What a difference a month can make.
#4 Class A Red Cloud rolled into #1 Class B White River on Tuesday and easily avenged their 13 point loss in the December Lakota Invitational Tournament championship, downing the Tigers by 14 points. Quarter scores were 11-20, 27-33, 41-44, 63-77.
Tristen Long’s 18 points led a very balanced Crusader attack. Carl Swallow added 15, Brandon Two Bulls 11 and Kylie Weston 10. The Tigers were led by Jake Krogman’s 14 points. Jimmy Plooster added 11 and R.J. Estes chipped in 10.
White River found themselves unable to penetrate on the Red Cloud defense and suddenly became a bomb squad, launching 29 three pointers. They made only seven and ended the evening shooting 37% from the field. Red Cloud, on the other hand, shelved the sharpshooting and relied on penetration and interior play. The Crusaders shot 56% from the field. White River has no big man and did not match up well with the 6′5″ Two Bulls, 6′4″ Long and 6′4″ Blacksmith.
Red Cloud played most of the first half without Carl Swallow but built a six point lead anyway. Swallow picked up his second foul with 5:28 remaining in the first period and did not return until 2:44 to go in the second frame. Ending with 15 points, Swallow is the type of player you keep watching whether he has the ball or not. He’s athletic, has a sweet jumper and threaded some beautiful needle passes to teammates slicing to the bucket.
White River, on the other hand, struggled from the junior varsity tip-off until the night ended. They played without J.D. Plume, one of their better players. With no consistent outside shooting and the absence of any inside threat, the Tigers must rely on pressure defense to create baskets. 5′8″ Wyatt Krogman, perhaps the best freshman point guard in the state, found himself in big timber after he beat his defender. The state’s #1 looked as flat as I’ve seen them in half a decade.
Overall, a good match-up despite the point spread. White River is a great place to watch a basketball game. Folks in Mellette County know basketball and beef and it’s evident when you sit in Barnhart Gymnasium. If there’s a bad call, and there were a few, folks grumble out loud but the cowboy hats also nod approvingly when a call goes their way.
This was the start of a big week for both teams. Red Cloud faces Gillette, WY, on Friday, Sioux Falls Christian on Saturday and Chadron, NE, next week. White River travels to Onida on Thursday to face Class B #5 Sully Buttes who notched a 73-53 decision over Stanley County last night.
Mallozzi, Vincent M. (2010). Doc: The Rise and Rise of Julius Erving. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
For those of us around 40, we never knew basketball without Dr. J. He was the most exciting basketball player of our generation, at least when we were little. He was the one we tried to emulate in the driveway or at the playground. Magic, Larry, Mike, Kobe and others came along but Doc was the first player to capture the nation’s athletic and, to some extent, cultural imagination.
“Doc”, the third basketball book by this New York Times sports writer, is a journalist’s so-so crack at biography. Mallozzi appears to have laboriously researched but questions are raised by the fact that Erving declined to be interviewed. Maybe the result is a more objective biography but I doubt it. Erving was a beloved figure at UMass, Virginia, New Jersey, Philadelphia and nationwide. But Mallozzie outlines his struggles as a father (seven acknowledged children) and with Dr. J’s love of women. The Doctor was a smooth operator known for his big hands…
But most of the book focuses on how Dr. J changed basketball. And the conclusion is that there will never be another Dr. J, due to changes in how the game is played, coached, refereed and managed. In the 1970s, Dr. J changed basketball from a defensive, half-court match to a wide-open, full court game. He, George Gervin and others brought the ABA (ever been to an independent tourney in St. Francis?) to the NBA (bigger, taller, slower). Erving brought jazz to a league and nation that only knew polka.
Unfortunately (or is it?), basketball has changed. Much of the creativity we used to allow skinny kids with big hands has been eliminated. Basketball and other American sports have grown increasingly physical, even violent, in parallel with the nation’s obsession with NFL football. Because of that, it is doubtful that we will ever see another Dr. J or Jordan. Jazz may have replaced polka but rap and heavy metal are now the norm. For high school athletes, these changes suggests that honing fine motor skills –like the jump shot– is not necessary; lifting weights will get you more playing time.
Good book, easy read, but only three and a half stars.
The Winner Warriors showed up at Parkview Auditorium in Fort Pierre and made a Big Dakota statement, slaughtering the Buffalos 68-36 Tuesday night. Quarter scores were 21-9, 38-19, 58-27, 68-36.
Stanley County, under first-year head coach Buddy Seiner, are looking to rebuild and were off to a promising start after beating the other Big Dakota Warriors, Bennett County, last week. Winner coach Jim Drake, in his 58th year coaching the Tripp County boys, had other ideas. Whatever hopes the Buffalos had were dashed two minutes into the second half when Zach Horstman penetrated, elevated and jack-hammered a dunk over two Buffalo defenders. From there, it was an avoid-injury JV contest.
Winner will win a lot of games this year. Whether or not they’re championship caliber remains to be seen, however. Horstman is a genuine ball player but he may not have enough support to cut down the nets come March. With only two seniors, however, they will be contenders the next two seasons for sure. Horstman has matured physically and, most noticeably, as a passer. He played point guard all night and will cause match-up problems all year from that position at 6′5″. He’s long and will beat most defenders with a simple cross-over. His release isn’t textbook but SDSU will fix that if Coach Drake doesn’t. He will single-handedly win some games this year.
Stanley County junior Jake Miller put in another impressive performance and will be the Buffalos backbone for the next two years. He can shoot, penetrate and play defense, which are all handy skills in basketball. Buffalo senior center Kyle Tibbetts, 6′4″ 230 and athletic, blew an ankle in the first half and will be sorely missed. His absence allowed Horstman to maneuver inside for easy shots.
Other observations: Drake needs to hit the haberdashery and update the suit collection. Maybe Pamida is having a sale? Winner is good-sized and looks like a state champion football team. Stanley County’s new gym lights are a huge improvement. How many “60″ plates can you fit into the Hop Scotch parking lot? Winner will go undefeated in the Big Dakota.