Eric Henderson on his first year at Drake, his time at SDSU, bringing Jacks with him, and navigating NIL & transfer portal

FULL SHOW: Mike Daum's basketball journey & did SDSU baseball's NCAA crash dampen its accomplishment or "going D1?"

the Happy Hour host describes why going Div. I was such the crystal clear right move for South Dakota State 22 years ago, with the baseball team's trip to Lincoln for the NCAA Baseball Tournament being the latest example. This occurred despite the Jackrabbits' 17-0 loss to Arizona State, a brutal end to the season that highlighted the harsh reality of the gap between Power Four clubs and a northern mid-major. Now what?

SDSU baseball's NCAA crash: Did it dampen the excitement of making it?

The Happy Hour host describes why going Div. I was such the crystal clear right move for South Dakota State 22 years ago, with the baseball team's trip to Lincoln for the NCAA Baseball Tournament being the latest example. This occurred despite the Jackrabbits' 17-0 loss to Arizona State, a brutal end to the season that highlighted the harsh reality of the gap between Power Four clubs and a northern mid-major. Is never having a legitimate shot at a national championship in any sport — except football in the FCS — still a worthwhile tradeoff for SDSU moving up to highest level all those years ago?

Mike Daum on SDSU glory days, his overseas pro career since, and his Nebraska farming roots

Perhaps you've heard about this wild basketball journey covering hundreds of thousands if not millions of miles. The only son of two stud University of Wyoming athletes — his 6'5 dad, an NFL tight end for a cup of coffee and his 6'1 mom, the basketball program's leading scorer and rebounder — grows up tassling corn and shooting endless hours of hoops on the farm in the Nebraska panhandle. Kid grows to 6'9 by age 16, dominates in hoops, makes a three-hour round-trip drive to Fort Collins, Colorado twice a week for AAU practice, travels country for club ball. Kid gets few Div. I offers and not a whiff from home-state schools Nebraska, Creighton, and Omaha. Goes to South Dakota State, blossoms into the most dominant scorer and rebounder in Summit League history, leads the Jackrabbits to three NCAA Tournaments and climbs into the Top 10 NCAA scorers of all-time. Somehow, someway doesn't get drafted by an NBA team and gets tossed aside by the Portland Trailblazers after a brief summer camp stint. Heads to Spain to play for two years. Then, Italy for two years, Turkey for a year, Serbia for a year, and Japan for a year. You probably knew all that about Mike Daum, statistically the most decorated player in SDSU history. What you probably don't know are some of the crazy stories behind his journey and just how fun, goofy, engaging, and energetic a storyteller Daum is. From playing pranks on his farming grandfather and crashing expensive ag equipment to all those Jackrabbit wins, spending COVID lockdown in Spain, and winning over his future wife—a professional volleyball player—by "sliding into her DM's" when they had never met in person, Daum has poured a lot of (mostly joyful) life into his 30 years. Now married and back home in Happy Valley, Oregon during the offseason — how fitting he lives in a place called Happy Valley—Daum found 70 minutes of quiet time away from tending to his 11-month-old first child to gleefully glide down memory lane. Does Daum think he'd actually stay at SDSU if he were part of the NIL/portal era that allows unlimited payment to college athletes? Why didn't the NBA work out for one of the Top 10 scorers in college history? Which of the five countries he has played in has Daum enjoyed living in the most? Dare we ask, what kind of money does a journeyman pro like him make overseas? And how much longer does he want to keep balling for a living? The gregarious "Dauminator" is more than willing to share his unfiltered answers. Before that chat, the Happy Hour host describes why going Div. I was such the crystal clear right move for South Dakota State 22 years ago, with the baseball team's trip to Lincoln for the NCAA Baseball Tournament being the latest example. This occurred despite the Jackrabbits' 17-0 loss to Arizona State, a brutal end to the season that highlighted the harsh reality of the gap between Power Four clubs and a northern mid-major. Now what?

SDSU's Rob Bishop, Twins voice Cory Provus, Stampede coach Ryan Cruthers & president Jim Olander & the Herd Homecoming: This week's "South Dakota Sports Lounge" from Midwest Sports Plus

The most compelling sports stories and conversations of the week all over the Dakotas are told every week on "South Dakota Sports Lounge," a Midwest Sports+ production that melds segments from Forum Communications talk shows and feature stories and is released every Friday. You can view these daily shows and features on your TV set (or any device) on the MS+ app for an afforable monthly subscription. To subscribe, click here [https://www.midwestsportsplus.com/]. This week's segments: Happy Hour with John Gaskins (Sioux Falls) - Clark Cup champion coach Ryan Cruthers and Sioux Falls Stampede president/play-by-play announcer Jim Olander describe the euphoria of winning the USHL championship, the many celebrations in the 72 hours after Joey Macrina's winning double overtime goal in Muskegon, Michigan, on Saturday night, and how the Herd was a unique "family" of blue collar tough guys — some who had been cut from other teams — who had what it took to take down teams with more talent all season long. Hot Mic with Dom Izzo (Fargo) - The TV Voice of the Minnesota Twins Cory Provus offers his thoughts on former No. 1 MLB Draft pick Royce Lewis getting moved down to AAA after struggling mightily the first two months of the season. The Nate Brown Show (Rapid City) - SDSU baseball coach Rob Bishop on how the Jacks broke through to capture their first Summit League Tournament championship in 13 years to qualify for the NCAA Tournament and draw No. 13 national seed Nebraska in Lincoln. Zach Borg (Midwest Sports+) tells the story of the unique Clark Cup championship celebration for the Sioux Falls Stampede at The Birdcage, home of the Sioux Falls Canaries baseball team. Hear from players and coaches on what it means to have the best-attended games and most loyal fans in the entire USHL.

FULL SHOW: Kalen DeBoer & Kurtiss Rigs on the USF glory days, DeBoer 1-on-1, and Thirsty Thursday with Trent Singer (SDSU baseball vs Huskers, Jacks & USD football TV games, Melsted's first days in Minnesota, Stampede title stamp

The record-breaking University of Sioux Falls receiver went on to win three national titles and post a 69-3 record as head coach at his alma mater before several offensive coordinating jobs in Div. I led to head coaching gigs at Fresno State, Washington, and Alabama. Perhaps you're familiar with Kalen DeBoer's 124-20 career record and 86 percent winning clip and the two College Football Playoff appearances of the last three years. His new seven-year extension with Alabama places him among the Top 5 highest-paid coaches in the sport at $12.5 million per year. The quarterback who threw DeBoer the ball stayed in Sioux Falls and coached in high school and professional indoor football — where he won 11 titles in 21 seasons with the Storm — in addition to playing a substantial role on DeBoer's USF staffs during that 69-3 run. Perhaps you're also familiar with Kurtiss Riggs, the football director of the Sanford Sports Academy, which continues to develop youth and prep players, churns out college football players at every level, and provides ample opportunities for those players to become more visible to colleges. And then, there's the decade he has spent as a local TV analyst on live high school and college broadcasts, which has led to his emergence as in IFL game analyst for Yahoo Sports. And, maybe you're well aware these two men were the best of friends in college and still are to this day. But what you may not know is how it all came to be. How did DeBoer and Riggs end up at USF, then become the Montana and Rice of the NAIA in the mid 1990's? After separating for a decade, the two then combined to make USF's offense a runaway train during those dominant DeBoer-led USF years. What were some of those headset discussions like? The two Cougars take us back in time in the latest Happy Hour. DeBoer sticks around to further explain Riggs' football prowess and genius as a coach and announcer, then talks about: * Being a softball dad to Alexis, who was a first-team All-Big Ten softball player at Washington the last two seasons * How a crushing, blowout playoff loss after his first season as USF' head coach — the season before the first of his three USF national titles may help him navigate how he'll react to Crimson Tide's bruising 38-3 Rose Bowl loss to eventual national champion Indiana. * How his coaching experience at USF has helped him handle the NIL/portal landscape and constant roster turnover Before all this, Sioux Falls Live sportswriter Trent Singer joins the Happy Hour host for a Thirsty Thursday at Orion Pub, where they discuss: * South Dakota State's baseball matchup with Nebraska in the NCAA Regional * Recently announced national TV games for SDSU and USD football this season, plus what nine nationally televised games could do for NDSU * How one legendary Minnesota sportswriter reacted to the Golden Gophers hiring now-former Augustana coach Gretta Melsted * The Sioux Falls Stampede's perfect ending to a special Clark Cup season