Dougie makes it official, signs with College of Idaho
Surrounded by family, coaches, teammates and classmates, Butte Central's Dougie Peoples officially signed his letter of intent to continue his basketball career at the College of Idaho, the defending NAIA National Champions.
What I'm excited about and what we all should be excited about is what he will become - Butte Central Coach Brodie Kelly
Brodie Kelly, Peoples' coach during his amazing 4-year run as a Maroon. said that while Dougie will be remembered for the shots he's made and the plays he's made, his best years may lie ahead. "What I'm excited about and what we all should be excited about is what he will become, because what this kid has proven over his life, is that he is good because he has made himself good. What a great lesson for everybody," Keladding "The desire to be great and the work ethic...and people always underestimate is how good you get in college." Kelly knows a thing or two about this as his career saw him help lead the Maroons to the 1992 state championship and then go on to a legendary career at Montana Tech where he was a defensive menace, generally giving up several inches of height every game while guarding the opposition's most dangerous offensive player. And usually shutting them down.
Peoples will be joining a group that already boasts a considerable amount of Montana-grown talent. Another Montana Gatorade Player-of-the-Year, Drew Wyman, a 2021 graduate of Great Falls High. Wyman was all-state his junior and senior seasons where he averaged over 21 points and 9 rebounds per game for the Class AA Bison. Also retuning to the Yotes roster is 6'6 guard Caden Handran of Scobey where he as well graduated in 2021. Handran led Scobey to consecutive Class C state titles in 2020 and 2021 and was a 4-time all-state selection. Handran's varsity teams never lost a regular season game with him on the roster.
To say that the Yotes had an incredible season last year is an understatement. After dropping their first contest to Arizona Christian, who will be joining the Frontier Conference next season, the Yotes won 35-straight games including the Cascade Conference and NAIA National Championships finishing the year 35-1.