2024 Spring newsletter will be the 20th edition
The final chapter in each high school basketball season in South Dakota is completed by the announcement of the all-state teams. It has been that way since 1955 when the first official Class A and Class B all-state teams were chosen by the members of the South Dakota Sportswriters Association.
During the two-class era there were a number of outstanding players who were selected to the all-state team twice. But it was rare for any player to receive all-state honors three years. And much rarer still to be recognized among South Dakota’s finest as a freshman, sophomore, junior and senior.
Chad Nelson (at left in Drake photo) accomplished that impressive feat while starring at Yankton. He was named to the Class A all-state team in 1971, 1972, 1973 and 1974. He went on to play collegiately at Minnesota and Drake.
The South Dakota High School Basketball Hall of Fame mailed its 2024 Spring Newsletter on April 17. Among the several stories in the newsletter is a look back at some of the most talented and memorable all-state first teams in the 70-year history of boys all-state in South Dakota. Our readers are given an opportunity to express their opinions on that topic.
Also featured in the free newsletter is a study of how, through the decades, the landscape of high school basketball has changed in the state because of evolving factors such as school closures. Another story revisits a pair of girls teams that earned improbable championships. Both squads posted some dramatic upsets along the way to shock the state.
The 2024 Spring Newsletter is our 20th edition. To commemorate that milestone the newsletter contains a trivia quiz. All of the 20 questions pertain to various stories that have appeared throughout the previous 19 newsletters.