Staff Previews are put together by various members of the Digital Z South Dakota Staff and do not represent any one member of the site.
THE TEAMS
A pair of Gillette, Wyoming teams will venture to Southeast SD this week and take on Yankton and Mitchell. Both Wyoming teams have identical 4-0 records on the young season. An interesting note, these teams play with no shot clock in their home state, but that means very little as Campbell County averages 78 points per game and Thunder Basin averages 66.
CAMPBELL COUNTY
The Camels of Campbell County like to get out in transition with full court passes, hard sprints to the basket and will take the
deep 3. Their senior backcourt duo of Hladky (22.5 ppg)and Neary (21 ppg), have made and shot a high number of 3s. As a team they have attempted at least 30 “3s” in all 4 games this season.
THUNDER BASIN
The Bolts of Thunder Basin will play somewhat similar style as the Camels. The Bolts offense starts with 6’2 junior Deegan Williams, who looks to penetrate and kick to open shooters. One of those sharp shooters is 6’3 senior Andre Felton. Another interesting note, Thunder Basin beat St Thomas More 55-40 in Gillette on Dec 12.
MATCHUP
Size looks like it could be a factor for the two Gillette teams, as both teams have mostly 6’0-6’3 guys on the roster. I believe both Wyoming teams will have to plan their defense around stopping 6’8 Mors of Yankton and the big combo of 6’6 Hinker/6’10 Alm of Mitchell.
Should be two good basketball games in the Summit Center and the Worlds Only for these two title contenders of Class AA.
TK’s TAKE
Again, just want to give a thanks to the staff for writing this up!
Yes, I think these Wyoming teams are going to struggle with the height of the South Dakota boys. Mitchell has definitely surprised me this year, and I have been happily impressed with how good the Kernels have been.
In a year where it’s been weird on how games have been scheduled, and with the Hoop City Classic being cancelled, it’s cool to see these games still come together. With that being said, here is my prediction:
SOUTH DAKOTA WINS 3 OF 4
I don’t think that the Wyoming teams will come up empty handed and they obviously show they can play at a fast pace. I don’t think a shot clock will be much of an adjustment for them at all, and I could see them trying to run the floor before the defense can get set up.
That’s the interesting thing with states that don’t have clocks. You either try to beat the defense down there before they set up, or get ready for the long haul and look for a good shot. I expect these teams to try and run the ball early.