‘Coachable, smart, hardworking’
Aguino, one of Volcano Vista’s stars, has roots extending to Santa Fe Indian School
FALBUQUERQUE rom his time as a kid growing up on the San Juan Pueblo to his rising fame as a member of New Mexico’s biggest powerhouse boys basketball program, Kenyon Aguino remains true to the humble, soft-spoken personality he’s always had.
“Coachable, smart, hardworking — all those things and more,” is how coach Volcano Vista Greg Brown describes Aguino, a 6-foot-7 sophomore with the Hawks.
Named a first-team all-state player in Class 5A by Inside the 505 podcast prior to the state tournament, he is already drawing interest from college recruiters.
Aside from his length, Aguino is a matchup nightmare because of his ability to handle ball, create his own shot and play basically any position on the floor.
Considering his formative days in Northern New Mexico, he’s come a remarkably long way in a remarkably short amount of time. He credits the endless hours he spent mastering the fundamentals growing up. He learned to shoot and dribble with both hands, how to see the floor and use his size to overpower smaller players and his speed to handle quick guards.
“From an early age, always working and doing the little things, little mind games growing up, expanding and working on everything,” he said. ‘There’s stuff to his game that you just can’t teach. Great IQ , super special kid.”
His first exposure to AAU ball came when was a kid. His team attended a camp in Española, which generated enough interest to allow the team to slowly grow.
That added exposure led Aguino to more opportunities down south, playing in games and tournaments out of season.
He attended Santa Fe Indian School in seventh grade before making the move to Albuquerque prior to the start of eighth grade.
It was a time before Albuquerque Public Schools allowed eighth graders to participate at the high school level — that policy began this school year — so he played one season at Tony Hillerman Middle School, a feeder program that lies just across Rainbow Boulevard from Volcano Vista.
“It’s a lot different here, a lot more talent, a lot more athleticism overall,” Aguino said. “It’s good for me playing here.”
He was part of a Hillerman program that has sent reams of talented players through the Volcano system over the years. The current crop of rising underclassmen now forms the nucleus of a group that’s just now making an impact on Volcano’s big club.
For Aguino, he got a jump start on his impact by not just making the varsity roster as a freshman but playing a huge role in the Hawks’ undefeated run to a Class 5A state title last year. Listed at 6-5 a year ago, he was a key reserve on a team that had four senior starters.
Along the way he developed a reputation as a dangerous shooter with an innate ability to make big plays and critical moments. He shone brightest during the state tournament when Volcano rallied past Las Cruces in the championship game.
Aguino’s game took the next evolutionary step this season as a starter alongside 6-9 teammate Sean Alter. The pair represent the most dominant 1-2 low post punch in the state.
“When you have two really big guys and the other team doesn’t, that’s a problem,” Alter said. “You can overpower the other guys on other teams and really dominate with height.”
Aguino got a taste of the Albuquerque talent pool while playing with an AAU team based in the Duke City. That exposure opened his eyes to what he could do against the state’s best and gave him the confidence moving forward that he, too, could make an impact at that level.
It also leaves plenty of people wondering how many state titles he could have led Santa Fe Indian School to had he not made the move. He instantly would have become a star in eighth grade and, at 6-7 with the ability to score and defend anywhere on the court, he’d be one of the biggest stars 3A has seen in years.
For now, all Northern New Mexico can do is sit back and watch. Aguino has plenty of time left in his prep career, including a few more cracks at a blue trophy while at Volcano.