Coaches reflect on seniors’ contributions
The end of the Coyote basketball season also means the end of three seniors’ college basketball careers.
The women’s basketball team will be losing senior Teresa Case, who played for three seasons at the University of South Dakota after spending two years at Wayne State in Nebraska.
Coach Ryun Williams said Case’s contributions to the team will be missed.
“Her intelligence and her subtle leadership have been important,” Williams said. “She is the kind of kid that goes out and just plays.”
Case said she will miss her teammates the most, but her favorite memory of her three years was the recent win against Idaho.
“Winning the game against Idaho (is my favorite memory) because it was the first post-season game we’ve ever played in and it was an important game,” Case said.
Along with her basketball intelligence, Williams said he will also miss Case’s presence on the team.
“We’re going to miss her amazing personality, how funny she is, her locker room presence and her toughness,” Williams said. “I will miss her basketball IQ, it was one of the best I have ever coached.”
Case plans to finish her history major and then attend graduate school. Her advice to her teammates is to just have fun because college goes by fast.
Williams said his advice to Case is for her to keep being the incredible person she is.
“She is fun, witty and intelligent,” Williams said. “She is always laughing at herself and that is a tremendous quality.”
On the men’s basketball team, seniors Kendall Cutler and Mitchell Bouie will be graduating in a few short months.
Cutler, who played at Western Oklahoma State College before moving his talents to USD for two years, said his favorite memory is winning the Greater West Conference championship last season.
Head coach Dave Boots said Cutler’s biggest contribution to the team was his ability to take care of the ball.
“His driving ability and having been the leader as a point guard made him an important part of the team,” Boots said. “He was a junior college kid when he got here and was thrown into the mix, but he had a very good two-year career.”
Cutler said after graduating this spring, it will be hard to not be with the team.
“I will miss my teammates and my coaches,” Cutler said. “The two years I was here we had a great bond and they are like family to me.”
After graduating with a degree in criminal justice, Cutler hopes to find a job as either a corrections or police officer.
Boots said Cutler and his ability meant a lot to the team.
“He had nice leadership and he was a strong guard who would just drive to the basket,” Boots said. “We hadn’t had a player like that in a long time.”
Bouie, who played for USD for two years after being recruited from Western Oklahoma Junior College, said his favorite memories on the team are all with his teammates.
“I would have to say all of the traveling and just hanging out with my teammates (is my favorite memory),” Bouie said. “Being with them on a daily basis, those memories are things you won’t be able to get back and I really enjoyed that.”
Bouie will graduate with a degree in criminal justice and hopes to work with kids in his future.
Boots said Bouie is a good person, as well as the life of the team.
“Physically he had a really good season for us his junior year,” Boots said. “His senior year he had a knee injury but he had a good mental toughness.”
To the younger players and students at USD, Bouie advises to take advantage of what college has to offer.
“Enjoy it because time flies. College goes by really fast and just enjoy it while you’re here.”
Boots’ advice to both players is to go off and live their lives.
“When they leave here, I hope they go off and represent the university by being good employees and family people,” Boots said. “I hope they go and do all the things they have to do right.”
Reach reporter Payton Randle at [email protected]
