De Smet Bulldogs: Championship Season
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Every basketball fan in South Dakota has heard of the De Smet Bulldogs. They have an amazing coach and De Smet is a phenomenal basketball factory. The storied program did it again this year, the Bulldogs took home the Championship…
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Continue ReadingEvery basketball fan in South Dakota has heard of the De Smet Bulldogs. They have an amazing coach and De Smet is a phenomenal basketball factory. The storied program did it again this year, the Bulldogs took home the Championship in Class B! It was an epic season that made memories that will last a lifetime for those players, coaches, and the De Smet community. Congratulations on a wonderful season and another State Championship!
Read below for stats, in-depth comments from coach Jeff Gruenhagen, and the updated score/schedule from the championship season.
Player Stats
Kalen Garry Kalen Garry 6'3" | SG De Smet | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-3 G| – 19 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 3 apg, 1.6 spg
Rett Osthus Rett Osthus 6'0" | PG DeSmet | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-1 G| – 10 ppg, 4.1 rpg, 4.3 apg, 1.6 spg
Kadyn Fast (2024) |6-1 G| – 4.6 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 2.1 apg, 1 spg
George Jensen (2024) |6-4 F| – 4 ppg, 2.2 rpg
Blake Van Regenmorter (2022) |6-3 F| – 2.9 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 1.6 apg
Tory Holland Tory Holland 6'2" | SF De Smet | 2022 State SD (2022) |6-2 F| – 9.5 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.4 spg
Damon Wilkinson Damon Wilkinson 6'10" | C De Smet | 2023 State SD (2023) |6-8 C| – 14.5 ppg, 8.9 rpg, 1 apg, 2.1 bpg
Team Stats
PPG: 66.1
RPG: 38
APG: 14.5
SPG: 14.5
BPG: 4
FG%: 46
3FG%: 31
3FG per game: 6.3
Scoring Margin: 26.7
Rebounding Margin: 11.8
TO per game: 9.4
Bulldog talk with Coach Jeff Gruenhagen
PHD: What were some of the highlights of the season?
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “Our Season started out with some great games, game 2 was on the road at Clark Willow Lake where we escaped with a win as we led by 10 most of the game but lost the lead late and were down 3 with 15 seconds left and Kalen hit a step-back 3 to tie it up and Rett immediately stole the inbound pass and passed to Kalen who hit another 3 for the win at the buzzer. That was when we knew every night teams were coming to knock us off and we had to be ready.”
“On to the Pentagon on Dec 17 vs. Dream City Christian from AZ in a HoopHall Classic Event. I did not know anything about this matchup until the guys were showing me how many D1 recruits were on that team and the size. 6’11, 6’10, 6’7, 6’6, 6’3 were the starters. Truly a Prep School with some talent. I think the players were concerned that they had no chance to win but I assured them that our team chemistry would shine and we would be just fine. The same players as they play against in their summer AAU schedules, I told them that “you guys always tell me you want to play some of these loaded AAU teams with our school team and we are getting that chance on a national stage”. They did not disappoint. Everyone played solid and Kalen turned it on getting to the rim and distributing the ball all over. Rett played some great D and before you know it we are in control of that game with an 8-10 point lead in the second half. We lost in the end after some missed FT’s and some pull up 3’s by them and while we were disappointed with the loss we learned a lot about how we could compete with anyone and that you have to close out games by doing all the little things if you want to win.”
“Kalen and Rett became Internet Video stars on Bleacher Report from the game and Kalen received a ton of phone calls from colleges across the country immediately after. This led directly to Kalen committing to SDSU. I think that will be a great place for him.”
“Then we headed to Dells St. Mary on the road and that is always a tough place to win and got a good W there in front of a packed crowd. 6 of our first 7 games were going to be on the road in the first 21 days of the season.”
“Next up would be Sioux Valley at the Entringer Classic in Brookings in an LCC showdown. They were our only loss last season so we were motivated. We trailed by 10 in the first quarter when Kadyn Fast hit a couple of 3-pt shots to close the gap before halftime. The third qtr had Rett hit a couple of threes and a drive to get the lead. Damon and Kalen got going to pull away a little and seal the win. Damon played very well and our team was really taking shape.”
“On to January and The Hanson Classic to take on White River and a team we knew would be in Aberdeen at the tourney in March. Kalen again played a solid game scoring inside and out and also holding a very physical Dylan Marshall Dylan Marshall 6'0" | PG White River | 2022 State SD to limited offense. Rett and Kadyn shared the job of guarding Joe Sayler Joe Sayler 6'4" | SG White River | 2023 State #295 Nation SD to try to limit his looks and wear him down. This game was really a breakout for Damon Wilkinson Damon Wilkinson 6'10" | C De Smet | 2023 State SD who took over the second half on each end and finished with 27 pts and a bunch of boards and blocks and a couple of nice Dunks. Our inside-outside game had arrived and Damon proved he could carry the load for us when we ask him to.”
“Next up was STM at the Pentagon and I thought we could put points up and we could get the score up in the 50s but it turned into a defensive battle and a 36-30 win. 2 guys leaning on Damon all night and they chased Rett and Kalen with pressure. Tory Holland Tory Holland 6'2" | SF De Smet | 2022 State SD had a nice night for us and really hit key baskets and touched so many balls creating great energy. Hard fought win to start 5 games in 7 days stretch that we always compare to State Tourney preparation. We have to learn how to play on little rest and focus on a short scout time. Hamlin, STM, Castlewood, Flandreau, Wolsey Wessington was a great string of wins in that stretch. Keeping really good offensive teams of Flandreau and STM under 40 pts each was a great effort.”
“From there we rolled into the playoffs and the State Tournament confident that we could defend our title.“
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “Our Go-To basket guy is Kalen Garry Kalen Garry 6'3" | SG De Smet | 2022 State SD . We draw up stuff for him and sometimes he makes his own offense. If the defense cuts him off he adjusts. Damon Wilkinson Damon Wilkinson 6'10" | C De Smet | 2023 State SD also became that GO-To guy as the season ended and on some nights we were cold from the outside.”
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “Our really adverse stretch came at the end of the season prior to Regions. Kalen and Rett both had significant injuries in practice making it a bit stressful in Region preparation, but they toughed it out and healed up well.”
“Kalen and Kadyn Fast collided getting a rebound in the Region Semis on Friday night where Kalen got a deep thigh bruise in the second quarter. He finished the game but could not walk on Saturday when we headed for treatment with the Sodak 16 game looming on Tuesday. Thanks to Carr Chiropractic in Huron for treatment on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Kalen stepped up pushed through.“
PHD: Who was your best practice player and why?
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “ Kalen Garry Kalen Garry 6'3" | SG De Smet | 2022 State SD is our best practice player, he always goes hard. Makes everyone else go Hard. He lets them know when they are not going hard enough. Rett Osthus Rett Osthus 6'0" | PG DeSmet | 2022 State SD is right there with him. They lead by example.”
PHD: Can you make a few comments about the seniors that you are losing?
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “Blake VanRegenmorter started half of our games this year and really played his role well. A good rebounder, a great shooter. Tory Holland Tory Holland 6'2" | SF De Smet | 2022 State SD was our energy guy his entire career and he really stepped up and hit clutch shots this year and made better shot selection this year. He had an amazing season for us in this Title Run. A great team player.”
Who are some of your top players that will be back next season?
Coach Jeff Gruenhagen: “Returners: (Juniors) Damon Wilkinson Damon Wilkinson 6'10" | C De Smet | 2023 State SD , Gannon Gruenhagen, Kasen Janssen“
“(Sophomores) Kadyn Fast, George Jensen, Trace Van Regenmorter,Tom Aughenbaugh”
“This crew was 22-1 this year, 20-2 last year in JV. Undefeated Summer Jam league last summer. Big shoes to fill. We can do it. ”
Bulldog Scores/Schedule (25-1)
Deubrook Area W 72-47
Clark-Willow Lake W 60-57
Estelline-Hendricks W 68-17
Dream City Christian (AZ) L 57-61
Dell Rapids St. Mary W 60-42
Sioux Valley W 55-47
Deuel W 74-37
Arlington W 82-53
Howard W 59-38
Lake Preston W 88-25
Hamlin W 75-57
White River W 63-49
Colman-Egan W 93-32
Canisota W 62-42
Elkton-Lake Benton W 65-45
St. Thomas More W 36-30
Castlewood W 77-34
Flandreau W 46-32
Wosley-Wessington W 56-32
Oldham-Ramona-Rutland W 71-51
Waverly-South Shore W 72-27 (Regions)
Estelline-Hendricks W 79-50 (Regions)
Chester Area W 66-24 (SODAK 16)
Waubay-Summit W 60-28 (STATE)
Potter County W 67-45 (STATE)
Lower Brule W 49-36 (STATE CHAMPIONSHIP)