COLUMN: Coyotes basketball showing its inexperience
Kritenbrink named to all-region team
The American Volleyball Coach Association named junior volleyball player Kendall Kritenbrink to the All-Midwest Region team. Kritenbrink was the Summit League Player of the Year this year, and the Coyotes are lucky to have her for another season next year. Kritenbrink and the Coyotes seemed destined for great things this year when they started off 7-0 in conference play, but struggled after that, finishing 9-5 in the Summit League. It was still a very successful year for an improving team, especially for Kritenbrink, who lead the conference in total kills with 557. Kritenbrink will look to continue racking up accolades next year and attempt to become USD’s all-time leader in kills. She is currently second with a total of 1,426.
Men’s basketball team has had a season of streaks
The Coyotes men’s squad has already seen its fair share of ups and downs in the 2013-14 season. The season started off with a three game losing streak, but the Coyotes bounced back and won their next three. Unfortunately, they’re now on another three game losing streak and sit at 3-6 on the season. No one knew what to expect going into this season. Interim head coach Joey James has his guys playing hard-nosed basketball, but at times they’ve been too stagnant on offense. Junior guard Brandon Bos has been the clear-cut standout for the team thus far, leading the team with 15.6 points per game and second in assists with 3.9. Going into the season, I thought one of the team’s biggest strengths would be its outside shooting, but in fact, it has been its Achilles heel. Right now the team is shooting 31.5% from three, which clearly won’t win you many games. The Coyotes weren’t expected to be a top-flight team this year, but I fully expect them to continue improving as they get more acclimated to James.
Women’s basketball goes 6-5 through first eleven games
The women’s team came into the season extremely young. What they did have going for them was Nicole Seekamp. Through the first ten games Seekamp did what I expected, leading the team with 16.7 points per game, as well as averaging 4.1 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per game. At the beginning of the season she was struggling with her shot, so her 38.3% shooting percentage doesn’t look too pretty. The lone senior on the team, Polly Harrington, has been a solid presence down low so far for the Yotes, averaging 10.3 points per game and 5.7 rebounds per game. The team has many players learning on the fly, so expect to continue seeing inconsistencies throughout the season. Over winter break, the team will finish off its non-conference schedule, with its most notable opponent being the University of Nebraska December 21. Conference play will kick-off right when students come back for the spring semester when they play Denver Jan. 12.
