The sideline will look somewhat different this season for the Cochise College Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams this season as both programs have brought in new assistant coaches to replace Jason Hopkins and Monique Whaley-Briggs, who departed for Big Bend Community College and Tarleton State University respectively. Hopkins was hired this summer as the new Men’s Basketball head coach at Big Bend Community College in Moses Lake, Washington, and Whaley-Briggs was hired as a Women’s Basketball assistant coach at Tarleton State University, an NCAA Division I school in Stephenville, Texas.
The Cochise Women’s Basketball team officially welcomed Scott Zacker as the new assistant coach on September 12th after approval from the governing board. Zacker comes to Cochise College after spending the last four years at Wichita State University (Wichita, KS) working as a student manager and a graduate assistant. Throughout his time with the WSU women’s program, he worked closely with coaches in recruiting, player development, and practices. He graduated from Wichita State with a degree in sports management and is currently finishing his Master’s of Education degree. He was born and raised in Oswego, Illinois, and graduated from Oswego High School in 2018. “I was interested in Cochise College because of the success of [Coach] Misty Opat and the historical success of the program,” Zacker stated. “I am excited about the opportunity to be a part of such a special program and a special college.”
Former Cochise basketball standout Derek Lane was officially welcomed back as the new assistant coach for the Cochise College Men’s Basketball team this summer. Lane previously spent five seasons as an assistant coach on Jerry Carrillo’s bench during the 2014-2021 seasons, and returns in a more prominent role this Fall. During his previous coaching stint at Cochise, Lane helped lead the Apaches to five NJCAA Region I championship games winning in 2014, 2015, and 2021. During the 2020-2021 season, Cochise won the conference title outright, with a co-champion title in 2015-2016.
While at Cochise, Coach Lane assisted in developing student-athletes to play at the four-year level, helping 33 student-athletes sign to the next level after Cochise. Lane played for Coach Carrillo from 2009-2012, redshirting during the 2010-2011 season.
Lane attended and played basketball at Buena High School in Sierra Vista, Arizona, and graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2014 with a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management. He is pursuing a Master’s degree in Leadership from Grand Canyon University.
Both assistant coaches will make their debut on the sideline next month as they begin their pre-season games participating in the ACCAC Jamboree at Phoenix College in Phoenix, AZ on October 7th.