Category: KCKCC

Versatile Arnold to leave big shoes to fill at KCKCC

As PA announcer for home basketball games, Christian Arnold also sang the national anthem. (KCKCC photo)

by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC sports information director
It’s going to be hard to determine who is going to miss Christian Arnold the most at Kansas City Kansas Community College – head baseball coach Steve Burleson or athletic director Tony Tompkins.
The leader in home runs and runs-batted-in for Burleson’s 39-22 baseball team, Arnold was also the public address announcer and national anthem vocalist for all the home basketball games this past season.
“Christian did a tremendous job working our PA and singing the national anthem,” Tompkins said. “He’s an outstanding young man who represented himself and KCKCC athletics extremely well and will be greatly missed.”
“We’re certainly going to miss him,” Burleson said. “He’s a great kid and very spiritual, the moral compass of our team.”
One of a half-dozen standouts from Raymore-Peculiar High School to play for the Blue Devils the past two years, Arnold will continue his baseball career at Pittsburg State University where he’ll have three years of baseball eligibility.
”It’s exciting, it’s going to be awesome,” said Arnold, who has one year of eligibility left at KCKCC but graduated May 21.
A redshirt as a freshman, Arnold had a spectacular season in his first year of collegiate baseball. In addition to leading the team in home runs with 10 and RBI with 52, Arnold hit .305 with a .525 slugging percentage. A defensive standout in right field, Arnold made three sensational diving catches and a perfect one hop throw to the plate in the super-regional playoffs.
While taking a redshirt season was not at the top of Arnold’s hit list his freshman year, he calls it a blessing in disguise.
“Sitting out was hard but I and coach talked and I was really not ready to play,” admitted Arnold. “It helped me leaps and bounds. I would not be in the position I’m in without a redshirt year as a freshman.”
“We redshirted Christian so that his baseball instincts could catch up with his baseball abilities,” Burleson said. “So now he has three years to play in a good Division II program. The sky’s the limit for him.”
While he led in home runs and RBI, Arnold does not consider himself a power hitter.
“No, not at all,” he said. “I came in only wanting to hit three home runs but my role changed from high school to college. I didn’t steal as many bases as I was used to stealing. But I still don’t consider myself a power hitter. I learned quickly that if you try to hit home runs, you won’t and your average will go down.”
As for singing the national anthem, that all came by accident and without experience. He did not sing in the choir in high school or anywhere else for that matter.
“I went to church with coach (Damian) Stambersky and his mother-in-law heard me sing and told coach that I should sing the national anthem before the basketball games. I didn’t want to do it at first but finally decided to give it a try and ended up doing it for two years. Then I was also on the PA this year and it was really a lot of fun doing both.”
The son of Jim and Jill Arnold of Lee’s Summit, his singing now is limited to Raintree Community Church in Lee’s Summit, Mo. The youngest of three children, he has a brother, Brandon, 25, and sister, Amanda, 22.
Arnold took the path of several Raymore-Peculiar athletes in coming to KCKCC.
“Andrew Kreiling and Dylan Donley were already here and Garrett McKinzie kind of led the way,” Arnold said. “He signed and then I talked to Garrett and Coach Stambersky saw me play and offered me a scholarship. And then Cole Frakes and Hunter (Phillips) also signed.”
Unfortunately, the season was ended by heartbreaking 8-1 and 2-0 losses in the super-regional championship games after a spectacular comeback.
“We were 5-15 at one point and coach asked us ‘Do we want something better?’ and we did,” Arnold said. “We had goals of finishing fifth in the conference and .500 for the season and we ended up fifth in the standings but second in the conference and had 17 more wins than losses. So I have nothing but good things to say about the season we had.”
At Pittsburg State, Arnold’s goal is to be a difference-maker.
“I don’t want to be just a filler guy, I want to step up to their expectations and perform at the highest level.”
But he will miss KCKCC.
“Absolutely,” he said. “It’s been my home for the past two years and I’ve loved every single moment of it. I would not have had it any other way.”

The starting rightfielder, Christian Arnold led the Blue Devils in home runs and runs-batted in. (KCKCC photo)

KCKCC signs versatile Shawnee Mission Northwest guard Talley

Dehven Talley

by Alan Hoskins
A versatile 6-3 guard from Shawnee Mission Northwest, Dehven Talley is the latest basketball signee at Kansas City Kansas Community College.
“A hidden gem who will surprise people in our league,” said KCKCC coach Kelley Newton. “Well-rounded, he does a lot of things well and could play several positions. But most important he can play defense.”
A 52 percent shooter from the field and 78 percent from the foul line, Talley averaged 3.7 points this past season. Playing in his final game in the state tournament, he led Northwest in scoring.
“Dehven was a solid player for us this past season,” said Shawnee Mission Northwest coach Mike Rose. “He was a true team player and worked as hard as anyone to be the best basketball player he could be. The first one in the gym and the last one to leave most nights, he performed his role for us as a true teammate would and I believe has the ability to be an integral part of KCKCC’s future success.”
Talley becomes the fourth Kansas high school player to sign with the Blue Devils, joining Zach Jackson and Joe Lendway of Lansing, and C.J. Harper of Piper.

KCKCC graduate speaks to American Government class

Tim Dupree (KCKCC photo)
by Kelly Rogge
Looking back on his time at Kansas City Kansas Community College, Tim Dupree is thankful. In fact, he believes that given the chance, everyone should start their post-secondary academic careers at a community college.
“I believe that I could have left here and gone directly to Washburn (University),” said the now lawyer based in Kansas City, Kan. “KCKCC prepared me for law school better, I think, than KU. The professors here were very engaging with the students. They wanted us to learn and were invested in our education. They were willing to change the syllabus to fit the class.”
Dupree returned to KCKCC earlier this month to speak to Ewa Unoke’s American Government class. A lifelong resident of Wyandotte County, Dupree received an associate’s degree from KCKCC in 1999. He went on to graduate in 2001 from the University of Kansas with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and continued his education at the Washburn University School of Law. He earned a Juris Doctorate in 2003, and in 2008, returned to Wyandotte County when he founded the Law Office of Timothy L. Dupree, P.A. He also currently serves as a Wyandotte County District Judge Pro Tem and is a candidate for Wyandotte County District Court Judge. The primary election is Aug. 5.
“I love coming back to speak to the students,” Dupree said. “I look at them and think about how it wasn’t all that long ago when I was sitting where they are now. Never in a million years did I ever think I would be here in this capacity speaking to students. It is a pretty great feeling.”
Unoke said he likes to bring in guest speakers throughout the year to help students connect what they are learning in class with real life. Because Dupree is currently running for office, he said it was a good opportunity to show students how the political election system works.
“It fits in so well with what we were learning in class,” he said. “I am also calling on the other people running (for Wyandotte County District Court Judge). It gives students an opportunity to listen to the theory and see it in practical experience.”
Unoke said having a past graduate come back to speak with current students is also a way to provide inspiration and show them what hard work and dedication can accomplish.
“When you bring back past graduates, it inspires students to think of their own lives,” he said. “They realize that they too can make it by seeing someone that was once like themselves.”
Dupree said he believes his education at KCKCC helped him to become the successful lawyer and candidate for county judge that he is today.
“There was a lot of accountability here. You had to be in class on time and do the work or you would be put on the spot the next day,” he said with a smile. “A lot of individuals come out of high school, and they don’t see their truest potential. They don’t realize what they can do. I believe KCKCC helps you to see that potential.”