Great West River basketball players..

[TeaJackrabbit]

Help me out...I'm kind of trying to put together a list and it's bothering me I can't remember more west river high school hoopsters. It's also bothering me I can't remember any of those great Native American hoopsters....

Mackenzie Casey (SDSU)
Paige Paulson (UW-Milwaukee)
Eric Piatkowski (Nebraska)
Troy Piatkowski (Nebraska)
Adam Templeton (Drake)

[SDHoops]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

TeaJackRabbit,
Here is a link to the all-time all-state players in South Dakota. I think it might help!:
"AA": http://www.sdbbca.k12.sd.us/Pages/Hi...lstateboys.htm
"A": http://www.sdbbca.k12.sd.us/Pages/Hi...lstateboys.htm
"B": http://www.sdbbca.k12.sd.us/Pages/Hi...lstateboys.htm

One player that I would consider a great West River basketball player is T.J. McCauley. Ironically enough, he was not voted on to an all-state team, but was all-tournament at the 2006 "AA" and 2007 "A" tournaments. He went on to Bismarck State, where he was a NJCAA All-American both years (first team in 2009) and played in the NJCAA All-Star game in Texas. He is redshirting and plans to play at the University of Mary next season. Another player is Jesse Heart. He was probably the best as far as size and talent go. He didn't go on to play Division I but could have. Louie Krogman is another West River product, now at the U. Hope this helps

[jackdaniel]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

I remember Terry Dupris was alway's mentioned in the Argus for scoring a lot of points while playing for one of the smaller state colleges in the old South Dakota Intercollegiate Conference.

[joeboo22]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Derek Paulson- Paige's brother, depending on who you ask some say he was one of the best high school players ever. died in a car accident before his senior year.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Thanks SDhoops....I appreciate it. We (South Dakota) are not exactly a sports hotbed, but I do appreciate our history and love the memories of SD HS sports (I smell another thread coming on ). Man, I love living in South Dakota! Thank You God.

joeboo - Thanks for mentioning Derek. I am somewhat close to a certain Custer family and I can tell you it just tore them up. Let's just love our kids and hopefully keep them safe. Derek and Eva, no doubt, are in a better place.

[TeaJackrabbit]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

This could be real fun. Maybe it has already happened on this board, but how about listing your All-Time top 5 or 10 or 20 HS basketball players from our great state?

#1 - Would Mike Miller be considered an easy lock? Played at UFA, hit a game winner in the NCAA's, Rookie of the Year, 6th Man of the Year, successful NBA career til this day.....

#2 - Would Eric Piatkowski also be considered a lock? Won a HS title and had a long and successful career in the NBA.

#3 - this is where it's going to get interesting.....

[Cowbell]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

No list would be complete without:

1) Jim Sutton
2) Don Jacobsen
3) Mark Tetzlaff

[ringthebells]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Help me out...I'm kind of trying to put together a list and it's bothering me I can't remember more west river high school hoopsters. It's also bothering me I can't remember any of those great Native American hoopsters....

Mackenzie Casey (SDSU)
Paige Paulson (UW-Milwaukee)
Eric Piatkowski (Nebraska)
Troy Piatkowski (Nebraska)
Adam Templeton (Drake)

Marty Branch from Rapid City Central had a nice stroke.
Willie White from Pine Ridge (I think) was a heck of a player as well.

Doug Miller was fun to watch as well. I can't remember if it was in high school or just at the barn, but he soared over and occasionally through the competiton.

[RowdyRabbit]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Back in the late 80's/early 90's Custer High School had a pretty good team, I think they won a couple state championships. Anyway, I was only about 10 at the time, but I remember a lot of talk about how good Lance Lutchens (sp?) was, but I don't know if that was because I had cousins in the Custer School system at that time or if he really was that good, on a statewide/national level. Not sure if he ever went on to play college ball.

[trueblue]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Lance Luitjens played at Northern.

[jacks1]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Jess Hart from Little Wound, was hands down the best player ever from SD.

...come on now, really?

[MontanaRabbit]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Jess Hart from Little Wound, was hands down the best player ever from SD. Saw him in person, absolutely unstoppable. I remember watching him on TV in the state tournament against DeSmet either in the semis or title game. Absolutely unstoppable. He had a schollie offer to either Kansas or Kansas State, but didn't take it. Also, Derek Paulson, the older brother of Paige Paulson, was a great player from Custer. Definently up there in the elite status in SD history. Had a full ride to Illinois, but tragically died in a car accident.

Not a chance Jess Heart was the best ever. If he was he would be playing pro ball somewhere.

And didn't Derek Paulson have a full ride to Syracuse?

[NoVaJack]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Steve Brown?

[JackJD]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

very different from out culture.

what is out culture?

[2002jack]

Re: Great West River basketball players..

Steve Brown?

Steve grew up in Bryant (Hamlin County), that's East River.