Tourney Talk: HoopsHD interviews South Dakota State SR PG Michael Orris

Last Tuesday South Dakota State beat Omaha 79-77 in the Summit League title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA tournament. The Jackrabbits made the NCAA tourney in 2016 before losing to Maryland and made it back this year to claim the school’s 4th NCAA tourney bid since 2012.  HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with SR PG Michael Orris about what it feels like to make the tourney during his 1 year of eligibility as a graduate transfer.

You originally signed with Illinois but followed Illini coach Bruce Weber to Kansas State before later transferring to Northern Illinois: why did you switch to the Huskies, and do you have any regrets about the whole process? Hindsight is 20-20 so I guess I would have handled the recruiting process a little differently, but at the time I was just a 17-year old kid. That being said, I have no regrets.

You then decided to come to South Dakota State as a graduate transfer: how does your approach coming into a season change when you know that you only have 1 season of eligibility? It is a really unique situation: I wanted to find the perfect coach/system/fit that would maximize my abilities and allow me to excel. I was longing for that great PG/coach relationship like I have seen in the past with TJ McConnell/Sean Miller or Ryan Arcidiacono/Jay Wright. The moment I talked to Coach TJ on the phone we just clicked right away.

You play for 1st-year coach TJ Otzelberger: how do you like playing for him, and did you 2 create a special bond because you were both starting your Jackrabbit careers at the same time? I think that is where our bond started. He always had a chip on his shoulder with people telling him he could not do this or that. He wanted this to be a redemption year for me because he had heard about me from back when I was in high school and knew the kind of person that I was. It is unbelievable to play for him: the freedom he gives his players is 2nd to none and we finish each other’s sentences when it comes to play-calling.

In your final non-conference game of the year you scored 15 PTS/6-8 FG in a 22-PT loss at Wichita State: how do they compare to teams you saw during your time in the Big 12? I think that they are right there: they have the length/size/versatility to rival any high-major that I have seen, but we can rival them as well.

SO PF Mike Daum was conference ROY in 2016 and conference POY in 2017: what makes him such a great player? Mike is special: it is unique to have a big man who is so mobile. We call him “Baby Dirk”, which could not be more accurate. His awareness offensively is incredible, which makes my job as a PG a lot easier.

In the Summit League semifinal you scored a career-high-tying 20 PTS including the game-winning shot with 1.5 seconds left in a 3-PT win over #1-seed South Dakota: did you think that it was going in, and where does that rank among the highlights of your career? I knew as soon as it left my hand that it was going in…which is why I did a little pose! It was a crazy game and to finish it like that is what I dreamed of as a kid on my cement driveway counting down for the last-second shot. It has to rank as the #1 shot that I have ever taken.

Last Tuesday you scored 6 PTS while playing the entire 40 minutes in a 2-PT win over Omaha: how exhausted were you by the end of the game, and what was the feeling like during the court-storm? Coach TJ laughed after the Denver game and asked if I enjoyed my night off…since I only played 36 minutes! I love playing/competing and do not care about anything else. My career could have ended at any moment last week so fatigue was not going to set in for me. I would have played 60 minutes if it could get us into the NCAA tourney.

In the 2016 NCAA tourney the Jackrabbits had a 5-PT loss to Maryland: did you watch the game, and what do you think it will take to pull off an upset this year? They fought very hard and all the guys have talked about that experience. As you see every year you can just throw records out the window: at Kansas State we were a high seed but lost in the 1st round. You have to do all the little things: we are all trying to win and it is a beautiful thing to watch.

What kind of seed do you think that you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think that you are going to get? We have been talking about that all week. I have heard that we are going to be a 15 or 16 seed but it does not matter to me: we are fortunate to be in the tourney and will be excited with whatever we get. I think it would be cool to be a #16-seed and try to make some history against a #1-seed.

Your career on the college court might come to a close next week: what is your plan for the future? I want to play for as long as I can so I will pursue a pro career for as long as I can, but I am going to get my Masters degree and might end up on the sideline 1 day as a coach.