Rod's Tuesday Sports Blog

Here is my list of the top 5 Pierre Governor basketball teams from the last 35 years. Let me know what you think! Is their another team that should have been considered on this list? Let me know.

Number 5

1983 Governor team. Loaded with seniors and led by Mr. Basketball Troy Scheafer, the Governors were looking to repeat as state champions. They were one game away from accomplishing that feat. They were beaten by Sioux Falls Washington in the championship game. Schaefer scored 30 points against Todd County in the Section championship game at Mission. Karl Adam, Chip Clelland, Allen Gordon and Aaron Bowers were the other four starters on the team who also had reserves in John Zimmerman, Joey Hartford, Norm Lingle and Mark Haigh on the team making it as deep of a team as there was in the state.

Number 4

2001 Governor team. This was DJ Prue's team. Prue, a second year starter was questioned about some of his antics off the court, but on the court, DJ was a good a basketball player as there was. After qualifing for the State AA tournament, Prue hit a shot at the buzzer that beat Mitchell in the opening round. The next night, he scored 29 of the teams 33 points in the second half as the Governor beat Spearfish. But the championship in 2001 went to Sioux Falls Washington once again as they defeated the Governors in the title game. Joe LaFave, Brad Wire and sophomore Pat Anderson were the driving forces behind the team, but it was DJ Prue's team.

Number 3

1979 Governor team. I did not see the 1979 team play as I arrived in Pierre in the summer of that year but I heard alot. Joe Ashley was the big man in the middle who dominated teams all season long and in the state tournament. Tom Burchill was junior starting guard who kept teams honest with his outside shooting. Bob Tinker was another player I heard was an integral part of the squad as was Bob Stally who started on the 79 State Championship team.

Number 2

2006 Governor team. This team did not win a State Championship. They were beaten in the championship game by Sioux Falls O'Gorman. It was a game they led for 34 minutes and 58 seconds until O'Gorman took the lead for good with 1:02 left in the 36 minute game. Micheal Tveidt and Sam Willard both went on to Division 1 College basketball careers. Tveidt missed some 10 games that season with an ankle injury. But he played in the State tournament and played big time for the Governors blocking a shot in overtime of the semi finals against Brandon Valley that preserved Pierre's victory. Mike Fisher and 5 other seniors all played their key roles as Pierre recorded a 19-4 season, the second best season record in 35 years of Governor basketball.

Number 1

1982 Governor team. They finished the regular season 17-1 losing only to Bismarck in Bismarck during the course of the regular season. In the post season they defeated Todd County in a semi final game in Pierre that saw senior guard Doug Smith steal a pass in the closing seconds and eventually make the fre throws that put Pierre in the championship. They scored 100 points in a single game in the championshp game against Chamberlain that year and then went through the State Tournament unbeaten to win the schools third state title in school history with a 21-1 record. The first state title came in 1944 followed by the second in 1979. Smith and Tony Miller were the starting guards with Troy Schaefer, Chip Clelland and Karl Adam the other starters. A bench that included most of the players of the 1983 team made this Governor team as deep of a squad as ever was put together and one of the all time great teams in South Dakota big school history.