Jock Talk

South Dakota State University is headed to the Big Show College Basketball Tournament and they can, and have, thanked Kimball’s Mike Daum for his major role in getting them there.

We gave you a report last week on the first two games of the Summit League Conference Tournament where Mike was so instrumental in getting the needed wins over Oral Robert University and Denver University. Big Mike stayed right on course in the title game with North Dakota State, scoring 18 points to lead the Jackrabbitts to a 67-59 win.

In that championship game Mike got his 18 points on 5/11 shooting from the field going 1/2 on 3 pointers, was 7/9 at the foul line, had 9 rebounds and 1 assist. He was interviewed on national TV in a post-game presentation where he was presented with the trophy for Most Valuable Player of the Tournament!

All of this in his first season of Division One Basketball! Just another honor to add to his already bountiful list of awards. All this past week I have seen him on different TV shows, or heard announcers and coaches talking about him.

Life is good for our Mike Daum, and it is going to get even better.

By winning the Summit League title, the Jacks qualified for the National Tournament and they are scheduled to play tomorrow night (Friday), or I should say tomorrow afternoon at 2:30 p.m. Kimball time. The Jacks are seeded number 12 in their division and will face number 5 seed Maryland. This game is being played in Spokane, Washington. If you don’t plan on making the trip, be sure and try to search out the game on TV, internet, or some other way. This will be a huge test for SDSU as Maryland is ranked number 18 nationally. I heard an interview with the Maryland coach and all he could talk about was Mike Daum.

Mike gets special attention from sports writers and sports casters, along with the various coaches, as South Dakota State’s top player, despite not being a starter. Of course we know he was named winner of the League Sixth Man award along with Freshman of the Year. At 6’9” and 245 pounds, he is averaging 15.2 points while shooting 56%. He also averages 6.1 rebounds and 20.5 minutes a game. Mike’s fan base has expanded greatly since his high school days at Kimball High, but rest assured his home base is still loaded with loyal fans. We will be cheering you on Mike to upset those turtles from Maryland.

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Sticking with the Daum name a bit longer, Danika Daum’s Kimball High athletic career is over as she had to have surgery on the foot she injured in the semi-final game of the WTC tournament. You may have noticed her with a cast on that foot if you watched the championship game. She was there, front row, with her family, and made the trip just hours after the surgery and the casting.

I say her career is over, but she is going to still be a volunteer assistant to coach Dane Wurdeman helping coach the weight throwers on this year’s Longhorn Track Team.

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Speaking of track, and this week’s cold and miserable weather, Kimball will have their first meet this Saturday, March 19, but bring on that cold weather as the Horns are going inside at the Chadron State College Indoor Meet. It starts at 9 a.m. Saturday and coach Gene Mohr said they will be taking a bus load to compete. Mohr and his assistants have 52 tracksters out this year including 25 girls and 27 boys and coach Mohr said “We should be able to fill all the spots in every event.”

Could be a good year for Kimball High Track and we will take an in depth look at the upcoming season in our Spring Sports special coming your way soon. By the way, the first outdoor meet is the Kimball Invite set for March 24 and let’s hope the weather is nice and warm by then.