It is starting to feel like we are off and running into basketball season, and it always comes up so quickly in the fall. We are already within two weeks of our first non-conference game against Cameron on November 8 at the Harry H. Simmons Court at Massari Arena. Doing something other than our regular lifts and practices this week was enjoyable.
On October 23, we scrimmaged against Trinidad State Junior College, roughly 90 miles from Pueblo. They are a part of Region 9 and have a good young team this year with an excellent guard in Lateef Patrick, a sophomore committed to Quinnipiac next year.
The next night, we had “Massari Madness,” an exciting event that the Sports Information department put on for everyone. It was for everyone to meet all the men’s and women’s basketball teams here at CSU Pueblo and enjoy a few shooting and dunk contests.
The crowd also got involved and played a game of basketball musical chairs for a couple of prizes. Our fifth-year senior, Deshaun Cooper, and incoming transfer guard, Denim Johnson, were the final two guys in the dunk contest.
Deshaun was able to throw down an Eastbay off two feet, which is a between-the-legs dunk, and Demin finished it off by jumping over two of our teammates in the middle of the lane and a lob from the second guy he jumped over. He jumped over freshman Jordan Blair and received the lob from junior Sam Howery.
On Friday, we had another scrimmage against West Texas A&M, which has had an excellent program for several years, setting a standard for the Lone Star Conference and the RMAC. In the last 10 seasons, the Mavericks have had four campaigns with 30 or more wins and an overall record of 266-62 (81.1%). West Texas has played in the NCAA Division II “Elite 8″ four of the last seven seasons.
For those out there who don’t quite understand how the playoffs work in D2. You initially have your conference tournament; after that, you have the regional tournament. Our region is made up of the RMAC and Lone Star. There are eight sets of eight regional tournaments across the country, which makes up 64 teams, just like the March Madness bracket. We keep it more regionalized to save money for traveling, and then the eight regional winners play in the”Elite 8”.
It was great to have a change in pace playing against your team every day in practice and competing with someone else. Those two scrimmages fulfilled our ability to have two against non-NCAA Division 1 opponents by the rules. I am excited about our team and what this year will bring. We hope you have a chance to come to support the Thunderwolves and catch a couple of games this year!
NOTE: Trinidad State is coached by Mike Folda, the son of former Pack athletics director and basketball coach (Joe Folda). He graduated from Pueblo East High and played two seasons at Northeastern Junior College in Sterling before completing his collegiate career at CSU Pueblo, where he played two seasons for his father. Lateef Patrick was a third-team junior college All-American last season, averaging 17.1 points per game.
In 14 seasons at TSJC, Mike Folda has a 217-184 record (54.1%) with three straight Region XI titles and NJCAA Championship appearances. Father Joe posted a 314-196 mark (61.65) in 18 seasons at CSU Pueblo. The Folda’s have a 32-season record of 531-380 (58.2%). Before becoming the Pack coach for the 1986-1987 season, Joe Folda had a 42-42 record at Eastern Washington.
