South Dakota State Basketball

From right wrist to fingertips, no one in college basketball is more gifted than South Dakota State big man Mike Daum.

He's the nation's leading returning scorer, the guy who put up 51 points in a single game, scored 30 or more 12 times last season and earned 37 points in the Summit League championship game to send his team to the NCAA Tournament last March. He once made 12 threes in an AAU game in Las Vegas, which is the reason he's at South Dakota State—the SDSU coaches just so happened to be in attendance and offered him a scholarship the next week.

That flick of the wrist—taught to him by his Hall of Fame mom—combined with the high release on his jump shot—reminiscent of his idol Dirk Nowitzki—and the freedom he has to work in South Dakota State's offense altogether have put Daum on the NBA's radar.

"He's really skilled, nice size, plays the game the right way," an NBA scout told B/R.

But there are question marks that line up with stereotypes. He's a farm boy from Nebraska who plays at a small school in Brookings, South Dakota. Scouts want to know: Is he athletic enough to play in the NBA?

Some parents are so blinded by the success of their children that they lack awareness.

Not the Daums.

Michele Daum knew that a lack of quickness was her son's biggest limitation when he was a high schooler, so she enrolled him in a speed program called Action-X on Oct. 1, 2012.

"I knew he needed foot speed; I didn't know how to teach it," Michele says.

The speed coaches wrapped a belt around Mike's waist that was attached to the wall in a resistance drill that helped with quick-twitch explosion.

The belt slowly slipped up to Mike's stomach, but he didn't think anything of it. He kept coming back for more. Two weeks in and four sessions later, he found himself on the floor in the kitchen at his friend Joshua Fearing's house in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in so much pain he could not stand.

Michele was in Oregon visiting her sick father. Mike's father, Mitch, was on the family farm working the corn harvest an hour away from Cheyenne in Kimball, Nebraska. Fearing and his mother, Lorriane Tyler, took Mike to an urgent care facility.

Health care workers there were stumped at what was going on, and then Mike started throwing up blood and collapsed on the X-ray table.

He had been bleeding internally for two weeks, the belt pushing into his ribs and lacerating his liver and spleen.

Mike was rushed by ambulance to the hospital in Cheyenne. He spent eight days there, unable to get out of his bed to walk or take a shower.

On the fifth day, doctors planned to remove his spleen, which would not heal, lowering his hemoglobin levels. It was a Tuesday. That morning, Pastor Hod Boltjes from the family church in Kimball visited along with some friends while Mike was prepped for surgery.

After Boltjes left, Mike looked at his mother and told her his spleen had closed up. Michele asked the nurses to check his levels again—it turned out that his levels had started to tick up. Instead of missing the entire basketball season—and surgery would have resulted in just that—Mike was on the floor again two-and-a-half months later.

"Every time he steps on the court, I thank God," Michele says. "It's like, 'Thank you for letting us have this chance to watch him one more time.'"

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Mike Daum is blessed.

He bled for two weeks and lived to tell about it.

And then there's the timing of his arrival to college basketball, the school where he landed, the coach he now plays for, the parents who raised him. All of it.

It all came together in a perfect package to allow for Mike to drain jumpers at a record rate. 

Psychologists argue nature versus nurture. Mike had both.

Michele was the leading scorer and rebounder at the University of Wyoming for four straight seasons and then played professionally overseas for three years before blowing out her knee and breaking both her feet.

"Cement courts," she says. "This was before the WNBA."

Mike's father, Mitch, was a 6'5" tight end on the Wyoming football team. He played one season for the Houston Oilers in 1987.

"I've got good genes," says Mike, who is 6'9" with broad shoulders and a 7'4" wingspan.

Michele took charge with the nurturing—but in a way specific to her own talents and interests and, later, those of her son.

Starting at three years old, Mike would lay on the living room floor in front of the television next to his mom, and they would flick a basketball back and forth, catching the ball with the opposite hand. If Mom tossed it with the right, Mike had to catch it with the left.

Michele obsessed over making sure the backspin was perfect. They would argue over who flicked the straighter ball, and Michele found multiple strategies for training Mike in the ways of alignment. They would smash Hot Wheels into each other, and the cars had to collide head-on perfectly straight. "Let's go left hand this time," Michele would tell him.

"It was always with basketball in mind," she says in the lobby of the DoubleTree Hotel in Lawrence, Kansas, hours before Mike would score 21 points against fourth-ranked Kansas.

"It was weird," Mitch says.

"It wasn't weird," Michele says. "It was cool!"

Mitch supported the habit from a distance, taking care of the family farm as Mike and Michele traveled the country to chase hoop dreams.

Michele coached at the school in town just so she would always have keys and access to the gym, and mother and son spent countless hours together getting shots up. When Mike's high school practices finished, he'd text his mom. The Daums lived five minutes from the high school, and Michele made a beeline to the gym so Mike could get another 30 minutes to an hour of additional shooting with his mom rebounding.

Sometimes the entire family would come to the gym—Mom, Dad, Mike and his sister Danika, who plays volleyball at Henderson State in Arkansas. Before they went home, the Daums always finished with an end-on-a-make game. Each member of the family had to shoot a left-handed layup, right-handed layup, a shot from their favorite spot—Mike's is the top of the key, Michele's is a right-elbow jumper, Mitch's a turnaround jumper from the block and Danika's a baseline J—then a free throw. If one person missed a shot, they all had to start over again.

"We'd be there for 30 minutes sometimes," Mitch says. "I'd tell him, 'Mike, this is long enough. I've got to get home. I'm tired. I've got to work tomorrow.'

"'No, Dad. We have to finish this. Everyone has to make their shots.'"

Mike and Michele still play that game whenever she visits campus in Brookings.

"It's like my dream game," Michele says. "I'm like a little kid."

Michelle coached Mike during his junior high years, making sure he didn't ever get away from the fundamentals. Mike idolized Nowitzki and tried to sneak the fadeaway into his arsenal. One day, he decided to unleash it in a sixth grade game. After a few misses, Michele called timeout.

"I played super, super bad," Mike says. "My mom said, 'You're not in the NBA yet. When you make it to the NBA, then you can fade away.' All my friends loved it. They said, 'It's nice having you on the team, Mike. She'll just yell at you and never yell at us.'"

That same year, Mike accompanied Michele to a Hall of Fame ceremony at Wyoming—where she is in the Hall as the school's all-time leading rebounder and No. 2 scorer. On the trip, Mike told Michele, "Mom, I want this."

Soon after, they were in the gym, and Mike had made close to 60 straight shots from all over the floor.

"I was bawling," Michele says. "I was looking at him. I said, 'You've got this. If you want this, you take it to the next level.'"

The Daums were willing to do whatever their son wanted to help him with his dream. He joined an AAU program in Fort Collins, Colorado, which was an hour and a half from Kimball. Four times a week they would drive him to Fort Collins—twice for practice and another two times for individual workouts with his AAU coach, Brandon Valdez.

Mike was the man in Kimball, but he was the star in a town of 2,000 on a team that had 16 or 17 players come out for basketball.

"We had just enough to fill a varsity and a JV," Mike says. "If you went out, you made it."

Mike had a handful of Division I offers and even some high-major interest from Oregon and Oregon State—Michele, who is from Prineville, Oregon, was still well-known in the area—but Mike played poorly in an AAU tournament in Anaheim and interest faded from the Oregon schools.

The tournament in Las Vegas was the final one of the July evaluation period, his last chance to get noticed in front of college scouts. Michele used to shoot pictures of Mike's AAU games and would always snap a shot of the coaches in attendance. When Mike buried 13 threes against a Florida team that included current Central Florida star Tacko Fall, she noticed then-SDSU assistant coach Brian Cooley was in the shot. The Daums had become fans of South Dakota State and its style when watching current Utah Jazz guard Nate Wolters and the Jackrabbits played Michigan in the 2013 NCAA Tournament.

The weekend after his 13 three-pointers, Mike was on his family's red CaseIH 785 tractor working the wheat harvest when then-SDSU coach Scott Nagy called.

The Daums visited Brookings, but Mike struggled during pickup games, which made the coaches wonder if they should have made the offer.

"I don't think Coach Nagy was sold," Michele says. "My heart tells me if we would not have taken the offer right there on the recruiting trip, we would have lost that offer."

Mike committed and arrived on campus overweight at 265 pounds and glued to the three-point line.

"I honestly was just this chubby farm kid with long hair, and I could shoot the ball, but that was it," Mike says. "I wasn't physical at all, and I think that's one thing the coaching staff saw."

The Jackrabbits did not know they had potentially one of the greatest scorers in college basketball history. They knew they had a guy who needed to redshirt, and so he did, the only one in his three-man recruiting class to sit out the 2014-15 season.

Mike lost 30 pounds. On the floor, he tried just to blend in, but he was mostly getting worked by Cody Larson, a transfer from Florida who won Summit League Defensive Player of the Year and was an all-league selection that season.

"He kicked my butt every single day," Mike says.

After winning the Summit League regular-season title and then getting beat in the conference tourney finals by North Dakota State, the Jackrabbits received an automatic bid to the NIT. They were paired to play Colorado State, which was led by J.J. Avila, one of the most skilled big men in college basketball that season. All season Mike had been mostly stuck to the block on scout team, mimicking opposing big men whose roles were typically to pass the ball out to the guards. He played Avila in practice that week and got a green light to attack.

"The Avila kid could do everything," SDSU assistant coach Rob Klinkefus says. "He could shoot it, drive it, and Mike had the full display going that week. That's kind of when we're like, 'Oh, man. OK, we've got something here.'"

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As a redshirt freshman, Mike blew away expectations by averaging 15.2 points and 6.1 rebounds off the bench in only 20.8 minutes per game. He shot 44.6 percent from behind the three-point line but only attempted 65 shots from deep.

When Nagy left for Wright State after the season in April, the locals worried Mike might soon leave too. But SDSU's administration found the perfect coach to unleash the Dauminator.

At Iowa State, T.J. Otzelberger witnessed Fred Hoiberg start the wave of positionless basketball in college hoops. He allowed his big men like Royce White and Georges Niang to play like guards.

"I watched a lot of film from the year before and thought he really had unbelievable touch and knack for scoring the basketball," Otzelberger says. "His redshirt freshman year it was a lot more in the post, and they had some veteran guards that really got him the ball in the right spot."

Otzelberger told Mike they were going to play "mismatch basketball," and he would be at the center of it all.

"I don't think he wants to be just an around-the-basket and post-up kind of guy," Otzelberger says. "We'd be foolish if we weren't using his strengths and how good he is."

From a young age, Michele told Mike that not that many people have the mental capacity to be a scorer.

"Yes, defense is huge," Michele says. "My motto was you don't get your name in the paper for defense. You want to score."

Otzelberger put him in the newspaper, on the internet and on SportsCenter by moving him all over the court and increasing his usage. Mike shot 189 threes, making 79 (41.8 percent), and he led the nation in free throws made (7.2 per game). His 25.1 points per game ranked second nationally. He also had the third-best offensive rating among players who used at least 28 percent of their team's possessions, per kenpom.com.

"It's almost a blessing in disguise, Coach Otz coming in here, because he really just gave me that offensive freedom," Mike says.

Mike made such a name for himself that he was invited this past summer to the Under Armour All-America Camp in Philadelphia and Adidas Nations camp in Houston—two showcase events that featured the best college players and the chance to play in front of NBA scouts.

"It took him a little bit of time to warm up, but he definitely held his own when all was said and done," the scout, who was at the Under Armour camp, told B/R. "I think his confidence grew as the camp progressed. He was one of the best shooters there."

The worry for some SDSU fans is that Mike could leave for another school next year as a grad transfer. "It's more noise I've been blocking out," Mike says.

SDSU is a school that can get to the NCAA Tournament—he’s already been to two and SDSU is the favorite to win the Summit League this year—and scouts will find him. Last year, Valparaiso's Alec Peters, who has a similar game, went in the second round of the NBA draft.

SDSU has also scheduled Power Five programs to allow Mike the opportunity to perform on bigger stages. He played at Kansas last Friday, and the Jackrabbits are currently at the Cayman Islands Classic, where they beat Iowa on Tuesday. They also have upcoming trips to Mississippi, Wichita State and Colorado.

Meanwhile, it would also be difficult for Mike to leave a place where he's adored and gets to play how he wants with not a hint of jealousy. When he scored 51 points last season at Fort Wayne, his teammates on the bench were all holding up five fingers with their right hands next to a fist.

"I didn’t know what this meant," Mike says, reenacting the scene. "I thought they were calling out a play or something."

"He's humble, humble, humble," Klinkefus says. "It's not always easy for a guy who is going to get as many shots as he is to be loved by everybody. It bothers him to disappoint people, and he's very, very loyal. He's loyal to his teammates, and his teammates are very loyal to him."

At SDSU, Mike also has a chance to place his name in the record book. If he repeats his scoring average from his redshirt sophomore season this year and next, he'll be on pace to finish fifth on the NCAA's all-time scoring list. He'd also pass Doug McDermott as the top scorer since the turn of the century. 

The Daums are loving every minute of it, crisscrossing the country to watch their son get buckets. Michele, who made the trip to the Caymans, texted on Tuesday to inform she had won a free-throw contest against two Iowa guys.

"Hehe," she texted. "It was fun."

Mike, who scored only 10 points, is in a bit of an early-season slump. He's averaging 17.5 points and shooting 38.2 percent from the field.

But his team won on Tuesday. And he got to play basketball and ended on a make.

So, it was a good day.

People, listen to me. Do not skip work to watch March Madness. It’s tempting, but this is not a good plan. Bosses around America have read the studies. They know that the tournament is upon us.

They know you were healthy on Wednesday.

I know that it is the Big Dance. I know you are excited to watch teams like the North Carolina A&T Aggies and the South Dakota State Jackrabbits. However, the idea of having a job is to stay employed.

Besides, if you were to skip work, you would probably get caught. Here are a few mistakes that you might make:

When you leave the message for your boss on his or her voicemail, you might be unconvincing with your gravelly voice or fake, obligatory cough. You could email or text your supervisor, but that might be too suspicious.

Once you have left your message, you might forget that you are skipping work as you get lost in the revelry of the close games. After heading to local sports bar with your buddy (who is also skipping work), you decide to post a picture of your wings and adult beverage on your Facebook account. Someone will see your ill-timed picture and forward it to your boss.

Busted.

Another problem with skipping work is that games are also scheduled on...wait for it...Friday! Do you dare skip two days of work? Do you tempt fate? If you return to work on Friday, you must come up with the details of your mystery illness and explain how you miraculously recovered in just a day.

You must have a great immune system.

Oh, and did I mention that the tournament will re-commence the following week? Awkward dilemma...part II.

There are solutions, of course. You could look for a job where you do not work Thursday through Sunday so that you can watch the Big Dance every year. However, this might be a tough way to make a living.

You could work in a sports bar or an electronics store that does not do much business. Granted, those types of businesses probably aren’t doing much hiring right now.

You could attempt to convince your boss that watching basketball is research for a potential client. Good luck with that strategy.

Or, you could actually take some vacation days and enjoy the magic that is March Madness.

Now, you could watch at work (via NCAA.com) but you had better keep your mouse close to the “Boss Button.” Also, you may want to avoid shouting in your cubicle when that lower-seeded team hits a buzzer-beater to win the game.

Why would people risk their livelihood to watch a bunch of kids play basketball? It isn't called March "Madness" for nothing.

Enjoy the tournament. Favorites. Upsets. Buzzer-beaters. Cinderellas. Just don't skip work.

Follow @tpheifer

Nate Wolters is already regarded as the best player for South Dakota State since the Jackrabbits' move to Division I in 2004. Now he just needs to lead his team to a second-round upset victory in the NCAA tournament to become a star nationally.

The 6'4" point guard from St. Cloud, Minn. ranks fourth in Division I in scoring with a 22.7 points per game average. Wolters also averages 5.8 assists per game to go along with 5.6 rebounds per contest.

Already this season, the senior has become the all-time leader in scoring and assists at South Dakota State. In addition, Wolters has been named to the All-Summit League first team three seasons in a row.

This year, Wolters was selected as the Summit League Player of the Year and the Summit League Championships MVP, the second time in the row he has been bestowed that honor.

For all that he has accomplished as a Jackrabbit, Wolters has yet to have a game that is truly memorable, one that people will talk about for years to come. Earlier in the year, Wolters scored 53 points at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, but the Mastodons are not a team that many college basketball fans pay attention to.

Wolters had a chance to be a hero in a nationally televised game against Alabama in South Dakota State's first game of the year, but it was the Crimson Tide's Trevor Lacey who made a three-point basket as time expired to give his team the 70-67 victory.

For those that don't remember Bryce Drew, the current coach of the Valparaiso Crusaders, as a player, he played for the aforementioned university from 1994 to 1998. On March 13, 1998 at the Myriad Convention Center in Oklahoma City, the No. 13-seeded Crusaders challenged the Ole Miss Rebels, the No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region of the NCAA tournament.

Valparaiso was down by two points. 69-67, with the ball and 2.5 seconds remaining in the contest. From the far end of the court, Jaime Sykes threw an inbounds pass over the midcourt line in the direction of Bill Jenkins.

Jenkins outjumped an Ole Miss defender for the ball and quickly tapped the ball to a running Drew. Drew's 23-foot three-point shot went in as time expired to give the Crusaders the upset victory that led to an eventual place in the Sweet 16.

Although Drew averaged just 4.4 points per game in six seasons in the NBA, his herculean effort in the 1998 Men's NCAA Tournament is still remembered to this day.

There are questions regarding Wolters' future in the NBA. As positives, he can create his own shot and possesses a quick release. Wolters is also quite effective in pick-and-roll situations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Rm_eAiV4dA

On the negative side, Wolters needs to get stronger and he may lack the athleticism and explosiveness to succeed at the next level. In addition, there are reservations about Wolters' ability to defend other point guards.

In case Wolters does not make it in the NBA, it would be advantageous for him to leave a lasting memory before his collegiate career ends. Last season, several pundits predicted that the Jackrabbits would defeat Baylor in the NCAA tournament. However, after South Dakota State captured an early lead, the Bears pulled away for a 68-60 victory.

This time around, South Dakota State, the 13th seed in the East Region, will take on the Michigan Wolverines. The Wolverines have been inconsistent lately, losing three of their last six games.

The fact that Michigan was ranked No. 1 in Division I earlier in the season would certainly create the backdrop for what could be a remarkable contest. Wolters is bringing along three other starters from last season's squad to help him create a possible magical moment in Auburn Hills, Mich.

If the Jackrabbits do pull off the upset, hopefully Wolters' moment in the sun won't be interrupted by an astronaut.

On a night when the South Dakota State Jackrabbits were staring a bad loss to the IPFW Mastodons in the face, down 37-29 at halftime, they rallied in the second half behind one man: Nate Wolters.

The Jackrabbits ended up winning 80-74, but that's merely a sidebar in what was an incredible night for the senior point guard Wolters. Wolters dropped 53 points in the contest, the most in a single game this season, topping fellow Summit League player Travis Bader of Oakland, who scored 47 points against IUPUI in January.

Wolters, who shot below 30 percent from three-point land last season, went 9-of-14 tonight, and is shooting 56.25 percent over his last four games from deep. He was 17-of-28 from the floor, 10-of-11 from the free throw line, and also chipped in four rebounds and three assists.

Wolters 53 points is the second most points scored in a non-overtime game since 1997. Only Jodie Meeks of Kentucky scored more when he dropped 53 points against Tennessee in 2009. Overall, Wolters' 53 points is tied for the sixth highest total in a single game since 1997.

Wolters scored 38 of his 53 points in the second half, which outscored IPFW's second half output (37).

Frank Gaines couldn't of picked a worse night to have a great game. IPFW's senior guard shot 50 percent from the field, including 5-of-8 (62.5 percent) from three, totaling 29 points.

Wolters picked a perfect time to light up the box score, as it was recently announced to him and the Jackrabbits that their game vs. Murray State on Feb. 23 will be aired on ESPN2.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0AHjr4jAZA

Anybody who hasn't had a chance to check out Wolters will be able to soon enough.

UPDATE (10:00 a.m. EST): Nate Wolters performance is making headlines around the nation as of late last night and early this morning.

To toss-in a few more statistics from last night, Wolters scored 29 points in the final 10:15 of the ball game, which would have tied for the fifth most amount of points in all of Division I last night, was as many as IPFW's leading scorer Frank Gaines scored on the night, and is 25 more points than the rest of the Jackrabbits scored during that time period.

This was Wolters 45th career game of scoring 20 points or more. It was also the ninth time this season Wolters has played at least 40 minutes in a game.

After last night, Wolters is fourth in the nation in points per game averaging 22.2 per game.

After a disappointing loss to Hofstra on Friday night, South Dakota State returned to the Mack Sports Complex to face Marshall on Saturday.

The Jackrabbits led by as many as eight points in the first half, but a 21-12 run by Marshall over the final six minutes gave the Thundering Herd a one-point advantage at the break.

The teams then traded buckets for the entire second half, with neither taking more than a five-point lead.

Marshall appeared to have the game in hand after D.D. Scarver's three-pointer with 20 seconds remaining gave the Thundering Herd a 77-72 lead.

But after a timeout, South Dakota State coach Scott Nagy designed a play to get junior shooting guard Brayden Carlson open for a left-corner three-pointer, which he drilled in with 11.9 seconds to play.

After the Jackrabbits intentionally fouled him, Marshall guard Chris Martin missed the front end of a one-and-one, leaving the door open for South Dakota State to either tie with a two-pointer or win with a three.

Senior point guard Nate Wolters, who was the only player in Division I last year to average 20 points, five rebounds and five assists, got the rebound and ran the ball up the floor. When he got to the top of the key, he dished to junior Chad White on the right wing.

White, who already made a three-pointer in the first half, buried the trey with 2.1 seconds to play, putting the Jackrabbits ahead, 78-77.

Marshall had a final opportunity, but DeAndre Kane's desperation half-court heave rimmed out.

After the way the Jackrabbits competed with Marshall, one of the favorites in Conference USA, on Saturday it was difficult to believe that this same team lost to Hofstra, which fell to Monmouth by 29 points earlier this season, only 24 hours before.

Wolters once again proved that he is among the best point guards in Division I.

He broke down the Thundering Herd's defense time and time again as he posted his second double-double of the season with 22 points, six rebounds and 10 assists.

The major worry for the Jackrabbits in the preseason was how much they would miss Griffin Callahan, who started at shooting guard last year but had graduated.

Carlson, who had a solid sophomore year, would need to step into Callahan's role in order for the Jackrabbits to return to the NCAA tournament. Through the first three games, he averaged only eight points. But on Saturday, he had a coming out party with a career-high 23 points in addition to four assists and three rebounds. He made 7-of-11 shots from the field and was the team's driving force in the first half.

Also, the Jackrabbits won this game with very little frontcourt production.

Senior Tony Fiegen spent most of the game in foul trouble, totaling only two points and one rebound in 13 minutes.

Junior Jordan Dykstra, who came into the contest averaging 13.7 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, posted only three points and five rebounds. 

For Marshall, Kane and Elijah Pittman were easily the most impressive players on the floor. Kane led the Thundering Herd with 19 points and eight assists, and Pittman notched a double-double with 16 points and 14 rebounds.

Kane got off to a slow start, scoring only two points over the first 15 minutes. But once he got in a groove, Marshall clearly became a much better team. 

At 6'4", Kane is an amazingly versatile player. Throughout the game, he would switch from running the point to playing off-ball guard to posting up larger players like Fiegen, Dykstra and Marcus Heemstra. He also showed off his shooting range with a pair of NBA-range triples.

Pittman appeared to be the most athletic player on the floor. Every time a shot went up, he was crashing the glass. Seven of his points came after he grabbed an offensive board.

In a scary moment late in the game, Pittman went to the floor after a hard screen and did not get up at first. But after a few minutes, he was able to walk off the court under his own power.

In this hard-fought battle, both South Dakota State and Marshall showed the potential to win their respective leagues and advance to the NCAA tournament. And with players like Wolters and Kane leading the way, they could bust a few brackets in March.

The average college basketball fan does not know Nate Wolters, but by the end of the day, everyone will be a fan of the South Dakota State guard.

On a stage where the small schools jump into the spotlight, here are five things that Wolters can accomplish in this tournament.

1. He will lead the opening round in points scored.

After averaging 21.3 points per game this season, Wolters will need to put everything on the line against Baylor. Expect the junior to take over 20 shots as his team will look to its best player as time runs out.

The only player in the tournament who has averaged more points per game is Creighton's Doug McDermott, but he will face a tougher defense in Alabama in the round of 64.

2. He will fill up the box score.

With all due respect to the rest of the Jackrabbits, this is as close to a one-man team as any in the nation.

Wolters finished the regular season leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, steals and free-throw shooting. His only negative this season has been three-point shooting, although he shot over 40 percent during his sophomore year.

The NCAA tournament will be the time for him to show his well-rounded game.

3. South Dakota State will have the biggest upset of the tournament.

Baylor has a lot of talent, but the team is very inconsistent. The squad is dependent on Perry Jones III, and he has disappeared in big games this season.

If Wolters gets hot as well as the rest of the team, do not be surprised to see the 14-seed move on to the next round.

4. Nate Wolters will become a household name.

America loves the small-school player who upsets the major conference team. From Bryce Drew to Jimmer Fredette, players have become legends on the March Madness stage.

Wolters could be next in line if his team is able to complete the upset.

5. The Jackrabbits will not make the Sweet 16, but the team will be dangerous next season.

UNLV is not a better team than Baylor, but the Rebels are more consistent. South Dakota State is most likely not deep enough to pull off two major upsets.

However, Wolters is only a junior. He could come back for the 2013 tournament more experienced and ready to go on an even deeper run towards the Elite Eight and beyond.

Every once in a while, you will find a team that has the opportunity to capture the hearts of the entire country.  One that not only accomplishes great things, but one that shows what it's like to watch a real team play.  By real team, I'm talking about a group of teammates that compliment each other so well on the court, but genuinely care about one other off of it.  

In this instance, the South Dakota State men's basketball team now has the chance to become that team.  

Last night in front of 6,526 fans at Sioux Fall Arena in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the SDSU men completed their most remarkable season in school history, outlasting a feisty Western Illinois squad in overtime, winning 52-50 to earn their first trip to the NCAA tournament in school history.  

Not only did the Jacks prove they could win when it counted, but they also showed the world—and a national television audience on ESPN—that even when their backs are against the wall, they have the composure and talent to pull themselves together to get the job done.  

Lone senior on the Jacks roster, Griffan Callahan, led the way with his leadership and toughness when SDSU needed a lift the most.  Callahan struggled in the first half shooting the ball, but made his presence felt in the second, scoring 10 timely points and nailing two free throws in the closing seconds of regulation to tie the game, as well as hitting the game-winning shot in overtime to seal it for the 27-7 Jackrabbits.  

Offense was nowhere to be found for most of the game, as the two teams shot under 40 percent for the game (SDSU-35 percent, WIU-40 percent).  Because the offenses were almost non-existent, Western Illinois had the advantage as their lock down defense—which was tops in the conference this year—shined throughout the first half, giving the Leathernecks a 28-24 halftime advantage.  

WIU came out of the gates even stronger in the second half than they finished the first, opening the half on a 9-1 run to push their lead to 12, 37-25 five minutes into the second half.  WIU's Tommy Tyler, who had a game-high 19 points, made a layup with just over four minutes to play, putting the 'Necks up 44-40.  

From there, two free throws by Nate Wolters (14 points, six rebounds, four assists, two steals) brought the Jacks within two with 4:08 left, giving Callahan the opportunity to tie the game with 15 seconds left in regulation, both of which he hit, sending the game to overtime.  

Off the opening tip of overtime, Tyler grabbed the ball and slammed it home to send WIU up two quickly in the extra frame.  Tony Fiegen came right back and scored on a little hook shot to tie it up at 46 apiece.  After another layup by WIU, SDSU's Chad White (nine points, 3-4 3FG) hit a crucial trey to give the jacks the lead, 49-48.  

After a shot clock operator error that saw a Terrell Parks (eight points, 11 rebounds) shot get tipped, the Leathernecks recovered but the shot clock was reset even though the ball clearly never hit the rim.  Once the officials corrected the mistake, there were two seconds left on the shot clock with the 'Necks inbounding the ball, which Obi Emegano (eight points, eight rebounds) converted a layup to regain the lead, 50-49 with 2:08 left to go in the game.  

With 1:27 left the in game, Wolters dished out one of his four assists as he found Callahan (10 points, six rebounds, two steals) and nailed a three pointer from the left wing to give the Jacks a 52-50 lead, which would ultimately be the final shot hit in the game.  

After two shot-clock violations, Western Illinois had ten seconds left to try to either win or tie the game.  Parks dribbled out some clock before driving to the lane, only to have his shot fall short.  Parks grabbed the rebound, but it was ripped away from him by Brayden Carlson (three points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals) who held the ball until the final buzzer sounded and the South Dakota State crowd stormed the court to celebrate the school's first trip to the NCAA tournament.  

After watching this team grow and mature over the year, I can say that there are few teams who deserve to have this moment than South Dakota State.  Forget the fact that they have played well all year, with a few games as exceptions.  Consider how hard they all work on a day-to-day basis and how much they care for each other not just as players, but as people.  The Jackrabbit men really are one big family.  

Head coach Scott Nagy is one of the most caring coaches you will find in the Division I ranks.  One perfect example of just how much he cares for his players came on Senior Night a few weeks ago.  Now, every school has Senior Night to congratulate their upper-classmen on a job well done and move on from there.  Very few coaches will show emotion in those instances, but Nagy was different.  Before lone senior Callahan was announced before the crowd, Nagy was already in tears, not afraid to show his emotion for somebody that has put it all on the line for him and showing his appreciation.

Nagy is one of those coaches who can come off as strict and reserved, but beyond that, he's one of the most kindhearted men you will ever get to know, if you have that pleasure.  

Everybody says that their team is special, but these guys won't even acknowledge if they deserve attention.  Nate Wolters, the star player on the team and slowing becoming a national name, won't even go so far as to say he is the best player on the team.  He can go off for 30 points in 28 minutes and he will still praise his teammates for making his job so easy.  

Wolters is a rare case of a star player being one of the most humble people you know.  Regardless of the attention he receives, Wolters will just give a little grin and move on like nothing has changed.  

SDSU now has the opportunity to become another mid-major that enters the NCAA tournament with few expecting them to go far, making some higher-ranked teams wish they didn't have to face them in the process.  Potentially entering the tournament as a 13-14 seed, the Jackrabbits have great opportunities in their future, something they are well aware of and are working as hard as they have all year to accomplish.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWSmLSK6Ubc

If you want a mid-major to root for in the tournament that can pull off some upsets, look no further than the South Dakota State men's basketball team. 

Now, on a side note, I'd like to congratulate all the players and coaches on this year's team for a job well done.  It couldn't have happened to a better group of people.

Coaches: Scott Nagy, Austin Hansen, Rob Klinkefus, Brian Cooley and Nick Goff.

Players: Griffan Callahan, Nate Wolters, Tony Fiegen, Jordan Dykstra, Chad White, Brayden Carlson, Marcus Heemstra, Zach Monaghan, Zach Hortsman, Taevaunn Prince, Alex Olson, Austin Hennings, Samuel Francis, Joey Feilimier and Cory Jacobsen.  

They are all around a great group of guys whom I've personally had the pleasure of getting to know over the past year, a year I consider to be one of the best of my life.  I wish them the best of luck in their tournament play and no matter what, you guys have an entire state's hearts.  

Congratulations, SDSU men's basketball team.  You've earned everything you've received.  

Regardless of what happens Tuesday night in the Summit League Conference Tournament Championship game, history will be made. 

Never in the history of either South Dakota State or Western Illinois' existence in Division I play did either make the NCAA Tournament.  In fact, this with be the Jackrabbits' first appearance in the conference championship game and the first for the Leathernecks since their last trip in 1997. 

Both SDSU and WIU have made tremendous strides during the year to get to where they are today.  

Western Illinois had to survive two hard-fought games against North Dakota State on Sunday night, then again Monday night against Oral Roberts whom, before Monday's loss to the 'Necks, had suffered only one loss in conference play during the season.  

South Dakota State have spent the entire season trying to prove themselves among the elite in the conference, dropping only three games in-conference.  Aside from their strong showing on their home court, going 14-0 in the process, the Jacks have a marquee non-conference victory on the road at Washington, 92-73.  With that big victory, Nate Wolters and Co. got their names onto the national landscape and are one win away from, once again, garnering attention from those outside of the Midwest states.

Now, let's take a look at how both teams managed to get to the conference championship game.

(4) Western Illinois 54, (1) Oral Roberts 53

In the second upset of the conference tournament, Western Illinois, like Southern Utah the night before, saw the game slipping from their hands in the closing minutes, only to surmount a great comeback and take the game, 54-53.

Oral Roberts held a 51-43 lead with just over seven minutes to play.  Unfortunately, that's where the scoring stopped for the Golden Eagles.  After Warren Niles (11 points, five rebounds) nailed a jumper with 7:21 to go, ORU went the rest of the game without hitting a field goal, opening the door for the defensive minded Leathernecks to work on their offensive game and rally to win.  

After disappearing in the first game of the tournament, conference Player of the Year Dominic Morrison responded with 15 first-half points, finishing the game with 21 total points.  Aside from Morrison, however, ORU struggled to find any offensive identity, thanks in no small part for WIU's box-in defense, drawing the Golden Eagles offense outside of the paint they love to control. 

WIU's Terrell Parks (14 points, eight rebounds) was the key factor in the 'Necks victory.  Not only was he their leading scorer and rebounder for the game, Parks came up with a key block down the stretch, scored the winning basket and jumped on a loose ball that resulted in a WIU possession arrow.  

Ceola Clark III (11 points) was sent to the line with 7.6 seconds left for a one-and-one.  Except, Clark III missed the front end, allowing ORU one last shot at winning the game.  Unfortunately for ORU, they could not manage to get a shot off as the ball was knocked loose and scooped up by WIU, sealing the victory and a trip to the conference championship.

My take: Oral Roberts came out hot on offense, with most of it running through Morrison.  However, their lack of motivation on the offensive end in the second half is what drew them to their demise.  ORU will now move on to the Southland conference next year as part of conference realignment.

 As many—if not everybody's—"sexy" pick to win the conference for almost the entire year, Oral Roberts came out weak and uninterested in both of their games, ultimately forcing them into a position they were not too familiar with throughout much of the year trailing.  Once they were down, they struggled to get back up.  Now, they must hope and pray that the selection committee is kind to them for their work in the regular season by giving them an at-large bid.  However, that seems very unlikely.  

Western Illinois star Freshman Obi Emegano didn't shine like he did against North Dakota State, but Park and Clark III picked up the slack for him to move on.  Now, WIU will look to put all three key ingredients together to move on to the NCAA tournament. 

(2) South Dakota State 63, (6) Southern Utah 47

Southern Utah was unable to recreate the magic they came up with Sunday night against Oakland, this time falling victim to South Dakota State for the third time this season, 63-47.  

One of the key reasons why the Thunderbirds were unable to spark up another miracle was because their star play and engine, junior forward Jackson Stevenette, exited the game within the first few minutes of the game for an ankle injury.  

Luckily for SUU, the rest of the team picked up the slack of Stevenette's injury for the first half of the game, pushing the Jackrabbits to their limit as SDSU only held a 28-27 half-time lead. 

Out of intermission, the Jacks brought out the big guns on both the offensive and defensive end, pushing the lead to 44-30 right out of the gates.  

From there, SUU gave a valiant effort to get back into the game, but came up short in the overall team output.  

What was the deciding factor of the game other than Stevenette's injury?

Nate Wolters.  Why not? He's done it three times this season now to SUU: dicing through the defense, dishing out assists and battling on the boards.  This time, Wolters went off in the second half for 20 points, 31 total points for the game to go along with seven rebounds and six assists.

All in all, it was an all-out team effort to step up the game.  Jordan Dykstra chipped in 17 timely points, both from inside the paint and outside the arc.  Overall, the Jacks shot 51 percent from the field, shooting 23-45 field goals.

My take: This was a classic game for South Dakota State, playing out of their game in one half, but coming back in the second half having learned from the first half and putting on a show.  

Now, this will be SDSU's chance to prove to the doubters that their early season victory over Washington was just their calling card for the season and not a fluke.  While they have played extremely well all year long, losses to North Dakota and South Dakota look bad right now, but winning the conference tournament and getting to their first ever NCAA tournament is a plus.

Tuesday night's game will be televised on ESPN2 with tip-off scheduled to take place around 8 P.M. Central Time.  

Look for some high quality mid-major basketball being played in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, where there will be a first-time team entering the NCAA tournament and a potential threat to any higher seed they are paired against. 

Everybody better bring their dancing shoes. It's going to be a good one.