The South Dakota Gold were a short-lived

professional basketball In professional sports, as opposed to amateur sports, participants receive payment for their performance. Professionalism in sport has come to the fore through a combination of developments. Mass media and increased leisure have brought larg ...

team based in

Mitchell, South Dakota Mitchell is a city in and the county seat of Davison County, South Dakota, United States. The population was 15,660 at the 2020 census making it the sixth most populous city in South Dakota. Mitchell is the principal city of the Mitchell Micr ...

. They played one season in the

International Basketball Association The International Basketball Association (IBA) was founded in 1995 by a group of businessmen led by Tom Anderson. The original owners of franchises in the league were George Daniel (Black Hills Posse-Rapid City, SD), John Korsmo, Al Gardner, and A ...

(IBA).

History

Before the 2000–01 IBA season the

Black Hills Gold The Black Hills Gold was an American professional basketball club based in Rapid City, South Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association for a single season (1999/2000). The team followed two previous Rapid City IBA teams, th ...

, a franchise based in

Rapid City, South Dakota Rapid City ( lkt, link=no, Mni Lúzahaŋ Otȟúŋwahe; "Swift Water City") is the second most populous city in South Dakota and the county seat of Pennington County. Named after Rapid Creek, where the settlement developed, it is in western So ...

, relocated to

Mitchell Mitchell may refer to: People *Mitchell (surname) *Mitchell (given name) Places Australia * Mitchell, Australian Capital Territory, a light-industrial estate * Mitchell, New South Wales, a suburb of Bathurst * Mitchell, Northern Territo ...

and changed its name to South Dakota Gold. The franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund, while Rick Lindner served as the team's general manager. On October 1, 2000 the Gold announced Reggie Williams as their new head coach. The team opened the season on November 24, 2000 against the Salina Rattlers, winning the game 90–71. On December 3, 2000 center LeRon Williams recorded a season-high 34 points in an 88–87 home win against the Salina Rattlers. Two days later the team recorded its first loss, 86–88 in overtime against the Rattlers. On December 11, 2000 coach Reggie Williams resigned, and was replaced two days later by

Marcus Liberty Marcus Liberty (born October 27, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. He played four seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Liberty played college basketball for the University of Illinois. High school After ...

, who served as player and coach for the team. The newly appointed coach debuted with an 81–96 loss to the

Des Moines Dragons The Des Moines Dragons were a minor league basketball team in the International Basketball Association. They were located in Des Moines, Iowa, and played at the Iowa Veterans Memorial Auditorium. The Dragons were owned by Paul Miller, and Dick Gi ...

. On December 31, 2000 guard Jermaine Slider recorded a season-high 12 assists against the

Winnipeg Cyclone The Winnipeg Cyclone was a professional basketball club based in Winnipeg, Manitoba that competed in the International Basketball Association from 1995 to 2001. The Cyclone played its home games at the Winnipeg Convention Centre (dubbed the "Wind Tu ...

, while on January 4, 2001 LeRon Williams recorded a season-best 13 rebounds, along with 21 points in a game against the Billings RimRockers. The South Dakota Gold regularly brought up to 1,000 fans to the

Corn Palace The Corn Palace, commonly advertised as The World's Only Corn Palace and the Mitchell Corn Palace, is a multi-purpose arena/facility located in Mitchell, South Dakota, United States. The Moorish Revival building is decorated with crop art; the mu ...

every game. The team's best attendance for a regular season home game was on December 1, 2000 when 1,238 people attended the season opener against

Fargo-Moorhead Beez The Fargo-Moorhead Beez was a professional basketball club based in Fargo, North Dakota that competed in the International Basketball Association beginning in the 1995-1996 season. They were the 1995-1996 and the 1997-1998 International Basketball ...

. This game ended with a Gold win, 91–76. The average attendance for regular season home games was 930. The team ended the regular season with a 21–19 record, which put them on the second place in the East Division behind the Des Moines Dragons. The Gold advanced to the division semifinals, which saw them lose the series 2–1 against the Siouxland Bombers, with the last game going to overtime and ending in a Gold loss, 90–98. Guard Rasheed Brokenborough was named IBA Sixth Man of the Year, while center LeRon Williams was the team's top scorer (19 points per game) and top rebounder (7.9).

Season-by-season records

All-time roster

* Rasheed Brokenborough (

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) * H. L. Coleman (

Wyoming Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...

) *Katu Davis (

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

) *Marvin Gay (

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

) *Wayne Houston (

Southern Indiana Southern Indiana is a region consisting of the southern third of the state of Indiana. The region's history and geography has led to a blend of Northern and Southern culture distinct from the remainder of Indiana. It is often considered to be p ...

) *Harold Jackson (

District of Columbia ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) *Daron Jenkins (

Southern Miss The University of Southern Mississippi (Southern Miss or USM) is a public research university with its main campus located in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. It is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools to award bachelor's, ma ...

) *Gary Johnson (

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

) *

(

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

) *Tony Lovan (

Western Kentucky Western Kentucky is the western portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It generally includes part or all of several more widely recognized regions of the state. ;Always included * The Jackson Purchase, the state's westernmost generally recogniz ...

) *Eric Martin (

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the nor ...

) *Damien McSwine ( Loyola (IL) *Ryan Miller ( Northern State) *Derrick Price (

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) *Jermaine Slider (

Fairleigh Dickinson Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university with its main campuses in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Founded in 1942, Fairleigh Dickinson University currently offers more than 100 degree programs to its students. In addition to its tw ...

) *Damon Watlington (

Virginia Tech Virginia Tech (formally the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University and informally VT, or VPI) is a Public university, public Land-grant college, land-grant research university with its main campus in Blacksburg, Virginia. It also ...

) * Sherron Wilkerson (

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

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South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

) ''Source'':

Awards

*IBA Sixth Man of the Year: Rasheed Brokenborough

References

{{IBA Defunct basketball teams in the United States Defunct sports clubs and teams in South Dakota Basketball teams in South Dakota 2000 establishments in South Dakota Sports in South Dakota Basketball teams established in 2000 2001 disestablishments in South Dakota Sports clubs and teams disestablished in 2001