Three Rivers College’s inaugural Raider of the Year is Dusty Dinkins. He will be honored at the 2024 Alumni Reunion on Feb. 24 at the Libla Family Sports Complex.
The Raider of the Year Award is presented to a former Raider athlete who has achieved success beyond their sport and time at Three Rivers. Nominees remain involved on the athletics scene in their respective careers or volunteer efforts and are well-respected amongst their peers and in their communities.
“I am extremely excited, humbled, and appreciative to have been selected as the Raider of the Year,” Dinkins said. “Three Rivers College and the athletic department have positively impacted countless lives over many decades, and I am very thankful for being one of those who greatly benefited from becoming a Raider!
“I would also like to acknowledge the impact coach Gene Bess, coach Brian Bess, and my teammates had upon me. They were an extremely important part of my life, and I will be forever grateful! Thank you RAIDER FAMILY for the positive impact you have had upon your students and athletes past, present, and future lives!”
Dinkins will be recognized on Gene Bess Court at halftime of the 7 p.m., Feb. 24 men’s basketball game against Moberly Area. Fans are invited to stick around for a meet and greet from 7-9 p.m. in the booster room at the northwest corner of the Libla Family Sports Complex.
Dinkins attended and played basketball at Three Rivers from August 1994 through May 1997 and graduated with an associate of arts degree. Dinkins has coached boys’ basketball for the past 20 years at South Iron High School and is the three-time defending Class 1 state champion and finished second in 2008. The Panthers have not lost more than five games in a season since 2018, and Dinkins entered the 2023-24 season with a 462-109 overall record.
He was named the NFHS Midwest Basketball Coach of the Year in 2021, and is a three-time MBCA Class 1 Coach of the Year, four-time Big 3 Athletics Coach of the Year, seven-time KTJJ Regional Dream Team Coach of the Year, 10-time MBCA District Coach of the Year, and 14-time Black River League Conference Coach of the Year.
Since 2003, South Iron has won the Arcadia Valley Thanksgiving Tournament 15 times, the Black River League Conference Regular Season and Conference Tournament 16 times, the District Tournament 10 times, and the Bob Sechrest Jr. Park Hills Christmas Tournament four times.
