South Dakota Hoops Update: 1,000 point scorers are rolling in

It's time for another South Dakota update as the high school season continues to progress. In this quick update, there are four more 1,000 point scorers that are in need of a mention, we look at the top stories from the recent media polls, a coach reaches a career milestone, a few football commits to look at, updates on prospects, and a couple notable stock-risers that have yet to be mentioned.   <h4 class="wp-block-heading">Media Polls</h4>   Sioux Falls Lincoln is undefeated and ranked #1 in AA. Their next four games will be a major test, with meetings with O'Gorman, Sioux Falls Washington, Mitchell, and Tea Area.   Brandon Valley ascends to #2, with a 7-1 record.   Mitchell slides to #4 at 7-2   Class A Sioux Falls Christian remains undefeated and stays #1 after beating Rapid City Christian 71-62 at home. The loss was Rapid City Christian's first of the season.   7-2 West Central comes in at #5 in Class A, with an impressive 20-point win over Dakota Valley.   Class B #1 Castlewood defeated #2 Dell Rapids St. Mary's 63-59 tonight. I watched the game and thought [player_tooltip player_id='2338058' first='Brody' last='Bass']' three-point shooting was the X-factor. Bass finished with 20 points. Laue with 19 and [player_tooltip player_id='1506292' first='Trevon' last='Beckman'] with 27 points.   #3 Viborg-Hurley at 9-1 are defending at a high level based off of opponents' scoring totals throughout the year. Average offensive teams are having trouble putting up points versus the Cougars, as they are only letting up 38 ppg. Viborg-Hurley will have a chance at the end of the season if they continue the trend of locking down defensively and scoring in the 60-65 range.   Accomplished South Dakota High School basketball coach, Todd Neuendorf of Hamlin, reached 300 career coaching wins after the win over Webster Area.   <h3 class="wp-block-heading">Commitments:</h3>   [player_tooltip player_id='1503879' first='Layton' last='Smith'] committed to Dakota State University football.   [player_tooltip player_id='2344240' first='Kaden' last='Mathieu'] committed to Dakota State University football.   [player_tooltip player_id='1407001' first='Aidyn' last='Janis'] committed to Dakota State University football.   [player_tooltip player_id='2682835' first='Wes' last='Schlabach'] committed to Concordia University (Nebraska) for football .    Beckman is blowing up in his Senior season for Dell Rapids St. Mary and recently hit 1,000 career points. He's springy and athletic, to go along with being an absolute sniper from three that can create his own shot. His dribble-drive game is prominent as well, where he can absorb contact and hang in the air. He put in a 42-point performance and has per game averages of 26 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 steals.     Kippley just eclipsed the 1,000 career points mark and has been playing well, leading the undefeated Leola-Frederick Titans. He's a recent stock-riser and should climb into the top 40 in the 2025 class.     Ham reached 1,000 career points for Lemmon.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/lemmoncowboys/status/1879069956186456552?s=61 </div></figure>     Wittler reached 1,000 career points midway through his Junior season.   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ssahoopsteams/status/1877562288678514704?s=61 </div></figure>     Duffy was named Jones County Invitational MVP, after scoring 21.3 points per game and leading Stanley County to a championship from the event.     Bruns scored 33 points in Dakota Valley's 70-64 win over Groton Area. Per MaxPreps, Bruns averages are 24.2 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.2 steals. Incredibly consistent scoring the ball this season, with a low game of 19 points and the 33 vs Groton Area being the highest. 49% from the field and 29% from three.     Dinger is a major stock-riser because of his play this season. He's averaging 17.3 points per game and is shooting the ball at a high-level clip in the games I watched. He just put in 34, nailing six threes vs Lead-Deadwood. He's a 2-guard that doesn't need to dribble the air out of the ball to score. He loves the catch-and-shoot three, and Wall has a ton of screening action to free up Kjerstad and Dinger for jumpers. If he doesn't have a shot, he won't force action and will simply move the ball. When he does put the ball on the floor, it's a few dribbles attacking the rim in a straight line or he does have the capability to pull and rise up for a shot. Defensively, he's very active and disruptive, getting deflections and steals. Wall is a small team, so Dinger is counted on on the boards, and he's pulling down seven rebounds a game.     Wenz, I don't have stats for, but he's a starting guard for AA Huron, and I think he's been impressive in the few games I saw. The Senior stock-riser has decent positional length and is a threat offensively. He's accurate from range and can get multiple shots to fall for Huron. Wenz could be considered an X-factor for Huron — and if he's playing and shooting well — the team normally has success.

It's time for another South Dakota update as the high school season continues to progress. In this quick update, there are four more 1,000 point scorers that are in need of a mention, we look at the top stories from the recent media polls, a coach reaches a career milestone, a few football commits to look at, updates on prospects, and a couple notable stock-risers that have yet to be mentioned.