By Gianni Martinez
2025-26 Pima Aztecs Men’s Basketball Roster. Courtesy of Pima Aztecs.
There’s two minutes left in the second half of the game; Pima Aztecs have the ball. They dribble it down the court and go up towards the basket. It’s good!
Now the other team has the ball, sprinting down the court, then hitting a three pointer. We’re all tied up now, and the ball’s in our hands.
Mason Hunt dribbles down the court and passes to Brock Mendoza, but the clock is ticking down with 30 seconds left. Brock throws the ball up in the air and Isaac Johnson takes it and slam dunks it into the basket. It’s good! The Aztecs take the win.
What a great season the Pima Aztec men’s basketball team had this year! It was absolutely amazing getting to sit in the front row and watch them be undefeated throughout the entire season. Not one loss for these guys, thanks to the coaches who trained them, ultimately pushing them to the national tournament, Assistant Coach Flannigan and Head Coach Brian Peabody.
Flannigan, however, is more than a coach. He’s dedicated to the overall well-being of each team member. When he’s not on the court he’s most likely at the fitness center playing his role as the Fitness and Wellness Coordinator at Pima West Campus. He’s been such a great role model for these guys, and having played basketball himself, he can relate to the game and provide wisdom for the team.
I’ve only heard great things about Coach Flannigan between our student life coordinator, players or their families.
I had the opportunity to speak with Kaelum Brown, a player who suffered a severe knee injury this season, yet had a great attitude and praised Flannigan. He played as a center and hopes to graduate in the year 2027.
“Flann always preaches hard work,” said Brown, adding that the assistant coach is “easy to talk to” and is the go-to for advice on a bad day.
“He’ll help bring your mood up and get you in the right headspace,” he said. In a couple words, he provides the “tough love” needed for their team to function so successfully.
Next to Coach Flannigan you may find Second Head Assistant Coach Nikko Pentelute. Pentelute played for PCC in the 2023/2024 season and was offered a job at the end of 2024. Now on the sidelines, Pentelute works closely with Coach Flann, as the players call him, and Head Coach Peabody to support our boys.
I got the chance to also speak with Pentelute, and it’s no surprise that every player had such great motivation to keep their heads up and stay in the game.
“Hey, we’re in this together,” he said. “We’ve built a team, a family-like atmosphere and why break it now?”
He added that there have been some improvements made throughout the season, saying, “We’re always getting either better or getting worse. We just have to stick to the game plan as a collective group; we got to get better each day.”
Pentelute believes Coach Flann is the glue that holds the whole team together. Saying, “he’s Mr. Do-It-All around here.”
Well, Mr. Do-It-All wears many different hats on this team and has many different roles as one of the Head Assistant Coaches. When I attended one of the last home games for the season, I ran into my younger brother’s old basketball coach from middle school! Turns out, he is a parent to a player on the court, Isaiah Hill (number two).
His dad, Richard Hill, is practically family to my brother and I and it was such a bittersweet moment getting to witness his son play such an amazing game and gaining the title of both “Player” and “Freshman of the Year.”
Getting to chat with Hill really gave me a sense of who Coach Flannigan is as a person and not just a coach, I got to hear a little bit of history from when Coach Flann used to play and coach high school basketball at Palo Verde. Hill had so many great things to say. I was curious how he knew Flannigan so well.
“I first met Coach Flannigan when he was a player at Tucson High, back when we were in high school. Really good player too,” he said. “He was a phenomenal coach at Palo Verde High School, who impacted a lot of kids. I’m just happy to see that he’s taking that talent to the college level.”
Not only that, but Hill’s son gets to benefit from his coaching and leadership, too. Coaching that he said is very “technical, which gives other teams a lot of trouble because he really knows the game, he sees things ahead of time and has a lot of different strategies to throw at other teams.” He highlighted further the Assistant Coach’s versatility and inspiration to the team.
A leader, a teacher and a motivator. What a great way to describe the man on the sidelines making the right calls and keeping everyone positive and motivated throughout the whole game.
Watching this season was amazing and getting to connect and talk with players, coaches and parents alike really shows just how much love and dedication goes into the sport of basketball here at Pima Community College.
Thank you to all the support staff, parents, players and most importantly, Coach Flannigan, for teaching, leading and motivating these young men on and off the court.