by Alan Hoskins, KCKCC
Some of the greatest basketball players in Kansas City Kansas Community College history – the winningest team in college annals and the only Blue Devil to lead the nation in rebounding – will be the newest inductees into the KCKCC Athletic Hall of Fame.
The 1996-1997 women’s basketball team and Dennis Tinnon will be inducted during ceremonies at this year’s Keith Lindsey Classic to be held Nov, 11-12.
Coached by Leslie Crane, the 1966-1997 Lady Blue Devils were the first and only KCKCC team to qualify for the NJCAA Division I national tournament played in Tyler, Tex. Losing only twice all season, the Blue Devils (35-2) finished fifth in the national tournament and No. 4 in the final NJCAA poll.
The two losses came at the hands of the best two teams in the nation. After an 83-81 win over Tyler in the second game of the season, the Blue Devils lost in their third game at defending national champion Trinity Valley (Tex.) 74-64. The second loss came in the third round of the national tournament to No. 1 ranked Central Florida, which was unbeaten until losing to Trinity Valley in the championship game.
Between those two losses, KCKCC ran off a record 31 straight wins and became the first team to finish 18-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. The highlight of the season came at nationally ranked Independence Jan 13, 1997, in what is considered the greatest game in conference history – a 108-106 KCKCC win that took three overtimes. In that game, Jurgita Kausaite re-wrote the record book with a 44-point performance that still stands as an all-time best.
Kausaite would go on to earn All-American first team honors as she accounted for nine of the 18 records written into the record book, most of which still stand. In 2010, Kausaite was one of five inductees into the first KCKCC Athletic Hall of Fame.
Kausaite was joined in the starting lineup by Sonata Pranaityte, Erica Lewis, Rima Petronyte and Maryam Malone while backups were Heather Horyna, Rasa Sukeviciute, Anne Shepherd, Kacy Tillery, Tanya Williams, Mellisa Washburn and Mindy Roberts.
Dennis Tinnon is without question the greatest men’s basketball player in KCKCC history. The only Blue Devil to lead the NJCAA Division I in rebounding (13.4), he also finished fifth in the nation in scoring (23.2) in 2010-11. With Tinnon leading the way, the Blue Devils finished 25-7 overall and 14-4 in the Jayhawk Conference, both all-time bests.
Picked sixth in the preseason, the Blue Devils finished in an all-time best tie for second in the conference and were just two overtime losses (both to league champion Coffeyville 85-80 and 83-80) away from their first outright conference championship.
Tinnon continued his collegiate career at Marshall University and since leaving Marshall he has been playing professional basketball in Europe.