BROOKINGS Basketball season is upon us. In just under a week the South Dakota State mens basketball team will open the regular season with a trip to Sioux Falls to take on McNeese State at the Sanford Pentagon in the Field of 68 Showcase.
It will be a new look Jackrabbit team though as SDSU has just four returning players from last years NCAA Tournament team. In total the Jackrabbits have two transfers, three redshirt freshmen and six true freshmen.
SDSU head coach Eric Henderson said both the summer workouts and preseason practices have been about trying to come together and figure out team chemistry.
Its exciting, Henderson said. Every day its something a little bit new and were making a lot of mistakes, but thats the beautiful thing about it. You can learn from those mistakes and we get a little better every day. The competitive spirit is terrific. We just continue to look to get more connected every time we step on the floor.
The four returners include junior forwards Nate Barnhart and Matthew Mors and sophomore guards Kalen Garry and Bubz Alavarez. The four combined to play 29.5 percent of the Jackrabbits minutes last year and have a combined 27 career starts.
Garry led the way as he averaged 7.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 25.9 minutes per game last year. He had a strong Summit League Tournament as he scored in double digits in two of SDSUs three games and put up 11 points in the championship victory against Denver.
Henderson said he expects Garry to have a strong sophomore season after he did whatever the coaching staff asked of him a season ago.
Kalen had a good year, but we were in a unique spot when Matt Mims was hurt to start the year and so [Garry] started and then he wasnt starting and then he had a great end to the year, Henderson said. Thats a hard deal for some young people to go through and I kind of felt bad about how it played out for Kalen. But it goes back to, how do you respond to those situations, and he responded like a champion.
You could see how he finished the season. He had a terrific Summit League Tournament and was a big part of us going to the NCAA Tournament. Do I expect him to take steps and have his role increase? Yes. Hes a De Smet, South Dakota kid that always wanted to be a Jackrabbit and when you have that much pride in something, usually things turn out really well.
Mors and Barnhart each averaged less than four points per game in reserve roles last season. Mors, a native of Yankton who transferred after a year at Wisconsin, said this is the best hes felt both mentally and physically heading into a season since he arrived in Brookings.
For me, it feels weird because it feels like Ive been in the college game a long time, but I still have this year and then another year of eligibility. Its been a lot of fun to continue to grow and get used to the college game. I feel really good. Ive lost 20-25 pounds, so physically this is the best Ive felt in a really long time. Theres always an expectation that you have for yourself or people have for you, but you just have to block that out and at the end of the day, its just about playing basketball and trying to win games, Mors said.
The Jackrabbits experienced both sides of the transfer portal this offseason. Their top two scorers from last year in Zeke Mayo and William Kyle III transferred to Kansas and UCLA, respectively. However, SDSU did add some talent via the portal.
The Jacks major addition this offseason was senior center Oscar Cluff. The Australian native played two seasons at Cochise College in Arizona before playing a season at Washington State last year. He averaged 7.0 points and 4.4 rebounds per game in 35 games with the Cougars. He started 23 games for WSU and shot 53.8% from the field
Henderson said Cluff brings physicality and size that you dont always see in the Summit League.
He brings size. Weve always thought it was important to own the paint and have an interior player thats one of the top players in the [Summit League]. Fortunately weve had that and thats what Oscar is. Hes a presence in there and he really makes others around him better. He cares about his teammates. Hes a terrific rebounder and hes somebody that we can play through that is older and has experience. He has a 7-foot-3 wing span and is 6-foot-11 and is very physical, Henderson said.
The redshirt freshman class is highlighted by White River native Joe Sayler. The 6-foot-3 guard scored the fifth most career high school points in South Dakota history and averaged 30.8 points in senior season. Henderson said Sayler had a good redshirt season and improved but now its time for him to play against other teams.
Joe is a terrific scorer. Hes been committed to us for a long time and has great pride in being a Jackrabbit. He had moments last year in practice where he would just light us up. But the lights come on this year and how do you adjust to that? What are the growing pains going to be? It all comes back to how you deal with failure and adversity because everybody has to deal with it and its just about how fast you can get over it, Henderson said.
McNeese State is one of five teams on the Jackrabbits schedule that played in the NCAA Tournament last year. The Cowboys went 30-4 last season and received 11 votes in the initial AP Top 25.
The other tournament teams include Long Beach State, who SDSU will open up First Bank & Trust Arena with on Nov. 8, Nevada, Colorado and Alabama. Those final three games will come on the road. Alabama is ranked No. 2 in the country and the Jacks will play in Tuscaloosa on Dec. 29 in their final non-conference game.
Henderson said his team is excited for a tough schedule because it will help prepare them for a Summit League that is wide open.
Weve challenged ourselves many times, every year in the non-conference. Its intentional. It not only challenges us in a different way athletically and physically, but theres a purpose to get better every time.
When we go into places and face adversity and we come out, not always with victories and hopefully we get some, we believe were going to win every time we step on the floor, but more importantly, growth and experience. Were going to battle adversity and were going to come out better on the other side.
SDSU will host Black Hills State in an exhibition game on Wednesday. The game is scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m. and will be part of womens and mens doubleheader.
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