Dakota Valley: Championship Season Recap

<p><strong>North Sioux City, SD - </strong>It was an epic season for the Panthers from Dakota Valley! They had an unblemished record, going 26-0 and they won the State A Championship this past Saturday in Rapid City! The Panthers had 3 greats wins at State over Sioux Falls Christian, Flandreau, and Sioux Valley. In the Championship game, [player_tooltip player_id="963787" first="Randy" last="Rosenquist"] went off for 25 points and led the Panthers to the promised lands. The crazy thing is, DV will bring back a ton of talent next season and the majority of its scoring. It is easy to guess who the favorite will be next year. Congrats to the Dakota Valley Panthers on an amazing season!</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="963742" first="Isaac" last="Bruns"] and [player_tooltip player_id="963787" first="Randy" last="Rosenquist"] were named to the State A All-Tournament Team. </p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Player Stats</strong></span></h3> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963742" first="Isaac" last="Bruns"] (2023) |6-1 G|</strong> - 23.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg, 1.9 apg, 1.3 spg</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963787" first="Randy" last="Rosenquist"] (2023) |6-0 G|</strong> - 13.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 7.2 apg, 4.7 spg</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="1270366" first="Jaxson" last="Wingert"] (2024) |6-6 PF|</strong> - 10.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg, .4 apg, .3 spg</p> <p><strong>Jaxon Hennies (2023) |6-0 G|</strong> - 7.3 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 1.1 apg, .8 spg</p> <p><strong>Sam Faldmo (2023) |6-3 G/F|</strong> - 5.3 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 2 apg, .8 spg</p> <p><strong>Brayden Major (2022) |6-1 G|</strong> - 4.1 ppg, 1.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, .7 spg</p> <p><strong>Joey Bryan (2022) |6-6 PF|</strong> - 3.2 ppg, 2.8 rpg, .4 apg, .5 spg</p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Team Stats</strong></span></h3> <p><strong>PPG</strong>: 69.7</p> <p><strong>RPG</strong>: 8.9</p> <p><strong>APG</strong>: 14.8</p> <p><strong>SPG</strong>: 9.3</p> <p><strong>BPG</strong>: 2.8</p> <p><strong>FG%</strong>: 49</p> <p><strong>3FG%</strong>: 36</p> <p><strong>3’s made</strong>: 168 </p> <p><strong>TO's per game</strong>: 9.3</p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Panther Talk with coach <em>Jason Kleis</em></strong></span></h3> <p><strong>PHD: What were some of the highlights of the season?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: Winning the state championship and going 26-0, we had so many fun wins and the guys had great energy and chemistry all season.</p> <p><strong>PHD: Who was your "go-to" player when you needed a basket?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963742" first="Isaac" last="Bruns"]</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963787" first="Randy" last="Rosenquist"]</strong> both made plays consistently for us down the stretch of big games.</em>" </p> <p><strong>PHD: Which players improved the most for you this season and what did they improve on?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em>This was the secret to our success, all of our guys worked hard, played a lot over the offseason, and all really improved. We lost 3 starters from last season including the class A player of the year, and still came back with a better record/success this season</em>."</p> <p><strong>PHD: </strong><strong style="font-size: 1rem;">Who were a few of your hardest workers and what did they do well?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963742" first="Isaac" last="Bruns"]</strong> is always working and competing in practice.</em>"</p> <p><strong>PHD: Can you talk about a time when you and the team overcame adversity?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em>We played a very tough 1-8 seed game in the first round of state tourney vs. Sioux falls Christian. We were down a fair amount of second half, and we all felt a lot of pressure to win that game.  Our kids made big plays when they needed and we were able to pull out the win.</em>"</p> <p><strong>PHD: Who was your best practice player and why?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em>This is a weak answer, but it’s true, most all of our guys practiced at a high level this season. They came each day wanting to get better, we were able to shorten practice times down because of the intensity they brought to each day/minute.</em>"</p> <p><strong>PHD: Who were some of your key bench players?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em><strong>Jaxon Hennies</strong> and <strong>Joey Bryan</strong> had fantastic seasons off the bench.</em>"</p> <p><strong>PHD: Can you make a few comments about the seniors that you are losing?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<strong>Carson Peck</strong>, <strong>Luke Norby</strong>, <strong>Brayden Major</strong>, <strong>Ben Liddiard</strong>, <strong>Blake Schmiedt</strong>, <strong>Joey Bryan</strong>"</p> <p><strong>PHD: Who are some of your top players that will be back next season?</strong></p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Coach Kleis</span>: "<em><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963742" first="Isaac" last="Bruns"]</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963787" first="Randy" last="Rosenquist"]</strong>, <strong>Jaxon Wingert</strong>, <strong>Jaxon Hennies</strong>, <strong>Sam Faldmo</strong></em>"</p> <h3><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>Panthers Scores/Schedule (26-0)</strong></span></h3> <p><strong>Beresford</strong> <em>W</em> 60-14</p> <p><strong>Canton</strong> <em>W</em> 95-69</p> <p><strong>Tea Area</strong> <em>W</em> 72-61</p> <p><strong>Platte-Geddes</strong> <em>W</em> 76-41</p> <p><strong>Sergeant Bluff-Lufton (IA)</strong> <em>W</em> 62-45</p> <p><strong>LeMars (IA)</strong> <em>W</em> 56-46</p> <p><strong>West Central</strong> <em>W</em> 73-60</p> <p><strong>Hartington Cedar Catholic (NE)</strong> <em>W</em> 65-43</p> <p><strong>West Sioux (IA)</strong> <em>W</em> 72-48</p> <p><strong>Tri-Valley</strong> <em>W</em> 66-32</p> <p><strong>St. Thomas More</strong> <em>W</em> 48-46</p> <p><strong>Sioux Falls Christian</strong> <em>W</em> 60-54</p> <p><strong>Lakota Tech</strong> <em>W</em> 75-57</p> <p><strong>Elk Point-Jefferson</strong> <em>W</em> 68-54</p> <p><strong>Vermillion</strong> <em>W</em> 79-57</p> <p><strong>Dell Rapids</strong> <em>W</em> 75-55</p> <p><strong>Sioux City West (IA)</strong> <em>W</em> 89-41</p> <p><strong>Sioux City East (IA)</strong> <em>W</em> 71-53</p> <p><strong>Madison</strong> <em>W</em> 71-40</p> <p><strong>Lennox</strong> <em>W</em> 73-59</p> <p><strong>Parker</strong> <em>W</em> 75-52</p> <p><strong>Vermillion</strong> <em>W</em> 73-35</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">SODAK 16</span> - <strong>Madison</strong> <em>W</em> 68-50</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">State Tournament</span> - <strong>Sioux Fall Christian</strong> <em>W</em> 62-56</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">State Tournament</span> - <strong>Flandreau</strong> <em>W</em> 59-47</p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">State Championship</span> - <strong>Sioux Valley</strong> <em>W</em> 82-65</p>