Ever been to Dallas? Me neither, we oughta go.
That wasn’t an actual conversation between fifth-grade Camden and Casen Dalinghaus, their buddy Brody Koehler too, but it coulda been.
See, they had just finished 1-2-3 at a local NBA Skills Challenge competition and qualified for the regional event in Dallas. It was a pretty brief conversation, a real one, between Lucus Dalinghaus and the boys, they were going.
And once they got there, after competing against about 40 other kids, they again finished 1 (Camden) 2 (Brody) and 3 (Casen), with Camden earning the right to compete in the national event, which he did. As part of the national event Camden, as a regional winner, had the honor of presenting the ball cap to Jaren Jackson, the fourth pick in the NBA draft, as Jaren took the stage. On national TV. Not bad for a 10-year-old.
Youth basketball competition are in the rear view mirror for all three of the boys, instead they are the centerpiece of Johnson-Brock’s most recent unbeaten boys basketball team, one that is 11-0 entering this week’s 96th annual MUDECAS tournament in Beatrice. Last year’s tournament was cancelled after one day due to weather but J-B and the boys do have two state titles to defend, so there is that.
Camden Dalinghaus has also been a two-time all-stater and the leader of the pack at Johnson-Brock, and he credits his teammates to rising to the occasion, especially this season.
“We had to replace three or four really important seniors from last year’s team, so we were scrambling with some talented guys who didn’t have much varsity experience,” explains Camden, who is a 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior combo guard for the Eagles. “We were able to do that because we played a lot of guys during the summer with my dad wanting to get looks at different combinations of players to see who were the best mix, and had the best chemistry when they were on the floor. That helped a lot.”
Oh yeah, turns out Lucus Dalinghaus is the father of Camden and Casen, and those boys have certainly grown up around hoops. Prior to his arrival at Johnson-Brock about a decade ago Coach Dalinghaus was also a very successful Kansas high school coach, winning a state title at Axtell. The twins, Camden and Casen, were all into that, for sure.
“The twins started serving as team managers when I got my first coaching job at Bern, Kansas. Even back then they’d be shooting baskets on the side hoops with a lot of our players,” remembers Coach Dalinghaus. Later on came formal league play at the Beatrice YMCA - an hour drive both ways - and development of a youth team called The JB Extreme, with the twins and Brody teammates on those squads. It was a lot of basketball and by the time they’d reached high school Camden knew they were ready for the bright lights of varsity basketball.
“When you go back to the Extreme team we played for a long time with my current teammates and last year’s seniors,” remembers Camden, who also credits Coach, Dad, for always pushing the right buttons when it comes to rotation selections for today’s J-B teams, which have also been extreme, now winners of 47 games in a row. “He gets us in roles where we can excel, where we can just stay within ourselves and play, then let the results speak for themselves. He’s also taught us to respect our teammates and opponents.”
Camden (first!) and Casen were born in Beatrice, and sadly have yet to pull the ol’ he’s-not-me switcho-chango on their teachers or friends, “but we still have time,” Camden offers. The boys also have three younger sisters and, honestly, family time takes up a lot of it, going out to eat, watching sports on TV, going to the zoo among their go-to activities. He’s a big chicken and rice guy who used to listen to a lot of rap music, but nowadays it’s more country on his playlist.
Also an outstanding student, Camden carries a 3.8 GPA, just a notch behind Casen in the class rankings but as he says, he’s still got time. (Casen look out, he’s comin’ for ya!) Camden is also a baseball player - pitcher, shortstop, third baseman - who is active in FBLA and Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He’s visited Doane and is strongly considering playing college ball, though he’s not made a firm commitment to them or himself on that matter. Camden plans to study muscle stenography, which concentrates on muscle repair and recovery.
Citing their competitive nature and tendency toward introspection, exerting a quiet style of leadership, Coach Dalinghaus will miss the twins as members of his basketball program. There is, of course, more to the story.
“Having the ability to coach the Camden and Casen has been a great experience and one that I will always cherish, and winning two state titles with them was something I could never imagine happening,” says Coach Dalinghaus. “In my role as an administrator, I have missed out on a lot of family time at home over the years due to responsibilities at school. Being able to coach the twins has allowed us to have ‘family time’ at practices and games. The fact is basketball has been such a big part of our lives from an early age so I’m sure the gym is like a second home for the boys and their three younger sisters.
“The twins and I have been together for our entire basketball journey, since my fist year as a head coach to now, and it’s just bittersweet that it’s coming to an end. The time just goes so fast and it’s hard to put into words how much the whole experience has meant to me and our family.”
But they ain’t done yet. There’s the matter of winning the MUDECAS, always a red letter day for any of the 16 schools who are part of our most historic high school basketball tournament, and then defending those two state titles. Camden says the first title was especially enjoyable because it came as a bit of a surprise, while the second time around the pressure to repeat was real. “We counted on our experience to get us through, plus last year’s seniors were great leaders for our team.
And now it’s this year’s seniors to fill that role, especially the twins, with Brody also in the mix though he’s only a junior. Everybody’s gunnin’ for J-B, and the boys know it.
“That is part of the fun, knowing we are going to get everybody’s best game and then seeing if we can still win the games,” says Camden. “Our class wants to win another state championship but we also want to make sure our program still has that focus and winning mentality after we leave. That’s very important to all of us.”
