Rod's Sunday Take n Things

A harsh reality for Pierre Riggs High basketball. March Madness is over. The Uniforms are being handed in this year and the sights are set for next year. Lets take a look at the Lady Govs first. After a 3 year run with two championship game appearances during that time and a 3rd place game, Pierre started well but then came the holiday break and two losses to the Rapid City schools, the new year and the injury's to not 1 or 2, but all 3 returning seniors. Two lengthy losing streaks and the season over. Alot of freshman and an 8th grader get a full year of experience. But things won't be as easy next year as one would think. District 3AA will be difficult next year despite the fact that both Aberdeen Central and Huron lose alot of seniors, they both mixed in some good underclassman. Mitchell was all underclassman with the exception of 1. They now have a taste of what winning is like, something that eluded them for the last 6 years. One would hope that the Pierre girls will all go to the state tournament and while they are sitting there watching the games, they come to the conclusion that they would rather play than watch. It isn't all that much fun when your team isn't playing.

Now the boys. After a 2-20 record, it is probably one of the worst season records in history. Now the look ahead begins. All year I heard announcers and coaches from other cities and teams tell me how scary we are going to be in the future, beginning next year. That is good, it gives us as fans and the players something to look forward to and play for. Improvement is the word. I think of Kansas City Royals pitcher Zack Grienke. 3 years ago he was a 20 game loser. Last year, he was the American League Cy Young Award winner. Winning games heals wounds. Right now, the wound is deep. And next year, the Govs will still be young, but again with a year of experience. Terrell Walker, Travis Adney and Scott Cichos will be seniors and 3rd year varsity players/starters. And Josh Monroy, if he can stay healthy, showed at times this year, he can play at this level and be a contributer. Joey Tetzlaff and Connor Berg are the most notable juniors and Lane Severyn and Zach Hanson the most notable sophomores. 8 returning players with a ton of varsity experience. And there were several players at the freshman level and sophomore team level that could also play a hand in next season. And face it, Aberdeen Central played 8 seniors this year. Huron had mostly seniors, but a very good sophomore this year in Luke Carr coming back. And Mitchell, well, you never know for sure except that they will be there in the end. They alway are. What about students transferring in to other schools. Rumor....Tucker Volesky might return to Huron next year. And the point guard from Hitchcock-Tulare who is having a great year may transfer to Huron. Again, Rumor. The Mitchell rumor, a kid from North Carolina with size possibly coming. Again, Rumor. I have been around long enough to not dispel rumors especially when it comes to Mitchell and Huron. And in the conference next year, Watertown and Brookings look to be very difficult to beat as they were underclassman loaded this year. And in Brookings case, they haven't been to a state tournament since 1991 or 92. That is a real real long time. Bottom line, both girls and boys programs suffered from lack of numbers this year. The girls could not field freshman or sophomore teams because of lack of numbers. The boys had to cancel the sophomore team the last month of the season. Partly due to injuries, partly due to lack of numbers. So lack of numbers forces coaches to dip to the lower levels to fill out their rosters at the upper levels. Numbers may be a problem again for the girls, but hopefully the 8th graders this year that did not play freshman will continue to come out, play, improve, and when it is there time, play and qualify in the state tournament. On a yearly basis. It can happen. When is the last time Mitchell didn't play in the state tournament? I can answer that. 2002. Before that, 1982. The year Pierre won their last State boys basketball tournament championship.