BulldogsRoundball Letter to Santa

Dear Santa:

Thanks so much for the other night's game. While we lost a heartbreaker, especially one that we likely should have closed out in regulation, it was fantastic to see the Bulldogs play at a high level against a quality opponent. Tuesday was the most fun I have had at a Drake game since we beat Iowa 60-43 at home last year.

While our 5-7 record doesn't indicate that we're having a great year, make no mistake that the guys have been good boys this year. They don't get into the legal problems that players at bigger programs have been struggling with, they go to class and contribute, and they generally work their tails off. Even when things aren't going our way (take the Iowa State game), they still compete and never give up. If that doesn't make them good, I don't know what does.

Because of that, I'm hoping you can bring the guys a few things for Christmas:

1. Ben Simons shot. Since the UCF game where he scored 11, Ben has been averaging 7.6 PPG and has been shooting 37.3% from the field. In addition, he's shot 8-30 from beyond the arc, which translates to 26.7%. While we have guys on this squad that can shoot, I think Ben is critical to adding that extra option, and I'd like to see him pick it up. He showed signs of that in the second half of Tuesday's game, maybe for Christmas you can keep that going into Valley play.
2. Josh Young's Confidence. I'll preface this by saying that JY is extremely mentally tough. But there's no way anyone would not be reeling after missing multiple opportunities to win a huge game for their team. It's unquestionable that he is a leader on this team, and his play is critical to how well we finish this season. Please ensure that Josh keeps his confidence and steps it up after having a rough night, Santa. He was really starting to turn things around lately, scoring in double figures in the past five games, en route to posting a 16.8 PPG average over that same timeframe.
3. Some breaks for Adam Templeton. Adam has visibly been working hard and playing a critical role to the team, leading us with 6.5 RPG. He's also shooting 44.7% from behind the arc on the year. He has been fantastic and has been playing like the true '4' this team needs. Please reward his efforts with a breakout game or a clutch shot down the stretch against a big Valley opponent, because he sure deserves it.
4. Continued Development of Seth Van Deest. This team obviously has a rebounding deficiency. Please help SVD continue his interior development to get those 7+ rebound games (like he did on Tuesday) to be more of a norm from him. Even though he had a bit of an off night shooting, he still offers a great interior scoring option as of late, and if he can continue to rebound at a clip like that, he will continue to help this team in a critical way.
5. Large Crowd for Next Tuesday v. Bradley. Please help the DSM fans to continue to show up and be loud like they were on Tuesday. Please excuse 99% of the crowd for remaining with 0.3 seconds left and not supporting our team for 45 minutes even though they gave us a hard 45 minutes of basketball. We really do need a big crowd to show up for what could be a tough matchup against Bradley. It seemed that the guys really fed off of the crowd on Tuesday, and I ask you Santa that you help continue that in upcoming games.

We'll try to get some Bulldog shaped Christmas cookies along with a tall glass of milk for you at the Knapp Center, so you can leave the items above.

- dutl