Coyote Men Trying To Right The Ship

BY JEREMY HOECK
jeremy.hoeck@yankton.net

Right now, the frustrations are numerous and the struggles are collective for the USD men’s basketball team.

Last weekend did nothing but shine a regional spotlight on what has become a significant concern for the Coyotes — lack of offense.

First came a 30-point loss at South Dakota State last Thursday. Two days later, it was a 23-point setback at North Dakota State in Fargo.

Naturally, not many USD folks were happy with those results, or the 56 and 59 points scored.

“We have to bring our program up to these levels,” head coach Dave Boots said after the NDSU loss. “Both State (SDSU) and the Bison are at a way different stage, and we have a lot of catching up to do, that’s the bottom line.

“Will it take five years to do that? I hope not.”

Those kinds of quotes have become commonplace this season, as the Coyotes (6-11, 1-7) weave their way through Year One in the Summit League.

Sure, USD has been competitive in a handful of those conference losses, but three of the last four have been especially brutal. The Coyotes have been held to fewer than 60 points three times in the last four games — the lone exception being a 76-point outburst at UMKC on Jan. 7.

Beyond that: USD has averaged 63 points over its last six games.

Still, those involved haven’t been happy with the defensive end, either.

“We haven’t been playing solid on the offensive end, but you have to get stops at the right time on defense,” senior Charlie Westbrook said. “We’re just getting into this league, so we’re going through it right now.

“We just have to keep working hard and get to where these guys are.”

Where is that?

No doubt, a perennial contender for the Summit League championship, and NCAA Tournament berth. Teams like Oakland and Oral Roberts, and now SDSU, have developed their programs to the point where they can compete with — and beat — high-major schools.

Naturally, it takes strong recruiting classes year to year, as well as the development of players in house.

“We’re no different than some of the other schools that went ahead of us went through,” Boots said. “There are tough times in this transition, but you need to stay the course with it.

“Basketball is one sport where you can get better quickly,” he added. “If you add the right two or three kids, you can improve your team drastically.”

Can the Coyotes do that?

So far, USD’s recruiting class for 2012 includes a sharpshooting guard (Casey Kasperbauer) and a 6-7 wing (Tyler Flack), with the possibility of 1-2 more players in the spring.

Until then, it’s up to the current players to work on some of those lingering issues.

“We just have to believe in ourselves, and correct some things in our defense,” senior Ricardo Andreotti said. “We need to really get back to work.”

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