Blake Van Ginkel has hit 57-of-135 for 42.2% while Brody Van Ginkel is 34-of-107 for 32%.

Zeller Has Quite a Career for EPJ
Brock Zeller, who completed his final season for Elk-Point Jefferson (8-13) with over 1,500 career points, scored 16.9 per game for 337 points in 2012-13. He has averaged double figures four straight seasons. He scored 19.7 ppg (414 points) a year ago, 16.5 (329 points), 2010-11 and 14.3 ppg (285 points) as a freshman in 2009-10. His totals for his eighth grade season were unavailable.

Class B

White River One of Highest Scoring Teams in Memory

White River (21-1), which was the preseason choice and #1 for all 13 regular season rankings, defeated Kadoka area in district semifinals, 118-21 and Jones County, 102-55, in the district title game and has moved onto face Oelrichs (20-1) in a Region 7B final. The winner heads to the State B Tournament in Aberdeen. 

A huge favorite to repeat, White River has scored 86 points or more 13 times, 90 points 10 times with six games over 100. When they get to the regional, White River will break 2,000 points for a season as they are averaging 89.5 points per game, one of the highest totals in state B history. In total, they have a 1,969-1,057 point differential over opponents. The defending champs, who will be looking to win their fourth title in six years, have an incredible 41.46 points per game victory margin. White River has won 20-of-22 games by at least 12 points and 18 by 20 or more. They have scored 96 or more points four straight games and has 88 or more in seven of the last 10 games with four over 109 points (109, 112, 120). White River, led by head coach Eldon Marshall, features all-state guard Wyatt Krogman, a magician on the floor, along with explosive scorers in Joe Cameron (season-high 34 points vs. JVC) and Nic Waln. White River won state titles in 1955, 2008, 2010, and 2012 and is looking for a fifth this year. They also made tournament appearances in 1949, 1956, 1993, 2006, 2007 (3rd), 2009 (2nd) and 2011 (2nd).   

Teams to Watch

Second-ranked Canistota (21-1), which was #2 in the KSFY Basketball Preview, won District 7B with wins over Bridgewater-Emery, 51-38, and Parker, 62-37. The Hawks will again face Viborg-Hurley (20-2) in Region 4B final. A year ago Canistota lost to Viborg-Hurley, 38-29, in a low-scoring regional final. However, Canistota owns a 46-40 win (Jan. 29) over Viborg-Hurley this season. The Hawks, which won its only title in 1958 (Corona, 49-47, is looking to make its 5th state tourney appearance with the most recent in 2011. Pat Jolley's crew owns a 1,503-to-918 scoring differential, which breaks out to 68.32-to-41.73 or a 26.59 victory margin. Canistota, which has an 11-game winning streak and only a 62-50 loss to White River, is led by a pair of 1,000 point scorers in Cody Bunger and Alex Robertson and a 6-4 center in Jason Van Winkle, who is a rebounding machine with at least two games of 20 rebounds or more. Canistota has  held 14 opponents to 42 points or less and 19 wins by double digit totals.

#4 James Valley Christian (20-2), which is seeking its first state title, won the rubber match and advanced to region with a 63-58 win over #3 Wolsey-Wessington, 63-58. It was sweet revenge for James Valley Christian, who lost to Wolsey-Wessington in the District finals in 2011-12. Earlier this season JVC defeated Wolsey-Wessington, 66-58.before the Warbirds returned the favor in the season finale with a 62-57 win. JVC, which faces Kimball/White Lake (16-6) and standout guard Jesse Taylor in a Region 5B final, owns a 1,648-to-1,007 scoring differential, which breaks out to 74.91-to-45.77 and a 29.14 victory margin. Darwin Hofer's squad has won 17-of-22 games by at least 19 points. JVC, which is looking to make its fourth state tourney appearance, is led by two-time all-state performer Adam Hofer, who has 1,736 career points. He is headed to play basketball at Dakota State. Juniors Andrew Ulvestad (6-4) and Nathan Wedel are also double figure scorers. Keep in mind that JVC nearly upended White River earlier this season on a neutral floor in Fort Pierre. In a back-and-forth affair, White River took a 77-74 victory despite 25 points from Hofer.

#5 Viborg-Hurley (20-2), led by 6-6 forward Andrew Hora, forward Tyler Gerdes and guards Jack Huether and Trevor Jacobsen, has made consecutive state title games in two different classes. They fell to White River, 52-43, in a B final a year ago (finished 23-3) and was runner-up to St. Thomas More, 63-47, in Class A two years ago. While V-H, which is looking to make a 10th state tournament appearance,  doesn't have a championshipin its current co-op, it can claim one with Hurley, which won a title in 2007 over Mitchell Christian, 44-42. Otherwise, the schools have had a combined four top-3 finishes. V-H won District 8B with a 59-35 win over Alcester-Hudson and a 43-40 decision over Centerville in the championship. Overall, Viborg-Hurley has a 1,395-to-909 overall scoring edge against opponents, which breaks out to 63.41-to-41.32 ppg or a victory margin of 22.09 ppg.  

#5 Potter County (21-0), which ranks sixth in power points among teams remaining alive in Class B, came into the season unheralded but have made a case as a team to watch. At 21-0, the Battlers are the only unbeaten team in the class. Potter County, which will face Sully Buttes (11-11) in a 3B region final in Aberdeen on Tuesday, cruised to a championship in District 6B with wins over Eureka/Bowdle, 58-39, and Herreid Selby, 60-49. The Battlers have an 1,383-to-908 (65.85-to-41.27) scoring differential for a 24.58 victory margin. Potter County is in its first year as a co-op with Gettysburg and Hoven. Neither of the schools have captured a state basketball title. Hoven made one appearance at state in 1989 while Gettysburg was second in 1950, sixth in 1970, eighth in 1975, consolation champs in 2002 with other appearances in 2004 and 2005. The Battlers are led by sophomore Chayce Hall, who is averaging 14.4 ppg (107-227, 47.1%), 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 steals per game, and junior Kole Hawkinson, who scores 12.8 ppg and is the Battlers' best 3-point artist, hitting 38-of-99 (38.4%) from deep. Sully Buttes, which ended the season with five losses in seven games, has again found postseason success with wins over Faulkton Area, 76-31, and Lower Brule, 60-55. The Chargers will be going for a ninth straight state tournament appearance against a heavily favored Battlers squad which defeated Sully Buttes, 54-48, in the season finale in Onida. Sully Buttes won the 2009 B title with other state tournament appearances in 1974, 1997, 1998 (3rd), 2001 (3rd), 2002, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008 (3rd), 2010, 2011 (3rd) and 2012. 

B Teams Flying Under the Radar

Unranked Dupree (21-1), which has won 18-straight games, is a dangerous team that can score at will and has left a lot of teams in its wake. Dupree features one of the best players in Class B in Nate Widow, who has scored 1,065 career points, and rugged 6-1 forward Kash Deal, whose brother Kaden is an assistant coach on the team. Widow, who averages 26.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg and 2.2 apg., has scored over 30 points eight times this year, twice scoring 37 points. Widow, who hits 52% from the field, has made 57-of-146 shots from three-point range for 39 percent. Deal, who is a saddle bronc rider during summers, averages 13.0 ppg and 6.0 rpg and has made 54% of his field goal attempts. He has 970 career points. Led by the senior duo, Dupree rolled to a District 15B crown with a 70-37 win over McIntosh and a 70-36 decision against Timber Lake as Widow scored a combined 48 points. The Tigers now face 16B champions Faith (19-2), a team they have defeated twice, 60-41 and 51-38.  Dupree has scored over 90 points in 4-of-7 games. The Tigers, under the direction of head coach Jim Hood, own a 1,687-986 point differential or a margin of 76.68-to-33.82 ppg and a per game victory margin of 42.86. Dupree, second in scoring to White River in Class B, has not lost to a SD opponent and has scored 90 points or more eight times with 19 victories in double digits. Dupree finished seventh in the State B a year ago and is looking for a fourth tourney appearance (1982, 1984, 2012). 

Faith (19-2), which is looking for a sixth State B Tourney appearance, lost twice to Dupree this season. Faith, which finished second in the State B in 2006 with appearances in 2004, 2005, 2007 and 2010, had a 122-92 scoring edge in winning District 16B. They defeated Bison, 70-49, and Harding County, 52-43. The Longhorns are led by senior forward Reggie Rhoden (15.3 ppg, 7.0 rpg) and senior guard Cody Trainor (19.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, 2.3 rpg). Faith owns a 1,208-821 scoring differential, which breaks out to 57.52-to-39.09 ppg for a 18.43 victory margin.  

Oelrichs (20-1), directed by head coach Will Garnier, has had a school-record best season with 20 wins and they captured their first-ever district crown. Oelrichs defeated nemesis Wall, 58-47, and then upended Philip, 91-48, to win the 14B crown. The win over Philip was a little pay-back after a losing to the Scotties, 74-73, in overtime earlier this year. Oelrichs has a 1,422-to-1,096 scoring differential or a 67.71-to-52.19 edge and a victory margin of 15.62. However, Oelrichs probably has the biggest challege of any team in the regional competition with their opponent being defending champ and top-ranked White River (21-1). 

South Central (20-2) is another team that is seemingly "flying under the radar" in South Dakota prep circles. This squad, which will meet Ethan (13-7) in a Region 6B matchup, rolled to a District 12B crown after wins over Tripp-Delmont/Armour, 58-32, and Dakota Christian, 60-41.  South Central, which is a co-op of the schools of Bonesteel, Fairfax and Burke, has outscored opponents, 1,183-to-891 or a points per game margin of 53.77-to-40.5 (13.22 victory margin). Clearly head coach Clayton Steele's team plays tight defense as South Central has held 14 teams under 44 points and has 13 wins by double digits, including six by 20 points or more. They are 4-0 in games decided by no more than four points, including a 2-0 mark in overtime games.