Sioux Valley standout Oliver Vincent to 'come back home' to play for DWU men's basketball

Jun. 20—MITCHELL — Oliver Vincent could always picture himself in the blue and white colors of Dakota Wesleyan.

Even as a little kid when he went to every home game, sitting behind the Dakota Wesleyan men's basketball bench watching the likes of Ty Hoglund and Tate Martin, Vincent had one dream in mind.

Fast forward to 2023 and Vincent was a Class A all-state first-team senior in high school for Sioux Valley after averaging 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists for the Cossacks.

And come this fall, he'll be living out the visions he had so many years ago, donning the those familiar colors on the court for DWU.

"Sitting right behind the bench I could always just envision myself playing like Tate Martin, dribbling the ball up the floor, blowing by dudes," Vincent said. "There were times where people were hitting game winners and I could just always see myself doing those same things in the future and putting myself in that jersey."

Vincent moved to Mitchell in third grade and grew up in the area until he moved to Brookings before eighth grade to play at Sioux Valley, in nearby Volga, where his uncle was the head coach and his dad was an assistant.

Playing under both his dad and his uncle, as well as playing with his older brother, Kelton, was an opportunity he couldn't pass up. And though it was difficult choice to leave Mitchell, he said it was a decision he'd make 1,000 times over, because it bettered him both on and off the court.

"I think my dad and my uncle, I'm obviously biased because they're family and they're my coaches, but I just feel like they're the two best coaches in the state," Vincent said. "They can be hard on me and push me to that next level, when they're not able to do that with guys that really aren't their family. They're able to yell at me and turn me into the player and the person I am today, and without them, I wouldn't be half the man I am right now."

And even though he didn't play for the Kernels in high school, there has always been — and still is — a mutual love between Mitchell and Vincent. Buster, Oliver's dad, coached many of the Mitchell seniors from a year ago that made the Class AA state title game while they were growing up.

Buster said during Oliver's sophomore year, people left Rapid City after Mitchell's final game at the state tournament and traveled to Sioux Falls to watch Oliver play in the Class A state championship later that night, decked out in Cossack gear. And Oliver reciprocated the love for Mitchell, making sure to watch Mitchell's championship game on TV this past year after his contest in the Class A consolation championship was over.

"It was a really tough decision on Oli, because he's as loyal as the day is long," Buster said of the move to Sioux Valley. "But he also knew the success that we were having and could continue to have at Sioux Valley."

But Vincent's recruitment to Dakota Wesleyan started even before his move to Sioux Valley — It started when Vincent was going into seventh grade.

While Vincent was working out with Hoglund one day, DWU coach Matt Wilber pulled him aside and told Vincent he believed in him, letting the then-middle schooler know that when the time came for him to make a decision, the option to be a Tiger would be on the table.

And that early commitment to Vincent from Wilber helped the Tigers land the Sioux Valley star, even though he had heard from the likes of the University of South Dakota, Black Hills State and Northwestern College (Iowa).

"All throughout these past five, six years that I've been playing high school basketball, he's been to a lot of my (games)," Vincent said of Wilber. "We really have a good relationship and it's just kind of what led me to pick the school I did even though there were some other good offers on the table."

A multi-faceted guard, Vincent takes pride in being able to do different things on the basketball court. In his first few years with Sioux Valley he was a scorer, but after his brother graduated, he transitioned to point guard and turned into a facilitator, upping his playmaking ability and assist totals.

He's hoping that versatility, as well as a hard-working mindset, will help him contribute to the Tigers right away. And his preparation for this season has already begun, watching film on other schools in the Great Plains Athletic Conference.

Vincent's commitment to DWU is more than just the Tigers getting a star player to add to their talented recruiting class, though.

It's a homecoming for Vincent and a chance to leave his mark on a community that's near and dear to him.

"I got that opportunity to come back home and still make an impact on Mitchell and the community," he said. "That was also a big reason why I chose to come back is because it is home for me and it's where I'm comfortable."