Jesus Aragon had quite the challenge in 2022.
The same day the season was scheduled to begin, college administration fired Ryan Cordova, who had led the program for 12 years since its inception. Cordova had been on leave for weeks over the summer, with his leave starting less than two weeks after hiring Aragon as an assistant coach.
Aragon, with no experience at the college level, had to step in not just as head basketball coach, but also as athletic director.
But he took on the job and did what he could to shape the position after himself. And now, entering his second year, he has a full summer to prepare for the upcoming season and a chance to get his feet under him.
“I’m really excited,” Aragon said. “Now, this year is going to be my year. My own stuff. Recruiting guys that they’re coming, and those are my recruits.”
Among their summer events, Northern will host a basketball skills camp on July 26 for 6 to 13-year-olds, a day after incoming players are expected to arrive
Aragon also has a chance to bring in his own recruiting class to shape the team. His recruiting strategy involved finding big men from overseas, many in Africa, and looking locally for skilled guards and wings. Those players will be tasked with replacing much of the starting lineup.
Among the New Mexico players joining the team are Dalen Moyer, a guard from Sandia (the state runner-up in 5A) who averaged more than five assists per game as a senior; Tavaun Smith, a forward from Farmington who played with Albuquerque Basketball Prep School; and Eloy Medina, a West Mesa grad who had walked on at University of New Mexico, then played under former McCurdy student Aaron Chavez at Bakersfield Community College. Those recruits were announced at a signing day in Albuquerque in April.
Northern adds a pair of former Española Valley players in Ricky Padilla, a 2022 graduate, and Jordan Duda, who was with the team for part of the 2022-23 season but did not end up playing.
For the women’s basketball team, Samantha Stukes joins the program as head coach to replace J.R. Giddens, who parted ways with the team in March.
The Eagles also bring in another NBA veteran in Terry Tyler, who played for the 1980s Pistons and currently ranks in the top 50 all-time in career blocks. After an 11-year NBA career, Tyler coached the Eastern New Mexico University team from 1998 to 2000 and was an assistant at Notre Dame.
Aragon said that Tyler had been retired, but he convinced him to join the team and bring his experience to the team. Tyler will be an assistant head coach for the year, replacing Ish Loya who assisted Aragon on short notice for the 2022-23 year.
“Everybody spoke really highly about him,” Aragon said. “This is a coach that is going to sit down and talk to the kid about everything. His mentor part, for the young kids that we have here at Northern New Mexico, is going to be tremendous.”
Northern is excited for its schedule that features Division I teams including first-ever matchups with the University of Denver and Wyoming, as well as games against Northern Colorado and New Mexico State. Aragon is also hoping to add a game against University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP), near where Aragon lives full-time. The Division I games help to add a bit of extra income to the athletic budget.
The Eagles will also play a group of Division II schools including Western New Mexico University, a team that features former state champion Jose Murillo from Highland.
The women’s team will host New Mexico Highlands as their first home game on November 14.
Aragon is also looking for ways to get the local community involved, including potentially hosting high school games at Northern to play before a home game, and have spoken to Peñasco on that front.
Northern hosted a basketball camp in early June, where West Mesa High won first place and Peñasco won second. They hosted a camp in Pueblo of Isleta earlier in July.
Last year, the Eagles scored a big win over Adams State last November, but missed the conference tournament with a 2-6 record. Aragon hopes to improve and get into the tournament.
In taking over for Cordova, Aragon said he had respect for the way Cordova built the program from the ground up, and expected Cordova to be successful as the coach of Pojoaque Valley High School. And now, both of them will have a season to focus fully on their own teams.
“It’s been tough for me, I’m not going to lie,” Aragon said. “It was a tough season last season. It was like a snowball that was increasing more and more. Now, it looks like a little more control.”