Girardi’s Spartans peaking

James Yodice

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

It's hard to underestimate the power of positive thinking during a conversation with Hank Girardi.

His friendly, booming, big-brotherly voice is somehow reassuring, always upbeat and certainly not a transparency.

And don't think the basketball players he coaches at Cimarron-Memorial aren't keenly aware of what Girardi brings to the Spartans, because they've responded in the last two weeks with some of their best work of the season.

A four-game winning streak to end the season has Cimarron facing top-ranked Las Vegas at 6:30 tonight in one of four Southern Nevada AAAA Zone tournament quarterfinals.

The Spartans (14-10) and Wildcats (23-5) are playing for the first time this season, with a berth in next week's state tournament in Reno at stake. Las Vegas brings to the table an explosive, confident attitude -- but Girardi has the Spartans ready for combat.

"I'm so proud of everything they've done so far," said Girardi, a Connecticut native who moved west 15 years ago. "The last four games we played really hard. They've really been great. One of our goals was to qualify for zone. Now that we have, you make an adjustment to those goals as you go along. We've approached everything one game at a time, and here we are."

No doubt the Spartans have a gargantuan task in front of them. Las Vegas nearly went through the Sunrise Division undefeated -- only a last-second loss to Valley prevented that -- while Cimarron had to beat Clark last Friday just to qualify for the postseason.

But in a one-game elimination format, where the losers are finished and the four winners can make hotel reservations in Reno, the stakes are high.

"We need to get five pistons firing -- that's what we'll need to stay in the game," Girardi said.

Cimarron should be mainly concerned about Las Vegas' one-two combination of Corey Kauffman and Lucas LeCour, who combined for 35 points per game. But the Wildcats are deep, and the Spartans can't get caught up in keying on just a couple of players.

Cimarron also will have to control the tempo. And twin brothers Mark and Matt Schroeter, both 6-foot-6, will need to produce. Mark leads the team in scoring and is second in rebounding; Matt is the Spartans' top rebounder.

With only four seniors, Cimarron has been inconsistent at times. But the rough edges haven't seemed so jagged in February.

Said Girardi: "With a young team, you need a little more guidance. It takes most of the season to get them thinking along where you want them and that's what they've done."

And their coach stays on top of their psyches.

"We've had our ups and downs," Girardi said. "But they've handled it well. We've just tried to peak at the right moment. The work ethic has been excellent. That's what it's all about. Forget about basketball, that's what it's all about in anything."

Also tonight in the quarterfinals, Bishop Gorman (24-6) hosts Green Valley (16-11), Durango (19-10) hosts Basic (12-11) and Valley (19-6) hosts Cheyenne (17-11). All games begin at 6:30.