Impactful William Kyle III steals the show in Summit tourney opener for SDSU
Mar. 9—SIOUX FALLS — One dunk at a time on Saturday night, William Kyle III made sure this go-around at the Summit League tournament would be different.
From alley-oops to fast-break rim-rockers, Kyle was flying all over the court and provided the energy from the opening tip that set the top-seeded Jackrabbits on their way to a 79-63 men's basketball victory over Oral Roberts at the Premier Center.
"It gives us so much energy," Jackrabbit star Zeke Mayo said. "Nine times out of 10, it comes off a defensive stop and it's because he's outrunning the defense. We want to reward those types of things."
Kyle, the second-year standout from Bellevue, Nebraska, got the building on its feet with an alley-oop dunk off a pass from teammate Charlie Easley in the opening 75 seconds of the game. Later in the game, he capped a fastbreak with a huge leap and slam and he showed more athleticism with a standing dunk from under the basket.
"I do catch myself by surprise all the time. ... If I can dunk it, I can dunk it," Kyle said. "It is my highest-percentage shot when I'm on the floor so every chance I get, I'm going to try to (dunk)."
The final line for Kyle on Saturday: 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting and nine rebounds in 31 minutes. The game was in stark contrast to Kyle's debut Summit League tournament in 2023. In two games, Kyle was 1-for-7 from the field with two points scored and three rebounds, as SDSU slipped past Omaha in the first round and bowed out against North Dakota State in the semifinals.
SDSU coach Eric Henderson said the maturity of Kyle is the reason for the improvement and the impact. He pointed to how Kyle responded to being removed from the starting lineup in November after the team's multi-team event in Florida. Kyle had 11 games in a row coming off the bench, slowly improving before getting back in the starting five in January.
"He's grown a lot throughout the year and his maturity level. ... I give him a lot of credit for considering what he could change," Henderson said. "Since then, his focus, his intentions have been unbelievable and the amount of growth I've seen has been unbelievable. It's all because of his maturity and I think that's why you see the results today compared to what you saw last year."
Kyle's impact was obvious to both teams in the game, including Oral Roberts first-year head coach Russell Springmann.
"He's simple and I don't mean that as anything but a compliment," Springmann said. "He gets his position and he gets to where he's most effective and he doesn't settle. He's playing to get on the rim. His development has been scary when you think about where he was a year ago, and again, I mean that as a compliment. He does what he does best."
Kyle said he was committed to making this Summit League tournament experience a better one, powering the Jackrabbits into the semifinals on Monday night against either St. Thomas or North Dakota State.
"It was a lot of motivation knowing how those two games went last year," Kyle said. "I wouldn't say I wanted to redeem myself but I wanted to be better."
