Waiting their turn: Transfers eager for next season

There were only two USD players practicing in the DakotaDome Friday night.

One was freshman forward Tyler Hagedorn who was getting some shots in before the game against Oral Roberts the next day. The other was sophomore guard Matt Mooney.

The difference between the two was that Mooney didn’t have a game to play the next day. In fact, Mooney doesn’t have a game to play for quite some time. As one of three transfers sitting out for USD, he’s unable to play until next year.

This doesn’t stop Mooney from putting in some hard work.

Drenched in sweat and working past the time when many others call it a day, Mooney’s making the most of the season he’s not allowed to participate in.

Being unable to play is the worst part about Mooney’s move from the Air Force Academy, he said.

“That’s the hardest part,” he said. “The beginning of the season was rough. Just sitting there and watching.”

Mooney is coming off his freshman season at Air Force, in which he played 29 games and averaged 19 minutes.

It doesn’t help that every game he’s there, on the end of the bench, unable to jump in to help the Coyotes.

“I really get the itch to play after every home game, so I come back out here and get some work in and just visualize myself out here because I didn’t get to play,” Mooney said. “At this stage I’m just taking advantage of everything and just trying to get better.”

It’s not just Mooney who has to sit out this year. Fellow transfers Trey Dickerson from the University of Iowa and Carlton Hurst from Colorado State University, both junior guards, understand the pain of not being able to participate.

“Sitting out with Carlton and Matt made it a whole lot easier,” Dickerson said. “We’ve all got to sit out together and we can hang out when the team’s gone, so you’re not really by yourself.”

Dickerson made the move from Williston State junior college to Iowa, where he played in 15 games and averaged 10 minutes a game as a Hawkeye.

One of the reasons all three players decided to come to Vermillion is USD head coach Craig Smith and his staff.

Both Hurst and Dickerson had previous connections with Smith and his staff. Hurst was recruited to Colorado State by Smith, where he was an assistant. Dickerson was recruited from junior college to Nebraska by Smith and assistant coach Eric Peterson was Dickerson’s junior college coach.

All three students are sold on the potential of the team and the chance to shape the future of Coyote basketball. This is part of what lured Mooney to USD.

“I knew Trey Dickerson was coming,” Mooney said. “I also knew they had freshmen like Hagedorn, Dan [Jech] and Borchers coming in, who are all really good, so I knew they were building something.”

The chance to help younger players and incoming recruits is a draw to Hurst as well. After playing in 61 of 66 games in his two seasons at CSU, Hurst is ready to start making an impact once again.

“Trey, Matt and I are all looking forward to playing and then having these new guys, we’re looking forward to taking them under our wing and showing them what it’s like and how to be successful on the college D-I level,” Hurst said.

One goal all three transfers have is to get to the NCAA Tournament.

“I’m really optimistic. I’ve got a list of my goals for myself and my team posted next to my bed so every day, every night, every morning I just see it,” Mooney said. “And that’s why I get in the gym and work, because I’m working towards those things.”

Mooney hopes his hard work will pay off and take the Coyotes to new Summit League heights.

“A Conference championship, NCAA Tournament run, there’s teams that have made the Final Four and went all the way that were eleven seeds,” Mooney said. “I think it can happen, but first and foremost winning a conference championship, regular season and tournament, and defending our home court. If we do that I think we can be special.”

In addition to the transfers getting their first shots as Coyotes next year, the new arena will be opening. The new facilities will provide a new home for the Coyotes to defend. That’s one of Dickerson’s goals for the upcoming season, as well as the shared goal of a tournament berth.

“Protect the Dome, we’ve got a new Dome opening and I want to be undefeated in it,” Dickerson said. “Win the Summit League tournament and try and make the run in the NCAA tournament.”

As the Coyotes begin to enter the push to make the Summit League tournament this year, the optimism for next year is at an all time high. With Hurst, Mooney and Dickerson eligible, new recruits coming into the fold and young Coyotes only getting better, USD is looking to make a statement next year.

“I’m definitely looking forward to next season,” Dickerson said. “We should make a lot of noise.”