Break Update: Creating the Pipeline

Creating the Pipeline

Story by Greg Spitzig (Tri-C Student)

CLEVELAND, OH (Dec. 13)– The Cuyahoga Community College Triceratops men's basketball team has started off the season with a 10-2 record suprising most as they returned from a two year hiatus.

Fans and followers of Tri-C basketball have noticed that players have come from 'far, far away' to play for the Triceratops, some from as distant as Canada and New Jersey.  They also have a nice blend of local and in state talent as well.

A large part of that is due to the hard recruiting work of Head Coach Aaron Nixon. Nixon is in his first year coaching the Triceratops. This also coincides with this being Tri-C's first year back after a two-year hiatus because of the Covid pandemic. So how does a coach in his first year in a program that is starting from scratch get players from out of state and create a winning culture so fast?

"Just connections. I've been coaching since 2011 now." Nixon said. "I've been able to make connections, networking people, other coaches in high school and college. It's hard to get outside with Canada, Cincinnati, Michigan, and New Jersey. So, I'm just using connections."

In addition to taking road trips to other areas of interest, Tri-C finds other creative ways to recruit talent from those far away areas as well.

"Right before the season started, we hosted a club tournament here with prep teams and club teams." Tri-C Athletic Director Anthony Cipollone said. "We had 3 or 4 teams from Canada come into town for the tournament and our coaches work the tournament so for 4 straight days they are seeing players and talking to the coaches and parents and players."

Tri-C is a Division II NJCAA school - which allows scholarships - but they can't provide housing. This makes it all the more impressive that these players have chosen Tri-C, as they've had other opportunities. One such player is Toronto native and Sophomore Guard Jordan Persad.

"There were other choices." Persad said. "Cleveland, I felt like, had more a family home vibe. I knew I had a connection here. Once I spoke to Coach Nixon, and I saw the campus, I just knew this was the place for me."

Tri-C is tries to offset a roster filled with mostly Ohio kids, combined with some out of state talent. In the past, they have always looked for talent everywhere they can which have included some of the southern states as well. Cipollone said that it is important to have a balance to maximize the scholarship dollars we are given.  The cost of tuition varies depending on if a student-athlete is in county, in state or out of state and in some cases, out of country.

Nixon always seems to be looking for talent. Most of his time assessing talent is in the Cleveland area. He attends 2-3 high school games a week and attends several open gyms trying to find such talent.

"I believe Northeast Ohio kids are some of the toughest kids." Nixon said. "They play a tough brand of basketball."

This tough brand of basketball is easy to see when you watch this team compete. They seem to always be more physical in their style of play. They are always trapping, pressing, and rushing to the ball which helps create turnovers and easy opportunities.

Warrensville Heights Varsity Head Coach Brett Moore has known Nixon since they were in high school and is a few years older than him, has high praise for him. Moore, who was a coach at East Tech until becoming the coach at Warrensville Heights, says Nixon would frequent East Tech constantly, looking for his tough brand of basketball. At that time, Nixon was the coach for Lakeland Community College before his tenure at Tri-C.

"I send them to Coach Nixon because we have similar coaching styles and that we are going to hold the kids accountable and make sure they're going to do what they're supposed to do," Moore says. "Under him (Nixon) they'll do what's necessary in order to be successful, moving on and going forward from Tri-C.

 "He's a straight shooter," Moore adds about Nixon. "A lot of the kids I send to him are like that. They want to know the truth. They don't necessarily like the fluff. He's a great fit for what Tri-C is trying to do especially keeping the kids from the city involved in local basketball."

People are taking notice. The most recent game at Tri-C's Metro campus had a few hundred fans at it. The crowd witnessed the Triceratops display their physical, yet smooth style of play in an 88-73 victory over the visiting Commodores.

"I think when you do have a good nucleus of local talent combined with some players that are exciting to watch, you get crowds like this." Cipollone said. "My hope is that as more people find out about what we are trying to do here, which is win championships and create solid men and citizens, the fans and especially the students of Tri-C will take pride in their Tops and start to create the type of home court atmosphere that assists our team everytime they play here."

Cipollone went on to say that the home games are now available to stream either on the Tri-C YouTube page or the Boxcast Network (link can be found on the www.athletics.tri-c.edu under the WATCH button) You can follow Tri-C Athletics on Twitter (@TriCathletics) and you will have the ability to see the link for the games on there. For most away games, the link to that particular schools streaming can be found on the schedule page with the title Video.