Transcript
With us on coaches corner here in KWBG gonna talk some DMACC men's basketball is the Bears head coach Blake Sandquist joining us DMACC can trade a host sophomore day.
I can't believe we're gonna talk about that which we will here in just a second coach What an effort though against Nyack on Wednesday night I mean anytime you're able to score 51 points in a first half you feel pretty comfortable that things are gonna go well But man you give up 37 in the first half 29 in the second I know we love talking offense, but boy this defense is really stingy Yeah, yep, it is in you know We a lot of people talk about our offense and the fast pace and ball movement stuff like that But we always preach our guys it Starts on the defensive end and our kids from day one bought into to being aggressive defensively and communicating and You know very very pleased where we're at You know, I think I think I calculated the other day We're I think about ten of our 16 conference games We've held people under 70 points and there's some times where people are in the 50s and I don't want to jinx that But hopefully that can stay and whenever you can go on the road and hold teams, you know in the 30s per half There's gonna be a good chance to have a chance to win Well, I don't want to text message if what I say next comes back to get me tomorrow But I got to tell you what what you guys do on the defensive glass is very impressive I love watching.
I love watching two guys streaking down court. I love three guys crashing the board.
Somebody throws an outlet I mean you guys cause mismatches so quickly that I don't know if teams are able to really Get settled in against you guys Blake Yeah, it's tough And I wouldn't want to be on the other side of it That's why we play the way we do and it's hard to prepare for it, you know, because we are so good in transition I'm so fat But then once you get stopped we you know most nights we have pretty dang good ball movement and our kids are very unselfish And not something I don't have to prepare against, you know, some teams do it better than others but You know, it's something that you know, my goal coming here to DMACC was to play with the fast pace I had at William Penn and then to kind of have a ball movement of a Northwest Missouri State back when McCall was there and blended to and You know, I think the coaching staff and I my assistant coach Tucker and I are kind of in our In our peak after being together for four years We feed we've kind of got a really clear plan of what we want on both sides expectations are clear And I think we're coming that finally come to fruition Yeah, I did not think it would be to this magnitude with this young of a group and having one returner So I'm very pleased where we're at obviously and you know, hopefully hopefully keep the thing going boy You I think you and I have done these way too many times because that was my next question I was gonna say this is still a really young group But yet like I'm looking at this group you had ten guys with double-digit minutes on Wednesday night You had seven total turnovers.
Let's be honest when games like this kind of get out of control We get a little lazy. We get a little lack of musical with the basketball seven turnovers is impressive Yeah.
Yeah, and that was one of our Achilles heels during the beginning of the year and You know, we've gotten better out now.
We'll stuff some sloppy games and Wouldn't even be surprised tomorrow if we have 15 turnovers, you know, and it's completely worse But there is the cleanup has been much better The decision process by some of our younger guards specifically and our forwards has come a long ways But yeah, I mean between the only seven turnovers.
I think we had 21 offensive rebounds You know and I you know our goal is always to rebound 41 40 percent of our offensive misses And then on the other end if we can keep the other opponent to 25 percent of their misses You know, we're gonna have some serious margins and that usually plays out into a win good thing I like math that all made sense to me Blake you guys as we talked about do have sophomore day that's coming up on Saturday.
What do those days mean to you? Yeah, I mean specialists.
It's really crazy the fact that we're already at this point To say it's mid November amid excuse me mid February and Valentine's Day tomorrow is mind-blowing to me Cuz I feel like we just got started But yeah, it's special we have Five, let's say six.
We have five players and one student assistant that's been with me for two years I'll be walking out with the families and teammates and It's a special moment, you know these kids whether they're here for a year or two You know that when they when they buy in To a bigger picture rather than just themselves.
It's really special to see Because that's the stuff that you know helps our kids succeed so much at the next level and that's not just on the court You know not to be corny But you know the off-the-court stuff and yeah when they when they get in the real world their jobs and they have tough days and Fatherhood married life.
We all know the yups and downs that come with all that Not to do life lessons and stuff like that, but it does carry weight and stuff Blake let's be honest and I'm gonna I just want to piggyback on your life lessons thing Not these guys aren't all going D one and then going to the NBA and gonna make billions of dollars So I think I speak among many that say that and probably a ton of dads to say that too We appreciate you bringing good young men out there, too I mean these guys are gonna be good dudes once they leave D Mac and let's be honest.
I know you'd love it if you had a first round number one NBA draft pick But I bet you're gonna love it if a guy comes back in ten years with four kids and a wife and says thanks coach Yeah It starts in recruiting We've proved for pretty dang good kids and families that come to be a part of our program and even some kids that need a different situation or a second chance whatever it is They're good people and they even further along here with D Mac and the support we have on this campus is amazing And yeah, it's specialty man.
It's I you know, I still keep in contact with guys that I coached You know 12 years ago, you know And you know when they when I get to see them in person or FaceTime or phone call just even a tech check-in I mean that that's a lot, you know, the wind are sweet, but but that's a lot cooler it is It is that well That's why I always say you'll remember some of the wins But you always remember locker room and bus rides and all the other gifts practices and stuff All right, so we got all we got all fun there for a second Let's get down X's and O's I will Western you guys had a heck of a game back in January.
What are you expecting tomorrow? Yeah, I mean we'll be more prepared They did some stuff the first time around that we had not seen them do so we weren't prepared.
So kudos to them Honestly, though, that was one of our worst games of the season as far as how well we played I think I remember we missed 14 to 15 bunnies inside the lane and I mean some easy shots easy shots Defensively, we were far from great.
We had some foul trouble poor decision-making So we'll be ready and that game was a little chippy up there and we snuck out of there with one Oh in and we stole one there if that was huge But I'm hoping we can have a much better performance against them second time around And our guys will be motivated They'll be very motivated and obviously the the factors of sophomore day and not to get too emotional with that But it's also a chance to to clench a share of the conference championship and this would be a 3p, which is absolutely amazing And eventually we'll have a chance to cleanse the outright championship And you know, we're excited for the opportunity and you know hopefully these these guys stay locked in and continue to defend and play together and Selflessness and and be who they've been in the last couple months and it's been fun for sure Blake as always Thank you so much for some time best of luck coming up tomorrow.
We'll talk again real soon Appreciate you. You bet Blake Sanquist again joining us D Mack men's basketball here in coaches corner
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