It’s never easy for any team to say goodbye to your seniors and prepare for the next season.
But when the 2020 season abruptly ended, the Sioux Valley Cossacks were left without their top three players, nor the experience of a state tournament to bring into the 2021 season.
“It was a season where we had graduated three awfully good seniors going into the end of the year,” Head Coach Bill Vincent said. “There were some good guys that went out the door and it was unfortunate for them and we had the best record in any class, so we really felt like we missed out on an opportunity.”
But the missed opportunity reminded the Cossacks, and everyone in the state of South Dakota, that the chance to play basketball was a blessing. Sioux Valley then used that reminder that every day of basketball is a gift as motivation, and worked hard in the offseason to make up for the experience that was lost last March.
“It drove us to get back to practice and focus,” Vincent said of the missed opportunity. “It took a a lot of pressure off, meaning we were just blessed when we got to practice and got to have a game, and made people appreciate the small facts and the journey along the way.”
Sioux Valley was quick to gain that lost experience with a tough schedule early in December, but defeated every opponent along the way, including a 60-48 victory over Clark/Willow Lake and a 54-50 win against Class B #1 De Smet. Those early successes built the confidence of the new starters and going into Christmas break, the Cossacks were as good as any team in the state.
“We had a lot of holes to fill and the guys just really stepped up and carried on the tradition and got the ball rolling right out of the gates,” Vincent said. “We opened up with Clark [Willow Lake] at Clark, a team that was returning most of their players from the year before, and addition to [Kalab] Marx from Webster and that started to grow our confidence. Then a tough stretch where all that kind of led to that close De Smet win.”
“Then you feel like you’re as good as anyone at the time.”
Soon after Christmas break, the Cossacks picked up more big victories; winning on a last-second shot against Tea Area at the Sanford Pentagon before cruising to four straight home wins to earn a top-ranking in Class A. And instead of becoming complacent, Sioux Valley’s success only motivated the Cossacks to work harder.
“All those things kinda lead your confidence and lead your team to work harder at practice and believe you can compete with anyone,” Vincent said.
Paul Bruns and the Dakota Valley Panthers, however, soon stopped Sioux Valley in their tracks. On January 23rd, the Cossacks suffered their first loss of the season by 13 points at the Corn Palace…but like the big wins, Sioux Valley used the loss as motivation to improve.
“That loss seemed to have been the game over all of them, ”ok these are the things we want to go work on and get better at and improve at for the second half of the season,” Vincent said on the loss.
Sioux Valley played excellently after the loss, picking up another big win against State Tournament Qualifier Sioux Falls Christian before dominating their way to the state tournament.
But even that dominant 19-1 record, the now experienced Cossacks drew no easy opponent in the first round, facing off against Chamberlain Cubs at 7:30 p.m tomorrow. Many suspected the Cubs would be the #1 seed in the tournament until they lost the last three games of the regular season, but the 17-4 Cubs will be as tough as anyone.
And what does Coach Vincent think will be the key to success for the Cossacks against the Cubs and in the state tournament?
Remaining themselves that every day of basketball is a blessing and using that motivation like they have all season long.
“I really feel like we have a pressure-free team but a driven team,” Vincent said. “And we’re going to appreciate the journey to play basketball along the way.”
This article is part of our series of State Tournament Previews. To find more articles and coverage of the state tournament, check out the South Dakota section of our home page!
