Former Ram ‘danced’ briefly

RIO RANCHO — Not many area student-athletes get a chance to play in the NCAA “Big Dance,” but former Ram Junior Hodnett got that recent opportunity after Eastern New Mexico University won the Lone Star Conference and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II dance.

The Greyhounds (22-10) didn’t have far to travel in the first round, played in the First United Bank Center in Canyon, Texas, nor did they last long — falling to Colorado Mesa, 95-77, on March 16.

The Greyhounds won the Lone Star Conference championship after a 91-88 victory over Lubbock Christian, at which Hodnett said there were two chartered buses full of fans hitting the road.

Hodnett played 13 minutes in that game, scoring two points. He scored four points and grabbed three rebounds in the NCAA tournament loss, where his touch form behind the arc was missing; he missed all six of those attempts.

Still, those were great memories to be savored for Hodnett, a member of the RRHS Class of 2021, who’s hoping for many more in the sport he loves.

“I enjoyed having Junior in the basketball program at Rio Rancho,” said RRHS coach Wally Salata. “Junior was a good 3-point shooter in high school: He shot 43% from behind the arc his sophomore year, still a Rams record.

“Junior needed to gain some upper-body strength after high school if he wanted to continue playing at the college level. He has done that and (had) a great year at ENMU. I don't get too many Rams players at the next level, so it is nice to see Junior have success.”

Hodnett agreed, saying in the offseason he will be working a lot on strength and adding weight.

He grew up on the West Side, destined to play at Volcano Vista until the family moved to the Rio Rancho district when he was in middle school. He played on a club team that also had the late Fedonta “J.B.” White and three-sport standout Tre Watson of Cleveland High.

Hodnett said VVHS boys basketball coach Greg Brown wasn’t pleased to lose Hodnett to the Rams.

Ironically, Hodnett’s prep highlight, he said, “was probably my buzzer-beater vs. Volcano. It was 62-59 and I hit a 3-pointer to take us into overtime.” He had 16 points in that 80-74 Rams win, still remembering, “Having the home crowd, all my friends in the stands.”

He also played two seasons for the Rams’ football team but decided after a growth spurt in his sophomore year that he’d focus on basketball. That came after the 2019 football season, when the Rams lost to visiting Cleveland in the 6A championship game at Rio Rancho Stadium.

“I knew I had to pick one,” he said, “and I wanted to play in college, no matter what it was.” The growth spurt, combined with a knee injury, led to the decision to play hoops, but he wasn’t sure if it’d be at Central Arizona College or ENMU, where his dad works.

He was a redshirt as an ENMU freshman, where “everyone is a top dog … so that was a little bit of adjusting."

Growing up, his NBA favorite was Russell Westbrook.

“I still have his poster by my TV in my room,” he said, with a chuckle. “He’s just exciting to watch. I’m a shooter with limited athletic ability … I wouldn’t say I modeled my game after Westbrook, but just being able to imagine being able to play with that explosiveness and energy on the court is really fun to watch.”

In the just-completed season, “I kinda played the role of catch-and-shoot,’” he said. “I already was used to that role, playing with David (Patterson, former Ram guard). So that was kinda easy for me, but the level and speed of the game is so much different than high school.

“I was really satisfied with my playing time,” he said. “I played about 21 minutes a game; I played about 10 minutes a game (the season before). Next season, I’ve got to take a bigger role to help my team win. If that’s more minutes, that’s what I have to do.”

He hopes to play overseas someday, but he’s been doing well in the classroom, initially as an accounting major before changing to business management, hoping to start a business someday if hoops doesn’t work out.

By the way, just don’t call him Ronald, which is his real first name. His father’s name is Ronald, so to eliminate confusion, the younger Ronald became Junior.

“In first grade, I had to write Ronald on my paper for the first time,” he recalled. “I didn’t know that was my name.

“So, I came home crying to my mom, actually. So, I had no idea,” he said. “If people call me Ronald, I don’t even respond.”

Hodnett wears No. 11 for the Greyhounds, a spiritual tribute to White, who wore No. 1 as a Santa Fe Demon.

“He’s playing with me, and I’m playing for him,” Hodnett said.

At Eastern, he added, “There’s so many people who wish they could do what we do.

“Being the only kid from Rio Rancho High School that’s still playing college basketball, I just put in, to do what some people dream of doing. It’s only four years of my life I’m doing this. You get through a season that’s only four or five months, and you can come home and see the family again.”

He’ll probably be at ENMU for five years, using his four years of eligibility on the court. The reason for that is his love for ENMU coach Brent Owen.

“He’s a man of his word,” Hodnett said. “I really like that about him.”

“We are so thankful to have Junior as part of our program,” said Owen. “He has worked hard to turn himself into a really good player in the Lone Star Conference. It is so rewarding to see guys like him who have earned their opportunity have success. His future here is bright.

“We wanted to recruit the best shooter in the state in my first recruiting class at ENMU, and I felt he was the best,” Owen added. “I challenged him to gain a lot of weight to become a better defender — 35 pounds later, he is making a big impact on our program.”

Hodnett likes the way Owen keeps his promise, starting with a partial scholarship before recent news that he now has a full scholarship.

Another time, Owen told Hodnett he was going to use his seniors more as the season wound down, and although that wasn’t what Hodnett wanted to hear, he understood and appreciated hearing it from his coach. “I respect that more than him telling me bad news.”

Or calling him Ronald.