Rio Arriba County’s two entries into the state Class AA boys basketball tournament have benefitted from the peculiar way that class is seeded.
Unlike classes AAA and higher, in which all 16 state tournament qualifying teams are seeded from best to worst prior to the opening round, classes A and AA, district champions and runnerups are still matched in the opening round against the champions and runnerups from another district.
This strange arrangement meant the second-ranked team in the state, defending Class AA champion Texico, met and fell to third-ranked Tularosa in the opening round of state. Top-ranked Mesilla Valley had to play sixth-ranked Santa Rosa in another opening-round game. If these teams played in a higher class, they likely would not have met until the semifinals, if at all.
This needs to change. The state tournament in Albuquerque should include the best teams in the state in all classes. The teams in Class A and AA should be seeded after the district tournaments, just as they are in the higher classes
This arrangement also means Mesa Vista (16-13) and Coronado (23-4), the County’s two state qualifiers, could have an easier path to the title.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad the Trojans are going to the quarterfinals. However, there are some teams sitting at home which deserved to go there more than Mesa Vista. It isn’t right that teams like Texico (25-3) and Santa Rosa (19-8) stay home. If Santa Rosa had won, the top-ranked team in the state (Mesilla Valley) would have been eliminated in the opening round.
That said, lets look at the two local Class AA teams left standing after the opening round of state.
Mesa Vista is a team that underwent dramatic changes during the season. In January, sophomore Sean Richardson was promoted from the junior varsity to the varsity and his impact was immediate. He has since moved into a starting role. The Trojans’ team is to be commended for transitioning Richardson into a team that is heavily stocked with seniors.
Coach Thomas Vigil has been saying since the beginning of the season that the strength of this team was its depth and that has been borne out as the season has progressed. You never know who it will be, but one or more different players seem to step up for the Trojans from game to game. They all play hard when they’re on the court. Individually, Mesa Vista does not have a star. As a group, they’ve been able to succeed on two old values: hustle and hard work.
Mesa Vista will be hard pressed to advance past the quarterfinals because it faces third-seeded Tularosa, which beat the Trojans 76-57 Dec. 11 in Tularosa.
I picked Coronado as a team to watch early in the season, and the Leopards have not disappointed. They only struggled when post Pedro Valdez was lost for a month due to a fractured elbow. The strength of this team is its starting five, who all know their roles and who play them in symphony. Johnny Chavez is the shooter, Valdez is the man in the middle, Jason Velasquez is the slasher, Josh Jacquez is the defensive specialist. Point guard Patrick Cordova runs the show. Cordova is the best Class AA point guard I’ve seen all season.
If the Leopards can stay healthy and out of foul trouble, they could go far at the state tournament. Lack of scoring from their bench could hurt them. Their defensive intensity must be high for Coronado to advance past the quarterfinals.
The Leopards are seeded fifth after winning their opening-round game against Questa and could make it to the semifinals. But they will have to defeat fourth-seeded Bosque School, which battered the Leopards 64-36 Dec. 12 in Gallina.
Coronado was without Valdez for that game and coach Ezau Rios hopes that the result will be different with Valdez back in the lineup.
Mesilla Valley, Tularosa or Bosque School will likely emerge as the Class AA state champion. Of course, it would be great if Mesa Vista or, more likely, Coronado, pulled off an upset. The Leopards are the smallest Class AA school in the state and will move to Class A next season, so a Class AA state championship would be quite a feather in its cap.
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In Class AAA, Pojoaque had one of the toughest opening-round matchups, taking on 18-10 Wingate. That was reflected in the game’s final score. Pojoaque won 53-50 on a buzzer-beating three-pointer
The Elks’ reward is a matchup with second-seeded Sandia Prep. The Elks haven’t handled size well this season and Sandia is loaded with it. It will be an upset if Pojoaque beats the Sundevils, but the Elk did pull off an upset two years ago when they won their only state championship.
Hope Christian is the overwhelming favorite to win the Class AAA state title.
Finally, Española Valley should have an easy trip to the semifinals, where the Sundevils could meet up with Albuquerque Academy. The Chargers have been something of a nemesis to the Sundevils, defeating them in the 2008 semifinals and also in the 2001 quarterfinals. Española could even meet Los Alamos for the fourth time this season, if the Hilltoppers beat Academy in the quarterfinals.
But all season long, Class AAAA has been pointing to a showdown between Española and Roswell in the title game. I’m not going to predict the winner, but I do know which team I’ll be supporting.