MCC men ink three area roundball players

Some McCook Community College have been overheard in recent seasons complaining that the MCC men's basketball team doesn't have enough area athletes on the roster.

That won't be a valid excuse next season.

Head coach Brandon Lenhart and his staff have signed three area standouts to join the Indians' program starting next fall.

The new MCC recruits are headed by McCook High School senior Cody Wudtke, a 6-foot-2 versatile player who will be groomed to play point guard for the Indians.

McCook also landed a pair of big, physical players in Spencer Kucera, a 6-9 leader on Southern Valley's 2013 Class C-1 state championship squad; and Joe Rettele, a 6-5 center from Dundy County-Stratton.

Bison fans will have a hometown product to cheer on for the next couple years in Wudtke, a leader on the 2012-13 McCook boys team that lost to defending Class B state champion Scottsbluff by four points in the Class B-6 District final in early March.

Coach Lenhart enters his seventh season next fall as head of the MCC men's program. He put the Gazette area trio at the top of his recruiting list and the McCook staff were pleased to bat 1.000 in landing all three.

"These were must-get kids for us," Lenhart said. "We hit it hard, we believed in them, and now they believe in us, and that's just part of the process. What happens from here, the sky's the limit. They also know they need to come in here and really go to work, and nothing's promised on their end. We feel as though whatever their role is in this basketball family, they're going to fulfill it to a high level. We're just pretty excited about the future of men's basketball at McCook Community College."

Lenhart said his staff has always focused on area players in past years' recruiting efforts, but many of those players have chosen to take their basketball talents to other programs.

"We feel fortunate to get some solid guys on our basketball family," he said about the newest MCC team members.

NO DOUBT the new $10 million MCC Events Center played a role in getting the area trio to sign with the Indians. MCC broke in the new arena this past season on a down note, as the McCook men won just seven games. The new Indians hope to be a big part of changing the MCC basketball fortunes in the near future.

"This gym just an out of this world facility," Wudtke said. "Hopefully we can get this thing packed (for home games) -- that would be really sweet. Maybe we can get regionals here, that would be a lot of fun."

The McCook teams compete in the National Junior College Athletic Association's Region IX, which is comprised of teams from Nebraska, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. The teams are split into East and West Divisions, with the 16-team Region IX Tournament alternating each year between the respective division regular-season champions.

WUDTKE also considered football in college, with Hastings, Doane and Nebraska-Kearney some of the schools on the short list for both sports. But Cody said he feels comfortable with the MCC program.

"Coach Lenhart has been on me ever since I was little," Wudtke said. "Coach Lenhart has always been there. I just feel close to the team and players and all the coaches."

The talented wing player can shoot from outside and drive the ball to the hoop. Coach Lenhart will try and convert him to quarterback of the MCC squad, and Wudtke is ready for the challenge.

"I'm excited, I kind of like control over the ball," he said. "We'll see. It's going to be a big change, but I'm ready for it."

Wudtke said he plans to study physical education at MCC and hopes to transfer to a four-year program when his two-year junior college eligibility is exhausted. He also plans to room with Kucera at the MCC dorm next year.

KUCERA was the big man for Southern Valley, as the all-stater led the Eagles to the C-1 state title last March.

"It was crazy, I never believed that that was going to happen," Spencer said. "I hoped that it would happen, but never believed that it would."

The MCC program had many selling points for Kucera, who said he is officially 6 feet, 9 1/2 inches tall. The MCC Events Center was at the top of the list.

"Top of the line facility, one of the nicest I've ever seen, for a junior college especially," he said.

The Kucera clan raise goats on the family farm just west of Oxford, about an hour east of McCook. Spencer said attending McCook C.C. will allow him to keep working part-time in the family business.

Kucera said he's always been a size bigger than his classmates, and he has always dreamed of playing college basketball. He stood 6-foot-5 his freshman year at Southern Valley, and added about two inches in altitude a year until his senior season.

He said the speed of the game is one big difference he noticed from high school to the college game. He thinks he has a chance to contribute to his new team early.

"I'm just going to have to get in the weight room and work out, get in shape and I think I'll be alright," Spencer said. "I hope to step in and make a difference next year -- that's what my plan is anyway."

LENHART SAID Rettele will bring a physical presence to the Indians. He's a little bit shorter than Kucera, but Lenhart said the DCS product is a strong outside shooter.

"He can stretch the 'D' a little bit. He knows how to play," Lenhart said.

The MCC head coach gave credit to assistant coaches Brandon Pritchett and Kellen Fernetti for their work in helping to recruit the area trio.

The Indians will lose several players from this year's squad, and Lenhart and his staff are busy working on restocking the roster. Lenhart said he already has a verbal commitment from a talented guard from Wisconsin. The MCC coach said the Indians are seeking more size and another point guard for next year's team.