Sports
Vasquez signs with Colorado Mesa
Matthew Semisch
05/06/2014
Julian Vasquez is the type of person who isn’t picky about where life takes him geographically so long as he’s able to continue honing his craft.
The Miami, Fla., native has spent the past two years playing basketball for Dakota College at Bottineau, and it’s no secret how far apart the Miami-Dade and Bottineau counties are on the climate spectrum.
Now, though, Vasquez is set to head off to another cold-weather locale as his journey through college basketball continues. On April 26, Vasquez’s 23rd birthday, he put pen to paper to play for the next two years at Colorado Mesa University.
Situated in Grand Junction, Colo., Colorado Mesa is an NCAA Division II school. The Mavericks’ athletic teams play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference alongside schools from Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota as well as others from Colorado.
Apart from what the Mavericks’ men’s basketball program has to offer, Grand Junction is more of a traditional college town than those of other schools that courted Vasquez, and that atmosphere was what helped draw him to Colorado Mesa.
“I’m a man about adventure and I like to try new things,” Vasquez said. “I was living in Miami, Fla. for a good 19 years and came to North Dakota, so I believe that if I can go from Miami to North Dakota and do what we’ve done here, I can do anything.
“Obviously the weather’s not easy in Colorado, either, but I just thought that Mesa was more of a town that was a traditional college town, and that’s what I’ve been really looking for in a college.”
Vasquez was arguably DCB’s best player in his second and final season in the green and white of the Lumberjacks.
He started in 31 of the 33 games in which he appeared last season, and he led the team in minutes on the court with 25.3 per game, and points per game with 18.4.
Just as important to Vasquez when it came to the recruiting process was the level of commitment Colorado Mesa showed him during the recruiting process. He felt the Mavericks were looking out for him better than any other school that was courting him over the course of last season.
“They’ve been recruiting me throughout the whole year,” Vasquez said, “And I most definitely think they put in the most work out of anybody that was looking at me.
“I went to the No. 2 team in Division II and they had a lot of nice things to offer out there at Tarleton State (Tex.). That said, I feel that the people that are going to show the most interest in you and want to see what’s best for you and be there for the long run, I feel that’s who are the most genuine people and who’s going to do the best in terms of helping you out.”
“Julian had several options in terms of where to go next,” DCB head men’s basketball coach Cory Fehringer said. “He had schools from Alabama, Oklahoma, Colorado, South Dakota, and so he had choices that needed to be made.
“He took a couple of visits and when it was all said and done, he believed Mesa was the best place for him to continue to become a better player, a better student and a better person.”
He’s certainly helped the Lumberjacks out in his time in Bottineau. Over 33 games played last season, Vasquez led DCB in minutes with 25.3 per game, points per game with 18.4, and field goal percentage at 48.8.
He led the Mon-Dak Conference last season in points per game (24.8 in league games) and was second in steals per game with 1.7 per outing as well as assists per game with 3.5. He also finished third in the league in rebounds per game with 7.9.
Fehringer feels Vasquez has plenty of growth left to still be made in his game, though, and the coach is excited by the opportunity to watch Vasquez go do just that at Colorado Mesa.
“I think Julian has lot left with his game to grow into,” Fehringer said. “But that’s what makes this all so exciting about very talented players and has done a lot of things here that you just can’t coach.
“For him to be pushing every day to find out how great he can be is something I’d looked forward to starting with the moment I met him and watched him play, and we’ll continue to do that now over at least the next couple of years.”