Monday, March 1, 1999 | 11:52 a.m.
They didn't have the depth of Durango.
They didn't have the athleticism of Cheyenne.
And they certainly didn't have an individual talent like Clark's Kevin Gaines.
What the 1998-99 Cimarron-Memorial Spartans did have was a coach with a vision of state championship glory and a pair of senior leaders who helped turn his dream into a reality.
For that coach -- seventh-year head man Hank Girardi -- his second state title couldn't have been any sweeter, coming after his club was left for dead with two weeks left in the regular season.
And for those senior leaders -- point guard Marcus Banks and forward Brian Lang -- the championship marked the end of two high school careers that traveled distinct paths before culminating atop the same victory stand.
The season wasn't without its share of adversity, however, the first taste of which came even before the Spartans played their first contest.
Senior Jason Johnson, projected to be Girardi's starting center, transferred to rival Cheyenne over the summer, stripping Cimarron of its top post presence.
When senior Jeff Englehart, the club's starting shooting guard, left the team midway through the season, things went from bad to worse.
But true to his nature, Girardi stayed positive. The Spartan coach simply continued doing what he does best: teaching.
Trust in coach
"We trusted in coach," Lang said. "He said if we listen to him we'll win, and we bought into the system."
Part of that system required Lang and Banks to step up and accept critical leadership roles on a team with relatively little varsity experience.
And while that came relatively naturally for Lang, a three-year varsity starter, Girardi wasn't sure it would come as easily for Banks.
Although widely considered one of the top talents in Las Vegas, the 6-0 point guard came into the season with virtually no game experience, a result of a two-year battle to stay academically eligible.
After focusing on the classroom, however, Banks arrived for the first day of practice in tune with a new goal -- overcoming his past missteps and proving his doubters wrong.
"Becoming ineligible last year made him more determined to take care of business this year," Girardi said. "The concern was his lack of varsity experience, but he grew by leaps and bounds from the beginning of the year to the end."
Indeed, as the season wore on, Banks adapted to his role of playmaker and distributor, getting not only Lang but also center Jeff Englehart and forwards Ross Dalton, DeShaun Houston and Kevin Crump involved.
Lang, likewise, put aside some of his personal statistics for the team's larger goals, sacrificing some of the points that had made him the Spartans' leading scorer two straight years.
"They knew that involving the other kids was what they had to do for us to be a cohesive unit," Girardi said. "Everybody jumped on the ship with them."
Spartan attitude
Despite Cimarron's gradual improvement, as the postseason drew near the Spartans found themselves on the outside looking in on a five-team race for the Sunset Division's four playoff berths.
But Girardi's crew didn't panic. Far from it. It went on a four-game winning streak to put the Spartans in position to claim a playoff spot on the last night of the regular season. Once again, the Spartans would have to battle adversity to defeat Bishop Gorman. A family emergency called away Dalton, a starter and one of the club's top rebounders and post defenders.
Nevertheless, Cimarron rose to the challenge, sending the Gaels packing with an emphatic 68-48 victory to get into the zone tournament. Girardi's club was now just one win from a trip to Reno.
In typical fashion, that win wouldn't come easy.
In the zone
The Spartans would need a Jordanesque 28-point second half performance from Banks to get past Chaparral in round one, but get past the Cowboys they did, 65-55.
So when the Southern Zone semifinals began, the Spartans had gone from "lucky to be here" to a club with a legitimate chance to make some noise. And when Cimarron came out firing on all cylinders in its battle with Cheyenne, Girardi's charges suddenly looked like the team to beat.
The Spartans' brush with success was brief, however, as the Desert Shields roared back for an improbable 65-63 win, knocking Girardi's club into the consolation final.
When Cimarron lost that one to Clark, 76-74 in overtime on a buzzer-beater by Gaines, the Spartans headed to Reno as a No. 4 seed and with their work cut out. To win, they would need to defeat a pair of No. 1 seeds along with the south's No. 2 seed, no easy task.
Yet Girardi says he never doubted his team's chances.
In focus
"When we went up there, we were so focused," Girardi said. "I wasn't concerned about the two (zone tournament) losses. I knew we played best with our backs up against the wall."
The Spartans opened against Northern Zone champion Galena, a disciplined team featuring one of the state's top players, point guard Lance Buoncristiani.
And while the Grizzlies' star managed to score 30 points, he did it on 4-of-18 3-point shooting -- a tribute to Cimarron's dedication to defense.
"When it comes down to tournament time, you've got to play great defense," Girardi said. "That's what separates teams once you get there."
The Spartans' 59-52 win over Galena put them in the semifinals, where red-hot Durango was waiting.
Again, Cimarron put the clamps on, shutting down the Trailblazers' high-flying offense with hard work on defense. The Spartans also got solid production from Josh Englehart, who scored 19 points in the lopsided 84-66 victory.
Now, only a win over arch-rival Cheyenne stood between the Spartans and their first basketball title since 1994.
D-lightful
Defense proved to be the storyline for Cimarron yet again, as Lang limited Desert Shields star Demetrius Hunter to 4-of-21 shooting from the field, while Banks held second option Eddie Shelby to a 1-of-7 night.
On offense, the two seniors combined for 50 points in the 64-60 victory, along with 12 rebounds and six assists.
For Lang, it marked the end of four years of hard work on the court. And for Banks, it meant his hard work in the classroom had paid off.
"There's no better way to go out," Lang said. "This is all I wanted all of my four years."
And for Cimarron-Memorial High School, Friday night's victory may have officially commemorated something else -- the school's ascension to the top of the Las Vegas prep sports scene.
For the first time since Clark did it 1968-69, the same school has captured the large-school football and basketball titles in the same academic year. Toss in the Spartans' 4A state wrestling championship, and Cimarron clearly is the talk of the town as the millennium draws near.
"It's a snowball effect," Girardi said. "Success breeds success. The support we got from the football players and wrestlers was great, and they set the tone for what we did."
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