State-U: Post-game videos

Here are the interviews from the post-game press conferences after Thursday night’s SDSU-USD men’s basketball game in Brookings.

head coach Dave Boots

sophomore Trevor Gruis and senior Louie Krogman

Breaking down a beatdown

BY JEREMY HOECK
jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net

As I’m typing this, it’s 1 a.m. on Friday.

I got back from Brookings about 15 minutes ago, and though I’m tired, I’ve got too many thoughts swirling around.

So you, our loyal readers, benefit (hopefully) from the following tidbits.

— — — —

First thing: Here’s a question I’ve already gotten at least half a dozen times since Thursday night’s USD vs. SDSU men’s basketball game ended.

“Are the Coyotes really that bad, or was SDSU just that good?”

To that end, you’ve got to think it’s a combination of both. The defensive energy of the Jackrabbits, especially in the first half, really gave USD problems. The Coyotes just weren’t ready for that level of intensity.

And from what I saw, it started during pre-game warmups. By the time USD got out to the court, the Frost Arena crowd was already filling in, and the SDSU student section was full.

The Coyotes literally got an ear-ful the second they walked out on to the court, and it never let up. I remember watching the USD players look around the arena, taking a good look at an atmosphere they’ve never seen before. And though they’ll tell you they didn’t pay much attention to it: How they could not?

When you’ve got a whole student section chanting “Louie Sucks” (as was the case with Louie Krogman), naturally, you hear that stuff.

And when it wasn’t the crowd, it was the SDSU defense frustrating the Coyote offense for 40 minutes.

USD shot 32 percent for the game, including an ice-cold 24 percent in the first half. The biggest victim of those woes was senior Charlie Westbrook, who was limited to 3-of-16 shooting — though he did throw down a massive baseline dunk that wowed the crowd.

The Jackrabbits, meanwhile, moved the ball around with ease, got the shots they wanted and simply controlled the game. SDSU drained 9 three-pointers and had 18 assists on 31 field goals.

Nate Wolters, the standout point guard for the Jacks, scored nine points on 6-of-10 shooting, but his supporting cast did a bulk of the work — a double whammy for USD.

And so, any statement the Coyotes were looking to make in the first rivalry game in eight years was instead flipped around into an SDSU domination.

The Jackrabbits, who are fighting for a Summit League title this season, showed their less-experienced foes from Vermillion that the process from transitional program to contender is a gradual process.
SDSU has built itself up from a handful of ugly seasons after leaving Division II into now a legitimate D-I post-season threat.