Former North Branch basketball star Dave Boots reaches milestone as coach of South Dakota Coyotes
The 1973-74 North Branch High School basketball Vikings had some big shoes to fill, according to the Nov. 22, 1973 Post-Review.
New head coach Pete Toews didn’t have the high socks super star players of 6’7” Scott Larson, “fiery” guard Gary Olson and All-State athlete and leading conference scorer Ron Zillmer — gone due to graduation — who helped dominate the East Central Conference and District 25 the year before.
But the Vikings did have playmaker Dave Boots back for his senior year, and it turned out to be a memorable one for the 5’9” guard, his fine teammates and the folks in town who always filled the seats on game night.
Almost 40 years later, Boots continues to hit his mark in the basketball world as coach of the University of South Dakota men’s basketball team. In his 24th season there, he earned his 600th career coaching victory on Nov. 28, 2011 when his Coyotes defeated the Tabor Bluejays, 69-63, in Vermillion, S.D. See more in Jon Tatting’s ECM Post Review story.
