Merriam: Success of De Smet's boys basketball program hard to match
If my memory is correct it was the winter of 1982 when I got to witness the budding excellence of De Smet's boys basketball program first hand and had no idea what was about to hit me over the next four decades.
I was a freshman baseball player at Huron College in my hometown and as part of our fundraising efforts for our spring trip to Florida, we hosted a couple of junior high boys basketball tournaments in the middle of the winter. We officiated, ran the concession stand and did whatever else was needed to make sure the tournaments ran smoothly.
There was this seventh-grade basketball team from De Smet, some 30 miles east of Huron, with a coach (Marv McCune) who had played his college basketball at Huron College. McCune was a member of De Smet's first state Class B boys basketball championship teams in 1970 and 1971 before eventually finding his way back home to develop a high school program unmatched by few others across the state these past 40 years.
"Marv just deserves to be hanging around, enjoying retirement and telling stories these past two years," said current De Smet head coach Jeff Gruenhagen, who last week guided De Smet's boys to a third-straight State B title.
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The Bulldogs became the first Class B team in the three-class system (1986-2023) to do that and joined Webster (1946-48) as the only Class B schools to accomplish the feat.
Before I talk more about the current Bulldogs, it's only fair that I should mention that Gruenhagen was a key member of that young De Smet team in 1982 that not only played but I'm sure dominated those Huron College tournaments. My apologies to those I forgot, but I remember Gruenhagen, Jeff Stoel and Doug Osthus among that group of seventh-graders that eventually won a state B championship under McCune's guidance as seniors in 1987.
Osthus later coached two daughters and led De Smet's girls basketball team to its first state title in 2019 and watched his son Rett became a key member of the Bulldogs' state B champion boys teams in 2021 and 2022.
Oh the ties just keep coming. It's the same for me as a sports writer who has covered or at least followed all of De Smet's state championship teams starting with the 1987 team. That included another State B title in 1995, a State A championship in 1999 and now the 2021, 2022 and 2023 State B champions. The streak could be longer. De Smet fell to Clark-Willow Lake in the 2019 State B championship and was favored to win in 2020 when the tourney was cancelled because of COVID-19.
"Last year was the first one without a McCune on the roster, either as a player or coach," Gruenhagen said.
The McCune family was heavily involved in the first six state titles with Marv playing on two and coaching three and grandson Ethan starting on the 2021 state championship team. About a month later, Marv McCune passed away after a battle with leukemia.
His spirit, his knowledge, his dedication and his emphasis on defense still very much remain. And they will for years to come.
Those characteristics were all very much a part of the 2022-23 Bulldogs, who wrapped up a 23-3 season by rallying to beat Viborg-Hurley 51-47, second-seeded Aberdeen Christian 46-31 and top-seeded Lower Brule 62-48 in a title-game rematch to win the 2023 state tournament.
With standouts Kalen Garry and Rett Osthus leading the way, De Smet's state titles in 2021 and 2022 were almost expected. Graduation losses not only included All-State standouts Garry and Osthus but also fellow classmates and regulars Tory Holland, Colt Wilkinson and Blake Van Regenmorter.
One really big piece was coming back and that was 6-10 senior center Damon Wilkinson, also an All-State honoree, but the rest of the state's Class B teams believed they had some hope. So did South Dakota's media, myself included, who only had the Bulldogs rated second in the final polls despite the fact that De Smet never lost to a Class B team for a third-straight year.
The Bulldogs were unfazed.
"Had our guys not grown up behind the household names of Garry, Osthus, Holland and others, everybody would have known them much sooner in their high school careers," Gruenhagen said of the 2022-23 Bulldogs. "George Jensen and Kadyn Fast were really the only other two players besides Damon who played last year."
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De Smet certainly centered most of its attack (both offensively and defensively) around Wilkinson. Early on, maybe the focus was too much on Wilkinson. Still, it was just a matter of time before 6-5 junior Jensen, 6-5 senior Kasen Janssen, senior guard Gannon Gruenhagen and junior guard Fast settled in along with a group of reserves highlighted by juniors Tom Augenbaugh and Trace Van Regenmorter.
The Bulldog faithful weren't worried, not even when they faced a 10-point halftime deficit in the first-round win over Viborg-Hurley.
"We knew the guys could do it (win the State B again), but we weren't sure how they would react to being in that pressure situation," said Gruenhagen. "That may have happened on Thursday, when the nerves were showing and the shots weren't falling at the start. The kids stuck with it."
As usual, defense was a big part of it. So was Wilkinson. But the real beauty is that basically every De Smet player who saw regular action had their big moments and/or big games in the state tournament.
Wilkinson has yet to determine his college plans and there's no doubt his loss will be felt along with fellow seniors Janssen and Gruenhagen. There's still a strong cast coming back and other talented players ready to step into bigger roles like Damon's brother, 6-8 freshman Grant.
It's a program thing. A Marv McCune thing. A history of success thing. And a family thing.
One that included bunch of memorable moments for the Gruenhagens, namely father Jeff and son Gannon.
"It's just a a special thing to win a state championship with your son," Jeff Gruenhagen said. "He earned his way into being a starter after seeing hardly any varsity minutes last year. It's always hard to be the coach's kid. So it was great to see him succeed."
Don't be surprised if the success isn't over for De Smet's boys basketball program.
Follow Watertown Public Opinion sports reporter Roger Merriam on Twitter @PO_Sports.
This article originally appeared on Watertown Public Opinion: Bulldogs have won eight state championships since 1970.
