Pat Rien, a forward for the Columbia Junior College men’s basketball team, snags a rebound during a recent practice. A quick outlet pass, and he sprints downcourt, eyes ahead and looking to shake his defender.

Bouncing off a screen, he catches a pass near the foul line and buries a 10-foot jumper, giving a high five to a teammate on his way back to play defense.

Although there is nothing unusual in Rien’s play, an observer will notice two aspects of his appearance that set him apart from some of his teammates. First, at 6’ 4”, he is somewhat on the small side for a college forward.

Second, at 30 years old, he is quite a bit older than most of his teammates.

Not all of his teammates, though, which leads to the remarkable part of this story.

Rein joins two other Oakdale alumni, Bobby Monges and Humberto Martinez, all who graduated high school when most of their teammates were still in grade school.

Columbia is coached by yet another Oakdale grad, Nate Rien (Pat’s brother), who has been at the helm of the Claim Jumpers for seven seasons.

Competing in college is a dream that has crossed the minds of many former high school athletes. For the three Oakdale High grads, it’s a dream they were able to turn into a reality.

From Wall Street To The Front Court

Pat Rien is a University of Davis graduate, has a master’s degree in business from an East Coast business school, and has spent the last five years pursuing a career. He found a position with Lehman Brothers after obtaining his MBA, and began working for the brokerage firm just as the U.S. economy was booming.

But like many others in finance, he was also caught in the economic meltdown that caused what many have termed the Great Recession.

“There was a whole week where we didn’t know if we would have jobs,” he recalled.

After Lehman Brothers went belly up, Pat Rien began thinking of doing something different. How different, though, came as a shock to his family and friends.

“I had been joking with Nate that I was going to quit and come play for him,” Pat said.

When Barclays Bank of London stepped in to purchase Lehman Brothers, Pat’s position with the company was secure. But then fate stepped in a year later.

“Barclays decided to close our office, so the choice was to move or take a package and go away,” Pat said.

He again spoke with Nate about playing at Columbia, and this time he was serious.

“The timing was just awesome. I packed up, drove cross country, and started working out again,” he said.

Pat Rien was a two-time all district forward at Oakdale High, leading the Mustangs to two Valley Oak League championships and graduating in 1997. He tried to walk onto the UC Davis team, but wasn’t successful.

“I focused on school, and got into working,” he recalled.

Pat played hoops for a club team while at Lehman Brothers, but he recalled the competition level was a little less stringent than in high school.

“We would go out and drink beer after the games,” he remembered with a laugh.

But there were hardships ahead.

During Columbia’s first game of the season, Pat pulled a hamstring.

“I really think I over trained,” he said. “I worked out three times a day, had practice, lifted weights, and would then run a mile. It was just too much for my body.”

He recovered over the next few weeks, and soon earned a starting position.

“The guys I worked with on the east coast are all pretty competitive guys. They all played sports growing up, and they’re like ‘God, I would love the opportunity to do this’. It’s a pretty fortunate situation.”

Overcoming Tragedy

After graduating from Oakdale High in 1998, Humberto Martinez moved to Southern California and enrolled at Meza Community College, planning on playing basketball while earning a degree. The coach there wanted him to grey shirt, or sit out, for a season, as Meza had a number of experienced players on the roster.

Although he was promised a spot on the team the following season, Martinez declined.

“It didn’t work out, so I moved back home,” Martinez recalled.

He soon began working for various beverage and food companies making deliveries, earning a living and getting on with his life.

But he wanted more.

Martinez began training in the sport of boxing, learning skills as he got back into shape. In the summer of 2009 he began traveling to gyms in Los Angeles, continuing to work on his skills.

“I was a little bit overweight, but I knew I wanted to compete in something. I started to take the weight off, and felt good.”

Martinez lost about 30 pounds, and said he was soon in the best shape of his life.

He had also kept in touch with Pat Rien over the years. Teammates during a couple of Oakdale High’s most successful basketball seasons ever, they would talk now and then.

Martinez said Pat had mentioned leaving the workforce and playing hoops one more time.

“When Pat moved home I saw he was serious,” Martinez said. “I had already put the work in during the summertime, so that prompted me to go out (for the Columbia team).”

He saved up his money, and with a bit of help from his parents, moved to Sonora where he shared an apartment with Pat Rien. Martinez made the Columbia team, and settled into school and basketball.

“It was the best time for me to do it at this point in my life, so I just went for it”

Right at the beginning of the season, though, his life changed again with a phone call.

His father was involved in a farming accident, and was almost killed by a combine, losing a leg.

Martinez immediately moved home to help his parents.

His parents wanted him to continue with school and basketball, however.

“My dad is really competitive, you should see him with his soccer team,” Martinez said of his father’s dedication to a club team playing in Mexico. He said with his parent’s encouragement, he continued school and basketball, although now he makes the 45-minute commute from Oakdale to Columbia each day.

Martinez said he glad he pursued his dream.

“I like being part of a team, and working out. I don’t feel like I’m 30, whatever that means.”

Still An Athlete

Bobby Monges has been described as one of the best all around athletes to ever come out of Oakdale High School. A 2001 graduate, Monges was a true three sport athlete, excelling in football, baseball, and basketball. Now an assistant coach for both football and baseball at Oakdale High, it was the economy that prompted Monges to return to college.

“I decided to come back to school, and before school started I decided to come out for basketball,” he said.

“I wanted a career instead of a job.”

Monges had played both football and basketball at Modesto Junior College, but left before graduating. After being in the workforce, getting married, and having two children, Monges said he thought this would be a good time to finish his education.

He decided to go to Columbia.

“I just thought since I was here in school, I’d give it a try,” he said of his decision to go out for the hoops team.

Monges credits his wife with the decision to return to school.

“I wouldn’t be able to do this without her support,” he said.

Extra Work Leads To Rewards

Pat Rien, Martinez, and Monges all talk about the extra work they put in to compete with 18- and 19-year-old college athletes.

“The young guys come in and just start playing, and we know the extra things we have to do, like weights,” said Pat Rien.

They also credit their background as being instrumental in playing at the college level.

“I don’t know if it was high school or the way we grew up,” Pat Rien said. “I can definitely tell we all come from a similar background in terms of just hustling and our mentality. I don’t know what it is, it’s just the way we learned.”

Monges agreed.

“Usually in small schools there are not as many athletic kids as there are in the Modesto schools. You do with what you have, and you outwork people.”

Jason Boggs, the assistant director of sports information for the California Community College Athletic Association Commission on Athletics, said having three athletes as old as Pat Rien, Martinez, and Monges on one squad is unusual.

Although the state does not track the ages of players on community college rosters, Boggs said he has never heard of a situation similar to Columbia’s.

Older athletes will sometimes be drawn to other sports, Boggs said, noting a golfer in his 40s recently won the community college state cup. But Columbia is unique.

“It’s not very common in basketball,” he observed.

John Sykes, a freshman at Columbia who starred at Golden Valley High School in Merced last season, said it was a surprise to see the Oakdale trio when practice began.

“I didn’t know three older players would be on the team,” he said. “But it’s been fun playing with them.”

Sykes said the most obvious difference in the play of the three is their willingness to bang bodies.

“They’re a lot more physical,” he said.

It is this physical play that their coach, Nate Rien, believes has helped them adapt to the college game.

“They have strong, old man bodies,” Rien noted with a chuckle. “They have an older ego as well, and won’t let the young kids push them around. They’ve been through more battles, and are comfortable with who they are.”

Rien also said it is their work ethic that allows them to stand out.

“Bobby was out here every day, and he lost 20 pounds. I coached him in high school, and he works a lot harder now.”

Rien, who was a 1995 graduate of Oakdale High, said while it has been a “weird dynamic” coaching his brother, he said the experience has been positive for both of them.

“We’ve been able to separate the personal from the professional.”

Pat Rien and Monges were both made team captains, along with Evan Scott, the only sophomore on the squad. Rien also said Pat has earned the nickname ‘Corporate,’ due to his background and his attitude on the court.

“He’s all business,” Rien said.

Rien said the trio has been role models for the younger players, with Pat involving himself in the Columbia community with a mentoring program, a March for Hunger event, as well as providing a Thanksgiving dinner for the team.

All plan to be back next season, although they will be a year older.

“Pat has said, ‘what else would you rather be doing?’ ” Martinez noted. “This is the only time I’ll ever be able to do this in my life, and I want to take advantage of it.

“I didn’t want to be sitting on a couch 10 years from now, wishing I had come back and played.”