Before he landed a dream job coaching and thriving Iowa State — where he has earned a reputation as one of the best big-league coaches in the country — T.J. Otzelberger was a struggling rookie head coach at South Dakota State, starting 1-5 in Summit League play.

Otzelberger was an "outsider" coming over from Iowa State's staff. He had never worked in South Dakota when he took over for SDSU legend Scott Nagy, who had just taken the Jackrabbits to their third NCAA Tournament in five seasons before leaving for Wright State.

Pile on that 1-5 start, and there were plenty of people doubting if Otzelberger knew what he was doing. Count the coach himself among them. 

In a 35-minute Happy Hour interview, Otzelberger looks back on the many "sleepless nights" that first season of 2016-17 and how the Jacks turned it into a blazing run back to "the big dance," which included one of the greatest moments in Jackrabbit history — the buzzer-beating "Michael Orris shot" to beat rival and regular season champion South Dakota in the Summit League Tournament semifinals in Sioux Falls. 

The Milwaukee native reminisces about other highlights of his three years in Brookings, most notably coaching Mike Daum during Daum's his ascent to becoming one of the Top 10 scorers in NCAA history. Through all three years, Otzelberger's SDSU successor Eric Henderson showed signs of becoming an effective head coach with his work as an Otzelberger assistant.

But first, Otzelberger addresses one of his trademarks — the tight polo shirt — and tackles the transfer-heavy times coaches like him navigate in the current NIL era, including the departing with Sioux Falls Lincoln alumnus J.T. Rock, who left for New Mexico.

Before you enjoy a juicy Otzelberger, a nod to the hot hitting Sioux Falls Canaries, who averaged over 10 runs per game in their six-game homestand at The Birdcage that wrapped up on Sunday. The highlight of the week came on Friday, when Augustana alumnus Jordan Barth hit two grand slams and USF alumnus Josh Rehwaldt hit for the cycle, finishing on a home run.

You can no longer use "the Canaries stink" or "there's no local players to watch" as excuses to skip trips to The Birdcage. Now, it's your loss.

Then, Sioux Falls Live sports reporter Trent Singer provides a potpourri of local sports insights on developments in Augustana softball, Augustana hockey, and USF baseball. Plus, a wrap on the Twins weekend that saw a 13-game winning streak end and the Oklahoma City Thunder emerge as the Minnesota Timeberwolves' opponent in the Western Conference Finals. Who will win the West?