I had a fun and candid conversation with Coach Tim Reck about his Cavs, including discussions about the development of his team after losing 11 seniors, the grit of this current squad and what he most looks forward to this weekend.
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You had a good run at the state tournament last year and you guys graduated a good class. But how did that run last year help this group this season?
We graduated 11 seniors last year. Like you said they were very talented. But I think it helped this group to say, “You know what? We’re pretty talented as well. We know how we have to work now playing against those guys.”
And that’s kind of led us to our end of our season, playing well by the end of the season here.
AA is just a beat down every night, especially in the Metro [Conference]. And early on you guys played close but you did take some early losses. What was it like developing with that new squad through those?
They had to learn how to play for four quarters at the AA level where you can’t take plays off. And that’s one thing, when you move from the jv level to the varsity level, the ball’s a hot commodity and you have to take care of it. They learned that.
So the ups and downs of a young team that was inexperienced at the time, but right now they’re a veteran team and I keep telling them that.
Yeah what’s been the biggest key for you guys to go from that inexperience to that veteran play?
I think just figuring out how hard you have to play defensively every night, against every team that you play. You can’t take plays off, you might go, “Oh, he hit a three that time.”
No, that three is a big three that you need to guard better the next time we face that team or the next time we’re on the court together. So our defense has really amped up. We started pressing a little bit more, which has helped our transition game which has helped everybody get into a flow.
You talked about it, about how you guys are playing your best basketball right now. What do you think’s been clicking for you guys on the court?
Well we’ve had really good leadership from Dawson Sechser. And he’s the only guy that had any varsity experience last year and he just kind of said, “Guys, we need to get better and we have to make sure we are doing the right things. Coaches can tell us everything that we need to do, but it’s on us to take responsibility for our actions on the floor.”
And the guys have listened to him and he’s done a great job, and him stepping up like that and being the leader they can count on, has been huge for.
Yeah and you talked about Dawson being a leader on your team. Who else has stepped in to that role around Dawson?
Damaris Fields, our point guard, has done a good job. Those two [Dawson and Damaris] are so insync defensively that if one is doing something, the other is backing him up. They switch automatically almost every time and they just do it. They don’t even have to talk about it anymore. So Damaris has really stepped up.
And Braylon Bear has been huge for us lately here in the season. He’s been a really good defender. He’s made some huge free throws for us; he pretty much sealed the deal in the Stevens game the other day. So those guys have stepped up so it’s been fun to see.
Going into that SoDak 16 [against Stevens], before we go into the details, what were your feelings as a coach heading into that one?
We liked our chances going into it. We knew it was going to be tough, because when we played them back in January, they had some injuries and some guys that weren’t playing.
Coach [Chris] Stoebner does a really good job and they’re a good team. So we knew that it was going to be a battle but that’s what you expect at that point in the season.
Note: Jefferson trailed Stevens by two points heading into the final seconds against Stevens, but a Dawson Seschser layup secured overtime and the Cavs ended the contest with a 63-59 victory.
Yeah it was a battle and you came into those final seconds and backs were against the wall. What were you telling your guys there at the end of that one?
Literally I just told them in the timeout, “Guys, I believe in you. I believe we are going to make the plays we need to make. And go out and do what we’ve been practicing. Whatever happens happens, but just know that everyone in here believes we are going to get this done.”
And when that final horn went off in overtime and you guys pulled through, what were just your emotions as a coach and what were you feeling?
First of all, excitement for our seniors, because they put in so much time. I mean, I’ve had this group since they were sophomores when we opened three years ago. So I was so happy to get those guys to the state tournament.
And really I keep telling the guys and I keep telling everybody, “They did it. They are the ones that got out and did all the work in the summertime and went to the team camps.”
They kept plugging along when things weren’t going well for us this year and they stepped up at the end of the game and made plays and we’re cutting down nets and here we go.
Now coming into this [state] game, you really only play one game in 20 days. So talk to me about what you guys have been doing in practice.
I’m telling you, we’re ready to play somebody else. That’s for sure. The guys that are going to be the most minutes, they are ready to play somebody else than our young guys who are pushing them, which is great.
That’s what we have been telling our “gold team,” to challenge them in different ways and that just makes that varsity team better and more prepared for that first game in the state tournament. And so we are ready to play somebody else, that’s for sure.
Yeah and that somebody else is coming this Thursday in Mitchell. Much has been said about them, they are a great squad. You guys had a good matchup with them the first time, what are you going to be looking forward to this time around?
The first time, the first half we played with them. We executed our game plan that we wanted to and then in the second half they came out and just got more physical with us and we didn’t respond very well. And I would say that was because of our inexperience.
And we’ve talked about that a lot these last few days, that, “Hey we’re not backing down from anybody. We’re one of the hottest teams in the state right now and we need to play like it.”
So we’ll be ready for a battle; they are very good with Mr. Talley there at the point. And then Mr. Smith inside, and then we got Mr. Soulek, who can do a little bit of everything. Those three guys are a matchup that we need to be aware of and I like how we’re going to guard it. We’re going to do things a little bit differently than the first time.
Last year, it was pretty fun in Rapid. But this year, you are coming back to Sioux Falls. What are you most looking forward to playing at the Denny this weekend?
You know, it’s such a great venue. We were out for the Summit League game and just sitting there going, “Wow! This is so cool that we get to play in town and in a venue like this.”
I hope the boys understand what a cool experience this is going to be. It’s pretty cool when you are down there on the main court and you look around. So we’re looking forward to being out there and I know the Jefferson students are going to be very happy they get out of school early that day and I hope they are going to come down and support us. And I have a feeling they will.
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