Boulder Creek star forward accepts college scholarship
Marc Buckhout ~ 4/21/2010

Alex Dykhuizen will be heading to Silver City this Fall. With the Boulder Creek High School senior’s track record the community may want to reconsider renaming it Gold City.
On Wednesday the Jaguars all-time leader in points, rebounds and block shots, the leader of the basketball program’s first state title team, signed a letter of intent, committing to Western New Mexico State.
“It has been a dream since I’ve been a kid,” Dykhuizen said. “I wanted to go to high school and win a state championship there and then get a college scholarship. I’ve gotten to do both.
It’s exciting.”
The journey that concluded in February, when the Jaguars capped a 28-2 season with a 59-58 win over Chaparral in the 5A Div-II championship game, didn’t come without its share of challenges and heartache.
From his first year on the varsity as a sophomore, struggling with a program that had no track record of success, the road was filled with twist and turns.
Dykhuizen credits the program’s turn around to the hiring of coach Randy Walker and not only the confidence he instilled in the team, but also the up-tempo style he instituted. Along with a chance to stay close to home, the 6-foot-7 forward said a chance to play in a program with a similar playing style made Western New Mexico, a Division II program in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference, attractive.
The Mustangs topped the list of suitors that also included Benedictine in Kansas, Eastern New Mexico University, Franklin Pierce University and Peru State College.
With Walker at the helm and Dykhuizen leading the way the Jaguars put the Boulder Creek on the map during the 2008-2009 season with a Northwest Region title during a 21-7 campaign that included a 5A Div-II state quarterfinal appearance.
Dykhuizen’s season was recognized as he was named Northwest Region player of the year after averaging 18 points and 8.8 rebounds per game.
His final year of high school would get off to an extremely ominous start as the teen was involved in an automobile accident that claimed the life of a friend.
Most of the summer was spent overcoming the accident as Dykhuizen suffered through consistent migrane headaches.
As his senior season rolled around Dykhuizen’s dream of playing college basketball seemed tenuous.
“I knew I had a lot to work on,” he said. “It was a big setback. In the beginning of the season it didn’t look too good. As I started to get in shape and feel better I gained more confidence and we did some great things as a team.”
In winning their final 20 games of the season Dykhuizen was a key figure, as the team’s second leading scorer (14.6 ppg), top rebounder (10.4 per game) and leading shot blocker (2.0 per game).
In the state tournament he once again showed his will to overcome adversity in a game viewed by the coaching staff at Western New Mexico.
Dykhuizen, suffering through a severe bout of the flu, spent the hours leading up to state semifinals getting an IV in order to play.
Having overcome all those obstacles Dykhuizen’s coach at Boulder Creek said his star forward should be able to answer any doubts about his ability to play at the
next level.
Offensively Dykhuizen showed his versatility on offense, as he was equally adept at posting up or hitting shots from the perimeter.
“The big question is how well Alex can defend at the three spot (small forward),” Walker said. “He worked a lot on his foot speed to prove he can defend on the perimeter. Western believes he can play the perimeter.”
The Jaguars coach said he provided only minimal guidance.
“I asked him if he could see himself going to school there for four years, fitting in with the players, if he believed in the philosophy of the coach and he was able to answer all those questions positively with Western New Mexico,” Walker said.
Looking ahead to his next challenge, helping to improve a Western New Mexico squad coming off a 10-16 season which included a 9-10 conference mark, Dykhuizen is hopeful he can make an impact.
“I need to get bigger, stronger, quicker, just keep improving my all-around game, but I think having played on a championship team, that confidence of knowing how to win will always be with me,” he said. “That’s the thing I’m most proud of, that we were able to completely change the program from a losing one to a championship one. It was great how our fans, the whole community really rallied behind us. It was great having all of Anthem there to see us win the championship at ASU.”
Walker said that his two senior captain, Dykhuizen and Ryan Crane were responsible for the community’s response to the team.
“They’re the cornerstones of the program,” Walker said. “Beyond helping our team succeed with their play and leadership, they’re both good role models on campus. They have the respect of the teachers and I think the reason the community gravitated to our team was because people thought a lot of our two leaders.”