Happy Hour with John Gaskins

John Elway led "The Drive." 
 
Dwight Clark made "The Catch."
 
And in South Dakota State's rich history at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, Michael Orris hit "The Shot."
 
It is one of those iconic moments in sports (around here) that, if you mention Orris's name, the first thing that would come to mind for about 99.9% of people who know Jackrabbits or SLT history is "The Shot."
 
John Elway led "The Drive." 
 
Dwight Clark made "The Catch."
 
And in South Dakota State's rich history at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, Michael Orris hit "The Shot."
 
It is one of those iconic moments in sports (around here) that, if you mention Orris's name, the first thing that would come to mind for about 99.9% of people who know Jackrabbits or SLT history is "The Shot."

 
For those who don't remember or don't want to zoom to the 4:04 mark on this clip — Orris hit an 18-foot jumper with 1.5 seconds left to beat arch rival and No. 1 seed South Dakota in the semfinal of the 2017 tourney in front of an electric, record SLT crowd of 11,235 in the PREMIER Center.
 
That shot vaulted SDSU — the No. 4 seed and 15-16 coming into the event — into the championship game, where the Jacks beat Omaha 79-77 for the fifth out of seven SLT titles and NCAA Tournament bids.
 
More devout SDSU fans remember Orris as a tough-as-a-two-dollar-steak graduate transfer senior point guard, who in his only season at the school was part of T.J. Otzelberger's first team and helped will the Jacks to a roaring, late-season surge after starting 1-6 in league play.
 
So, how did Orris — who started his career at Kansas State, transferred to Northern Illinois, was ready to quit college hoops despite a year of eligibility remaining — end up in Brookings? And how did the Jacks turn a disastrous season into a memorable February and March run for the ages?
 
Fortunately, Orris is back in Sioux Falls to tell the story in person. He is in his first season as an assistant coach for Cody Schilling's Augustana squad. The Vikings have won 10 of their last 12 games and are the No. 2 seed heading into this weekend's NSIC Tournament in the Pentagon. 
 
How did Schilling lure Orris back to South Dakota? Well, that's another cool story.
 
Orris has a lot of them. He's the same gregarious, engaging dude from Chicago that he was as a Jackrabbit, and there is sooooooo much more to him and his basketball journey than "The Shot." 
 
There's the "Chicago" in him that helped shape his career and has helped him recruit that area. There's the fiery player in him that he believes resonates with his players. There's his refusal to eat a thing before dinner because his Puerto Rican wife will always have a king's spread waiting for him after work, or a long road trip.
 
To know Orris is to enjoy him. So, enjoy.
 
Thirsty Thursday Summit Hoops & local sports talk with Trent Singer
 
Before that, the Happy Hour host and Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer get together for their weekly "Thirsty Thursday" local sports chat at Orion Pub.
 
The two recap the South Dakota State women's statement-making road win at SLT No. 1 seed North Dakota State, becoming the first league team to beat the Bison this season.
 
Then, there was the South Dakota men's blazing, almost-out-of-nowhere 89-72 win over Omaha on Wednesday to reclaim the Coyotes as a potential contender in next week's SLT.
 
This leads to a preview of the two "State vs U" games between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes on Saturday — the women likely playing for the No. 2 seed in Brookings, while the men duke it out for the best possible seed in Vermillion.
 
Oh, and there was University of Sioux Falls men — the highest-scoring team in the NSIC and perhaps the best offense in the country (according to their head coach) — putting on another fireworks display in a 94-76 NSIC tourney win over Wayne State that propelled the Cougars into Saturday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 1 seed St. Cloud State in the Pentagon.
 
What kind of a factor will the eight-seed Cougars and No. 2 Augie be in the event? 
 
Well, this is why Trent and the host get together every week at the Orion — to hash out those sorts of things on the microphone and over a beer.

The Happy Hour host and Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer get together for their weekly "Thirsty Thursday" local sports chat at Orion Pub.
 
The two recap the South Dakota State women's statement-making road win at SLT No. 1 seed North Dakota State, becoming the first league team to beat the Bison this season.
 
Then, there was the South Dakota men's blazing, almost-out-of-nowhere 89-72 win over Omaha on Wednesday to reclaim the Coyotes as a potential contender in next week's SLT.
 
This leads to a preview of the two "State vs U" games between the Jackrabbits and Coyotes on Saturday — the women likely playing for the No. 2 seed in Brookings, while the men duke it out for the best possible seed in Vermillion.
 
Oh, and there was University of Sioux Falls men — the highest-scoring team in the NSIC and perhaps the best offense in the country (according to their head coach) — putting on another fireworks display in a 94-76 NSIC tourney win over Wayne State that propelled the Cougars into Saturday's 4:30 p.m. quarterfinal against No. 1 seed St. Cloud State in the Pentagon.
 
What kind of a factor will the eight-seed Cougars and No. 2 Augie be in the event? 
 
Well, this is why Trent and the host get together every week at the Orion — to hash out those sorts of things on the microphone and over a beer.

ohn Elway led "The Drive." 
 
Dwight Clark made "The Catch."
 
And in South Dakota State's rich history at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, Michael Orris hit "The Shot."
 
It is one of those iconic moments in sports (around here) that, if you mention Orris's name, the first thing that would come to mind for about 99.9% of people who know Jackrabbits or SLT history is "The Shot."
 
For those who don't remember or don't want to zoom to the 4:04 mark on this clip — Orris hit an 18-foot jumper with 1.5 seconds left to beat arch rival and No. 1 seed South Dakota in the semfinal of the 2017 tourney in front of an electric, record SLT crowd of 11,235 in the PREMIER Center.
 
That shot vaulted SDSU — the No. 4 seed and 15-16 coming into the event — into the championship game, where the Jacks beat Omaha 79-77 for the fifth out of seven SLT titles and NCAA Tournament bids.
 
More devout SDSU fans remember Orris as a tough-as-a-two-dollar-steak graduate transfer senior point guard, who in his only season at the school was part of T.J. Otzelberger's first team and helped will the Jacks to a roaring, late-season surge after starting 1-6 in league play.
 
So, how did Orris — who started his career at Kansas State, transferred to Northern Illinois, was ready to quit college hoops despite a year of eligibility remaining — end up in Brookings? And how did the Jacks turn a disastrous season into a memorable February and March run for the ages?
 
Fortunately, Orris is back in Sioux Falls to tell the story in person. He is in his first season as an assistant coach for Cody Schilling's Augustana squad. The Vikings have won 10 of their last 12 games and are the No. 2 seed heading into this weekend's NSIC Tournament in the Pentagon. 
 
How did Schilling lure Orris back to South Dakota? Well, that's another cool story.
 
Orris has a lot of them. He's the same gregarious, engaging dude from Chicago that he was as a Jackrabbit, and there is sooooooo much more to him and his basketball journey than "The Shot." 
 
There's the "Chicago" in him that helped shape his career and has helped him recruit that area. There's the fiery player in him that he believes resonates with his players. There's his refusal to eat a thing before dinner because his Puerto Rican wife will always have a king's spread waiting for him after work, or a long road trip.
 
To know Orris is to enjoy him. So, enjoy.

How do you know when it is time?
 
That's the big question involving the "R" word for so many people, and 61-year-old Derek Robey decided now is the time to retire as a head coach in high school basketball after spending his entire 40-year career in that role — the last 21 at O'Gorman in Sioux Falls.
 
It is also the question on the Happy Hour host's mind when it comes to when is the right time to sit down with Robey for an hour to look back on a basketball life and career that has been at full speed in sports his whole life, starting with his childhood and non-descript high school career in the hoops cradle of Mitchell.
 
Do you talk to the six-time state champion after it is all over, or when he is still in the throws of all the practices, play designs, player development, personal relationship building, bus trips and buzzer beaters?
 
We just couldn't wait. We caught Robey between a crushing last-second loss at Huron on Tuesday — he didn't arrive home until midnight — and a Wednesday practice ahead of Thursday's regular season finale against his alma mater, which will coincide with Senior Night and potentially his final game in the Knights gymnasium.
 
His final O'Gorman team has proven good enough to take the best teams in the state to the buzzer, but vulnerable enough to potentially miss the state tournament. The Knights are 11-8 and may or may not host their SoDak 16 game that will be the "play-in" game for the state tourney.
 
What will he miss? What will he be glad to have behind him? What will he do now? Is he sure he wants to give this up? How has the game and the high schoolers who play it changed the last 10, 20 years?
 
What made a bench warmer for nine-time state champion Gary Munsen at MHS want to become a coach? What did he take from Munsen's repertoire into his own coaching? 

After spending the first 17 years of his career at both high schools in Aberdeen, what brought Robey to take over at O'Gorman? It is quite a story of a man at a career crossroads whose wife had a moment of serendipity — a sign it was time to move to Sioux Falls.
 
All his decision led to was leading the Knights — who had never won a state title in boys hoops and finished runner-up the two years before Robey arrived — to back-to-back championships out of the chute, and five titles in his first seven years.
 
While O'G has hoisted the hardware only once since 2012, Robey has continued to gain respect as one of the best team builders and in-game chess players around, now and ever in South Dakota.
 
What's been behind it, besides, as the modest Robey said, "mostly luck?"
 
Pull up a bar stool at the Gateway Lounge and enjoy the answers.
 
Before that, the Happy Hour host reacts to the latest Mountain West Conference news for  North Dakota State football — a partial schedule release for 2026, identifying which MWC teams the Bison will play, which ones are coming to the Fargodome, and which destinations they'll head.
 
Let's just say it should make SDSU and USD fans think about living in that world. Wouldn't it be nice to watch the Jackrabbits and Coyotes play in Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Colorado Springs? And in New Mexico against former SDSU offensive coordinator Jason Eck?
 
Maybe that depends on how competitive of a squad the two South Dakota schools would be.
 
Fortunately, there are metrics that give us a hint, and the host dives into those to answer the latest pressing college football question in the Mount Rushmore State — is the better future for the Jacks and Yotes lying in the status quo of the FCS or in the higher profile and higher risk world of FBS. In particular, the Mountain West?

The Happy Hour host reacts to the latest Mountain West Conference news for  North Dakota State football — a partial schedule release for 2026, identifying which MWC teams the Bison will play, which ones are coming to the Fargodome, and which destinations they'll head.
 
Let's just say it should make SDSU and USD fans think about living in that world. Wouldn't it be nice to watch the Jackrabbits and Coyotes play in Hawaii, Las Vegas, and Colorado Springs? And in New Mexico against former SDSU offensive coordinator Jason Eck?
 
Maybe that depends on how competitive of a squad the two South Dakota schools would be.
 
Fortunately, there are metrics that give us a hint, and the host dives into those to answer the latest pressing college football question in the Mount Rushmore State — is the better future for the Jacks and Yotes lying in the status quo of the FCS or in the higher profile and higher risk world of FBS. In particular, the Mountain West?