DOUGLAS — The Cochise College men’s basketball team won its third consecutive championship last year by claiming the Arizona Community College Athletic Conference title outright. It was the Runnin’ Apaches’ second ACCAC outright title in the last three years. The team also won 17 straight games en route to a 25-win season and another top 20 finish in the final NJCAA Division I National polls, claiming the No. 18 slot in the NJCAA final poll.
Cochise ran into a very hot Central Arizona College team that upset the top-seeded Runnin’ Apaches in the NJCAA Region I semifinals, eliminating Cochise from the NJCAA Region I tournament and ending the season.
“We were very proud of the success we had last season, as we had a group of sophomores who won two championships in two seasons, and, more importantly, all eight sophomores who were in the program two years all earned associate degrees,” said Cochise head coach Jerry Carrillo.
Last year’s team saw many members gain solid accolades. Sophomore guard Nathan Sobey earned First Team All-ACCAC and Region I honors, as well as honorable mention All-American honors. Sophomore sharpshooter Mike Maya also earned First Team All-ACCAC and First Team All-Region I honors. Sophomore big man Matt Korcheck earned Second Team All-ACCAC and Region I honors. Additionally, Carrillo took home the ACCAC Coach of the Year award.
This season, Cochise must replace all five starters, including three who signed with NCAA Division I institutions — Nnamdi Enzewa with Idaho State, Sobey with Wyoming and Korcheck with the University of Arizona — and the starting backcourt of Mark Simmons, now at St. Mary’s in Texas, and Maya, at Monticello in Arkansas, both Division II schools.
The Runnin’ Apaches will now look to sophomores Ajak Magot, Jerry Duckworth and Joe Bell Austin for experience and leadership in the pursuit of another championship. Magot, a 6-foot-11 true five-man, needs to have a “breakout” year and dominate the ACCAC in the paint. Duckworth, a 6-foot powerful guard, backed up Maya and Sobey last season and will be looked to for perimeter shooting. Austin, the back-up point guard last season, will look to spearhead the Runnin’ Apache attack that led the NJCAA in scoring last season. Austin is a quick-skilled guard who is very capable.
Cochise has several newcomers this season to help claim another championship. Transfers Tim Jacobs and Terin Caldwell bring some four-year experience to help bolster the Runnin’ Apache attack. Jacobs, a 6-foot-2 guard from Onate High in Las Cruces, N.M., was a redshirt at UTEP last season and earned valuable practice experience with the NCAA Division I Conference USA member. Jacobs lead Onate to the 2011 New Mexico High School State 5A Championship his senior year. Caldwell is a 6-foot-3 athletic jumping jack who averaged 7 points per game last season for Northern New Mexico College, an NAIA institution. Caldwell was the El Paso High School Player of the Year for the 2011-12 season while prepping at Americas High School.
The Runnin’ Apaches also brought in two dynamic and mobile post players in 6-foot-6 Demeco Blue and 6-foot-7 Kendyl Grover. Blue is a rugged post player who had a standout career for Tascosa High School in Amarillo, Texas. Grover is long and explosive, and played for legendary high school coach Joe Ortiz at Thunder Ridge High in the greater Denver area. Cochise again recruited the Pacific Northwest by signing two Seattle area prep legends in point guard Jordan Russell and swingman Anddrew Hawkins. Russell is a powerful 5-foot-10 point guard who was an all-state performer in both football and basketball for Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Wash. Hawkins is a gifted 6-foot-5 athlete who played for the Franklin Quakers, a perennial Seattle powerhouse that has produced a number of NCAA Division I players, as well as NBA products. The Runnin’ Apaches also found an athletic gem in 6-foot guard Demitrius Balark from Kellis High School in the Phoenix area.
Cochise also brought on local Douglas High School all-star Jesse Arias Sanchez, a 6-foot-1 left-handed sharp shooter who is a legend in the Douglas and Agua Prieta (Mexico) basketball community. Fellow Douglas High School products Abner Cortez and Alexio Esquer, as well as 6-foot-5 forward Ramo Adun, round out the Runnin’ Apache roster and look to provide depth.
Cochise will again look to play an exciting, up-tempo brand of college basketball after leading the NJCAA in scoring last season. The ACCAC race looks wide open this season.