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As the fans filled United Wireless Arena for a matchup between the hometown Conqs and the visiting Colby Community College Trojans, it was clear who the fans were there to see as the usual flood of purple slowly turned into a sea of light blue, the main color for the Trojans.
Walking up and down the aisles behind the Colby bench, a contingency of supporters all had a familiar name plastered on the back of their T-shirts — Konrade.
The Feb. 11 meeting between Dodge City and Colby marked the return of Konrade, the former Spearville Royal Lancer standout who has since excelled within the Trojan program. He will be on his way to Fort Hays State next fall to play Division II basketball.
While the Trojans fell short by three to the Conqs, there was no doubt that Carson played a huge part in whatever success his team had that night. It wasn’t the dream ending that he had envisioned, but getting a chance to play in front of friends and family is something that will always get his blood flowing, especially coming from a close-knit community like Spearville.
Perfect fit
Konrade was a household name in the town shortly outside Dodge City's borders during his playing days for the Lancers. And when Colby came knocking during his senior year, he knew it was a perfect fit in order to become the athlete he knew he could be.
“Coming out of high school, Colby probably recruited me the hardest out of any of the colleges that were recruiting me, and I really liked the coach,” Konrade said. “During my sophomore year, I attended a basketball camp in Hays and the current Colby coach now was an assistant at Hays when I went there, so I knew who he was when they were recruiting me. I wanted to find something that was close to home, but not too close.”
Colby head coach Dustin Pfeifer was the one who put the time and effort into recruiting Carson to the program, and he knew that Konrade's talent and background meant he needed to be donning black and light blue that upcoming season.
“When we recruited Carson, we knew that we needed to go out and find an in-state player that could really provide a spark for our program. And at the time we were kind of struggling, but we built a relationship with him and he took a chance on us,” Pfeifer said. “He bought into the program, he bought into our philosophy. But the most important thing is we knew how he fit exactly what we needed to help turn this thing around, and he’s done just that.”
As the fans filled United Wireless Arena for a matchup between the hometown Conqs and the visiting Colby Community College Trojans, it was clear who the fans were there to see as the usual flood of purple slowly turned into a sea of light blue, the main color for the Trojans.
Walking up and down the aisles behind the Colby bench, a contingency of supporters all had a familiar name plastered on the back of their T-shirts — Konrade.
The Feb. 11 meeting between Dodge City and Colby marked the return of Konrade, the former Spearville Royal Lancer standout who has since excelled within the Trojan program. He will be on his way to Fort Hays State next fall to play Division II basketball.
While the Trojans fell short by three to the Conqs, there was no doubt that Carson played a huge part in whatever success his team had that night. It wasn’t the dream ending that he had envisioned, but getting a chance to play in front of friends and family is something that will always get his blood flowing, especially coming from a close-knit community like Spearville.
Perfect fit
Konrade was a household name in the town shortly outside Dodge City's borders during his playing days for the Lancers. And when Colby came knocking during his senior year, he knew it was a perfect fit in order to become the athlete he knew he could be.
“Coming out of high school, Colby probably recruited me the hardest out of any of the colleges that were recruiting me, and I really liked the coach,” Konrade said. “During my sophomore year, I attended a basketball camp in Hays and the current Colby coach now was an assistant at Hays when I went there, so I knew who he was when they were recruiting me. I wanted to find something that was close to home, but not too close.”
Colby head coach Dustin Pfeifer was the one who put the time and effort into recruiting Carson to the program, and he knew that Konrade's talent and background meant he needed to be donning black and light blue that upcoming season.
“When we recruited Carson, we knew that we needed to go out and find an in-state player that could really provide a spark for our program. And at the time we were kind of struggling, but we built a relationship with him and he took a chance on us,” Pfeifer said. “He bought into the program, he bought into our philosophy. But the most important thing is we knew how he fit exactly what we needed to help turn this thing around, and he’s done just that.”
Paying on different levels
For any aspiring collegiate athlete, one of the biggest difficulties in finding success is the difference in how the game is played at the high school and collegiate levels.
Konrade noted that the speed of the game has been the biggest obstacle for him thus far in his two-year community college career.
“It’s a lot faster paced than high school. Everybody in the college level is faster, stronger, can jump higher, whereas in high school — especially around our area with smaller schools — you just didn’t have that kind of talent,” he said.
In two short seasons with the Trojan program, Konrade has evolved into one of their main scoring threats, especially from the three-point line. During the game against Dodge City, Conq head coach Brady Trenkle attributed holding Konrade to 0-for-6 from behind the arc as one of their biggest reasons for winning the game.
Most recently, Konrade led all Colby scorers in a game against Garden City Community College, going 5-for-7 from three-point land and finishing with 21 points. Despite having a down game against the Conqs, he still wound up with nine points, as he has become a fixture within the Trojan offense.
Not only has his play spoken volumes on the court, but his scholastic ventures off the court are making waves as well.
“Carson is on track to be a Dean’s List All-American here at Colby, so that’s a huge honor and he has earned that,” Pfeifer said. “Off the floor, he does all the right things. The people of this community love him, the people on this campus love him, and it’s based solely on his actions, because he’s not a real vocal kid. On the basketball floor, he’s been our leader in a lot of different statistical categories. He’s played with more effort than any kid I’ve ever coached, and he really is a special individual.”
Taking it higher
Now as Konrade prepares to play his final games as a member of the Colby basketball program, he has been presented with an opportunity to take his game to a higher level with the Tigers of Fort Hays State. There is no doubt that this once hard-nosed player from Spearville has evolved and adapted into a well-rounded player throughout his college career thus far.
“During my time here, I’ve improved vocally leadership-wise during my time in college, but I still feel like I can get better by adjusting to the physical nature of the game,” Konrade said. “Also, I can continue to build confidence in whatever it is I’m doing by just going with it. I just need to keep getting better, work on getting faster, smarter. You learn new things as you go along every day.”
One of the main reasons Konrade is sticking around Kansas is that he loves being able to play in front of those who have supported him up to this point in his playing career. Colby's matchup with Dodge City was one of those opportunities where friends and family alike were able to make the short trip and fill the cheering section behind the bench, proving why small-town basketball is sometimes the best in terms of participation and loyalty.
“Playing in front of them was great. That was one of the best things about Spearville, was the support you had from the community,” Konrade said. “I wish we could have ended the game a little different, but it was a blast. I love coming up to Dodge when everyone’s here.”
Pfeifer reiterated that aspect of Konrade’s love of local basketball, saying that his signing with Fort Hays will allow him to keep his family and loved ones close while challenging himself on the court even further.
“Signing with a team like Fort Hays State is a major accomplishment, and I’ll tell you why. He had some different low to mid-major Division I programs, including some out east that were very interested on bringing him in, but he really liked the atmosphere at Hays and he loved that he would still have the ability to play in Kansas,” Pfeifer said. “He’s a real family-oriented kid. He really cares about his family, and he’s really happy that people are still going to get to see him play from Spearville.”
As for the impact Konrade has had within the basketball program, Pfeifer said he has been planning what to do once Konrade moves onto the brighter lights at Fort Hays State and leaves some big shoes to fill at Colby.
“I told Carson before the season even started that I’m already started to plan life for basketball without Carson Konrade here at Colby,” he said. “That’s how much he’s meant to our program.”
