Sports News Southwest

Yuma, Arizona - Arizona Western College announced that AWC Men’s Basketball player Zac Downing has signed his official letter of intent to attend Stephen F. Austin University in Nagadoches, Texas, and play basketball for them this fall. The announcement comes a little more than two months after Downing helped lead the Matadors to the Region I Men’s Basketball Semifinals this past March.

It will truly be a fresh start for a student-athlete that has been high-profile on the Yuma-area basketball scene for the past six years. A Yuma native, Downing first popped up on the AWC Matadors’ radar a dozen years ago when he came to the Matador Basketball Camp that June. AWC Men’s Head Basketball Coach Kelly Green immediately saw something in Downing that made him stand out from the crowd, and continued to see that special something mature and grow each year that Downing kept coming to the annual camp. By the time Downing hit his teens, Green saw enough leadership qualities in Zac to make him a camp coach. Soon after that, the Cibola Raiders’ varsity basketball team saw the same type of maturity as Downing led the Raiders to the Region Championship Game all 3 years he was on the varsity squad. He culminated his high school career with The Sun/Yuma Rotary Player of the Year Award. As he wound down his high school playing career, there were several schools vying for his services, but Zac decided that he needed 2 more years under a coach he trusted, and signed with AWC.

With all of that time logged between coach and player, though, Downing was well aware that he would still have to earn every second of playing time he’d get as a Matador. Downing spent all of his freshman campaign coming off the bench, and while his minutes were sometimes limited, he quickly showed his prowess for outside shooting, hitting 22 shots from three-point range (3rd-best on the team). For his sophomore campaign, Green wanted Downing to work during the summer on his conditioning and the other parts of his game. When Downing returned for the first game of the 2009-10 season, his time in the weight room and on the practice court was immediately evident. ‘Z-Down’ became the main outside threat for opposing coaches to fight against, hitting nearly 45% of his 3-point shots (3rd-best in the ACCAC). But while his team-leading 60 treys showed off his offensive game, the work he put in during the summer on his defense and conditioning came through in his 24 steals, 36 assists and 88 rebounds (2.75 per game) this past season. By the end of the season, Green began to rely on Downing to guard the opposition’s best perimeter player, and had truly become a main reason why the Mats made their 12th straight Region I Playoff appearance this past March. “Zac is a prime example of what hard work, a teachable spirit, and quality character will do for a person,” remarked Green. “He was voted as our Most Improved Player by his teammates and also received the Matador Award (for total contribution to our program by a student and athlete) from our coaching staff this year.”

Like he did at AWC, Downing now heads to Texas to try to carve his own niche in a program that has become one of the top teams in the Southland Conference. The Lumberjacks posted their 3rd straight 20-win season this past March, reaching the SLC’s Championship Game for the second consecutive season after winning the conference’s East Division title.

Tag it:

?