Saturday, April 6, 2019

LOCAL TIES IN FINAL FOUR TEXAS TECH-MICHIGAN ST. GAME

Special to El Rrun-Rrun

When Texas Tech and Michigan State meet tonight to decide who will go Minneapolis for the national championship individuals on both teams or their relatives have ties to Texas.

One, Mark Adams, the defensive assistant coach for the Red Raiders under Chris Beard, was the head coach at Texas Pan-American now Texas Rio Grande Valley (1992-97), now UTRGV.

His bio states that Adams has won at every level he has coached and amassed a 554-244 career record over his 23 seasons as a head coach.

His head coaching stints include Clarendon College (1981-82), Wayland Baptist (1983-87), West Texas A&M (1987-92), Texas Pan-American now Texas Rio Grande Valley (1992-97) and Howard College (2004-13).

He was inducted into the Wayland Baptist Hall of Honor in September 2017.

Across the court, Michigan State head coach will have  his constant fan Lupe Marinez Izzo cheering on her husband's team. Marinez has been married to Izzo since 1992.

In her brief bio at the MSU page, she is said to have been born in Texas (doesn't say where), but her family moved to East Lansing as a young girl. She is a business woman who met Izzo when he was an assistant coach at MSU.

Dr. Rene Perez Rosenbaum, a Brownsville native and brother of former Cameron County Precinct 1 commissioner Lucino Rosenbaum who is an Associate Professor, School of Planning, Design and Construction at MSU, said she hails from the Uvalde-Crystal City area.

A former farm migrant worker, Rosenbaum said she, too, comes from an migrant family that resettled in the E. Lansing area and worked in local automotive factories. Her parents were some of the original founders of the Cristo Rey Cultural Center and she periodically hosts fundraisers in the Izzo residence.

Marinez has been Izzo's number one fan during his stint as head coach there and has been specially supportive of Hispanic staff members and students who attend the school.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wink Martindle - Deck of Cards

Anonymous said...

And, in the end....both Texas Tech and Michigan State are losers; with or without connections to the RGV. We have many local people who have done great things without the glare of a national championship. Perhaps one day you can recognize those unsung people who are locals who have made good in their professional lives.

rita