Coaching Legacy of Ray Bourbon

[wake112]

Alright, I am in my third season with this legacy, and I figured I would start it up on here now as I am in the 2009/2010 season. So here it is, hope you enjoy.

Coach Ray Bourbon
CH 2K8
1st Job and Current School - South Dakota State

[wake112]

Basketball Back on Campus

Brookings, SD -

In just a few days, Frost Arena will once again be taken over by the South Dakota State Jacks men’s basketball team, and that is not necessarily a good thing. In his third year with the program, Coach Ray Bourbon needs to rapidly improve his squad or else he will likely be sent to the curb. The 31 year old Bourbon has amassed a 13-45 record in his first two years with the program, and while it hasn’t been said publicly, rumors are that new athletic director Justin Sell has told Bourbon that if his team does not make a splash in the Summit League this season, his time will be up.

With no graduates last year, the Jacks are the exact same team that hit the court last season. The two centerpieces of the program, center’s Gerry Karangwa and Felipe Werner will return and look to build upon an all-conference season. Karangwa (1st team) and Werner (2nd team) were brought in by Bourbon in his first recruiting class from Bakersfield College, a Junior College in California.

Along with the centers, junior guard Clint Sargent will look to find the spark that allowed him to be the Summit League Rookie of the Year in Bourbon’s first season. Last year, Sargent averaged 9.9 points a game, but disappeared when the Jacks needed him the most. Senior forward Kai Williams and junior point guard Michael Palarca also look to make more of an impact on the score sheet this year as well.

South Dakota fans will be introduced to two red shirt freshman centers, Quemont Stoudamire, and Warren Ward, who sat out last year and hope to add some depth to easily the tallest roster in all of the Summit League.

Coach Bourbon

After being a standout at Michigan State, Bourbon went to Poland to purse an overseas basketball career. After two years playing for the Kotwica basketball team, Bourbon suffered a career ending knee injury and was forced to retire from the sport. However, instead of walking away, Bourbon became an assistant coach for Kotwica. When Bourbon landed the South Dakota job, he convinced two current Kotwica players, De’Angelo Falls and Hector McIntyre to join him as assistant coaches and make the move back to the USA.

Ray Bourbon’s time in Brookings, South Dakota, has not been without adversity and controversy. Aside from the poor win/loss record, Bourbon has stirred up locals and alumni by not pursuing any local talent whatsoever. Also, Bourbon has been criticized for depending too much on his star talent and not playing a well enough rounded game.

South Dakota State Jacks Roster

G – #1 - Michael Palarca – JR, 5’11”, 182lbs, Sacramento, CA
Palarca has started all games for Bourbon at the point and that will continue this year. He has great vision and is the team’s best defender.

G – #10 - Clint Sargent – JR, 6’4”, 204lbs, Dubuque, IA
Sargent was the 2007 conference rookie of the year, and looks to return to that form this season. Sargent is the only threat from deep that the Jacks have and also is a natural leader.

F – #23 - Kai Williams – SR, 6’6”, 233lbs, Regina, SK, Canada
Williams is the most dynamic player for the Jacks, with great touch and good defensive skills as well.

C – #0 - Felipe Werner – SR, 6’11”, 229lbs, Huntington Beach, CA
Werner averaged 13.6 points last season, and hopes that his short career with the Jacks will be a successful one as it ends this season. Werner does a good job playing both the forward and center positions.

C – #53 - Gerry Karangwa – JR, 7’1”, 246lbs, San Diego, CA
Werner’s JUCO teammate, Karangwa led the team with 16.6 points per game last season. A big body who draws many fouls, Karangwa is the biggest threat on the jacks squad.

Bench/Reserves

F - #24 - Josh Cassaday - JR (RS), 6'7", 187lbs, Westminster, CO
F - #42 - Anthony Cordova - JR (RS), 6'8", 245lbs, Brookings, SD
G - #5 - Dale Moss - SO (RS), 6'5", 202lbs, Rapid City, SD
G - #20 - Garrett Callahan - JR (RS), 6'1", 182lbs, Chicago, IL
F - #30 - Brandon DeBoer - SR (RS), 6'5", 207lbs, Sioux Falls, SD
C - #54 - Quemont Stoudamire - FR (RS), 6'7", 269lbs, Aurora, CO
F - #44 - Mark Engen - SR (RS), 6'10", 200lbs, St. Paul, MN
C - #43 - Warren Ward - FR (RS), 6'10", 252lbs, Lubbock, TX
F - #42 - Thomas Bassett - JR (RS), 6'5", 231lbs, Iowa City, IA
G - #12 - Carl Flores - FR (RS), 6'7", 205lbs, Milwaukee, WI
F - #45 - Mark Little - FR (RS), 6'8", 216lbs, Bolingbrook, IL

[wake112]

Bourbon Meets With Media

Brookings, SD -

Coach Ray Bourbon met with the media today via conference call to announce the release of the 2009/2010 South Dakota St. basketball schedule and discuss the upcoming year for the first time since the Jacks season ended some months ago. The Jacks again open up their season against Harvard and will participate in the Gossner Foods Holiday tournament. The first Summit League game will be played on December 3rd at IUPUI.

“I am sure Harvard is looking to get us back for our last second victory we had there last season,” said Bourbon. “I like opening up with a game against a very fundamental team like theirs.”

One interesting point in the schedule is that the Jacks have back to back games against Weber St. One game is a regular non-conference game, while the second contest is in the Gossner tournament.

“When we talked to Weber St. about scheduling them, they hadn’t decided on this tournament yet,” said Bourbon. “Then when the draw came out, we have them. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it, should be interesting.”

Bourbon also discussed his very deep roster of 16 players and the struggles to try to divide playing time.

“Last year we were in a lot of games until later in the second, so guys like Brandon [DeBoer] and Thomas [Bassett] literally sat the whole year on the bench,” admitted Bourbon. “I know the situation isn’t good for them and this year we have another four or five guys coming off redshirts. We have sixteen players, there’s no way to play them all. If they have a problem with it, they are free to look elsewhere, which is not something we want to see, but it happens.

“Depth is a great problem to have though. Last year I had to really follow a substitution system for our big men since we only had a few guys who could play the positions. Now that we have the two freshmen coming in at center, it will give us a lot more freedom to sit down Karangwa and Werner.”

Bourbon also discussed the pressure on his job after his first two lackluster seasons and how he believes the team will turn it around.

“You hear all the rumors floating around, and you look and see the empty seats and it makes you just want to work that much harder,” said Bourbon. “We have some pieces to the puzzle. Last year we had the pieces too, but they just didn’t all come together to make something special happen.

“The rumors on my job aren’t going to effect anything. I am still going to go out and recruit hard; we are talking to a number of very talented kids and I think we’re going to bring in a real good class next year. I might even look at a few kids from around the area,” Bourbon joked.

The complete season schedule is below:

Nov. 1 – vs. Harvard - L - 49-68 - 0-1
Nov. 5 – vs. Cornell - W - 71-67 -1-1
Nov. 13 – vs. Sacramento St. - W - 57-44 - 2-1
Nov. 15 - @ Montana St. - L - 56-68 - 2-2
Nov. 23 – @ New Orleans - W - 62-56 - 3-2
Nov. 28 – vs. Montana - W - 57-48 - 4-2
Dec. 3 – @ IUPUI - L - 49-57 - 4-3 (0-1)
Dec. 5 - @ W. Illinois - L - 46-69 - 4-4 (0-2)
Dec. 15 – vs. Weber St. - W - 75-58 - 5-4 (0-2)
Dec. 17 - vs. Weber St - L - 64-66 - 5-5 (0-2) *Gossner Foods Holiday Classic Tournament
Dec. 18 - vs. Utah Valley State - L - 42-67 - 5-6 (0-2)*Gossner Foods Holiday Classic Tournament
Dec. 25 - @ NJIT - W - 72-62 - 6-6 (0-2)
Dec. 27 - @ Buffalo L - 58-83 - 6-7 (0-2)
Dec. 31 – vs. IPFW - L - 62-79 - 6-8 (0-3) *Beginning of complete league play
Jan. 2 – vs. Oakland L - 65-75 -6-9 (0-4)
Jan. 7 - @ ND State - W - 82-61 - 7-9 (1-4)
Jan. 9 - @ Oral Roberts - L - 58-85 - 7-10 (1-5)
Jan. 14 – vs. UMKC - W - 78-55 - 8-10 (2-5)
Jan. 16 – vs. Centenary - L - 61-67 - 8-11 (2-6)
Jan. 22 - @ S. Utah - W - 90-84 (2 O.T.) - 9-11 (3-6)
Jan. 28 - @ Oakland - L - 72-77 - 9-12 (3-7)
Jan. 30 - @ IPFW - W - 61-60 - 10-12 (4-7)
Feb. 4 – vs. Oral Roberts - W - 67-61 - 11-12 (5-7)
Feb. 6 – vs. ND State - W - 70-55 - 12-12 (6-7)
Feb. 11 - @ Centenary - W - 65-57 - 13-12 (7-7)
Feb. 13 - @ UMKC - W - 66-58 - 14-12 (8-7)
Feb. 19 – vs. S. Utah - L - 65-75 - 14-13 (8-8)
Feb. 25 – vs. W. Illinois - L - 56-66 - 14-14 (8-9)
Feb. 27 – vs. IUPUI - W - 64-61 - 15-14 (9-9)

[wake112]

A Second Chance

Gerry Karangwa sits in his Hansen Hall dormitory room on a Thursday afternoon listening to music and relaxing. Karangwa’s seven foot body is sprawled out on a bed which seems much too small for a man his size, but he doesn’t really seem to care. As he lies there, Karangwa states that he is the luckiest man at South Dakota State. Four years earlier, he says, this situation was the furthest thing from his mind.

Karangwa grew up in the streets of San Diego, a long ways away from Brookings, South Dakota. Like many inner city youth, Gerry found himself involved in certain activities that put him in danger of not only being arrested, but also being robbed, beat up or even killed. Karangwa’s life all came to a standstill one July night in 2005.

“Me and my boys were just hanging around the block, having a good time,” says Karangwa. “All of a sudden a car rolled past us, turned and came back. Before we could run, the guys just started shooting at us. We tried to run, but it didn’t matter.”

Karangwa was shot, but not dead. As he lay on the concrete, he admits that he didn’t think he was going to make it.

“I just started to pray, I didn’t think I was going to make it through.”

But he did. Unfortunately a few of his friends did not have the same luck.

“I lost two friends that night for good and one is paralyzed,” says Gerry, trying to hold back tears. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t think of those guys.”

Karangwa was shot once in the leg and another shot hit the left side of his abdomen. The doctors said he was lucky to be alive and said he would recover fully.

“I don’t know what I was doing out on those streets,” admits Gerry. “I had scholarships on the table, I had schools talking to me, and after that it was all gone, all taken away from me.”

Karangwa decided that instead of retaliating with violence, he would use the situation to get away from the street life he had made for himself and focus on his basketball game. Gerry was in the gym from the day he was cleared to partake in physical activity again and the next year was enrolled in Bakersfield College, a Junior College.

“I wanted to get away from San Diego, so I went to Bakersfield. That’s where I met Felipe [Werner].”

Werner was being recruited by San Diego State’s coach Ray Bourbon, and told Bourbon about Karangwa.

“I told coach that Gerry was a year younger than me, and maybe didn’t have the skill set, but had much more potential then I had,” said Werner. “I knew his story, and I wanted Gerry to get a second chance.”

After watching tape and meeting with Karangwa, Bourbon agreed and looked beyond Karangwa’s violent and troubled past.

“The kid is a talent,” says Bourbon. “A lot of other schools were scared off by his past; to me it was just another reason to bring him in. He’s a great person, just had a bad environment. I know he won’t be getting into any trouble on the streets of Brookings.”

Bourbon’s risk paid off. In his first year, Karangwa averaged 16.6 points a game, leading his team and placing him among the leaders in the conference. His play earned him a 1st Team All-Summit League selection and team MVP honors.

“I don’t care about all the honors or awards or whatever,” says Karangwa. “I am just so happy to be in this situation right now. I thought I was going to give up on basketball after Bakersfield and I am so glad that did not happen.”

Regardless of if South Dakota is successful or not during his tenure, Gerry Karangwa’s time with the Jacks will be considered a success. This is a perfect example of when a sport goes beyond wins and losses.

[wake112]

Harvard Gets Revenge, Downs Jacks

Brookings, SD –

Charlton Neverett remembered his first ever collegiate game one season ago; a crushing last second defeat at the hands of South Dakota State. Not leaving any doubt, Neverett paced the Crimson with 15 points as Harvard easily defeated the Jacks, 68-49.

“It was a tough game a year ago,” said the sophomore guard who went 5 for 6 from the field. “We were very fired up to come over here and get a big win.”

The Jacks struggled to find scoring as Harvard found a way to contain Gerry Karangwa, who co-led his squad in scoring with 11. Clint Sargent also added 11 of his own in the loss.

“It was a tough one,” said Sargent. “You never want to lose the first one, especially at home.”

“We just didn’t play that well,” admitted Coach Ray Bourbon. “We are going to need to play a lot better than that if we want to do what we plan on this season.”

South Dakota St. will try to regroup before they take on Cornell next Thursday in Brookings.

Leaders:

South Dakota State
C. Sargent – 11 Points
G. Karangwa – 11 Points, 9 Rebounds

Harvard
C. Neverett – 15 Points
K. Fitzgerald – 12 Points, 8 Rebounds
D. McGeary – 12 Points

[Iceman5315]

Not a good way to start off the season, good luck.

[wake112]

Jacks Fight Back to Top Cornell

Brookings, SD –

Down ten going into the half, South Dakota State was lining up to lose their second straight game of the young 2009/2010 season. However, gutsy play by the Jacks allowed them to rebound and pull out a 71-67 victory.

“Tonight was a big stepping stone for us,” said Coach Bourbon after the game. “I can’t remember us ever being that flat and actually getting it together for a good second half.”

The Jacks used the free throw line to spark their comeback as they attacked the basket and sent many of Cornell’s players to the bench with foul troubles. South Dakota St. (1-1) was able to score 33 points at the charity stripe to fuel the comeback.

“We know that our size can cause teams problems,” said Felipe Werner, who led the Jacks with 18 points. “If we get an inch of space, we need to exploit it and get to the basket.”

Clint Sargent and Kai Williams both added 11 for the Jacks in the win. Cornell (0-2) was led by senior guard Adam Gore who netted 16 points of his own.

Late in the second half, junior forward Josh Cassaday sprained a toe, and will likely be replaced by one of the reserves for the next game or two.

Ray Bourbon’s squad will complete their three game home-stand next week as they take on Sacramento St.

Leaders

South Dakota State
F. Werner – 18 Points, 7 Rebounds
C. Sargent – 11 Points
K. Williams – 11 Points

Cornell
A. Gore – 16 Points
A. Wilkins – 13 Points, 9 Rebounds

[wake112]

Sargent Shoots Jacks to Second Victory

Brookings, SD –

In sports, the quality of a win does not effect the standings. That is a good thing for South Dakota State, as they turned the ball over 17 times and had the same amount of field goals, but still pulled out a 57-44 victory over the Sacramento State Hornets.

“I am just happy we got the win, to string two in a row is nice,” commented junior Anthony Cordova after the victory.

The Jacks (2-1) were led by junior guard Client Sargent, who went 4 for 5 from three point land in a 16 point performance. Kai Williams added 11 and Gerry Karangwa added 10 of his own. Vinnie McGhee led the Hornets with 12.

South Dakota’s defense was a big reason for the win, as they held the Hornets to only 20 first half points and one double digit scorer.

“We are pleased we got the win, but we have a lot of things we still need to work on here,” commented Coach Ray Bourbon. “Good thing it’s still early in the year.”

South Dakota will now travel for their first road game at Montana State this Sunday afternoon.

Leaders

South Dakota State
C. Sargent – 16 Points (4-5 3pt)
K. Williams -11 Points, 8 Rebounds
G. Karangwa – 10 Points

Sacramento State
V. McGhee – 12 Points
J. Eller – 9 Points