By: Jake Wilson
“Playing Basketball here at Cortland might be the best decision I’ve ever made because I made a family.”
For Aaron Coston, basketball has always been a part of his life.
“Growing up, my whole family was into basketball and I have three brothers, and they all played basketball, and I was just surrounded by basketball. Said Coston, “My father played. My mom was an athlete in high school too, and she loved basketball, so I’ve just been surrounded by basketball my whole life, and like my first steps were to go pick up a basketball.”
Despite the lifelong and familial connection to the game, his path to Cortland wasn’t so simple. Aaron is from Kerhonkson, a small town in Ulster County, NY.
“My recruitment process was kind of tough because I was from an area where I didn’t get much notoriety”, Coston said. “But I got some people to reach out to me, but it wasn’t like they were that serious about me.”
That changed when Aaron’s brother, Avery Coston, who was a member of the Cortland basketball team, reached out to Coach Maurice Kearny, often referred to as Coach Mo.
“It was a hard process, but my oldest brother went here as well, and he played on the basketball team,” Coston said. “And he knew Coach Mo from being on the team. And he reached out to Mo for me. Coach Mo drove six hours up to my playoff game. He came to one of my biggest games and it was actually my 1,000th point game and he watched me get my 1,000th point and asked me if I could stay in touch with him.”
From then on, Aaron was secured as a Red Dragon.
As soon as the 6-foot-7 inch 230 pound forward made it on to the court as a Red Dragon it was hard to miss him.
Coston was named Rookie of the Year his Freshman Season, earned First-Team All-SUNYAC honors as a sophomore, and repeated as a First-Team All-SUNYAC honors as a junior while also being selected to the NABC All-District Three Second Team. This season he scored his 1,000th point, was named the U.S. Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) Division III National Player of the Week, and earned SUNYAC Tournament MVP honors.
On top of all of that, Coston helped lead Cortland to back-to-back SUNYAC Championships.
Yet despite all of his accomplishments across his career Coston said he remains unfulfilled.
“I have very high expectations for myself,” Coston said. “I don’t think I accomplished everything that I’ve wanted to do.
For Aaron however, individual success was never his priority. He always wanted to strive for a bigger goal: changing the program.
“My biggest thing I wanted to do was change the program.” Coston said, “That’s what me and Coach Mo always talked about was to come in and make an impact and make a change because Cortland basketball hasn’t really made a lot of noise in many years. And I feel like that was the biggest one to check off the list, and I feel like I’ve done that, and I have no regrets for what I’ve done here.”
This mindset of his hasn’t gone unnoticed.
Senior forward and fellow team captain Kendall Arcuri, Coston’s longtime roommate and close friend, described Coston as a leader both on and off the court.
“Whether it’s practice or just helping other dudes off the court, like, anytime anyone needs a ride he’ll be there anytime anyone needs, you know, to be picked up or needs on the court a pickup as well,” Said Arcuri. “He’s definitely the first one to do it.”
Senior guard and fellow team captain Gaige Armbrewster echoed similar statements, pointing to another strong point of Aaron’s character, his drive.
“First guy to practice, last guy to leave, getting in the extra work,” Said Armbrewster. “Always trying to make himself better.”
Along with his work ethic and supportive attitude towards his teammates, Armbrewster also noted Aaron’s skill with a basketball.
“He can shoot the ball at will,” Armbrewster said. “If people are running at him, he’s gonna go by you, and he’s gonna dunk on you. If you want to get him down in the post, people send a double team out, and he’s either gonna to score or he’s gonna pass out to the open guy.”
Arcuri emphasized those same sentiments.
“I’m gonna have to say his ability to do everything,” Arcuri said. “He shot very well this year, and um you have a really big dude who is phenomenal in the post, also spacing out the floor and being able to shoot the three.
Although Aaron’s time is up, his achievements will forever be cemented in Cortland’s legacy, both his individual accolades and the success the team had during his years in the program.