The Mules took a brief holiday break after beating Pittsburg State 66-58 in Kansas on Dec. 18. Pinkley scored a game-high 24 points as Central Missouri, an NCAA Division II school, improved to 6-3 overall and 3-2 in the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association. Pinkley, a 6-8 redshirt junior forward, was 7 of 15 from the field and 8 of 8 from the free-throw line.
Pinkley, a 2018 Hillsboro graduate, was visiting his home in Hillsboro during the break and taking part in a rare occurrence at his alma mater. The former all-state member of the Hawks had his No. 23 jersey retired prior to Hillsboro’s game against St. Pius X on Dec. 21.
The only other number that’s been retired – in any sport – at Hillsboro is Mark Steighorst’s Nos. 34-35 in 1972. Steighorst wore a different number on his home and road uniforms. Many of Pinkley’s former teammates at Hillsboro were on hand for the ceremony preceding the Hawks’ game against St. Pius X.
“That was a very special night,” Pinkley said. “I got a letter in Warrensburg and I called my parents and they had known for a while. The night was super-special to share that moment. Seeing that number up there, I still don’t believe it. I’ll be able to come back years from now and know it will still be there.
“I think everyone (among his former teammates) was there. We didn’t talk about anything specific. We’re all on our separate paths. I was happy to see everyone.”
Pinkley leads the Mules in scoring with 12.8 points per game. He’s among the team leaders in minutes played (nearly 24 per game) and has converted 23 of 26 free throws, an 88 percent clip.
“The game’s slowed down for me going from high school to college,” Pinkley said. “Playing as a freshman against older, bigger guys was tough. I’ve figured it out after being in the MIAA for four years. We have a lot of (team) goals we’re striving for and would like to get to by the end of this year.”
Because of COVID-19, Pinkley, like many college athletes, will get an extra year of NCAA eligibility. He’s going to play a fifth year for Central Missouri while pursuing a master’s degree in finance. Despite all of the inconveniences and uncertainties playing parts of three seasons during a pandemic, Pinkley said he understands the benefit of remaining on scholarship.
“Because of (COVID), you never know if you’ll play your next game or not,” he said. “It could be taken away at any moment.”
He added that he plans to work in financial services after he’s completed his education and has already completed an internship in the field.
The Hillsboro R-3 School Board approved Pinkley’s jersey retirement in November. Dan Johnson, who has coached the Hillsboro boys since 2010, said Pinkley deserved the honor because of his talent and desire. Johnson called Pinkley a “generational-type” talent. No one has worn No. 23 since he graduated.
“We had a couple of (inquiries) from the community asking about the possibility because he was deserving, and I didn’t want to do it last year with COVID restrictions,” Johnson said. “I wanted to do it close to Christmas break so a lot of his old teammates would be in town.
“Enough time had passed and I didn’t want to wait too far down the road because it wouldn’t be as relevant.”
Pinkley is the only player in Hillsboro history to score 2,000 points and grab 1,000 rebounds. In his junior and senior years, the Hawks were 49-9. They won Class 4 District 2 back-to-back in 2017 and 2018, beating Farmington for the title both times.
“There’s a winning component as well,” Johnson said. “We had two of the winningest teams. Then there’s (Pinkley’s) honors: two-time all-state, two-time (JCAA large-schools) player of the year. And he did it with over a 4.0 GPA.”
The Hawks made it a three-peat with a district crown in 2019, led by another standout athlete, Michael Brewer, but since then have not featured the talents of players like Pinkley, Brewer or track and field champion Isaiah Martin, now an All-American decathlete at Purdue University. Brewer plays baseball in the Texas Rangers farm system.
“Outside of being 6-8, what separated (Pinkley) was he always wanted to improve,” Johnson said. “He never came and said, ‘I’m good at this.’ He was always honest with himself. Guys who love the work usually play four years of college basketball. Guys who (only) love to play are more common.”
Oftentimes when a special ceremony precedes a game, the home team can come out flat and lose. That wasn’t the case for the Hawks, who held on to beat St. Pius 45-42 despite the Lancers outscoring them 17-9 in the fourth quarter. Hawk guard Kyle Phipps, the latest in a long line of skilled backcourt leaders at the school, topped all scorers with 20 points as Hillsboro improved to 4-3.
“We played very well against a talented and well-coached team,” Johnson said. “They made us work for it. We didn’t execute as well as I would have liked, but they did some things to stop us. The score and time were on our side.”