RAPID CITY --- South Dakota Mines head basketball coach Jason Henry has had one of the most productive recruiting seasons in the seven years he's been at the helm of the Hardrocker program. He has added another quality basketball player with the recent signing of Denis Dobkowski-Rylko.
Dobkowski-Rylko is a 6-foot-2-inch, 180 pound point guard originally from Gdynia, Poland. He most recent spent the last two years playing hoops at the junior college level, competing for the Cuesta College Cougars in San Luis Obispo, Calif. He helped the Cougars to back-to-back 20-plus wins in a season and in 2012 an appearance in the Junior College League Sweet 16.
"Denis represents another piece of the puzzle for the Hardrockers," Henry said. "He has a great sense and understanding of the game and is one of those players that just gets things done. Denis is a very mature and a strong player. He is a true point guard that does a wonderful job of getting the ball where it needs to be at the right time."
Before entering the junior college ranks, Dobkowski-Rylko spent time training at the Canarias Basketball Academy in Gran Canaria Spain where he averaged 12 points, 6 assists and 2 steals a game.
"Denis has paid his dues, seen basketball at a few different levels and I feel he's ready to take on the challenge of competing as a NCAA Div. II point guard," Henry said. "He is a tough kid and a good defender that will help us right away this coming season."
While attending SD Mines, Dobkowski-Rylko plans to major in Mechanical Engineering.
"The last point guard we had here with one of those polish names turned out to be pretty good for our program," Henry said referring to Hardrocker Hall of Fame basketball player Mitch Slusarski - who still holds records for three-point goals and assists along with being the No. 8 all-time leading scorer.