Jan. 19, 2011

Each day of the 2009-10 season, Romeo Diaz tested Greg Herenda's patience.

"He was the first athlete I ever worked out when I took this job (in the spring of 2008)," said Herenda, the head basketball coach at UMass Lowell. "I was in amazement. What a raw talent, and he was a great kid. I was shocked that other schools hadn't recruited him hard. He was such a talent, such a good kid."

One game into his career, Methuen's Diaz made the coach look like a genius, tossing in 21 points with 10 rebounds against Mercy.

Diaz' stock soon tumbled, though.

"I went into a slump, and I couldn't get out," said Diaz. "It's hard being a freshman. He expected a lot of me. I'd come out of the game, and he'd see me put my head down. He was pretty much done with me, and he'd find someone else."

The spiral downward extended into the classroom.

"He was definitely headed to the doghouse," said Herenda. "He was eligible, but he was just OK. We were concerned more than worried. He's a bright young man, but college, professors, the workload, all that, and I'm not an easy guy to play for, you know."

Herenda challenged Diaz.

Diaz harkened back to all those doubters in high school who told him he couldn't play Division 2 ball.

He's proving he can and has helped put Lowell back in the fast lane at 10-5.

"(Methuen coach Rich Barden) always told me I was a Division 2 basketball player. I was never sure, though. I wasn't here on scholarship. I took my chances. But (Herenda) told me what it was all about before I left last year. He told me the opportunity was there for me. He told me, 'You could be really good for us or just good.'"

For Diaz, the transformation was almost a complete 180.

A notorious late sleeper — "Anything after 11 is usually good for me," he says — Diaz set the alarm for 6 a.m. four days a week through the summer.

"I got in the weight room, worked on my game. It wasn't easy," said Diaz, who is now on a full scholarship. "I did it because I want to be a star player here. I don't want to be a role guy."

Herenda noted the difference almost immediately this fall.

"He needed to get stronger and tougher, both physically and mentally. "Some kids hide during the summer, not Romeo. He worked his tail off. He taught himself how to get up, do his work. He injected a bit of self-discipline in his life. He came back in shape."

At 6 foot 5, Diaz is playing both the small and big forward. The inside-outside threat is averaging 10.5 points and a team high 6.2 rebounds.

"And now that our captain, Scotty (Tavares-Taylor) is down, he's stepping up with his leadership, almost in a captain's role," said Herenda.

Off the court, Diaz delivered the exclamation point, earning a 3.5 GPA in the fall semester. That was nearly double from his semester as a freshman.

And now he is looking ahead. The criminal justice major is mulling pursuing a masters degree.

"He's evolved as a student, person and basketball player," said Herenda. "I'm really, really proud of him, and he's still a work in progress. He's not finished. The sky is the limit."