The high school basketball season has just begun, but there is one team that I think is poised to have a great year.
The team to keep an eye on is the Coronado Leopards. They absolutely demolished Cuba 74-29, a larger Class AAA school, in their opening game Nov. 28 and then knocked off Rehoboth High School 60-56 Dec. 3 in Gallup. The Lynx had a strong team last season that nearly took out Mesa Vista in the Class AA state quarterfinals.
The Leopards have all the ingredients of a good team. They return with all of their starters from last year’s District 2AA championship team. They have an outstanding post player in Pedro Valdez, a sharp shooter in Johnny Chavez and a good point guard in Patrick Cordova, who at 6 feet has the height to see the court and run the offense. The rest of the team is solid as well. Coach Ezau Rios is in his third season and the players have responded to his fiery leadership.
That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll waltz through their district. I expect Milnor Manzanares to put together a good team at Escalante. He has a lot of height inside and if he can develop some guards to complement that size, the Lobos will be tough. They will definitely need guard play to overcome the Leopards’ ferocious press on defense.
Dulce and Navajo Prep will play hard, like they always do in this district. But the battle for first place will be between the Leopards and the Lobos.
In last week’s column, I wrote about how basketball is a passion in the small towns that dot Northern New Mexico. Coronado is a prime example of the phenomenon. The fans in this corner of Rio Arriba County love basketball, and they take it very seriously.
Coronado is part of the Jemez Mountain School District, which has been rocked by scandal this year — it was revealed by the State Auditor that former business manager Kathy Borrego allegedly embezzled over $3 million from the school district. I expect the residents of Gallina, Coyoté, Youngsville and the other small communities that make up the District to rally around their team even more, to help take their minds off the scandal. Fans need to remember these are young men playing a game, not saviours of a school district.
I have fond memories of Coronado High School because this school produced the first state championship basketball team I ever covered. In 2003, the Lady Leopards won the Class AA state basketball championship. They were led by post Rianna Harris, who was one of the few local hoopsters to make the jump to the next level. She had a solid college career at Metropolitan State in Denver, Colo.
The rivalry between the Coronado and Mesa Vista boys in 2002-03 was fierce and both schools had excellent teams. They were both in District 2AA. Coronado had big Nathan Serrano and John Branch, while Mesa Vista had Jerome Jaramillo and Leonard Torrez. Robert Velasquez did duty at both schools, starting at Coronado and moving to Mesa Vista. He remains one of the best athletes I’ve seen at any school. Those names still linger in my mind.
Attending a Mesa Vista/Coronado game is one of the best ways to experience what basketball means to these small schools and their communities. It’s unfortunate that this rivalry now only takes place once a year. When they were in the same district, they would meet at least twice a season and sometimes do battle in the district championship game.
I have a warm feeling for these little schools. Driving up to Gallina or Ojo Caliente, especially now when the winter night’s darkness is broken by scattered homes decorated for the Christmas holidays, is something I look forward to doing several times during the winter.