Info on SDSU's newest Men's Basketball Asst. Coach

[89rabbit]

Some of you may remember him from his days with the Sioux Falls Skyforce.

http://66.231.15.132/Athletics/Varsi...eryl/Index.cfm




Deryl Cunningham
Assistant Men's Basketball Coach

Deryl Cunningham is in his first season as an assistant men's basketball coach at South Dakota State University.

A 1994 graduate of Kansas State University, Cunningham was a Parade High School All-America selection in 1989. He went on to earn honorable mention all-Big Eight Confrence honors at Kansas State, where he finished seventh on the career rebounding chart. Cunningham was a starter on an NCAA tournament team as a junior and final-four NIT team as a senior.

After finishing at KSU, Cunningham was selected in the CBA draft by the Sioux Falls Skyforce and played for coach Flip Saunders. He played overseas from 1996-2001 before returning to the CBA with the Saskatchewan Hawks. . . .


Go State! ;D

[89rabbit]

Re: Info on SDSU's newest Men's Basketball Asst. C

Highlights from a Brookings Register story:

http://www.brookingsregister.com/mai...53&page=25

Cunningham looking for a niche

BY ERIC X. VICCARO

After the Saskatchewan Hawks of the Continental Basketball Association folded earlier this decade, Deryl Cunningham still wanted to be associated with basketball.
Cunningham tried becoming a referee, officiating at a CBA summer camp as well as freshman high school games in Chicago.
But that didn't work out too well.
'I didn't like getting yelled at," Cunningham said. "It wasn't for me."
Cunningham admitted he was struggling.
"I was trying to find a niche," Cunningham said.
So last spring, Cunningham started scouring publications for jobs as a graduate assistant coach, and he called up South Dakota State University head coach Scott Nagy to see if he could work for the Jackrabbits.
Cunningham had to complete some academic course work during the summer, and he was hired as a graduate assistant.  .  .  .

"Deryl knows the game," Nagy said. "He's played and been a referee in Chicago. He's seen so many kids in Chicago, and they know him. We recruit out of Chicago."
Not only will Cunningham fit well as a recruiter for the Jackrabbits, but he also has the polar opposite personality of Nagy.
"Deryl's calm (with the players)," Nagy said. "He can talk to them. While I yell at them, and that can get them edgy, Deryl gets them calmed down." Cunningham will be pivotal in the development of the Jackrabbits' young post players, including true freshmen Robert Bilitz, Mark Engen, junior college transfer Mohaméd Berté and veterans Ben Beran and Michael Loney.
"We needed help coaching our post players," Nagy said. "We are going to be playing some young kids. I think having Deryl here for two years will help with their development, Bilitz's and Engen's. He will also spend time Mohaméd, and I think Deryl's experience will help him learn more rapidly."

Because of his background, Cunningham said he will be able to deal with the players fairly.
"I think I can relate well to the players," said Cunningham, who is 34 years old. "I played my whole career without regret because I played so hard every play. I tried harder. I showed a good work ethic."
Cunningham is passing that work ethic down to the players.
Loney grabbed nine of SDSU's 39 rebounds in Monday's 61-59 victory over Northern Colorado in the Guardians Classic consolation game.
Berté hauled in nine of the Jackrabbits 40 caroms in the loss against ninth-ranked Kentucky in the opening round of the Guardians Classic on Sunday.
SDSU's deficit in rebounding to the Wildcats was just five boards, showing it could hang with a Southeastern Conference and national powerhouse.
Cunningham, who will earn a master's degree in sports pedagogy from SDSU, said he's enjoying his experience in Brookings so far.
But Cunningham wasn't quite prepared for the amount of time he spends at the office.
"I spend all day here," Cunningham said. "I am here in the early a.m., and I come back after practice. There's an awful lot of work."
Cunningham said he's finding out that coaching is more than just simple X's and O's. He helps with recruiting, scouting and he has plenty of academic work to tend to.
He should know his way around a classroom. Cunningham was a substitute teacher at St. Joseph High School in Westchester, Ill., where his jersey is retired and hangs in a display case. He was a Parade Magazine All-American in 1989 at St. Joseph.
Cunningham himself is the product of strong coaching, and he knows about success.
In high school, legendary coach Gene Pingatore taught Cunningham the game.  .  .  .

Cunningham then moved on to compete at Kansas State under current Creighton coach Dana Altman.
One of Altman's claims to fame is that he was the last Wildcat coach to win a game at Phog Allen Fieldhouse as Cunningham and K-State defeated the Jayhawks 68-64 in a nationally-televised showdown in January 1994. Altman has compiled 301 NCAA Division I victories.
Cunningham was a starter on K-State's NCAA Tournament team in 1993 and final-four NIT squad in 1994. He's seventh all-time in rebounding for the Wildcats, and he was an honorable mention all-Big 8 selection his junior and senior seasons.
And Cunningham is certainly no stranger to South Dakota, having played for the CBA's Sioux Falls Skyforce under former Minnesota Timberwolves and current Detroit Pistons coach Flip Saunders.
Cunningham said Pingatore, Altman and Saunders have all served as role models.  .  .  .

For Cunningham, now is the time for him to begin putting his own imprint in the coaching profession.

Go State!  ;D

[SDSUFAN]

Re: Info on SDSU's newest Men's Basketball Asst. C

Definitely a very good story. I guess there are no press releases when grad assistants are hired but Cunningham is an exception.

He brings us many things and you kind of hope he is elevated when his grad assistantship is completed. Andy Cone did a good job with the big guys, but Cunningham has much more depth in experience and techniques.

Eric V seems to be doing a great job at the Register. He never has missed a JC meeting. Seems to be looking for stories.