Good surprise: Trinity senior has lived up to billing as a ‘wild card’

• Jacob Good

Press Photo by Royal McGregor Dickinson Trinity senior Jacob Good goes into the air to make a pass while being defended by Richardton-Taylor seniors Chad Gullickson, left, and Kasey Dressler, back, on Feb. 5 at Knights of Columbus Activities Center. Good is a relied-upon defender who has been one of the Titans’ most pleasant surprises this season.

Talk about it

Coming into his season, Jacob Good had limited playing time at the varsity level and Dickinson Trinity head coach Gregg Grinsteinner tagged him as the team’s “wild card.”

Good gladly took on that title.

“It’s nice for Grinsteinner to say that, because it means on any given night I can come out and help out the team a lot,” Good said with a smile.

Throughout the course of the season, Good has taken on the responsibility of guarding the opposing team’s best offensive threat. A job he doesn’t take lightly.

“I take a lot of pride in that,” Good said. “It’s my role on the team. If I don’t that, then I’m not really helping the team that much.”

After one his best performances of the season helped Trinity defeat No. 1-ranked Beulah in the Region 7 Tournament championship game, Good now sets his sights on guarding a handful of the top players traveling to the Class B state tournament. The No. 3-ranked Titans play No. 10 LaMoure-Litchville-Marion at noon MST Thursday in the state quarterfinals at the Minot State Dome.

Good helped Trinity to a 22-2 overall record as it held Beulah to its lowest point total of the season, 52, during the Region 7 championship. In that game, the Trinity senior went 4-for-4 from the field and was 2-for-2 from the free-throw line to score 10 points while he grabbed a team-high eight rebounds.

“I think it definitely was his best all-around game,” Grinsteinner said. “He’s had some pretty good defensive games. He always gets the other team’s best offensive player and there are nights that he gets disappointed when that kid goes and gets so many points. We just tell him, ‘If you keep him below his season average, we’ve got a pretty good chance to win.’ He’s done that in many, many games this year.”

Grinsteinner had an idea of what Good was going to bring to the table. With Good’s 6-foot-3 frame, Grinsteinner said he’s quick enough to defend on the perimeter and big enough to handle a post presence.

“He’s so quick, he’s so athletic and he anticipates so well,” Grinsteinner said. “We can take some heat off of our main offensive weapons and he can guard. What he’s done the last part of the season is he’s been able to get to the rim. Anytime he can get us six to 10 points on the offensive side, that’s just gravy for us.”

Trinity’s all-state senior guard Jacob Volk, who averages 20 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.7 steals per game, said Good takes on a huge burden every night and helps take some weight off the rest of the team’s shoulders.

“He’s takes off a lot of pressure for the whole team,” said Volk, who has been playing with Good since they were fourth-graders. “It helps out a lot.”

Despite being relied on for his defensive efforts, Good has the ability to drive the lane and create offensive opportunities for himself and his teammates. Good is averaging 5.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 2.1 steals per game this season.

“I think it’s really helpful, because if someone is having an off night,” Good said. “I can come in and help score to take some of the load off.”

Good said he couldn’t have asked for anything more in his senior season. As Trinity heads to the state basketball tournament, the senior forward hopes to continue his solid defensive efforts in his final three games as a Titan.

“I’m very happy with my senior season,” Good said. “We get to go to state and play against some of the best teams in the state. It couldn’t be better.”

Tags: trinity titans, high school basketball, jacob good, sports, preps, titans