Players to watch in men's hoops

Sonja Karp
NLJ Sports Reporter
 
Only one Splash Brother will return for the Dogies this season. Dylon Tidyman and Cade Ostenson played off each other last year which gave each the opportunity to rack up some pretty impressive stats. 
Tidyman returns without his “brother” this year, and is certainly the squad’s biggest threat. The senior is beginning his fourth year of varsity play, three of which he started for the Dogies. He is a three-time All-Conference selection and was also named to the All-State team last year. 
“Dylon’s a very solid kid and he worked very hard in the off-season this year,” Dogie head coach Allen Von Eye stated. “He played some AAU, got in the gym a lot and you will see that he has really enhanced his athleticism, which was already pretty good in the first place. He’s pretty hopsy right now, and has more spring than he had before. Because of that, his jump shot is really tough because he just rises up so well.”
Last season, Tidyman led the team in two-point field goals hitting 127 of 246 attempts. He was 52% from two, 32% from three and 64% from the charity stripe and scored 376 points, to finish as the team’s second leading scorer behind Ostenson. 
Tidyman led the team in rebounding pulling down 155 boards, and also led in steals and blocks nabbing 72 of the former and rejecting 20 of the latter.
His career stats are also impressive. In 67 games played, the senior has racked up 800 points so far, so is definitely in contention to put up over 1,000 points in his career. His two-point percentage is at 48, three-point at 32.8 and free throws are 64.7%. He has pulled down 338 rebounds, has 104 assists, 139 steals and 44 blocks.
“Dylon will do a good job, but he’ll have to because other teams are going to be zeroed in on him this year,” Von Eye predicted. “He’s going to get the attention Cade did last year, without having another “Dylon” to be a huge offensive threat when he’s being double teamed. But, he’s a very good basketball player so he will create and get his own.”
Junior Zach Purviance is another Dogie that will fit in the top returning players. His varsity experience is vastly different than Tidyman’s, however he got some pretty good minutes last year as a sophomore.
“We felt pretty confident putting Zach in the game in a shooting type of role, but he will definitely have to step up his game defensively,” Von Eye nodded. “He will also need to be more than a one-trick pony, because he is no longer in the role where he will be able to just sit in the corner and shoot, especially when we see those situations where Dylon is in a box-and-one and being face-guarded.” 
Purviance was behind several senior guards last season, but when called upon, he was a serious threat from beyond the arc. He made an appearance in 17 varsity contests last year where he was 31% from three-point land. 
Von Eye is looking to him to continue to be an offensive threat, but admitted that he will need to be a little more assertive in taking on a much bigger role this year.
“Zach really wants to step into that bigger role,” Von Eye began. “He’s a good shooter and does some good things, we just need to work on the confidence of his all-around game. It will come, and he is definitely ready to step up.”
Peyton Tystad will also be a Dogie to keep an eye on this year. Last season, Tystad was a seventh man who Von Eye counted on to be consistent on the court when called upon.
“Peyton played a decent amount of time last year, especially in the beginning before we all got healthy,” he stated. “I always know what I’m going to get with him. He works hard up and down the floor and gets a lot of those hustle plays that are so important.”
Tystad has been a solid defensive player, but Von Eye will be looking to him to provide a bigger offensive presence on the court this season.
“He knows his role and does a good job of getting other guys involved, but he’ll have to also be an offensive threat, especially around the rim. On cuts he’s going to have to get some buckets for us and he will have to step in to score on the inside to take some of the load off Dylon.”
Tystad has played in 28 varsity contests so far in his career, and he is 41% from two, and 50% from the line. Last season, he was 40% from two-point land and 50% on free throws. He scored 23 points, pulled down 32 rebounds, had eight assists and 10 steals.
Tidyman, Purviance and Tystad, along with the rest of their team are in the gym and gearing up to get the season underway in just a few weeks.