Connor Libis leaves it all on the court, leaves a lasting legacy
DELL RAPIDS, S.D. (BVM) — In his last game as a Dell Rapids St. Mary Cardinal, Connor Libis had 29 points, four steals, five rebounds and three assists as the Cardinals beat Viborg-Hurley in the SDHSAA Class B third-place game.
It was not the state championship the senior-heavy Dell Rapids team had set out to win this season, but the game allowed Libis to put the finishing touches on a historic high school career.
The 5-foot-9 guard leaves South Dakota high school basketball third on the all-time scoring list with 2,731 points, only behind White River’s Louie Krogman (3,521) and Lake Norden’s Don Jacobsen (2,825).
“It does mean a lot,” Libis said. “High school basketball players were my heroes; those were the guys I learned from.”
Growing up, Libis watched the tape of guys like Krogman, wanting to emulate what they were able to do. Now he joins those he once looked up to and has become someone that kids can look up to like he once did.
“I take great pride to be on a list with their names,” Libis said.
Along with watching great high school players, Libis’ love for the game developed at a young age. Libis can recall during the last game of his fifth-grade season, in the tournament championship, he hit a buzzer-beater to win the game.
From that point on he set a goal for himself to make varsity as a seventh grader at Dell Rapids St. Mary. Libis worked tirelessly and by the time he reached seventh grade, he not only made varsity, he was an important contributor for the Cardinals.
“I think I am a guy who usually has very high confidence and probably at that time was a little naive,” Libis said. “Not really fully understanding what the situation was. I just used that as a benefit for myself.”
That confidence and naivety was backed by a work ethic that made him a player everyone had to take notice of and hone his skills out on the court quickly. He may have been one of the younger guys out there but he was always one of the hardest workers as well.
“I have a willingness that I don’t want to get outworked,” Libis said. “It’s just something deep down that was instilled in me by my parents, by my mom and dad, that I just really have a hard time seeing someone do more than me.”
By eighth grade, he was first team all-conference and took on a leadership role for the Cardinals, and although he would continue to receive accolades including four first team all-conference nods and three straight first team all-state honors, it was never about that for Libis.
“The points, the records, the all-states,” Libis said. “All the awards are all second to what I wanted to do and that was to win. Being able to do that that means everything there’s no other words to describe that.”
As Libis improved so did the program going from a team that went 1-20 his first year as a seventh grader to a state title contender as they entered this season. Along with Libis this season Dell Rapids feature seven other seniors who had all been playing together for 10 years.
Libis averaged 23.1 points , 4.5 rebounds , 3.0 assists on his way to being one of the best players in the state, and as he continued to make a name for himself, he took pride in representing the community that he grew up in.
“When the Argus Leader first five came out, which is the top-five basketball players in the state, seeing my name on there,” Libis said. “It wasn’t so much seeing my name on there it was seeing my school. Being able to put my school on the map like that and telling us that we’re able to do something like this it’s just unbelievable.”
Coming from a small Catholic school in a community that loves basketball, he has not only etched his name into history but his school as well.
Libis will continue to play basketball at Briar Cliff University, but he will always be remembered as Connor Libis, guard for Dell Rapids St. Mary.
