Goedeken signs with DCCC basketball

   Mitchell Goedeken is used to being the biggest kid on the team.
    And with the Dodge City Community College Conquistador men's basketball team trying to skew more athletic for the 2009-2010 season, the 6-foot, 7-inch Goedeken could have up to two more seasons of banging inside on the low blocks.
    Goedeken, who graduated from Dodge City High School on Saturday, signed a letter of intent Tuesday to play basketball next year for DCCC. It was a move made out of a desire to take basketball to the next level, said Goedeken, and one that his coaches say will help him reach his full potential.
    "Now he's got the opportunity to get basketball year-round," said DCHS coach Dennis Hamilton. "His upside is going to be tremendous. I don't think he's even begun to touch his full potential."
    DCCC coach Brady Trenkle agreed.
    "We're going to get him there," Trenkle said. "His potential is going to be reached because he'll have a basketball in his hand nonstop for nine months, which is something I think he's been waiting for."
    Goedeken wrapped up the golf season with the Red Demons Monday at regional play in Wichita and has been an active member in several DCHS activities throughout high school. But a more single-minded focus in college could lead to rapid improvement for the big man, who showed flashes of athleticism and a solid post presence during a senior season in which he averaged eight points and five rebounds per game. After the 2008-2009 season, Goedeken was named to the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Academic All-State team as well.
    "There's no question he adds a lot of post depth for us," Trenkle said. "And that's one issue we wanted to resolve right off the bat after last year. We didn't have a lot of guys who could play down there, and Mitch will have a chance to be a big part of what we're doing."
    Goedeken's familiarity with Trenkle and the program could make the transition from the high school to the college game smoother as well.
    "With him being at our camps since he was in eighth grade and getting to watch him mature through high school, it's going to be a great opportunity to coach Mitch at this level," Trenkle said.
    Goedeken added: "It's been a good relationship so far. I see great things for the team in the future."
    The Conqs have signed seven other recruits during the young offseason, three of whom are out-of-state players. Last month, the team signed Holcomb's Matt Heydman and Jordan Wilcox, a Class 3A first-team all-state selection who will play in the KBCA's August all-star game in Topeka, as well as Zion, Ill.'s Quintrell Love.
    Trenkle has added two more Kansas products in Newton's Roland LaCoste and Tribune's Chip Schneider and two more out-of-staters — Salem, N.J.'s, Derrick Parsley Jr. and Germantown, Md.'s Bruce Massey Jr.
    Red Demon basketball fans will remember LaCoste from two showdowns between DCHS and Newton. In the Demons' regular-season loss to the Railers, LaCoste burned up the nets for 24 points while grabbing nine boards and robbing DCHS for five steals as well.
    The 2009-2010 Conq roster will look drastically different than it did last season, as just four returners from 2008-2009 are listed on the latest recruiting update.        
    Goedeken and the rest of the new recruits will have a chance to take a winning attitude into the upcoming season after the Conqs made a habit of dropping close conference games late in the season last year.