Zim on Hendo, "Petey" hire, SDSU's lot in mid-major life
Are Jackrabbits fans spoiled? They are treated to national championship football teams and every-other-year NCAA Tournament berths for men's basketball. Yet, there's still frustration among some about the football and basketball coaches leaving after 2-6 years. How do we make sense of it, and of Eric Henderson leaving for Drake, a job that seems "barely" a notch above the SDSU job (and in some areas, like arena and fan support, maybe a notch below)? There's real "life-changing money" to all this... and how much does that matter? Was Bryan Petersen the right hire? How much does his junior college head coaching experience matter? And what kind of a choice would "Coach Klink," the 19-year assistant, have been? John Gaskins and Matt Zimmer sort at all that, then squabble about the importance of a mid-major presence in the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
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48:59
Bryan Petersen is the perfect new driver for SDSU's Porsche / Tyler Merriam (Voice of the Jackrabbits)
None of this was a surprise. All of it feels like a grand slam — for Drake and for South Dakota State. Both Porsches of their mid-major basketball leagues have the best possible drivers to keep things running fast and smooth and away from crashes. In a 24-hour span, South Dakota State lost men's basketball coach Eric Henderson to Drake and replaced him with his assistant of six years, Bryan Peterson. John Gaskins not only explains why both hires made sense, but brings you refreshingly candid insight from Drake athletic director Eric Henderson and a few clips from Petersen's interview with 15-year Voice of the Jackrabbits Tyler Merriam. Then, John chats with Merriam, finding answers to these questions: What will those within the SDSU athletic department miss most about "Hendo?" Merriam has plenty of behind-the-ropes insight into how the men's basketball program thrived before and during Hendo's six years at the helm and offers unique perspective on new head coach Petersen, who was at SDSU the whole time. What is Petersen's strength, his personality, and what will he bring to the table that Jacks fans expect to be similar or different? Merriam also weighs in on Aaron Johnston's longevity at SDSU and why the wildly successful women's hoops coach has stayed in Brookings for 25 years despite a resume that suggest he could be somewhere else, and on the mid-majors' lot in life — or what it appears to be its lot — in the NIL and transfer portal era.
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1:25:27
Tyler Merriam (Voice of the Jacks) on Bryan Peterson hire, what SDSU will miss about Hendo
What will those within the SDSU athletic department miss most about Eric Henderson, and why was Associate Athletics Director Tyler Merriam not particularly suprised Hendo moved on to Drake? Merriam has been the radio Voice of the Jackrabbits for 15 years and has plenty of behind-the-ropes insight into how the men's basketball program before and during Hendo's six years at the helm and offers unique perspective on new head coach Bryan Petersen, who was at SDSU the whole time. What is Petersen's strength, his personality, and what will he bring to the table that Jacks fans expect to be similar or different? Merriam also weighs in on Aaron Johnston's longevity at SDSU and why the wildly successful women's hoops coach has stayed in Brookings for 25 years despite a resume that suggest he could be somewhere else, and on the mid-majors' lot in life — or what it appears to be its lot — in the NIL and transfer portal era.
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42:49
Drake's appeal to Hendo (or any candidate), Timmer transfers from SDSU women, and Sioux Falls Christian coach Mike Schouten joins
As of the 2 p.m. Friday publishing of this show, Sioux Falls Live has not reported on what extent SDSU coach Eric Henderson has talked with Drake University in Des Moines about its head coach opening. But if there is mutual interest, we found a sneaky yet high-level reason why Drake would be a big step up from coaching at SDSU, a step that goes beyond potential significant salary increase for Hendo. Meanwhile, a rare if not shocking SDSU women's hoops development — junior guard Haleigh Timmer (Rapid City native) has entered the transfer portal. We don't officially know why, but it puts a crack in the notion that the Jackrabbit women are immune to players transferring out. Did Northern State hit a home run in hiring former Dakota Wesleyan coach Matt Wilber? John Gaskins addresses all these topics, then sits down with veteran state champion high school coach Mike Schouten for over 50 minutes. In a state tournament run straight out of Hollywood, the Sioux Falls Christian boys basketball lost one of their best players to a brutal knee injury late in the first round game, were devastated and needed a pick-me-up idea from Schouten to lift their spirits before the semifinal game, then captured a state title the next night to redeem back-to-back heartbreaking state championship game losses. Schouten has led the Chargers for 19 years and pushed all kinds of buttons to get SFC over the finish line, and details some compelling behind-the-scenes stories from those three emotional nights. Plus, there's plenty about SDSU commit Griffin Goodbary, who could very well be an immediate impact college player, and Schouten tells us why. There's also another potential Div. I dynamo who SFC gets for another two years that Schouten — not one to use hyperbole — raves about. Then, there's the not-so-subtle topic of SFC's dominance in Class A the last few years and the notion that maybe the school should move up to Class AA. Schouten certainly has his own insight and opinion. Â
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1:20:50
SFC coach Mike Schouten on state title, SDSU commit Griffin Goodbary, Class A vs AA
In a state tournament run straight out of Hollywood, the Sioux Falls Christian boys basketball lost one of their best players to a brutal knee injury late in the first round game, were devastated and needed a pick-me-up idea from head coach Mike Schouten to lift their spririts before the semifinal game, then captured a state title the next night to redeem back-to-back heartbreaking state championship game losses. Schouten has led the Chargers for 19 years and pushed all kinds of buttons to get SFC over the finish line, and details some compelling behind-the-scenes stories from those three emotional nights. Plus, there's plenty about SDSU commit Griffin Goodbary, who could very well be an immediate impact college player, and Schouten tells us why. There's also another potential Div. I dynamo who SFC gets for another two years that Schouten — not one to use hyperbole — raves about. Then, there's the not-so-subtle topic of SFC's dominance in Class A the last few years and the notion that maybe the school should move up to Class AA. Schouten certainly has his own insight and opinion. Â
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