Sports News Southwest

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College announced today that AWC Men’s Basketball player Marcelo Da Silva has signed an official letter of intent to attend Wayland Baptist University and play basketball for the Pioneers this fall. 

 

A program like Wayland Baptist-which just secured its 14^th NAIA Tournament berth two months ago-looks for battle-tested players to continue that winning tradition, and they’ll certainly be getting that with the signing of Da Silva. The native of Miguelopolis, Brazil, has been a part of three postseason teams while at AWC-including seeing significant playing time in Hutchinson, Kansas during the Matadors’ last NJCAA Tournament appearance in 2006. Da Silva arrived in Yuma in August of 2005 ready to battle it out with fellow Brazilian Edvaldo Lima for the Matadors’ vacant starting center spot. They wound up both splitting time in that spot, with Da Silva starting 18 of the Matadors’ 35 contests during the 2005-06 season. Marcelo’s seven-foot presence in the middle was a huge difference for AWC as they reached the national tournament for the 2^nd straight season as he averaged 3.7 rebounds per contest. 

 

Knowing that both centers were returning in 2006-07 and both were potential starters, AWC Men’s Head Basketball Coach Kelly Green thought Da Silva would benefit the most from a redshirt season. He was right. The sophomore 7-footer worked hard during his redshirt season last year on the practice floor and in the classroom, and the improvement was obvious to Matador fans when Da Silva first stepped on the floor this past November. Da Silva started many of the Matadors’ early-season games this season before a shoulder injury forced him to the sideline for two weeks. However, Marcelo still played in 23 of the Matadors’ 29 games this season, getting 7 starts overall. Da Silva’s bench presence was a big help down the stretch this season in helping lead the Matadors to their fifth straight Region I Championship appearance. “Marcelo has been a very important part of the Matador program the last 3 years,” remarked Green. “From where he started to where he is today is amazing.  We are very excited for Marcelo to have this opportunity to continue his education at one of the top NAIA programs in the country.   Wayland will be getting a tough minded competitor who only knows how to give it his all.”