By MATT PIKE
One of the greatest Benton Cardinal's to grace the court on the south side of St. Joseph, will play division one basketball next season with the University of Missouri-Kansas City.
Lincoln Goodwin has officially signed his national letter of intent to join UMKC, and new head coach Mark Turgeon, after announcing his commitment to the Roos on social media on April 3rd, nearly two weeks after Goodwin and the Cardinal's returned to St. Joseph finishing third in Class 4 after beating Vashon 84-81 in overtime.
Goodwin says it was the people he fell in love with that made UMKC the right choice to continue his career.
"Ever since i met them they felt like the right people, they're great, they treated me well, and I'm excited to stay home and play in front of the people I love," Goodwin tells reporters. "So, it's a great feeling."
On top of that, Goodwin will get to play for Turgeon, a coach who, after starting his career as an assistant at Kansas and also spending time as an assistant in the National Basketball League with the Philadelphia 76ers, made stops as a head coach at Texas A&M, Wichita State, and Maryland, among others, also winning Coach of the Year twice, once in the Missouri Valley and once in the Big Ten.
Goodwin says getting to play for a coach who knows how to win, like Turgeon, also played a factor.
"The successes that he's had everywhere and I hope that we can bring it to Kansas City," Goodwin says.
Goodwin leaves quite a legacy at Benton, having helped in a big turn around for the boys basketball program, leading the Cardinals to back-to-back state appearances. In his career, Goodwin was a four time All Conference Player, a four time All City Player, four time All District Player,a two time MEC Player of the Year, and a two time District 16 Player of the Year.
He reached 1,000 career points his junior year, and surpassed 1,500 the next as well, scoring 1,947 career points with 454 rebounds, 233 assists, an 178 steals. A legacy that will be hard to be matched, but one that can live up to his father's, Benton athletic director, former Benton girls basketball coach, and a former Cardinal basketball player himself, Brett Goodwin.
Brett says it's been incredible to get to watch Lincoln build his own legacy throughout his four years at Benton.
"Because I was fortunate enough to have a really good career here, and 100% largely because I had good basketball players, I had a bunch of girls that were committed to the system that we played, and worked incredibly hard for me, and was willing to be coached," Goodwin explains. "So now to sit back from a different seat and watch my son do it, and do it under the guidance of Coach (Jared) Boone and the rest of his coaches, it's really been a treat, and it's been a fun four years to watch this program really grow in the right direction."
It's been quite the turn around for the boys program at Benton, largely known for it's girls basketball team for several years, now it's both teams that have made their presence known in the city. Jared Boone is a big part of that shift, leading players like Goodwin, since being hired 2021 going into Goodwin's freshman year.
Boone says the growth of Goodwin is the way he's gotten better every season, after playing a role his first year in high school.
"Each season was a learning curve for him and he just had the mindset to come back better each season and he did that," Boone says. "And that's a testament to his offseason work, his drive, his commitment to the game, obviously as a freshman he wasn't as tall as he is now so he was kind of a short little scrawny dude and he kind of took a beating, but he came back the next year he's a little taller, a little stronger, that helped there, and as he got taller and more athletic he kind of morphed into the animal he is now and so that's just a testament to him, his heart, his desire, and his background."
Goodwin is also part of a resurgence of sorts. After missing out on talent from Kansas City, and the surrounding Kansas City area for some time now, Turgeon has emphasized recruiting that talent, and has landed at least five commitments from the Kansas City area.
Goodwin says it's cool to be a part of that group of talent that is staying close to home at the university.
"I've played against those kids, I've played with some of those kids, and it makes it more comfortable too," Goodwin says. "We all know what going into college feels like, it makes it a lot more comfortable knowing you're going in with people from the same area."
Brett, who played most of his college career also close to home at Missouri Western State University after transferring from Graceland, says it is cool to have Lincoln be a part of that resurgence of talented area athletes staying close to home.
"We've all been around, we grew up here, and we've seen the type of athletes that's been within this area, so being able to get a few of them to stay at home and then you start putting the right type of talent around them is a great way to get started," Goodwin says. "Really you want to start getting people in the stands too, and then you start getting a few people in the stands, you start winning a few games, well then you can really start building something special."
Along with the accolades, Goodwin leaves Benton with a career record of 87-26, boasting an outstanding 55-2 record over the last two seasons. He's averaged 17.4 points per game, 4.1 rebounds per game, and 2.1 assists per game. His senior season, he averaged 23.3 points per game with 5.4 rebounds per game.
You can follow Matt on X @KfeqMatt and St. Joseph Post @StJosephPost.