I think I’m finally putting basketball to rest for the year… I’m watching Minnesota play St. Louis at the new Target Field on TV. All I can say is I want to go to the Cities sometime this summer and catch the Twins–Target Field looks AMAZING!!! Who’s up for a road trip?
It’s hard to believe that after 60+ games, countless miles in my car and on the team bus, Basketball is finally over. It’s been an eventful winter to be sure… featuring everything from half-court buzzer-beaters, to state championships, to me puking in the back of an ambulance during the District 5A girls’ basketball championship– By the way, when someone tells you morphine causes nausea, that’s an understatement-and-a-half!
So here are some of my thoughts on the season.
1) Elkton-Lake Benton girls’ basketball team has one of the best defenses I have seen in a long time, either for boys or girls. The guards on the Lady Elks remind me a lot of Taylor Richter of Dells Public… tenacious and will pick your pocket the millisecond you’re not looking. They’ll lose a bit of post presence with Rachel Krogman moving on to Northern State next year, but they’ll still be tough.
2) McCook Central-Montrose boys were certainly fun to watch in the post season. I had the chance to call them at State. Mark Huls had a hell of a tournament, especially going against taller/bigger guys in the post. I was really impressed with his play. They took it to Winner in the first round and almost pulled off a major upset of Madison in the semis, before falling to Roncalli in the 3rd place game. The Fighting Cougars have a good core back next year and I will not be surprised to see them in Rapid City next year.
On a personal note in defense of the coach, I know some people think Coach Marquardt is arrogant. But I’ve had the chance to talk with Bill quite a few times, starting from when he was the head football coach at Colman-Egan. He’s always been very nice to me and was very easy to work with during State.
3) Madison’s girls had to mature a bit this year. The team has a lot of talent with Christa Paul, Bailey Milne and now with Cassie Potter. But with no seniors to guide the team this year, the girls had to mature on their own. But they made a lot of progress, especially in the district championship against E-LB. Next season will be the breakout year for Coach Nelson and the Lady Bulldogs.
4) Another team that was fairly young this year was Tri-Valley. the Lady Mustangs did have solid leader with Tara Otto, but were still young. Yet I was impressed that they have such young talent… this could be a dark horse (no pun intended) again next year against other teams like Chester and Parkston.
5) Ever since they made the State tournament in 1995, the Dell Rapids Public boys had been in the doldrums. In fact it seems the girls had received all the accolades (well-deserved, by the way), while the boys were in the background. But this year, they turned quite a few heads. Michael Schmidt is developing into a very a good forward while Cole Langer plays like someone a couple of years older than he really is. Of course, both players have good genes… I remember watching Michael’s dad when I was a seventh-grader and he broke the DRHS career scoring record. And Cole’s dad was a helluva third baseman for Dells PBR, and an outstanding athlete at State. It also helps when Cole’s grandpa is a NFL Hall-of-Fame lineman and a member of the 1972 Dolphins. This is a team that’s going to be very very good over the next few years.
6) I do have to feel for the Howard teams. Both boys and girls teams struggled this year, especially the girls. But one thing I noticed is that they do not quit… they keep fighting and clawing. And that’s a huge lesson that’ll carry on well past high school and into the rest of their lives… things aren’t always easy and success can be hard to come by at times. But that doesn’t mean you should give up. You keep fighting because you just might surprise yourself.
7) And speaking of surprises, I think a lot of people were surprised when Madison had as good a post-season as they did. You talk to a lot of people around the state and most of them would have had this line on Madison… good talent, but this is Sioux Falls Christian’s year. And when you look at the tape, it would seem like a rock-solid argument…. Chargers had four starters returning while Madison only had one. And it would look that way in February when SFC posted a double-digit win over Madison.
But here’s the thing about Madison the past few years…. they have rarely, if ever, lost to the same team two years in a row. And they played brilliantly in the region finals going rope-a-dope with the Chargers instead of going up-tempo.
What I was impressed with this season was that there was so much balance on the team and that anyone could step up. One night it might be Sullivan, next night Wiebe or Shafer might go off for 20 points, then White would erupt the next game for 30. And the reserves that came in filled their roles admirably. It’ll be interesting to see what’ll happen next year… will Madison be expected to 3-peat? And how will they handle that pressure?
But the thing I will rembember about this year is all the wonderful coaches, fans, players, and friends I’ve had the pleasure to meet. Especially Photo Buzzard and Hutchinson County Hobo. Guys, it’s been a blast…. let’s do it again next year!
And now in the immortal words of countless numbers of umpires everywhere… it’s time to “PLAY BALL!”
As a radio sports director, you see a lot of good things. Wins, championships, a lot of happiness…. granted it’s tempered with heartbreak at times, but that’s what makes the job so interesting. But what’s even more special is to see the boys and girls grow throughout the years into fine young men and women. So when one leaves this world too soon, it hurts.
Such was the case this morning as an outstanding young man from Madison passed away at the age of 20. Ben Bundy was an outstanding football player for the Bulldogs, and was a promising wrestler. He was playing football for Southwest Minnesota State and suffered a brain aneurysm last week. He left us this morning at 7:30.
I feel heart-sick today for his parents and his family. His dad was the pastor at the Church of the Nazarene here in Madison and he and I got to be good friends, especially talking about baseball.
A favorite memory took place when Ben was a senior. He was wrestling at the Madison Invitational in what would be his last match ever (he was going in for shoulder surgery and would miss the rest of the season). He was wrestling for third place that dad. Now Ben’s dad is blind and wanted to know how Ben was doing in his last match. So I sat next to Keith and gave him a play-by-play account of how his son was doing. And Keith was just tickled pink.
By the way, Ben won his match.
You know, sometimes we get so wrapped up in the stats, the scores, and the trivial pablum, sometimes we tend to forget to look at these kids, these athletes for who they are. Young men and women who are doing something they enjoy. In the larger scheme of things, a game, a championship, a takedown, a tackle… these are all inconsequential. What is important is the impact these kids make off the court… the friends they make, the lives they touch. In my opinion, that is the true accomplishment of one’s life–not how many three-pointers nor how many touchdowns scored. In that area, Ben was at the top of his class.
The world feels a little emptier today without Ben Bundy in it. Rest in peace, my young friend.
Any more schedule changes, I won’t need to worry about shaving my head… it’ll be PERMANENT!
Okay… this is the matchup most people in Class A Basketball have been looking forward to. Madison boys at Sioux Falls Christian…
Chargers: Lots of Experience, Tough Schedule, Top-ranked
Bulldogs: Defending State Champs, Young Players Developing Quickly, 27-game winning streak.
Not going to prognosticate on this one, but rest assured it’ll be a HELL of a game (pun intended)!
If you can’t make the game, I’m broadcasting this one on the air on AM 1390, starting with pre-game coverage at 7:10, Central time.
For those of you who live outside KJAM’s coverage area, here is a link to hear the webcast.
Your thoughts?
I had the chance last night to call the Madison-Dell Rapids boys game in Dells. Despite some on here, I did make it back home safely! LOL
I was really looking forward to the game. I’ve been calling Madison basketball for quite a few years, but Dell Rapids is my alma mater, where I graduated with a 2.9 GPA back in 1994. So it’s always special when I get the chance to go back home and see old friends.
Now on to the game. I figured this game would be a good game. The Bulldogs with an 8-0 record and the Quarriers with a 7-3 mark… two of those loses coming to Sioux Falls Christian. I think of the game as a “Yardstick Game”, since it gives both teams a chance to measure up.
Some of my observations…
Madison
1) Madison did a nice job on the boards, grabbing quite a few offensive rebounds.
2) I’m really pleased with how Taylor Bloom is developing in the paint. He’s got a stocky build and he’s going to cause a lot of players problems over the next few years as he gets more comfortable in his role.
3) Congrats to senior Derrick Wiebe getting his first-ever dunk. Mike Ricke was giving me guff about not making it the play of the game, so I thought I’d give him props here… nice job, “Lunch Box!”
Dells
1) This was my first time seeing Cole Langer play. I had to double-check my roster to make sure this kid was only a freshman… he sure doesn’t look like a freshman and he sure as heck doesn’t play like one either! He and Michael Schmidt are going to be fun to watch the next few years.
2) The Quarriers did a nice job collapsing down on the paint whenever Bloom or Derrick Wiebe got in the paint. But it also opened the outside for Madison to drain the treys.
3) Mark Shriver has got that program going in the right direction. They play with solid fundamentals, they play hard and physical, and can hustle.
No pics to post… I can only do so much, after all! But I would not be surprised to see the Orange and Black give SFC a run for their money come districts.
This was certainly a wild and woolly week for basketball in my little corner of the world.
The Big East and Big Sioux Conference tournaments wrapped up with teams playing two games each on Saturday. Then on Tuesday, Dell Rapids played Chester, who knocked off fifth-ranked McCook Central/Montrose the night before in the BEC title game. But Chester was the one that got nipped as Michael Schmidt hit a game-winning three-pointer to give Dells the win.
A bit further down the road, the Madison girls took on Vermillion. The Tanagers and Bulldogs were neck-and-neck throughout the second half as Vermillion held a one-point lead with four seconds left.
After calling a time-out, Vermillion inbounded the ball, only to have Madison forward Cassie Potter intercept the ball. She pass the ball to Bailey Milne for what looked to be the game-winning shot, only to have the play whistled dead. Turns out Vermillion fouled Potter. On the ensuing double-bonus, she nailed both free throws to give Madison a 49-48 win… WOW!
If the rest of this week is anything like Tuesday, it’s gonna be a good week, Tater!
Sorry, if you were expecting the Boys’ schedule, you’ll have to wait another week. This is the schedule for the Girls’ Basketball classic, which is this Saturday at the Mitchell Corn Palace.
10:00 - Sully Buttes Vs. Woonsocket
11:30 – Colome vs. Colman-Egan (HM)
1:00 - Wagner (#5A) vs. St. Thomas More
2:30 - Madison (HM) vs. Pipestone, MN
4:00 - Summit (#6B) vs. Hanson (#5B)
5:30- Freeman (#1B) vs. James Valley Christian (HM)
7:00- Stickney/MV (#9A) vs. Elkton/Lake Benton (#6A)
8:30- Parkston (#1A) vs. Clark- Willow Lake (#3A)
I will be broadcasting the Madison-Pipestone game Saturday afternoon. If you’re at the Classic, feel free to pop on over and say “Hi!”. Only one thing, though. Make sure you do it before or after the game… its kinda tough to do that while in the middle of a broadcast!
Now that we’re into the new year (is it 2,010 or 20-10?), the basketball season will heat up once again. Looking at my calendar, all I can say is I’m gonna be gone–A LOT! So if my boss is reading, don’t worry. I’ll wear a name tag in case you forget who I am!
Well the bulk of the Holiday Classics are in the books. Parkston always has a good one with some pretty fantastic games. I can remember going to the Huron Lions classic one year when Madison knocked off St. Thomas More. Boy, talk about an old-school arena! But that’s good! Sometimes, we want the bigger, glitzier, shinier package, that you tend to lose out on the charm and the history of some of these older facilities.
But the one Classic I always go to is the Entringer Scholarship Classic. Actually, the event takes place over two dates. The girls’ classic takes place in Flandreau in early December, while the boys’ classic takes part during Christmas break in Brookings (yes, I said “Christmas”. If you wanna complain, the ACLU’s email is southdakota@aclu.org).
It’s a pretty neat deal. If you live in East Central South Dakota, you pretty much know about the Entringer Classic. For those of you who are unfamiliar, it all goes back to honor a high school sports official.
Michael J. Entringer passed away from cancer in 1990. Prior to his death, he had been an official for football and basketball. The Entringer family wanted to do something to keep Michael’s memory alive and to help out area high school students with scholarships, so in 1994, they started the Entringer Classic in Brookings. That year, there was only three games, and they gave away two 500-dollar scholarships.
Fast forward sixteen years…there are now sixteen teams that play in two gyms at Brookings. The Girls’ classic started 12 years ago in Flandreau and that also 16 teams playing in two gyms. What’s been totally amazing is the amount of scholarship money that has been distributed over this time. In 2009, the Entringer Scholarship Committee awarded Forty-Seven 1000-dollar scholarships to area students!
Pete Entringer, who is Mike’s brother and one of the big organizers of the tournament, figures they’ll be on track to award that same amount this year. So when you do the math, when the 2009 -10 scholarships are awarded, the classic will have given away close to $400,000 to area students! That’s impressive!
But what’s just as impressive is that this is an all-volunteer event. The officials donate their time to referee the games. Area businesses and individuals donate everything from T-Shirts to prizes for the silent auction and raffle drawings. And other volunteer to do everything from take tickets, to run scoreboards, to doing the public address.
They also take care of the kids, too. Each player on the participating teams gets a t-shirt to wear during warm-ups before the game. After the game, they all get fed by the committee. In fact, the most interesting thing I saw this last week was Pete Entringer officiating the Madison-Chester game, then turning right around to serve sandwiches and soda to the players afterwards.
But it’s a great opportunity to see a lot of basketball, catch up with old friends, and support a great cause. In fact, I’m already looking forward to the 2010 Entringer Classics. Hopefully, I’ll see you in Brookings and Flandreau!
By the way, if you’re interested in learning more about the Entringer Classic, including scores from past years as well as application information for the Michael J. Entringer Scholarship, there is a great website that has all that information. Simply log on to http://entringerclassic.k12.sd.us.
As I sit here eating my hot beef sandwich and stuffing lunch from Madison’s Country Cafe, a weird thought popped in my mind… I know where you stuff a bird, but where do you stuff a cow? And do I really want to know?
Sorry I’ve been incommunicado over the past couple of weeks, but as I told a female friend of mine earlier this week, “I’m a radio sports director that covers two basketball teams… my life is not my own from December through mid-March!”
That pretty much leads into today’s topic… the job, mainly my job (what a segue, huh?) From December through March, my life pretty much revolves around cold bus rides and catnaps to and from games, tracking down coaches for pre-game interviews (sometimes unsuccessfully), getting dirty crawling under bleachers to hook up phone lines and extension cords, hot dog-and-popcorn suppers, staying at the station til midnight to do my write-ups for the next morning’s sports, all to do it all over again the next day.
If it sounds like I’m griping, beleive me I’m not. I absolutely love, love, LOVE this time of year! As I tell most everyone I meet, “Where else do you get paid to watch high school basketball and talk about it!”
I started at KJAM doing the area games, driving to Chester, Dell Rapids, Flandreau, Salem, Howard, Sioux Falls, and all points in-between. After my sabbatical to work in the banking industry (big mistake!), I came back as the “Voice of the Madison Bulldogs.”
Which leads me into my main topic (FINALLY!!)… Can you follow a local team exclusively and not be considered a “homer”? We’ve all heard those pro and college games on the radio where you could just smell the homer-ism coming from the announcers. And while it may play to the group of die-hard fans, it can be a real turn-off to the opponent fans that tune in (or log-on) or the casual listener.
It’s rather interesting, though… in my career of calling Madison games, I’ve been called a “homer”, and at the same time I’ve been told I’m not a good example of being the “Voice of the Bulldogs” because I don’t rip on opponents, officials, and follow the team blindly like some announcers might do. Kind of a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” conundrum!
Fact is, it’s kinda tough not to feel some attatchement to these kids through the years. I’m now at the point in my career where I’ve seen these boys and girls grow from young, semi-awkward 7th and 8th-graders to confident, determined juniors and seniors (and beyond). I now am calling games that feature kids or relatives of my co-workers, which adds more to that connection. While it’s not a connection that these kids share with their coaches and with each other, it’s a connection that’s there. If anything, to break up the teduim of an hour-and-a-half bus ride in the middle of January! LOL
But while I enjoy being around these kids, I’m also not going to sugar coat things, either. In fact, after a recent post-game interview with Mike Ricke, I seem to remember using the word “bone-head” when I was describing some poorly-executed back-door passes. While Mike gave me a bit of a funny look (I thought… it might have been gas, too), he agreed with me and put it at that. While that sounds bad, not less than six months ago, I nearly gave myself a hernia giving said coach a big bear hug after winning the state title!
Fact is, there are probably some times in my career where I’ve done some homer-like things. I think it happens to all announcers at one point or another. The key is to know when to know when it’s happening and remember that it’s about the kids… not only the “home team,” but the kids on the other team, who work just as hard, whose coaches are just as dedicated, and whose fans are just as loyal.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed these brain-droppings. I hope to have something more relevant in the future. In the meantime, drive safe as you head out on the roads to the games this year… the life you save may be mine!
“Welcome my friends to the show that never ends…”-Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
I got some timely advice from my program director today. When I told him I was one of the newest members of the SportsBuzzard.com blogging family, he replied thusly:
“Don’t do anything to get us sued.”
That’s my Program Director… “Mr. Positivity!”
So now we’re getting to the time of year when pro and college coaches in football find out if they keep their jobs. So far, some big names have gone bye-bye, including Mark Mangino, Charlie Weiss, and Bobby Bowden. I think that great sports philosopher Elton John called it the “Circle of Life”, but don’t quote me on that.
In my little patch of Planet Earth, we’ve seen more than a few coaching changes the past two seasons. I usually try to keep a database of current coaches for boys and girls basketball. If I were to compare that list from two years ago to now, I wouldn’t recognize it.
Let’s start with the boys.
Chester… Scott Langerock resigns two years ago to take over the boys’ program at Harrisburg and Brian Palli comes in. Palli resigns after one year to take a position in Nebraska. Enter Eric Knight this season, who has been long-time assistant for the Flyers.
Lennox… Jeff Larson stepped down this summer after 20 years as the head coach for the Orioles… long time assistant Darren Ellwein takes over. And on a personal not, my thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff and his family this time. Get well soon, Coach!
Dell Rapids St. Mary… Tim De Jong was the coach for a few years until stepping back to concentrate more on his AD responsibilities. Jim Gagner was the coach last year, but now it looks as though De Jong is re-taking the reins… if what’s posted on the SDHSAA website is true.
And now for the girls
Chester… No, I didn’t copy-and-paste. Just as the Chester boys have a new skipper, the Lady Flyers also have a new boss. Former Winner assistant Ross Peterson takes over for Andy Skunberg, who left to take a teaching and coaching position in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Hamlin… Found out Brad Noem is no longer the head coach, as he wants to spend more time with family. Long-time assistant Tim Koisti is the new head coach for a very experienced group of girls that have made State Tournament appearances quite commonplace.
Arlington… Joe Schwan is out as he heads up Highway 81 to become the AD at Hamlin. In his place is Mike Bjerke. He, like Koisti and Peterson have some pretty full cabinets of talent, so their firs years should be very exciting, indeed.
So that’s our little chapter of the “Coaching Carousel” for this year… the show that never ends!
“Welcome my friends to the show that never ends…”-Emerson, Lake and Palmer.
I got some timely advice from my program director today. When I told him I was one of the newest members of the SportsBuzzard.com blogging family, he replied thusly:
“Don’t do anything to get us sued.”
That’s my Program Director… “Mr. Positivity!”
So now we’re getting to the time of year when pro and college coaches in football find out if they keep their jobs. So far, some big names have gone bye-bye, including Mark Mangino, Charlie Weiss, and Bobby Bowden. I think that great sports philosopher Elton John called it the “Circle of Life”, but don’t quote me on that.
In my little patch of Planet Earth, we’ve seen more than a few coaching changes the past two seasons. I usually try to keep a database of current coaches for boys and girls basketball. If I were to compare that list from two years ago to now, I wouldn’t recognize it.
Let’s start with the boys.
Chester… Scott Langerock resigns two years ago to take over the boys’ program at Harrisburg and Brian Palli comes in. Palli resigns after one year to take a position in Nebraska. Enter Eric Knight this season, who has been long-time assistant for the Flyers.
Lennox… Jeff Larson stepped down this summer after 20 years as the head coach for the Orioles… long time assistant Darren Ellwein takes over. And on a personal not, my thoughts and prayers go out to Jeff and his family this time. Get well soon, Coach!
Dell Rapids St. Mary… Tim De Jong was the coach for a few years until stepping back to concentrate more on his AD responsibilities. Jim Gagner was the coach last year, but now it looks as though De Jong is re-taking the reins… if what’s posted on the SDHSAA website is true.
And now for the girls
Chester… No, I didn’t copy-and-paste. Just as the Chester boys have a new skipper, the Lady Flyers also have a new boss. Former Winner assistant Ross Peterson takes over for Andy Skunberg, who left to take a teaching and coaching position in Jamestown, North Dakota.
Hamlin… Found out Brad Noem is no longer the head coach, as he wants to spend more time with family. Long-time assistant Tim Koisti is the new head coach for a very experienced group of girls that have made State Tournament appearances quite commonplace.
Arlington… Joe Schwan is out as he heads up Highway 81 to become the AD at Hamlin. In his place is Mike Bjerke. He, like Koisti and Peterson have some pretty full cabinets of talent, so their firs years should be very exciting, indeed.
So that’s our little chapter of the “Coaching Carousel” for this year… the show that never ends!