Luka Torrez had never played with so much height.
During his high-school years, his Escalante team has often been vertically challenged. The 5-foot-11-inch senior has often been forced to take tipoffs or play the post for those teams.
But in the all star game, his green team included Fort Sumner/House’s Cash Burney — 6 feet, 7 inches — and Cimarron’s Demetrius Jackson — 6 feet, 9 inches.
“It’s a lot easier, I’ll tell you that,” Torrez said.
Many local star seniors played in the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Red vs. Green basketball all-star game on March 22-23 at Volcano Vista High School.
The 1A/2A girls game included Dulce’s Bailey Vigil, Peñasco’s Analise MacAuley, Coronado’s Ashlynn Jaramillo and Mesa Vista’s Bella Boies and Shanae Silva.
“I didn’t think I’d make it here,” Jaramillo said. “I’m very proud of myself for making it here.”
In 1A/2A boys, Torrez was selected from Escalante, the lone Rio Arriba representative in that game.
“The coaches said that only the best of the best in each district come here in each district,” Torrez said. “We just provide it tonight, we’re the best of the best. And it’s an honor to play with these guys.”
For the 3A-4A games, Española Valley’s Jayden Duran and Alyanna Medina, and Pojoaque’s Marisela Bowie, were all selected.
Torrez turned in a fantastic performance in the all-star game. Despite limited playing time as the team rotated its entire roster, the Escalante star while playing point guard was within shouting distance of a triple-double.
Escalante coach Isaac Royston tracked Torrez’s stats from the game, and recorded him at eight points, nine rebounds and seven assists. He looked his best while taking the ball up the court in transition, making a mental map of his teammates and defenders, and finding the best angle for distribution.
He also had a chance to play with a friend from Mora, Lincoln Alcon, after four years of facing off in district games. Their green team won the game 119-88.
The boys game’s leading scorers were Logan’s Brock Burns and Texico’s Cade Figg, with 17 points each.
The girls green team, which included Vigil and MacAuley, won 68-54 after trailing 19-4 early in the game.
It was an opportunity for Jaramillo, who averaged 17 points per game over the last two years while playing at a small school, to play with some of the best players in the state.
“Playing with girls that were very good, it was pretty fun playing with them,” Jaramillo said. “Everyone worked together, everyone knew how to play every spot, and everyone knew how to move the ball. Not everything’s always on me. I like this, because everyone got to play.”
Though she was playing forward for most of the game (some of her talents are best suited for guard) and missed time while battling foul trouble, she still had the chance to show her skills.
“All those girls that I had were super fun and super hard working,” said Sara Sue Olney, the Magdalena coach and coach of the girls green team. “I wanted them to know that they deserved to be on the floor, and just have a great time with all their teammates.”
MacAuley scored 10 points, leading the green team. Vigil scored nine. Arantza Covarubias from Roy scored 11 points to lead the red team; Jaramillo scored four points, Boies scored two and Silva one.
All-State Selections
Northern athletes were also selected for NMHSCA All-State basketball teams, not limited to just seniors.
For 2A girls, Peñasco’s Rochelle Lopez and Mesa Vista’s Boies and Tana Lopez were all named to the first team. Peñasco’s MacAuley made the second team. Mesa Vista’s Silva and Vigil both were honorable mentions.
On the boys side, in 2A, Escalante’s Torrez made the second team while Mesa Vista’s Jordan Gallegos was an honorable mention. Española’s Duran was an honorable mention in 4A, and also won the District 2-4A Player of the Year.