March 20, 2008
SAN DIEGO - Kim Goetz, who starred for the Aztec men's basketball team from 1978-79, passed away Monday night at the age of 50 from an apparent heart attack, the North County Times reported Wednesday.
Goetz is one of the greatest shooters in San Diego State men's basketball history and was inducted into the Aztec Hall of Fame in December of 2006. Known during his playing days as "The Long Ranger," Goetz led the team in scoring in both of his two seasons in the Scarlet and Black. He was an all-Western Athletic Conference selection in 1979, averaging over 20 points a contest and logging a school-record 90.2 free-throw percentage. Goetz tallied three of the top 10 scoring games in school history, including a 44-point effort against Utah in 1979, and finished his two-year career with 1,005 points.
Goetz remains prominent in the SDSU career record books, ranking first in free-throw percentage (85.4), second in scoring average (18.6) and eighth in field-goal attempts (852).
After finishing his eligibility, he was selected in the second round of the NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
Goetz was a special education teacher at San Pasqual High School in Escondido, Calif.
Funeral Services will be held at 1 p.m. PT on Tuesday, March 25 at St. Michael Catholic Church at 15546 Pomerado Road in Poway.
2006 Aztec Hall of Fame - Induction Video Script
His nickname said it all.
One of the greatest shooters in San Diego State men's basketball history, Kim Goetz played just two seasons in the Scarlet and Black, but still managed to have time to live up to his nickname .... The Long Ranger.
Goetz came to San Diego from Moscow, Idaho, in 1977, already possessing an uncanny shooting ability that would have an immediate impact in the Aztec lineup.
Under head coach Tim Vezie, Goetz led the team in scoring in both of his campaigns, making over 50 percent of his shots each season.
In his first year, he averaged almost 17 points in 28 contests.
As a senior, he led the Western Athletic Conference in points per game with a 20.5 mark, beating out BYU's Danny Ainge for the scoring title and earning all-league honors.
The Long Ranger recorded 40 points or more in three games, playing along such Aztec greats as Steve Malovic, Mike Dodd and Tony Gwynn.
Goetz's shooting range was never more on display than in his 44-point performance against Utah, his final game as an Aztec. Goetz made 18 field goals, just one of which came inside 20-feet. He also nailed all eight of his free-throw attempts against the Utes to break his own SDSU single-game scoring record.
Had the three-point line been put into effect when Goetz suited up for the Aztecs, one will never know just how many points he could have ended his career with. As it was, the Long Ranger became the first SDSU player to reach the 1,000 point mark in just two years, ending with 1,005 to his credit.
Goetz is prominent in the SDSU career record books, where he ranks first in career free-throw percentage, second in scoring average and eighth in field-goal attempts.
The 6-7 forward was a second-round selection and the 34th pick overall in the 1979 NBA Draft by the New York Knicks.
While his stay at SDSU may have been a short one, this Long Ranger rode into the Aztec records books - a place where he still remains.