By Claudia Loucks
Geneseo Current

Isaiah Rivera made a name for himself and for Geneseo High School basketball, and he continues to excel in his starting position as a guard for the Colorado State Rams.

A 2020 graduate of GHS, Rivera is a junior at CSU, Fort Collins, CO, on an athletic scholarship and in an interview with him during his freshman year at the school, he said, “I like it a lot. I have really bonded with my teammates and coaches. It is a beautiful campus and I wake up every morning to a view, and there is no humidity.”

Now as a junior, his feelings about the college haven’t changed, and he added, “I have enjoyed my time at Colorado State. I’ve met new people, created many relationships, and have gotten better at basketball.”

He explained that as basketball players at CSU, team members have opportunities to work with the community.

After his current junior season with the Rams, Rivera will still have two years of eligibility because his freshman year was considered a “Covid year,” and he said, “The NCAA has given everyone an extra year.”

“With hard work, I’ve earned a starting position this year,” he said. ‘It’s great to be introduced in the starting line and hear them announce I’m from Geneseo, IL.”

He currently averages 30+ minutes playing time per game and 10 points per game.

When asked how difficult it is to earn a starting spot with the team, Rivera said, “It’s a process. You’ve got to work hard every day, do more than just score, and you have to produce every day. There are no days off. There are so many little things a player has to do to make the offense and defensive effective; I’ve learned a lot about basketball form film sessions and practices.”

The CSU Rams are in the second half their Mountain Wet Conference games and Rivera said, “Every game counts at this point. We always have the goal to go to post season play. This year we have had so many injuries that we are just now clicking.”

He admitted that it is “challenging to be a student athlete…Time management is the most important thing. Our days are very busy and leave very little off time. Besides going to school, we have films to watch, work outs, practices, and recovery treatments”

He added, “Of course, I’m in the gym shooting a lot late at night, just like when I was in high school.”

Hard work is not new to Rivera as he led the Geneseo Maple Leafs to a Regional title in the 2019-2020 season and GHS head varsity basketball Coach Brad Storm then commented on Rivera’s work ethic and said, “The kid is just driven like no other, he wants to be good and he wants to learn. There’s an unusual drive that he has that a lot of players don’t have. That’s where it starts…. He is a high moral character and a good role model for everybody. He is kind of the whole package – he sets examples in the classroom, on the court and in public.”

Rivera was offered numerous athletic scholarships to play college basketball, and he chose CSU, and said, “CSU has been a great fit for me. Our team members get along with each other and we know our coaches care about us and our futures.”

Rivera is majoring in sociology and even though he did not share this information, I did learn that he is on the Dean’s List.

He is the son of Elvin and Kim Rivera and the grandson of Bob and Lynda Carroll.

His mother recalled that her son has always loved basketball and she said, “When he was very young, my Dad (Bob Carroll) would tell him to dribble the ball in the kitchen until your Mom tells you to stop dribbling. I never told him to stop and he has just continued to dribble and shoot.”