Taos Appears the Team To Beat
Pojoaque Valley joins the Tigers in same district
Pojoaque Valley and Taos had something in common when it came to the Class 3A boys basketball state tournament a year ago. Each ended up losing in the quarterfinals to District 5-3A members: Pojoaque to topseeded Hope Christian and Taos to Sandia Prep.
Of course, Pojoaque was also actually a member of that district at the time. So, this season, the Elks and Tigers now have something else in common: They’re in the same district.
Breaking into the elite category in Class 3A will be the mission for both squads, as well as the remainder of District 2-3A. The consensus among the district coaches, as the 2012-13 campaign begins, is that Pojoaque, Taos, Robertson and West Las Vegas are at more or less the same kind of talent level, with Raton not far behind.
“I think everybody’s going to beat everybody up,” says Taos coach Daniel Trujillo, who believes that the eventual district winner could have as many as three losses in league play.
Taos finished at 21-8 last season and emerged as the district champ. The Tigers, who have started this year with a 5-2 record, bring back one starter in senior post Greg Martinez.
But Trujillo says that at least a half-dozen other players got a good amount of experience in 2011-12. That group includes versatile senior Kiko Martinez, junior point guard Estevan Garcia, as well as junior twins Shane and Kyle Willis.
Robertson was edged out by the Tigers for the district championship a year ago and the Cardinals also have one returning member in starting center, Joel Mascarenas, a 6-foot-4 senior. He’ll get help from senior forward Ryan Tafoya and point guard Justin Dimas.
The biggest change for the Cards will be the entrance of new coach Manuel Romero, formerly at Peñasco and, prior to that, at Mora — where Romero led the Rangers to Class 2A state championships in 1998 and 2005.
“It’s a new situation for me, because I’ve always been in 2A,” Romero says. “More kids, bigger kids — that’s just the way it is, but they’re buying into my system.”
Pojoaque moves into the district with four players who had starting experience a year ago. Junior guard Matthew Herrera led the Elks in scoring a year ago and he’s joined by senior point guard Derrick Velasquez, senior shooting guard Brandon Bustos and senior forward Ryan Koller.
Other than 6-4 senior Marcos Ortiz, Pojoaque lacks size inside.
“Everyone else will play the post by committee,” says Elks coach Joey Trujillo, now in his ninth season as head coach. “But we’re really a lot stronger than we were last year. We had an intensive weight training program in the summer and the fall.”
West Las Vegas and Raton shouldn’t be overlooked when the district wars begin. Raton did make the state tournament last season as the 16th seed, before being summarily knocked out by Hope, and West Las Vegas is looking to rebound from an 8-17 campaign.
“This year’s team has a lot different approach, different attitude,” West Las Vegas coach Ernie Rodriguez says at the start of his second year with the Dons. “We feel we have an opportunity to do something special.”
Joe Ortiz is a returning starter for West Las Vegas and the team will get contributions from senior point guard Lucas Rodriguez and senior forward Francisco Caro, but Ernie Rodriguez knows it’ll be a challenge.
“We’re trying to build something here,” the Dons’ coach says.