Transcript
Joining us on Coach's Corner here in KWBG, going to talk to you Mac Men's basketball today. Blake Sandquist joining us as the Bears heading back to Danville, Illinois and they come up with a victory over Iowa Western Community College 89-73 to take the Region 11-8 Championship.
And first off coach, congratulations. It always feels good in the postseason too. Not just take it in the regular season, but also kind of, I don't want to say prove it, but it feels like it when you're able to win the regular season championship and the postseason.
Guys got to be feeling real good right now. Yeah, we're really pleased about it. That was one of the few things that we hadn't accomplished since I got here, was winning the region tournament. And you know, last year we were so banged up, heading into it.
And then the year before it was hosted at Southwestern, which we couldn't make a dang three to save ourselves. And lots of elsewhere.
So for us, it was a big focus for us to win the region tournament this year and go to the national tournament with some steam and not just coming up of a loss. And that type of loss affected our seating last two years, which was huge.
So I'm hoping the committee takes into account how tough our league is and we can get a pretty good seat because of what we did. Western Iowa Tech, obviously a team that you had seen not too long ago and for the guys to come out in that semifinal, put up 81, but hold them to 56.
I mean, Blake, I know coaches are always like, don't overlook this team and don't do this, don't do that. Man, it's really easy though to do that against anybody. And so it looked to me at least that the guys were really locked in that night. Yeah, it was for sure.
It's very easy, especially when you play a team for the third time that can be difficult, especially if you swept them previously, the guys have too big of an ego. And you know, we just kind of preached to our guys.
It's a new type of season and everybody's playing for their life on the line and trying to play one more game. And we got to change our mindset to that as well. And I think our guys did an incredible job with that and went through a good punch at us early.
And then we kind of just took over the game and wore them down with our depth and our defense. And just proud of how the guys handled it. 17 assists on 26 makes, Blake.
I mean, that that percentage wise is, is pretty darn impressive, especially in junior college basketball, where a lot of people say, Oh, that's me, me basketball. I always say, nah, when you win as a team, you're all of a sudden, everybody starts getting recruited.
Can you talk about just, you know, being unselfish and sharing the basketball? Yeah, I mean, that's what we preach from day one when guys get here. And we've honestly preached in recruiting. I mean, we talked to guys about, you know, what you're about, what means the most.
If winning is not a priority, then you're not going to fit in here. And sharing the basketball is not optional here. And guys that can't figure it out usually, you know, they don't laugh or they sit on the bench and, you know, hopefully someday they'll figure it out.
But it's part of what makes us so damn good. Our speed, our depth and our, you know, unselfishness, it's just hopefully we can keep that going for about four more games. Five guys in double figures.
When you talk about the Iowa Western, when Malcolm was real close to, he was at eight. It just feels like, I know there's probably a little bit of pick your poison here, but Blake, if you're looking at this team, who do you go try to stop?
I mean, if you take away, let's say Brent, for instance, I feel like Kaidner Landon can have a big game. And I think I could probably reverse that. I could throw Hunter in there as well. I mean, this feels like a team that doesn't have that superstar one guy. We got to stop him.
You got a bunch of dudes that can get after it. Yeah, we do. And that's really how we recruited for this year. We wanted the depth. We wanted positional size. We weren't really worried about having a six, 10, six, 11 guys.
We wanted, you know, eight guys that are between six, three and six, eight, and then a couple of guards. And it worked out pretty good, I'd say. And, you know, just really proud how this group has come together.
And, you know, if one of our main scoring guys is off, you know, and honestly, most of our scoring is between, you know, six and 12 points. I mean, there's probably 10 guys right between there.
And it's hard to scout, you know, because if you take away Mal, then maybe Kiki's balling out. And you take out Brent, then Ryland's going to make five threes, you know, and there's just so many different weapons. And our guys have risen to the occasion all year.
It's been fun to see it come together. 31 wins. I mean, do you wrap your head around that? I know there's still a tournament to go. And I know a national championship is the ultimate goal, but I mean, Blake, 31 wins, my goodness. Yeah, I love it.
I try not just being corny, but I try not to think too much about it. This is the second time we've gotten to 31 wins in my career here, but we didn't win a national title, we didn't get a final four. So there's a lot more at the end of this.
I wish I could try to reflect more on it during the season, not necessarily wired that way. And we're hungry for a lot more, but it's an incredible accomplishment.
And, you know, we told our guys before our last game, you know, not only was it for a region championship, but you had an opportunity, you know, to tie the school record for wins, and then have an opportunity to break it at nationals.
And you also had a chance to basically, you know, have the greatest season in the history of our conference. I mean, no one has ever went 20-0. I don't even remember, I don't even know the last time someone undefeated in our league.
And then also when the region tournament, which makes you basically makes you 22-0 in the league, is just outstanding.
What, if you're looking at this DMAQ team, and I know, Blake, you're not going to be able to act like you're on the outside looking in, but when you look at this team, is there potential this could be a number one overall seed? I would argue that it is.
And some people might not want the pressure. I don't really care about that. We're going to be grounded and focused regardless. But if you compare our resume, and the ranked wins, and the records of our opponents, I don't think anyone else can stand against it.
I've done the research. I've looked at the other top teams in the country. And we have, I believe, nine ranked wins on the season. And then some of our teams that we played in non-conference are towards the top of their conference. So I feel pretty good about where we're at now.
We'll see what the committee says. Sometimes they put more merit on teams that play some DD1 junior colleges. But I'll be honest with you, I would put the top teams in our league against any of those D1s you go to those teams play.
So we'll just catch the seed, wait and see situation, and we'll play the hand we're dealt. Man, that was about as political as you get, Blake. I always appreciate you when you do that, sir. Final thing, what's it going to mean to you to go back to Danville? Motivated. Motivated.
There's not, like, I'm just not happy to be there. You know, this is the third time in three years. There is motivation. There are big goals. We're going to take it one at a time. But we're going to get back to work tomorrow and get our guys locked in for the next task at hand.
And two of our three goals are accomplished. And we'll see what happens with the last one. Blake, as always, thank you so much for some time. Best of luck out in Danville. Thanks for having us on. I appreciate it. You bet. Blake Sankwist again joining us. D.
MacMen's basketball here in Coach's Corner.
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