High school hoops heaven: Remembering and relishing 50 years of South Dakota state basketball tourneys
Fifty years ago this month, thousands of kids were let loose in Sioux Falls, ostensibly to watch basketball.
That’s why I was there, anyway.
The 1976 State B Basketball Tournament was held at the Sioux Falls Arena, and it was packed with fans from the eight schools that qualified, as well as hoops fanatics from across South Dakota. Back then, “The Big B” was one of the biggest events in the state — maybe the biggest.
I grew up watching the B and A tourneys on KELO. It aired all four games on Thursday — getting to see live sports on a weekday afternoon was truly exciting — and night games on Friday and Saturday. By the time the title game tipped off around 8 p.m. Saturday, South Dakota was focused on the drama.
The TV rating must have been extraordinarily high. The State B was the culmination of months of practice and contests between towns across South Dakota, with communities hoping this might be their year. It was a more innocent time, with far fewer options for televised sports, and we looked forward to it every year.
If you’ve seen the excellent Gene Hackman film “Hoosiers,” which tells the tale from an Indiana perspective — another state in love with the winter game — the feeling is perfectly captured. When a school had just the right blend of hardwood talent, teamwork and leadership, it could become the focus of the town.
Small-town gyms were packed with fans every Tuesday and Friday night. A win, especially against a rival, had the town buzzing for days. A tough loss was felt deeply and discussed for days, weeks, even years.
The State A Tournament was held the week after the B, back in the days of two classes. The A bracket included the 32 biggest schools in the state, and it didn’t quite have the same passion around it as the B, where tiny towns might actually slip into Sioux Falls with a shot at glory, like the undefeated 1972 Miller Rustlers, still perhaps the best high school team in state history.
Come spring, we watched every game of both tourneys. In 1968 and 1969, our cousin Tom Osterberg, a whippet-fast point guard for the Brookings Bobcats, sparked the team to a state title as a junior and a runner-up finish as a senior. We cheered hard for him as he raced across our black-and-white screen.
But the B was the big deal. That’s why I was excited to attend it as a senior. It was a rite of passage for high school kids across the state. Schools allowed seniors to miss class for two days to attend either the State B or the State A boys tourney, and obtained tickets you could purchase.
High school basketball was the biggest game in the state for decades. The decision to move to three classes, AA, A and B, damaged that. Seeing championships determined before small crowds is still hard to accept for those of us who recall fans jammed into the Sioux Falls Arena every March.
My school, Estelline High School, didn’t qualify for the State B for decades. The Redmen, as the team was called in that less-enlightened age, had some good teams, but they struggled to get past powerhouses in district and regional competitions. De Smet, Hamlin and other schools that won state titles were in our way.
But back then, even if your school didn’t make the tourney, and the vast majority didn’t, hordes of students descended upon Sioux Falls. They attended the games and picked favorites, cheering for teams they adopted for the weekend.
There were other diversions, including going to the mall — a big deal for some kids who came from towns with one-block main streets — and to house parties. As I understand it, there was some beer consumed.
We went through a few cans, bottles and God knows what else at a party I hosted at my brother Vern’s house, and by a few, I mean a few hundred. Vern had recently moved into a house by the Sioux Falls College campus, and he let me and my friends Dale and Calvin stay there over the weekend while he hitched a ride to Brookings to hang with his buddies.
It was the ‘70s, man. That’s how we rolled.
We invited a few friends over after the night games Friday, and around 30 people or so showed up. As I recall, and from what I was told, we had fun. I had not been a party guy at that point, and that was the introduction to various brands of beer.
Nothing was broken, and no one was arrested. I have a vague memory of performing handstands, but it’s all unclear.
We awoke to a house filled with empty cans. Calvin and Dale did most of the cleanup and disposal, but I remember Vern was impressed by the volume of cans still there when he returned Saturday afternoon.
If only he knew … and he probably did. Vern, who had been a solid high school player, was always on top of things.
I was mostly interested in seeing the 1976 championship game. After a decade of listening to legendary KELO sports anchor Jim Burt and his crew call the game, it was exciting to be in the presence of a title contest.
Dell Rapids defeated Custer 73-55 for the championship. By the end of the night, everyone seemed tired. The players had competed in three games in three days, the coaches, referees and cheerleaders had done their part and the fans had yelled and screamed through it all.
I attended another state tourney as a reporter, the 1982 Boys State A in Rapid City. That was an opportunity to see the games from a different perspective. Since then, I have watched it on TV, and now, online.
All the games are available now, including the consolation bracket games on Friday and Saturday. I watched parts of the AA, A and B tourneys, although it is frustrating that important games — even title tilts — are played simultaneously. It would be an improvement if the start times were staggered to allow fans to enjoy all the drama.
For a fan, being able to watch games on TV, on YouTube, on a laptop or on a phone is pretty nice. Seeing the kids hustle and scrap for every loose ball for the sheer love of the game is still enjoyable. The girls haven’t adopted the “style” we see at college and pro games quite as much as the boys, who are eager to copy what they see.
The 2026 girls state championships were won by O’Gorman — its third straight AA crown and fourth in fifth years — Lennox in A and Ethan in B. I enjoyed all three tourneys.
But the memory of watching Thursday afternoon games at home with Mom and Dad while enjoying pop, pizza and popcorn, and of keeping score while sprawled on the rug for three days, is difficult to top.
I’ll be watching the boys this week. I hope we get three great tournaments and the kids who are there to watch basketball — among other plans — have a memorable time, one they’ll recall fondly 50 years from now.
Fourth-generation South Dakotan Tom Lawrence has written for several newspapers and websites in South Dakota and other states for four decades. He has contributed to The New York Times, NPR, The London Telegraph, The Daily Beast and other media outlets. Do not republish without permission.
Photo: high school hoopsters on a military base, public domain, wikimedia commons
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