Washington Warriors

PHD is back for another season review. Today we are looking at the Warriors from Sioux Falls Washington. This squad had depth, shooters, size, and a ton of athleticism. They are led by Jeff Tobin who is a young up-and-coming coach in South Dakota. The Warriors picked up 15 wins on the season and they made another trip to the coveted State Tournament.

See below for team stats, player stats, and an interesting Q&A session with coach Tobin.

Team: Sioux Falls Washington

Mascot: Warriors

Head Coach: Jeff Tobin

Class: AA

Conference: Metro

All-Conference Players: Mandalla Mohamed Mandalla Mohamed 6'2" | SG Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (1st Team) & Zharic Sheppard Zharic Sheppard 6'5" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (Honorable Mention)

Record: 15-9

Playoffs: State Qualifier

Wins Against: Huron (x2), Aberdeen Central, Pierre, O’Gorman (x2) , Marshall (MN), Brookings, Brandon Valley, Mitchell, SF Roosevelt, SF Jefferson, Yankton, RC Stevens, RC Central.

Team Stats

PPG: 58.2 RPG: 33.3 ORPG: 11.4 APG: 13 SPG: 7.4 BPG: 2.2 Charges Taken: 12

FG%: 45.4 FGM: 467 2FGM: 352 3FG%: 32.8 3FGM: 115 FT%: 59 FTM: 173

Stat Leaders

Mandalla Mohamed Mandalla Mohamed 6'2" | SG Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (2023) |6’2 G| – 11.6 ppg, 30 3FGM, 4.8 rpg, 4.3 apg, 47.3 FG%

AJ Akot AJ Akot 6'4" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (2023) |6’3 G/F| – 11 ppg, 5 3FGM, 8 rpg, 1 apg, 58.8 FG%

Cole Peterson Cole Peterson 6'2" | PG Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (2023) |6’2 G| – 8.8 ppg, 36 3FGM, 2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 39.6 FG%

Zharic Sheppard Zharic Sheppard 6'5" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD (2023) |6’5 F| – 8 ppg, 28 3FGM, 4 rpg, 1.8 apg, 39.9 FG%

Gage Gasca Gage Gasca 6'7" | C Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 SD (2023) |6’7 F| – 7.4 ppg, 5 3FGM, 5.1 rpg, .4 apg, 48.6 FG%

Tryg Auten Tryg Auten 5'10" | PG SF Washington | 2023 SD (2023) |5’11 G| – 3.9 ppg, 6 3FGM, 2.4 rpg, .6 apg, 29.4 FG%

Jalen Wilson Jalen Wilson 6'2" | CG Sioux Falls Washington | 2024 State SD (2024) |6’2 G| – 3.2 ppg, 4 3FGM, .8 rpg, .3 apg, 48.4 FG%

Daniel Sanchez (2023) |5’10 G| – 2.8 ppg, 4 3FGM, 2.3 rpg, 1.1 apg, 38.3 FG%

Q&A with coach Jeff Tobin

PHD: Do you have any initial comments on your team?

Coach Tobin: “Our varsity players improved greatly over the course of the season. We had guys step into bigger roles, guys get out of their comfort zone, and players step into leadership that we needed. Our biggest strength became our defense down the stretch. We held some really good teams under 50 points, and we morphed into a zone defense team somewhat out of nowhere because we tried it, it worked, and we stuck to it.” 

PHD: How would you sum up the season?

Coach Tobin: “To sum up our season, we had great and positive growth over the course of it. We had to make adjustments not only to our lineups but also to our game plans. We found things that worked for us and kept finding ways to make those things better, notably, our defense. We played our best basketball down the home stretch, and we were really proud of the constant intensity that we brought each game against very good opponents.“

PHD: What are a few fun memories from the season that stick out?

Coach Tobin: “One of our biggest moments was beating, at the time, undefeated Jefferson at their place. We had just gotten done defeating Roosevelt the night before at their place as well, and to turn around and go and beat a greatly talented team like Jefferson was very thrilling for our team as well as our whole program.“

PHD: Can you talk about how you overcame adversity?

Coach Tobin: “Our team overcame adversity quite a few times throughout the season. From dealing with injury, buzzer-beating defeats at Harrisburg and Watertown, and lineup changes. We had a group of guys that stuck together through it all and loved to compete. We were proud of how our guys always played hard, had a desire to win, and were always looking to make their teammates better.” 

PHD: What did you improve on this season?

Coach Tobin: “Over the course of the season, we really improved our connection as a team on and off the floor. As with most teams, early in the season, we had many times where we were disconnected. This is simply due to a new season, a new group, and with the disjointed schedule that we and most teams had, it was difficult to find any kind of rhythm and flow. We really found that on both ends of the floor. Offensively we started to move better off the ball and understand how to complement each other. Defensively, we became a solid unit and really did a nice job of using our length and athleticism to our advantage.” 

PHD: Role players are vital to a successful team, can you talk about a couple of yours?

Coach Tobin: “A couple of role players that stood out over the course of the season were Daniel Sanchez, Kaden Schmidt, and Lucas Johnson Lucas Johnson 6'4" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2025 State SD . These guys came off the bench for us and really played good minutes in times when our heavy-minute guys needed breaks. These guys did a great job of coming to understand their roles, and how to fulfill them on both ends of the floor. Daniel and Kaden were both seniors for us, and Lucas is an up-and-coming sophomore for us.” 

PHD: Can you tell us about your seniors?

Coach Tobin: “We will say goodbye to 8 seniors who all played heavy minutes. Guards who we lose are Cole Peterson Cole Peterson 6'2" | PG Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD , Mandalla Mohamed Mandalla Mohamed 6'2" | SG Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD , Tryg Auten Tryg Auten 5'10" | PG SF Washington | 2023 SD , Dan Sanchez, and Kaden Schmidt. We then lose forwards AJ Akot AJ Akot 6'4" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD , Zharic Sheppard Zharic Sheppard 6'5" | SF Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 State SD , and Gage Gasca Gage Gasca 6'7" | C Sioux Falls Washington | 2023 SD . These guys were huge for us all across the board, both statistically and from a leadership standpoint. These guys have shown our young guys how to work hard, put in the time, and play together as a team first. We will miss their presence but are also so proud of all they have done for our program.” 

PHD: What are your plans for the off-season?

Coach Tobin: “Plans for the off-season are to really focus on skill development. We have a bunch of young guys who just need to get better on both sides of the floor. We will combine this with simply giving them opportunities to get on the floor together and compete throughout the summer.“