Richard Martinez took over the Española Valley boys basketball program during the 2004-2005 season, one year after sharing the head coaching job with Lenny Roybal. The Sundevils finished 8-20 in Martinez’s first season coaching alone. Following the season, Roybal, then the athletic director at Española, tried to hire a new coach. Martinez successfully argued that his termination had not been handled properly, and newly-hired Española Schools Superintendent David Cockerham rehired Martinez for another season.
Martinez fought for his job then, and he has been fighting for Española ever since. The results have been an unprecedented run of record-breaking seasons for the Sundevils who have reached the Class AAAA state semifinals the last two seasons and the quarterfinals three seasons ago. The Sundevils set a school-record for consecutive victories in 2006-2007 and broke the record in 2007-2008. The Sundevils set a school-record for most victories in a season in 2007-2008 and have been seeded first in Class AAAA at the state tournament for the last two seasons. Española has won numerous tournament titles the last three seasons as well, including the Horsemen Invitational twice and the Jaguar Invitational three times.
Martinez has improved the Sundevils’ schedule, and teams known throughout New Mexico have made appearances in Española, including Hobbs and Albuquerque High School last season. Española will face both teams again this season. The Sundevils have added Clovis and the Joe Armijo Classic at Albuquerque Academy to their already tough schedule this season.
Española Valley basketball is known throughout the state. Española has become a team that programs want to play because opposing coaches are looking for teams that they know will test their team and prepare them for the state tournament. Another reason that opposing teams like to play Española, particularly in Española, is that they know their team will have to perform under pressure in front of the Sundevils’ rabid fans.
Still, despite all these accomplishments, Española has not won a state championship after losing in the semifinals in overtime in 2008 and in triple overtime in March of this year. Martinez has been criticized for having his team hold the ball when it has a lead late in the game.
I have written columns before hinting that Martinez might consider doing things differently this season.
As he continues to tell me, “I always hold the ball looking for a good shot.”
The key word here is always. If you always do something, your opponent can prepare for it. Martinez has won a lot of games doing this, but I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get nervous whenever he has gone with this tactic. Against Los Alamos in the last season’s District 2AAAA champhionship game, only an outstanding defensive play by Luis Alvarado preserved the Sundevil victory.
The other reason I am not fond of the tactic is that sometimes a good shot doesn’t always go in. Against Albuquerque Academy in the 2008 state semifinals, the Sundevils had several good shots at the end of regulation that didn’t go in.
There’s no need to go over what happened against Artesia in last season’s state seminfinal loss. What some people forget is it took an unbelievable shot by Ray Romero to even send the game into overtime.
Putting all your hopes on one tactic can backfire. It’s like the old saying about putting all your eggs in one basket.
One can’t measure just how much sacrifice and energy Martinez has put into Española basketball, and it’s hard to find words to describe just how much he has done for the program. However, Martinez doesn’t feel appreciated despite his team’s success. Universal appreciation will probably never come unless the Sundevils raise a state banner. Some of the greatest athletes that ever played their respective sports never won the “big one,” but that should in no way diminish what they accomplished. Martinez may not have won state (yet), but what he has done for Española is unprecedented in school history.