DOUGLAS — The Cochise College men’s basketball team won 25 games last season but failed to win a Region I or ACCAC Championship for the first time in four years — a disappointment. The 2012-13 Apaches did win 12 consecutive games and upended national power Odessa College, then sent all four graduating sophomores on to NCAA Division I and Division II institutions. Last year’s Runnin’ Apaches also excelled in the classroom with a graduation rate of 100 percent and second-place finish in the nation in team GPA with a 3.22 average.
Last year’s team saw many members gain solid accolades. Sophomore guard JoeBell Austin was second team All-Region I and Second Team All-ACCAC while earning a scholarship to Fort Lewis College, a perennial NCAA DII national power. Sophomore guard Jerry Duckworth earned Honorable Mention All-ACCAC honors while signing with Colorado Mesa State out of the NCAA DII RMAC. Sophomore postman Ajak Magot earned a scholarship with NCAA DI Idaho State University and sophomore Tevin Caldwell earned a roster spot with UTEP, another NCAA DI institution.
Cochise will rely on sophomore Demitrius Balark and Tim Jacobs for valuable experience this season. Balark and Jacobs along with former Douglas High School Bulldog Alexio Esquer are the only returners on this year’s squad. Barlark is an ultra-athletic combo guard who is very versatile and can really defend. Jacobs, the lone returning starter, had a very solid freshman campaign last season, averaging nearly 9 points per game as a starting wing.
The Runnin’ Apaches will be counting on a large group of freshmen to bolster the attack this season. Freshman post players Ronald Singleton and Bryan Laws will be counted on for immediate productivity on the glass and in the paint.
“Singleton, a 6-foot-6 power forward from Vincent High School in Milwaukee is athletic and talented,” Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo said. “Laws, a 6-foot-7 power forward from Cheyenne High School in Las Vegas is an old school ‘throwback’ player who competes daily at an excellent clip.”
The Apaches also added 6-foot-6 postman Oliver Guerrero from Austin High School in El Paso to provide strength on the interior. Cochise also brought in three freshman wings that all had stellar high school careers. Six-foot-3 scoring guard Dane Pannell had a tremendous high school career at Hobbs High School in New Mexico and will provide nice size and scoring from the wing. Jordan Martin, from Millennium High School in Goodyear, is a 5-foot-11 combo guard who can score the ball. LaBradford Sebree, a powerful 6-foot-1 wing from Kokomo, Ind., will also be entering his freshman year for the Runnin’ Apaches. Sebree was an All-State selection for Kokomo in the basketball-crazy state of Indiana, which also produced high school phenom Antonio Penny from Logansport. Penny is a quick 5-foot-11 point guard who was also an All-State selection his senior year.
“Penny is very dynamic and may remind some of former Cochise standout Jamiko Verner,” Carrillo added.
The Cochise men’s basketball team will be young this season, with many freshmen playing pivotal roles, but look for the Runnin’ Apaches to continue their tradition, winning ways, and playing exciting fast-paced basketball that will be fun to watch.