Cordova has big night

[89rabbit]

Here are highlights from an Argus story about last night's Roosevelt vs Lincoln game.  A future Jack, Anthony Cordova, had a big part in the Roosevelt win and got a nice pic (see below).

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...12/1002/SPORTS



DAVE MARTIN
Argus Leader

Article Published: 12/17/05, 2:55 am

Roosevelt made just enough free throws down the stretch to pull away from Lincoln for a 54-47 boys basketball win in a battle between two of Sioux Falls' top teams.

The Riders were clinging to a 45-41 lead with four minutes remaining when Lincoln started sending Roosevelt regularly to the free throw line. The Riders only hit 6 of 14 foul shots in that stretch, but those were enough when combined with a stout defense.

The win pushed Roosevelt's record to 2-1 and was Lincoln's first loss in three games.

Roosevelt's Anthony Cordova, who had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds, thought it was a great game.

"It was really exciting - one of the funnest and hardest games we've had," Cordova said. "I thought it would never end."  .  .  .

Lincoln took its last lead of the game on a short jumper by Mike Pajor to start the third period.

From then on, the Riders were in control but not comfortably.

Cordova, headed for South Dakota State next year, sank a long-range bomb after a half-court pass as time expired in the third period to put the Riders up 36-34. Cordova also had his second dramatic slam midway through the final period to put the Riders up by four.

The last four minutes were spent with the Riders at the free throw line after Lincoln committed its eighth foul, putting Roosevelt into the bonus.

Cordova said coach Bob Wilber told him he was playing too fast in the first half.

"He told me to slow down and let the game come to me, and to get on the boards and do what I do.

"They were really coming after me hard. I had to make sure I got myself under control and make sure I didn't make any turnovers.

Wilber noted that Cordova is a target.

"He just needs to kick it back out (when he is double-teamed) and let us get the ball back to him," the coach said. "I thought he did a better job of that in the second half. He just needs to have more patience - he's worked very hard to improve his game."  .  .  .

Go State!  ;D

[filbert]

Re: Cordova has big night

He will look very good in yellow and blue . . .

I think Cordova is a key guy for the men's basketball program--with the potential to swing the Sioux Falls media over to unabashedly rooting for SDSU. That would be a nice change.

Go A.C.!

[JackTwice]

Re: Cordova has big night

[move]Cordova said coach Bob Wilber told him he was playing too fast in the first half. [/move]

Geez MJA! Your family's fingerprints are all over this program!

[JackTwice]

Re: Cordova has big night

Holy cow! that scrolling thing is pretty cool! That happened by total accident. I guess it is true that you learn something new every day.

[Jacks02]

Re: Cordova has big night

Cordova, headed for South Dakota State next year, sank a long-range bomb after a half-court pass as time expired in the third period to put the Riders up 36-34. Cordova also had his second dramatic slam midway through the final period to put the Riders up by four.

Nice!

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Cordova has big night

[move]Cordova said coach Bob Wilber told him he was playing too fast in the first half. [/move]

Geez MJA!  Your family's fingerprints are all over this program!

I just hope they don't use those fingerprints to lock me up.

[jackmd]

Re: Cordova has big night

Cordova, headed for South Dakota State next year, sank a long-range bomb after a half-court pass as time expired in the third period to put the Riders up 36-34. Cordova also had his second dramatic slam midway through the final period to put the Riders up by four.

Nice!

The future is bright.

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Cordova has big night

Talked to some people who were at the game who said his dunks were huge. This kid is a raw talent just starting to mold. A year of being "the man" in High School and he'll be ready to step up to the next level and help the Jacks continue building on the future.

[Jacks02]

Re: Cordova has big night

Just saw highlights from tonights game on the news, Roosevelt won with Cordova going for 21 and 10.

[jackmd]

Re: Cordova has big night

Just saw highlights from tonights game on the news, Roosevelt won with Cordova going for 21 and 10.

Who was the competition? Another big night, double-double once again.

[Jacks02]

Re: Cordova has big night

Who was the competition?  Another big night, double-double once again.

Sioux Falls O'Gorman, I believe they were the #1 ranked team in the state.

[89rabbit]

Re: Cordova has big night

Highlights from the Argus:

http://www.argusleader.com/apps/pbcs...17/1002/SPORTS

Riders down Knights by 2

Cordova scores 21 for Roosevelt

STU WHITNEY
swhitney@argusleader.com

Article Published: 12/21/05, 2:55 am

The ongoing saga between Roosevelt and O'Gorman shifted to boys basketball Tuesday night, and Anthony Cordova couldn't wait.

The 6-foot-6 senior and South Dakota State recruit asserted himself early and often for the Rough Riders, fueling a 56-54 victory in Greater Dakota Conference action at a lively Roosevelt gym.

"This feels good, because everybody thought they were going to beat us," said Cordova, whose 21 points and 10 rebounds helped Roosevelt (3-1) lead by nine points in the fourth quarter before a late O'Gorman rally.

"Coach (Bob Wilber) told me to take the ball inside and make the game as easy as possible, and I tried to do that tonight. I hope this shows the rest of the state that we're still a good basketball team."  .   .  .

Cordova asserted himself inside early, scoring the first seven points of the game for the Riders to help them build a 16-10 lead early in the second quarter.  .  .  .

Cordova made his presence felt again in the final stanza, scoring four straight Roosevelt points for a 53-46 lead with just 2:26 left.

As usual, the Knights fought to the bitter end, getting two quick baskets from Schulte and taking advantage of some missed Rider free throws to keep the outcome in doubt.

Schoenfelder missed a pair with Roosevelt leading 56-52 and 10 seconds left. Coleman then grabbed an rebound and threw in a reverse layup while being fouled to pull OG within 56-54 with 2.2 seconds remaining.

The senior missed the free throw intentionally, and O'Gorman nearly grabbed the rebound before the ball glanced out of bounds and officials declared the game over.

That sealed the first chapter of this season's saga in Roosevelt's favor, and gave fans an early look at a much-improved Cordova.

"We're asking more and more of him, because the sky is the limit with Anthony," said Wilber. "We're at the point where we say, 'You should get every rebound,' which seems like a lot. But he's really responding to that.".  .  .


Go State!  ;D

[MilwaukeeJacksAlum]

Re: Cordova has big night

Coach Wilber has been saying since day 1 that Cordova is going to be a monster in college. He could barely dribble without looking at the ball when he first came to SD 2 years ago. Now, he's putting up 21 and 10. He's not even close to reaching his potential.

[JACKGUYII]

Re: Cordova has big night

Nagy has indicated that Cordova in another year would have been recruited by many of the schools in major conferences. He has a Big 10 body right now. We should be fortunate to get him. There will be a lot of comparisons with Tveidt as these two develop in college. IMHO I think Cordova has more upside and has not come close to reaching his potential. Remember last year he was overshadowed by Krabenhoft and now he has the opportunity to be the man at Roosevelt.

[Cadsev]

Re: Cordova has big night

There are four talented basketball players in the Class of 2006 that are heading to the DII level and higher. The four are:

Tate Pesicka
Anthony Cordova
Michael Tveidt
Zach Finley

Anthony could be a junior, due to his age and would be a mid to higher major recruit if he were a junior. He has benefited immensely by moving from California to SD. His old HS team use to play in front of crowds of about 50 to 100 people and now he plays in front of 2,000 + most nights. When he arrived in SD he had a ton of potential but lacked desire and the ability to compete. Two HS seasons later and a summer season under his belt and he's developing into an outstanding player. Krabbenhoft didn't overshadow him too much but it did require that Cordova stay primarily in the post. With Joe moving on to college Anthony is able to move outside a bit more and develop his perimeter game. He's always been a post player but could develop into a four and maybe a three down the road. Ball handling isn't a strong suit but who’s to say he can't get better. I'm curious if he'll redshirt or play right away. Grades were a concern and he'll need to continue to focus on them to be ready to go by fall. He's worked hard in the classroom and the eligibility issues, once reported on this site, are not as big a concern as once reported.

Michael Tveidt gets a ton of mention and is anointed the "Top basketball" player in the senior class tag. However, Cordova and Finley are both late bloomers and will have major impacts on the SD HS scene this season.

Finley played outstanding last weekend at the LNI and will do well at Princeton. He's by far the best big man in the state as it's no contest in that category.

Pesicka is a scoring machine and one that got away from SDSU. I'll just say that we all make mistakes. This can't happen in the future with SD athletes of this caliber.

Anthony has the capability of making SDSU fans say….Michael who???