I made it over to Bob Jostad Gymnasium for a late season ESD match-up on Friday night between Brookings and Aberdeen Central. The #1 rated Golden Eagles ran away with the game in the second half, winning 82-66. I came away thinking Aberdeen Central has some nice players that move the ball extremely well on offense and can get after it on defense. Hannigan is the real deal. Central’s crisp passing really opens Westby up on the block and they do a fantastic job of finding him down low especially when he gets a seal on his man.
Not much else to say other than I’m unveiling a new portion of the 29 GameBlog. I had some moderate success shooting video with a pocket camcorder in the first half. Overall, I’m pretty satisfied with how things turned out, but hope to get some better footage in the future so I can bring out some more bells & whistles to spice things up a bit. I still think the AA race is wide open and whoever gets hot has a great chance.
Brookings vs. Aberdeen Central Highlights (youtube – please be patient with the the loading time, I’m still experimenting with ways to make this better)
Aberdeen American News Write-Up
Thanks for reading
29
29GameBlog once again made the short walk over to Bob Jostad Gymnasium in Brookings to take in Friday Night’s ESD match-up between Brookings and Huron.
Thought I’d give out a shout-out to the Brookings Choir that sang the national anthem. I’m sorry for not knowing their actual choir name, but I didn’t happen to catch it. Anyway, it was quite the rousing rendition, and no I’m not an expert when it comes to judging a “musical ensemble”, but it definitely was NOT Carl Lewis-esque. (UH-OH I’LL MAKE UP FOR IT NOW!)
Brookings Starters
G Ryan Schaefer Sr
G Ryan Jorgenson Sr
G/F Jay Thooft Sr
G/F Ryan McCutcheon Sr
F Matt Crawford Sr
Huron Starters
G Thane McFarland Sr
G Chase Reid Sr
G Trevor McCaskell Sr
F Luke Carr So
F Terrell Newton Sr
These two Highway 14 opponents (I need to stop with the road references) met to open the season in Huron and the Tigers won a close one 64-61. Both teams played man-to-man most of the game Friday night, and Huron applied different types of pressure throughout the contest. I saw a three quarter court 1-3-1 to man from Huron and also some soft full court m2m at times. I like when coaches switch up defenses to confuse the offense. I definitely don’t have experience coaching, but as a player I thought it usually worked to throw off the offense at least for a second. With the shot-clock playing such a huge factor in the game it is important for the offense to get into whatever they are running early.
Covering Brookings in the previous GameBlog I talked a lot about Ryan McCutcheon and it was much of the same on Friday night. The senior had a great game as he finished with 18 points, scoring in a number of different ways to lead the Bobcats. A trio of sophomores contributed off the bench highlighted by a spark from Matt Thomas. Matt Crawford played inspired defense drawing a charge & getting a block early, while also doing some scoring for Brookings. McCutcheon scores the most for the Bobcats, but they do a nice job of working their offense to get a look and everyone on floor is a threat to score. It seemed, especially in the first half, Brookings was able to get a lot of great looks right around the basket including quite a few lay-ups. It was my first time seeing Newton, so I saw a lot of Thooft, Crawford, & McCutcheon defend the all-stater. I thought for the most part they did a great job forcing tough shots and making things difficult.
I must admit I don’t think I got a real good grasp of all the Huron players because I wanted to watch Newton, as I had heard a lot about his game. He definitely was the biggest physical presence on the floor at an athletic 6’5”. Huron even had Newton bring the ball up at times, but there wasn’t any full-court pressure. With that said, he really struggled to get going and his shots weren’t falling. He looks to have a mid-range jumper (didn’t see him attempt a three, so not sure how deep his range is). With his size and athleticism he is able to get shots up pretty easily inside, but I believe he only had 5 points going into the fourth quarter. Not sure what the percentages were, but I have to think Huron shot it pretty well from 3-point land. They also did a nice job of creating opportunities by pushing the ball and capitalizing on Brookings turnovers. Sophomore, Luke Carr had a great showing with 16 pts. Another thing I thought was impressive about Huron is they have a couple of guys that can really handle the ball (huge in postseason play), a go-to guy, and from what I saw Friday night, a cast of solid shooters.
As the 3rd quarter was winding down I really enjoyed some hard-fought possessions. The play got very physical, and the teams were starting to get a bit heated. At the end of 3 Brookings had the lead 37-34. In the fourth quarter it seemed like the officiating really tightened up — I’m not implying the officials made incorrect calls. Huron was able to build a small lead after a few trips to the free throw line and some key offensive boards. The Tigers then held off the Bobcats down the stretch by scoring on a number of defensive lapses. Newton did score some big baskets in the final quarter, and everything else seemed to come together for Huron who came out on top 61-51. The win brings the Tigers to 8-1 (7-0 ESD) and the Bobcats record to 3-5 (2-5 ESD)
I did attempt to take some pictures at the game. I usually try to sit higher up to see the full court, so a lot of the shots didn’t turn out very well. I’m not sure if this will remain a staple on 29 GameBlog.
Full Court Look, 1st Half
29 GameBlog MVP’s
Brookings
Ryan McCutcheon
McCutcheon gets the honors again. Led the team in scoring and provided a number of highlight reel plays throughout the night. I recall a finger roll off glass “and one” that was a pretty nifty play.
Huron
Luke Carr
The sophomore showed some nice craftiness down low and led the Tigers in scoring. McCaskell is also a pretty good candidate for honors here with a double-double (10pts 10 boards).
Thanks For Reading
29
I had the opportunity to go back to my high school alma mater and play in a benefit alumni basketball game in Lennox over the holiday weekend. The benefit was for former Lennox Boys Basketball Head Coach, Jeff Larson. As many of you probably know Coach Larson suffered a stroke this past September. He has been fighting extremely hard to get back to normal, but was experiencing excruciating pain during the aftermath of the stroke. He had deep brain stimulation surgery to help manage the pain, and so far the procedure has worked.
I have known Coach Larson since I was a kid, and was a senior on his 2003 championship squad. Playing for Coach was not always easy. Practices were intense and if you had a lapse because of lack of focus you most definitely heard about it. I can remember thinking some days that we were never going to stop defensive drills. Coach always prepared us for every situation and by the end of the year had us clicking on all cylinders. He held his players accountable and demanded that they leave everything on the court. I learned so many important things about the game of basketball from Coach that I don’t think I will ever lose my passion for the game. Those same basketball lessons have translated to life lessons and I think that is why our high school coaches are so important.
As I sit back and watch the rugged big ten-conference play begin, I can’t help but think a majority of basketball fans hate watching this style of basketball. For me, I can’t get enough of it. The hard-nosed, one-and-done defense, while looking for fast-break opportunities and working the offense for a good look was the type of basketball I learned to play from Coach.
Despite the Christmas blizzard there was a great turnout in Lennox for the benefit. While most of us former players have lost a step (or five), it was great to see so many familiar faces and have everyone pull together for someone that has meant so much to so many people. Coach Larson has been instrumental in continuing Lennox’s Basketball success over the years, and it was an honor to play for him — I wish him well in his recovery.
Michael Klinski of the Argus Leader wrote a great piece on Jeff and it can be read here.
Anyone wishing to donate to the “Jeff Larson Fund” may do so at any Home Federal Bank location.
Welcome to “the I-29′er” blog. I am happy and thankful to be able to contribute to SportsBuzzard. I chose the moniker I-29′er, due to always living close to Interstate-29 in various places throughout South Dakota. Most of my coverage will come from around the I-29 corridor, so that’s where I’m going with this “theme”. Anyway, on to Friday Night’s Action…
29Blog made its way over to Bob Jostad Gymnasium in Brookings to take in an early season non-conference match-up between the Brookings Bobcats and Sioux Falls Washington Warriors. Brookings came into the contest 0-2, dropping two conference games last weekend to ESD foes at Huron and at home against Mitchell. SF Washington came in 3-0, winning last weekend at home against Sturgis and Spearfish, and beating Yankton on the road Tuesday.
Starting for the Warriors were juniors Chase Lorenz, Alex Holm, Mathew Hermanson, Konnor Wildfeuer, and sophomore Joey Habtemariam. Brookings sent out an all-senior starting lineup consisting of Ryan Schaefer, Jay Thooft, Ryan Jorgenson, Ryan McCutcheon, and Matt Crawford.
The Bobcats got out early leading after the first quarter 13-9. Both teams played half court, man-to-man defense, and pushed the ball when they had the opportunity with the flow of the game having a reasonably quick pace. There were no shot-clock violations, and I thought both teams did a nice job getting up decent shots. Both teams also turned the ball over quite a bit, but that is to be expected early in the season.
Leading Brookings with 17 points was 6’3” forward Ryan McCutcheon. McCutcheon has a smooth game with nice athleticism, and can hit from outside, or get to the basket off the bounce. Ryan Schaefer runs the point for the Bobcats, and did a nice job of getting to the basket and scoring some crucial buckets. Brookings had a fairly balanced scoring attack throughout the night and I was impressed with their intensity; you could definitely tell they did not want to go 0-3. They also brought in a couple young guys off the pine. Sophomores Landon Busch and Tanner Odegaard added a nice boost off the bench. Busch provided a spark with 9 points and Odegaard did a nice job of handling the ball when called upon.
Washington was led by power forward Konnor Wildfeuer. Wildfeuer does not have the length measuring in at 6’2”, but he uses his body well to overpower his opponents down low. He led all scorers with 23 points. A lot of Wildfeuer’s points came off misses and hustle plays, as he seems to have a knack for the ball, and is a surprising finisher down low. SF Washington has some talented guards, but they struggled to hit shots most of the night. The Warriors used an 8-man rotation, but the starters saw most of the action.
The second quarter stayed close as Brookings extended their lead to 26-21 at the half. The Bobcats came out early in the third quarter and worked to increase their lead to 10 points (39-29) at one point. With about 2:30 left in the 3rd Quarter SF Washington’s Coach, Jim Trett, went to what appeared to be a called Run and Jump defense that caused a turnover and some ill advised, hurried shots that let the Warriors get right back in the game. Going into the 4th Quarter the Bobcats led 39-35.
Both teams came out sloppy in the fourth quarter, trading turnovers. With five minutes left the score was 43-40. Struggling to hit open shots most of the night, the Warriors were able to get two big 3’s from Alex Holm to even the score. Brookings got a critical basket on a nice cut and dish to McCutcheon for an “And One”. A major factor down the stretch was SF Washington’s ineffectiveness at the free throw line. Wildfeuer missed a few key opportunities at the charity stripe despite his stellar night. Brookings had a chance to seal the contest at the free throw line, but failed to do so with 5 seconds left, and after a scrum a Jump Ball was called resulting in Warriors possession with the score 56-54 Brookings. Habtemariam went the full distance of the court and dropped the ball off to Holm on the wing, which was a smart move because he had the hot hand, but his shot came up short, and the Bobcats grabbed their first victory of the year.
Final Score, Brookings – 56 Sioux Falls Washington – 54
29 Gameblog MVP’s
Brookings – Ryan McCutcheon
This was a tough call as I really liked the game Ryan Schaefer put together (13 points), and both made big plays down the stretch, but I have to give the edge to McCutcheon. The And One play sticks out in my mind as a deciding play in the game, and he really is the focal point of the offence.
SF Washington – Konnor Wildfeur
Wildfeur is the obvious choice here with 23 points, but he also did a lot of the dirty work down low while continually keeping the Warriors in the game. Alex Holm hit some huge 3’s down the stretch finishing with 16 points. He most certainly would have been the player of the game had he hit the last second three.
Argus Leader Write-Up
(at bottom of page and continued on page 2)