Senior day is always one of those memorable events on campus in every sport. It truly is amazing the amount of work and dedication that our student-athletes put into their sports. We had the privilege of recognizing four seniors on Saturday at the Mabee Complex.
For the women Shelby Hodges and Rachel Cisneroz have been great ambassadors for the
the Final Four banquet. She has been a leader of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee and is a great spokesperson for the school.
Rachel has one of the best voices I have ever heard. She does a great rendition of the national anthem. She has on a few occasions stepped in on no notice and belted out the anthem at events on campus.
I say all of that to say they are two of my favorite all-time Cowgirls since I have been here. Throughout their career they have been perfect role models and because of that I have also had them spend time with my daughter as not only a babysitter but just at games and to be honest I hope my daughter turns outs to be just like them. Not as an athlete, but as a person. I can tell you that my little girl looks up to those two like no one else and I am proud she does.
Now for the Jean brothers. I don’t think I have seen two players grow more in their time at Hardin-Simmons than those two. Mardochee and Dan came in as shy projects as freshmen and they are leaving HSU as mature men that are going to be productive members of society.
Saturday seeing the joy they brought to their entire family, and what a big family it is, when they would do something good on the court was something special. Getting to work with these type of people every day is what makes my job at HSU so special.
Mardochee has turned into one of the most well-spoken players on the team. I used to be worried when a reporter would ask to speak to him, but now I know he is going to give great answers to questions. He leads by example and has become an intense competitor every night. He will go down as one of the best, if not the best big men ever to play in the ASC. He has taken a team that had little experience and four starters to replace back to the playoffs and you never know, maybe they can get to the NCAA Tournament in a wide-open ASC race this season.
Dan came in as a freshman and he was a very raw basketball player. He had great athletic ability and came on down the stretch to make the travel squad. He transferred to McMurry as a sophomore in search of more playing time, but saw the light and came back to HSU for his final two seasons. There are certain teams that him and Mardochee together are an unstoppable combination.
Dan is a player that has to be challenged to bring out his best. He and I have had a good relationship. We like to talk smack to each other in a good way. During the preseason I walked in on the team in open gym and I saw Dan working on his 3-point shot. Let me tell you it needs some work. He got to the point in open gym that he thought he was a guard he was shooting so many 3-pointers. I challenged him to a 3-point shooting contest with one stipulation. If I beat him, he could not take 3-pointers for the rest of the year (because it is not like Coach Howard was going to let him shot any in the games any way). Well of course I beat him and now he just stays on the block and dunks on people.
I am so proud of the progress all four have made not only on the court, but off it as well. They are all four on course to graduate. It is amazing how fast four years go by.
News and Notes
I would like to welcome new track and cross country coach Rodney Smith to the campus. Track is something that has been discussed for years, but is finally a reality again.
Softball will finally get to open its season this weekend after weather caused delays last week. Baseball is back in action this week and tennis will finally play a dual that counts this week.
Where Are They Now
I heard from one of my all-time favorite Cowboys Ryan Smrkovsky this past week and he and his wife are expecting their first child any day now. He is living and working in Ozona. Smurf was an all-around good guy and unfortunately lost his senior year to a knee injury in a game at Menlo.
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