BROOKINGS The South Dakota State men are heading into the Summit League portion of their schedule with some momentum.
The Jackrabbits (8-8) have won two of their past three games and the loss was on a buzzer beater to Big Sky Conference preseason favorite Weber State. SDSU opened up conference play on Dec. 31 with an 80-61 win over North Dakota and then closed out non-conference play with an 89-61 victory over Montana State on Jan. 6.
SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said he likes the way his team has played since coming back from Christmas break.
I think weve had a lot more consistency in our preparation and our approach and the process has been much better, and I think you can see that with how were playing. I thought after a little bit of a slow start we played really good basketball [against North Dakota]. Then in the Big Sky-Summit League Challenge, we played two terrific opponents. We went up to Weber State and played an awesome basketball team and I thought our guys had a lot of fight. Then we responded by coming home in front of our fans and got off to a really great start and played very well against Montana State, Henderson said.
One of the factors that has helped the Jacks have more consistency is the return of sixth-year guard Matt Mims. Mims missed the first 13 games of the season due to a foot injury and has scored 20 points in his first three games back. Henderson said the scoring helps, but the energy that Mims brings is what SDSU missed the most.
I would be negligent to not mention Matt Mims playing and becoming a part of our rotation after Christmas break, Henderson said. I think youve seen our rotation be a lot more consistent over the past three games and I think youve seen a difference in our energy.
All of our guys deserve credit, but I do think Matt has such a contagious personality and he brings things consistently every day. I do think that has helped, but its not just that. I do have to give credit to all of our guys for approaching things on a more consistent basis since Christmas break.
Sophomore forward William Kyle III started the season in the starting lineup and then was moved to the bench after four games. Kyle has found a rhythm in the past three games as hes scored 56 points and Henderson decided to move Kyle back into the starting lineup against Montana State.
Henderson said he doesnt have a set starting lineup in mind yet but liked the way Kyle responded after being taken out of the starting lineup earlier in the season.
I think we still feel like this team has a lot of growth and we want to continue to find different ways to make our team better, Henderson said. Is that the starting lineup? I dont know, itll be hard to say. I do know this. I love playing guys that have energy and enthusiasm and play very unselfishly. Not that some of these guys are or arent, because for the most part our whole team is, but I really enjoyed and appreciated how Will has grown in the last month.
I decided to bring him off of the bench and I think he really used that as a learning moment and to understand what is more important. Hes done a great job and I think he deserved to be rewarded for that.
The Jacks will begin their full conference schedule on the road as they play at St. Thomas on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then travel to Denver on Saturday to take on the Pioneers at 2 p.m.
The Tommies come into Thursdays game with a record of 12-5 and have won nine of their past 10 games. Their only loss in that stretch came at No. 7 Marquette and they opened conference play with a 70-45 win at North Dakota and then defeated Kansas City 77-56 at home.
UST has won all seven of its home games and the Tommies are led by graduate senior Parker Bjorklund, who is averaging 13.9 points per game. Henderson said the Tommies are a real connected group and that has led to the success so far this season.I think they have a real understanding of their system, I think they move extremely well without the basketball and I think theyre really unselfish. We know when teams play that way, unselfishly and celebrate their teammates, they have a lot of success, and thats what theyre doing. At the end of the day, they have a lot of older guys. Theyre very experienced, Henderson said.
The Pioneers will pose a challenge for SDSU as well. They are 10-7 overall and have the nations leading scorer in Tommy Bruner, who is averaging 25.4 points per game. Henderson said Bruner has made the jump to the leading scorer in the country because hes getting to the free throw line more.
We know Bruners game. Hes a terrific scorer and hes terrific with the ball in his hands. This year hes getting to the foul line a lot more, so I think this year hes really expanded his game. We understand that we have to get the ball out of his hands too, Henderson said.
You can watch each game this week on the Summit League Network. As the Jacks head into the final 15 games of their schedule, Henderson said as he tries to figure out his rotation, consistency day in and day out, not just on game days, is what will play a factor.
In our non-conference, we played well, very well at times, but that hasnt been a consistent deal. Weve had some games where we havent played really well. To me, the process is way more important as far as consistency goes. Are you approaching every day with consistent behavior? Thats what needs to be rewarded. I like where this team is going. We certainly have a lot to work on and need to improve, but I think when you approach things on a daily basis [consistently] that can happen, Henderson said.
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