SDSU hoops legend & Augie assistant coach Michael Orris on "the shot" and a wild basketball life

ohn Elway led "The Drive."    Dwight Clark made "The Catch."   And in South Dakota State's rich history at the Summit League Tournament in Sioux Falls, Michael Orris hit "The Shot."   It is one of those iconic moments in sports (around here) that, if you mention Orris's name, the first thing that would come to mind for about 99.9% of people who know Jackrabbits or SLT history is "The Shot."   For those who don't remember or don't want to zoom to the 4:04 mark on this clip — Orris hit an 18-foot jumper with 1.5 seconds left to beat arch rival and No. 1 seed South Dakota in the semfinal of the 2017 tourney in front of an electric, record SLT crowd of 11,235 in the PREMIER Center.   That shot vaulted SDSU — the No. 4 seed and 15-16 coming into the event — into the championship game, where the Jacks beat Omaha 79-77 for the fifth out of seven SLT titles and NCAA Tournament bids.   More devout SDSU fans remember Orris as a tough-as-a-two-dollar-steak graduate transfer senior point guard, who in his only season at the school was part of T.J. Otzelberger's first team and helped will the Jacks to a roaring, late-season surge after starting 1-6 in league play.   So, how did Orris — who started his career at Kansas State, transferred to Northern Illinois, was ready to quit college hoops despite a year of eligibility remaining — end up in Brookings? And how did the Jacks turn a disastrous season into a memorable February and March run for the ages?   Fortunately, Orris is back in Sioux Falls to tell the story in person. He is in his first season as an assistant coach for Cody Schilling's Augustana squad. The Vikings have won 10 of their last 12 games and are the No. 2 seed heading into this weekend's NSIC Tournament in the Pentagon.    How did Schilling lure Orris back to South Dakota? Well, that's another cool story.   Orris has a lot of them. He's the same gregarious, engaging dude from Chicago that he was as a Jackrabbit, and there is sooooooo much more to him and his basketball journey than "The Shot."    There's the "Chicago" in him that helped shape his career and has helped him recruit that area. There's the fiery player in him that he believes resonates with his players. There's his refusal to eat a thing before dinner because his Puerto Rican wife will always have a king's spread waiting for him after work, or a long road trip.   To know Orris is to enjoy him. So, enjoy.