Coyote Chatter
Another Milestone for Boots
Tom Berg
USD Sports Information Coordinator |
South Dakota men’s basketball coach Dave Boots has accomplished several milestones during his 31-year coaching career. But reaching 600 wins, which the veteran mentor did on Nov. 28 when the Coyotes topped Tabor, is perhaps one of the greatest those feats of his career.
It puts him in an exclusive class, as one of 22 active men’s basketball coaches with 600 or more wins. That puts him in a group with Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams and Wisconsin’s Bo Ryan, among others.
Pretty impressive company there.
If you think of South Dakota basketball under Boots, you think of a history of winning. Boots, in his 24th season at USD, has never had a losing season at the school, compiling an impressive winning percentage of more than .700. He has led the Coyotes to eight conference titles (including the Great West Conference regular-season and tournament championship in 2010), 11 postseason appearances, including a pair of NCAA D2 Elite Eight appearances in the mid-1990s.
Boots has averaged 19.9 wins during his coaching career, including more than 20 wins per season since he arrived at USD. Not only that, but the Coyotes have been dominant in defending the DakotaDome, going 298-49 (85.9 percent) in home contests since Boots took over.
Dozens of players have earned individual accolades under Boots. Coyote players have earned 44 all-conference honors during Boots’ tenure. The Coyotes also had five conference MVPs and five All-Americans. That’s not to mention countless conference players of the week, plus the 40 individual/team records that have been set or tied over the past 23 seasons.
Boots, in his postgame press conference following the Tabor win, credited the players he’s coached – and the numerous assistant coaches who have served on his staff – as big reasons the South Dakota program has thrived during his tenure.
“We’ve had a lot of really, really good players,” Boots said. “If you keep doing it as long as we’ve done it here, you’d better have a lot of good players. They’re the ones that let you win the games. They get out and perform. We’ve been blessed with that. We’ve had an enormous number of really good assistant coaches. Most of those guys have played here and stayed on and become coaches for us. That’s one of the most special things I have with this.”
South Dakota begins its first year in the Summit League in 2011-12, which is also the Coyotes’ final year of the Division I transition. In 2012-13, Coyote teams, including men’s basketball, will be eligible for the NCAA tournament for the first time (excluding outdoor track and field, which is already eligible and was fast-tracked in the process).
Boots has also guided the Coyotes through the Division I transition with similar success, despite more difficult schedules and increased travel. South Dakota is 62-37 (through Nov. 30) through a time which many schools find limited success. The Coyotes have a conference title, a conference tournament title and a postseason appearance in the CBI. Plus, they were conference tournament runners-up in 2010-11 in a year where they were several new faces in the Coyote rotation.
Boots’ tenure at South Dakota has been defined by success – and the numbers indicate that perfectly.
About Coyote Chatter
Coyote Chatter is the sports information blog put together by USD sports information coordinator Tom Berg. This will be updated periodically, and also includes the Where Are They Now? Feature. If you have any submissions for updates on former athletes, coaches, etc., for this feature, please email tom.berg@usd.edu. We will also provide short tidbits on other former Coyotes.
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