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Home / Spotlight / Northern New Mexico men’s basketball team preparing for its seventh appearance in the NAIA tournament that takes the court Feb. 22 in Lincoln, Ill, and Eagles are the seventh seed

Northern New Mexico men’s basketball team preparing for its seventh appearance in the NAIA tournament that takes the court Feb. 22 in Lincoln, Ill, and Eagles are the seventh seed

By Arnie Leshin 
Arnie Leshin

Ryan Cordova is in the stretch run of his seventh year as head coach of the Northern New Mexico College men’s basketball team, and as a resident of Espanola, it’s like a second home.

 

He also serves as the school’s director of athleticsand most important he has a positive attitude. He recruits players who excel in academics, he has a stellar back round as a coach, and looks ahead once again to his Eagles soaring to the NAIA Association of Independent basketball championships for the seventh time.

 

“The tournament will begin on Feb. 22 and will be played at Lincoln, Ill,” he said, “and we are the number six seed. Last year, we lost in the first round to York College, which made it to the elite 8 of the NAIA national tournament.”

 

This time his team opens against 3rd seeded Voorhees College of Denmark, S.C., and Cordova said Voorhees was the preseason pick to win the conference, and his team was rated third. One popular change has three, not two, of the remaining 10 schools playing for three spots in the national tournament.

 

“We are 11-15,” he said, “but we play a tough schedule and have lost some close games. Our kids have super attitudes and come to play. We have depth, I can call on like 8 to 10 players, and we have size.”

 

While the Eagles have won four of their last five games, the Voorhees Bulldogs are on a nine-game winning streak.

 

“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Cordova said, “but it’s a good thing because we like doing work.”

 

The height comes by way of 6-foot-10 senior Ibrahima Diagne, a native of France, and 6-8 sophomore Tyrique Weaver, who hails from Dallas, Tex., but attended Rio Rancho Cleveland,and the best player, 6-5 junior Naquwan Solomon, comes from Brooklyn, N.Y. He wears number 13 and played at Cochise Junior College, one of the nation’s top programs.

 

Academics has cost the team leading scorer Bryce Simmons and important rotation player, Jose Rodriguez, both sophomores, and that’s where the deep bench comes in.

 

The starting backcourt contains a familiar name out of Santa Fe’s Capital High, 5-11 freshman Jeremy Anaya, and he’s paired with 6-3 sophomore Makye Richard, who leads the team in assists and has the team game-high of 30 points.

 

Then there’s 5-11 sophomore Tomas Rodriguez, a talented athlete who played for his father at Desert Academy and excelled at the state track and field championships. Cordova said he doesn’t hesitate to call on Rodriguez.

 

Others from the Land of Enchantment are 6-foot junior Augustus Cuch out of Laguna-Acoma, 6-2 senior Seth Warfield from Albuquerque’s Volcano Vista, 6-3 sophomore Lucas Chavez who played at Belen, 6-6 sophomore Daniel Holyfield out of Albuquerque Manzano, and 6-foot freshman Larry Morinia III from Albuquerque West Mesa.  

 

As for the City Different pair, Anaya and Rodriguez, Cordova has employed them both to handle more of the point guard responsibilities, and in the last two games, the team has only 14 turnovers.

 

“Tomas was a redshirt freshman last year,” Cordova said, “and it’s nice to see some redshirt freshman step up.”

 

And Jeremy, who played in the state 5A final against Roswell last season, has earned a starting spot. Both he and Rodriguez are full-time students who work full-time jobs during the season, as well as studying and maintaining good classroom grades.

 

Cordova also adds that the two home-grown players making important contributions is just as important for the program off the court.

 

NOTES: Cordova wears two hats, but has also spent time in Santa Fe lobbying for the athletic department during the legislative session in hopes of coming away with a funding boost.

 

Last year, his department had a budget of $616,000, but was assisted by the state funding $352,100. Then there was $100,000 from student fees at the college.

 

Said Cordova: “Fundraising brings in about another $60,000, and the games we play against Division I schools like the University of New Mexico and Division II schools Fort Lewis, New Mexico Highlands and Western New Mexico generate about $20,000 to $30,000.”

 

That was a plus. A minus was when the school had to cut budgets as it struggled with its finances over the last few years and Cordova had to slash about $150,000 from athletics.

 

He does hope that fiscal restraint and the fact that 80 percent of the school’s student athletes are from New Mexico will help his cause, and for that he wears yet another hat.

 

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