South Dakota State has owned the Summit League recently, making 6 NCAA tourneys during the past 11 years, but 1 of their 1st big stars did not show up until the 1980s. Mark Tetzlaff helped lead the Jackrabbits to the 1985 D-2 title game and was named tourney MOP even after losing that game by a single point. He set the school’s all-time scoring and rebounding records and remains the school’s all-time leading shooter with 60.7 FG%. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Mark about his athletic family and almost winning a title. Today marks the 12th anniversary of Mark’s induction into the Jackrabbit Sports Hall of Fame on November 6, 2010, so we take this time to reflect on his remarkable accomplishments.
Your family has a very impressive athletic lineage (your dad finished 3rd in the 1949 state Class B boys basketball tournament, your brother Harley won a state basketball title, your brother Kevin was an All-American nose guard at South Dakota State, your daughter Jessica won a state basketball title, and your son Dustin was Class AA POY): was it a coincidence that you had such an athletic family or do you credit at least some of your success to genetics? I guess that both genetics and family tradition go a long way. My folks helped by letting us get involved in all sports.
Why did you choose to go to South Dakota State? I was impressed with the recruiting process and my personality seemed to mix well with that of Coach Gene Zulk. It was a large school that was close to home, which also helped a lot.
In 1985 your team lost the D-2 title game to Jacksonville State by 1 PT but you were still named tourney MOP: what are your memories of the game, and how did it feel to win MOP while losing the title? I would have given up the MOP to win the title. We were up by 5 PTS with a couple of minutes left. There might have been a few bad calls at the end…but they have never changed them even to this day! It was 1 of the biggest crowds we had ever seen. We did not have the most talent in the world but practice was a war zone because none of us ever gave up. Coach Zulk was 1 of the best in my eyes because not only was he a good coach but he cared about us as players.
After retiring as a player you became an agricultural and commercial banker: how did you get into that line of work, and how do you like it? I enjoy banking very much: my degree was in commercial economics and I have been in the banking industry for decades.
Your son decided to play college basketball at your archrival (South Dakota): how did you feel about his choice of college? He went to USD but later transferred to Northern to play ball there.