DOUGLAS — The 2014-15 Runnin’ Apaches look to the put the disappointment of last season behind them.
Last year, the Cochise men’s basketball team finished the regular season with a modest 15-15 record and No. 4 seed in the NJCAA Region I playoffs. Cochise ended the season with a loss to the eventual Region I champion Mesa ThunderBirds in the first round of the tournament.
Cochise returns sophomore guard Jordan Martin, who earned second team All-Region and second team All-ACCAC honors last year as a freshman. Look for Martin to be one of the best guards in NJCAA Region I play this season. The Runnin’ Apaches brought in Midland College transfer Daniel Hernandez, who averaged 10 points per game for Midland College last season. Hernandez is a 5-foot-11 guard with great athleticism and is the only other sophomore on the young roster.
The Apaches brought in some young talent to help Cochise get back to its trademark fast-paced style of play. Freshman guard Arell Hennings is a speedy and skilled point guard from Franklin High in Seattle who can score the ball and run a team. Cochise also brought in a pair of athletic forwards in 6-foot-7 Emanual Sheperd from Toronto, Canada, and 6-foot-5 Brayon Blake from famed Garfield High in Seattle. Sheperd is very long and his skill set is improving, while Blake looks to be a very effective multi-dimensional player in the college ranks. The team will also look to athletic wings Jawan Stepney from Kent, Wash., and Justin Jones of Cypress, Texas, for the attack.
The men’s basketball coaches are excited about the mix of talent and experience of this year’s squad. Look for the Runnin’ Apaches to rebound from last year’s .500 season and get back to their up-tempo style of play that has averaged more than 22 wins per season over the last 19 years in head coach Jerry Carrillo’s tenure.