South Dakota State Jackrabbits
2015-2016 Overall Rank: #102
Conference Rank: #1 Summit
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South Dakota State was so close to their third NCAA Tournament in four years. However, they lost to rival North Dakota State in the Summit Tournament finals and it was the Bison who have started their own mini-Summit League dynasty. North Dakota State will try and make it three in a row, but the Jackrabbits will look to take back the momentum. What was supposed to be a bit of a rebuilding year for South Dakota State in 2014-2015 ended with a 12-4 conference mark and a tie for first place in the league. They had to settle for the NIT, where they pulled off a huge upset over top-seeded Colorado State, but that is a great stepping stone for a return to the NCAA Tournament in 2016.
2014-15 Record: 24-11, 12-4
2014-15 Postseason: NIT
Coach: Scott Nagy
Coach Record: 361-221 at South Dakota State, 361-221 overall
Who’s Out:
Yet replacing Cody Larson will not be easy and Coach Scott Nagy must find a big man or two who can at least eat up some minutes and fouls and grab some rebounds. Larson did much more than that for the Jackrabbits. During his senior season the 6-9 forward averaged 13.9 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.1 blocks. Zach Horstman is the only other player lost from the regular rotation. As a 6-6 wing, Horstman did help out the frontcourt in the rebounding department on occasion and a player with his size and experience would have come in handy this year. Little used Anders Broman is the only other departure.
Who’s In:
Mike Daum and Adam Dykman will look to help replace Larson. Daum spent last season learning the ropes as a redshirt, but the potential is higher for Dykman. The incoming freshman is the reigning Mr. Basketball in the state of Nebraska and averaged 22.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.1 blocks during his senior season at Archbishop Bergan High School in Fremont, Nebraska. Dykman is a hard enough worker to make a big splash as a freshman. His offensive game may not be completely polished enough to play effectively at this level, but he will get fouled and knock down his free-throws. And the 6-7, 215 pound forward will also play tough defense and work hard on the glass. The backcourt adds Beau Brown, Cole Gentry and Tevin King. Gentry will be groomed as the point guard of the future, while King is a versatile guard who can play anywhere in the backcourt.
Who to Watch:
The newcomers in the backcourt will not be asked to do much thanks to the return of George Marshall, Deondre Parks and Jake Bittle to the starting lineup. Marshall became eligible in January after transferring in from Wisconsin and started every game after that. The point guard averaged 13.2 points and 2.3 assists and rarely even left the floor. He shot 42.1 percent from beyond the arc and is a very dangerous scoring point guard. It was Parks who led the team in scoring though, averaging 14.1 points per game. His outside shot was not as efficient as Marshall’s, but he is the best pure scorer on the team. Bittle, who averaged 10.1 points per game, does a little bit of everything. He was second on the team with 4.3 rebounds per game and led the team with 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals. On top of spearheading the defensive effort, Bittle will also be asked to help out more on the glass in 2015-2016. Reed Tellinghuisen started 23 games and is basically a wing who will spend most of his time as an undersized power forward. At 6-6 and 190 pounds, he is not the most physically dominating power forward in the league, but he is a good athlete and a very good three-point shooter. Senior Keaton Moffitt figures to get most of the minutes in the backcourt off of the bench, but sophomores Skyler Flatten and Lane Severyn are promising sophomores who have the size South Dakota State needs.
Final Projection:
The Jackrabbits want to get up and down the floor so playing a four guard lineup is ideal, but it will be a lot different without Larson in the paint. This was a strong rebounding team with him. Without him, that could be a big problem. Sophomore Ian Theisen and junior Connor Devine are the most experienced options to replace Larson. Theisen played in all 35 games off the bench as a freshman, but averaged just 8.6 minutes per game. At 6-9 and 235 pounds, Theisen can battle in the paint. However, it is Devine who is usually more effective on the glass and defensively. Despite averaging just 9.8 minutes per game, Devine averaged 1.1 blocks. Between Theisen’s offense and Devine’s defense and rebounding, South Dakota State should be productive enough in the frontcourt to slip past North Dakota State and get back to the NCAA Tournament.
Projected Postseason Tournament: NCAA
Projected Starting Five:
George Marshall, Senior, Guard, 13.2 points per game
Jake Bittle, Senior, Guard, 10.1 points per game
Deondre Parks, Senior, Guard, 14.1 points per game
Reed Tellinghuisen, Sophomore, Forward, 8.6 points per game
Connor Devine, Junior, Forward, 2.1 points per game
By the Numbers:
Scoring Offense: 73.4 (39th in nation, 1st in conference)
Scoring Defense: 65.1 (134, 3)
Field-Goal Percentage: 45.2 (85, 3)
Field-Goal Defense: 40.9 (79, 1)
Three-Point Field Goals Per Game: 8.0 (34, 1)
Three-Point Field-Goal Percentage: 38.3 (37, 2)
Free-Throw Percentage: 71.3 (99, 4)
Rebound Margin: 1.7 (115, 2)
Assists Per Game: 12.2 (200, 3)
Turnovers Per Game: 11.4 (68, 4)
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