ENMU basketball coaches looking to 2021-22

PORTALES — It’s going to be a long time between games for Eastern New Mexico University’s basketball programs — about 20 months — but the Greyhounds are trying to make the best of it.

For men’s coach Brent Owen, it’s a more-than-challenging way to begin his first stint as a head coach.

“I’m trying to stay positive,” said Owen, who was hired May 19 after spending nine seasons as an assistant at his alma mater, Southern Indiana University in Evansville. “It’s going to be a very difficult year. We didn’t have a lot of time to prepare.”

ENMU announced in mid-November that it would not be able to comply with state Department of Health requirements for basketball, which was ticketed for an early-December start by the Lone Star Conference. On Monday, the school added fall sports — football, volleyball and men’s and women’s soccer — as well as indoor track to that list.

Now Owen and women’s basketball coach Josh Prock are looking toward the 2021-22 campaign. The NCAA has granted athletes affected by the pandemic an extra year of eligibility, and both coaches expect the majority of their players to return.

“Overall, it was going to be a difficult year anyway,” Owen said. “But this gives us the opportunity to be more prepared once we do get to play.”

Prock, a Clovis native who led ENMU to one of the best records (22-9) in program history in 2019-20, has steadily pushed the women’s program toward the LSC’s upper echelon. ENMU shared the 2016-17 LSC regular-season title with Angelo State.

“The biggest thing I’ve always tried to preach to our kids is there’s always things you can’t control,” Prock said. “There’s a lot of disappointing things with covid, but if we can stay positive we can come out all right on the other side.”

While he anticipates most of his players coming back in 2021-22, Prock said no decisions have been made on that since everyone’s circumstances are different.

“I’m giving the girls time to make that decision,” he said. “We’re just kind of being patient here.

“I’m really proud of how our kids are handling this. We’re just going to keep plugging away and working.”

Owen said the extra time will be beneficial for his players to adjust to his style and system.

“So far, most of our guys seem like they’ll be in good shape for next year,” he said. “(The extra time) gives those guys an opportunity to have a better feel for me.”

While the majority of LSC basketball programs are slated to compete this season, Prock doesn’t necessarily see it as a disadvantage to ENMU.

“I think we’ll be able to overcome it,” he said. “I think everyone understands we don’t make this decision. So far, the team has been pretty good about it.”