'Tis the season

T
here’s nothing like putting up a tree and decorating your house to get you in the Christmas spirit. I did that this weekend and have begun to feel all the feels of the holidays.
There’s also nothing like seeing the Dogies and Lady Dogies on the court in the annual Orange and Black scrimmage to get you in the basketball spirit.
On Saturday, Dogie fans were treated to some fun hoops action and boy am I excited to see how the season unfolds for both teams.
Neither team is very experienced, but each varsity squad has a load of untested and unverified  talent that could make this season a fun one for all.
The Dogies and Lady Dogies each played one 20 minute quarter, and both games were action packed with a lot of running and gunning which makes for a highly entertaining contest.
Within the first few seconds of the Lady Dogies scrimmage, Mercedes Voelker drained a three on her first touch of the game. You know when she starts off hitting from beyond the arc, that it’s going to be a good night.
It was also fun to watch the freshmen players give a little preview of what they are capable of doing on the court. It’s no secret this group of girls has a great deal of talent, so it was exciting to see them in action at the high school level.
Jaylen Ostenson nearly single handedly brought her team back from a deficit of nine or 10 points to pull ahead and ultimately win the contest. As only a freshman, it will be a lot of fun to watch her play over the next four years.
The Dogies had their version of the Splash Brothers with Jaylen’s older brother Cade and Dylon Tidyman these last couple of years. I’m pretty excited about the possibility of having a Splash Sisters situation with Jaylen, Shelby Tidyman and Ally Cass. Though Tidyman is more of a ball handler and defensive specialist, she still has the ability to get to the rack while Ostenson and Cass can be threats from a variety of distances from the hoop.
What I think will be awesome as the season progresses is that this team has a lot of weapons beyond the girls I’ve mentioned. That makes for a great situation for the Lady Dogies.
The Dogies return only one truly seasoned varsity player in Dylon Tidyman who was the second leading scorer behind Cade Ostenson last season. Our opponents know that he is a danger, so I’m sure he is going to be on the receiving end of a lot of defensive pressure. If what I saw last Saturday continues to repeat itself, I think several other players will get a chance to show what they can do with the ball.
From juniors to freshmen, the Dogies had a variety of guys who were hitting from beyond the arc, or driving to the hoop to make a play. Landon Engle had a great night from three point land in the corner, Zach Purviance was putting in points, and Slade Roberson and Taten Engle were making plays as well.
In fact, Tidyman didn’t have to be a workhorse for his team. Though the younger players lack experience, I think they will come along nicely as the year goes forward.
Between the two teams, they are returning only a total of seven players with experience in a varsity game, so most of the athletes on the court will play in the first varsity game of their career this Friday. 
While it still remains to be seen, I expect the young players I watched on Saturday to adapt to, and show some prowess when they meet up with the Custer Wildcats this week. Both of the South Dakota teams are full of talent and are more experienced than ours, but I’m thinking that Newcastle will hold their own.
‘Tis the season to be jolly because Dogie and Lady Dogie basketball is about to embark on what should prove to be a fun, action-packed four months of hoops.