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Joel Arterburn stays home to play basketball at MCC
McCook High School senior Joel Arterburn won't have to travel very far to continue his basketball career.
Arterburn, a 6-foot senior who was a first team selection on the McCook Daily Gazette's All-Area Team and an all-conference pick by the Greater Nebraska Activities Conference, signed a letter of intent Thursday to play basketball at McCook Community College.
Arterburn said MCC was his first choice and that Doane College expressed some interest. He felt comfortable with the MCC program after participating in summer basketball camps in the past few years.
"They have a good program here and I really liked coach Orton," Arterburn said. "Being a juco and Region 9 being a good conference made it an easy decision. It helped to be staying home. "
Arterburn played out of position at the 5-spot (post) for the Bison boys, who recorded an 8-13 record in 2005-06 under first-year coach Tim Garcia. He is projected as a 2-guard (shooting guard) for the Indians.
He averaged 12.2 points and 5.6 rebounds a game and shot 38.7 percent from the field, 32.6 percent from 3-point range and 76.9 percent from the free throw line.
Garcia said he is proud of Arterburn and is excited to be able to watch him over the next few years at MCC.
"He was forced to play out of position for the majority of his high school career due to his ability to guard much bigger and taller players and his fundamentally sound inside post moves," Garcia said.
"At MCC he will be given the opportunity to play on the perimeter, where he is a natural fit and with hard work and discipline, I believe he will be able to make a positive contribution to the team for coach Orton.
"It will be fun to watch him play at MCC and I think it is great for our community to have the opportunity to continue to watch Joel grow as a fine young man and athlete over these next few years."
McCook Community College men's basketball coach Ty Orton said Arterburn is a strong fit into the program at MCC.
"He is a great student and a very hard worker in every sport that he participated in," Orton said. "He will help us on and off of the floor to continue a strong tradition of academics and hard work.
"He will be able to contribute to a team returning 10 players from the 05-06 season. He has a chance to play with a very talented team and develop his complete game at the collegiate level.
"Joel has a great outside game and his competitive spirit is also strong which will help him against bigger players. The adjustment will be big but we feel Joel has a chance to become a strong player in our program."
In addition to basketball, Arterburn was a two-year starter on the Bison football team. The Bison have won two state titles, placed second twice and posted a 50-2 record the last four years.
The Bison senior class features several other athletes who have signed letters of intent to compete in college athletics.
They are Tony Purvis, football, Kansas State (NCAA Division I); Jillian Bryant, basketball, Dana College; Kayla Wilson, softball, Hastings College; Allison Smith, volleyball, Central Community College-Columbus; Jeff Klug, football, Hastings College; Brendan Liess, football, University of Nebraska-Kearney; and Brandon Crick, men's golf, Gonzaga University (NCAA D-1).
McCook junior Josh Cherry has verbally committed to playing football at Kansas State for the 2007 season.
"Our senior class was pretty competitive," Arterburn said. "I certainly enjoyed playing football and basketball at McCook High School."
Arterburn is the son of Tom and Cindi Arterburn. He plans to major in construction management at MCC, which is part of the science discipline, and will likely transfer to the University of Nebraska-Kearney to continue his major.
"My grandfather had a construction business and my dad worked for him," Arterburn said. I kind of grew up in it."