Monday, Nov. 29, 2004 | 9:19 a.m.
Nick Christensen
Basic WOLVES
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 9-16. Girls -- 14-14, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Desert Pines.
COACHES: Boys -- Steve Bentz, 2nd year. Girls -- Teresa Gallegos, 3rd year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys (3) -- 1959, 1956, 1947. Girls -- None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 2 boys, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: The Wolves only return two starters, but many Basic players had experience last year at the varsity level. "We lost a lot of close games that hopefully we can win this year," coach Steve Bentz said. Basic's anchored by center Kyle Lange.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Basic returns four starters, including center Debra Foster, who coach Teresa Gallegos said is the team's most dedicated player. "She's made a commitment to the program. She works out constantly, she plays year-round ball," Gallegos said. "She's going to be one of the top players in the valley, I believe."
Canyon Springs PIONEERS
2003-04 RECORDS: First-year school.
COACHES: Boys -- Daryl Branham, 1st year. Girls -- Clint Conover, 1st year.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Branham, who comes from Coronado where he was an assistant, takes over a program with a lot of youth -- no seniors at Canyon Springs. Juan Pattillo, a 6-6 guard, leads the pioneering first-year effort.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Coach Clint Conover has put together a team with "less than five" girls with organized basketball experience. Sophomore point guard Valerie Lee leads an otherwise inexperienced roster.
Chaparral COWBOYS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 9-14. Girls -- 17-9
COACHES: Boys -- Ennis Wesley, 2nd year. Girls -- Rebecca Wright, 1st year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys -- None. Girls (1) - 1980.
RETURNING STARTERS: 3 boys, 1 girl.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Three guards -- Victor Rubio, Brian Manson, and Javier Gonzalez return for the Cowboys, but Chaparral lacks the inside presence to have a chance at real success. Gonzalez, the Cowboys' defensive specialist, had four steals a game last season.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Chaparral had a great year last year, then had it all taken away due to an eligibility problem. A new coach brings new expectations to the Chaparral program.
Coronado COUGARS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 23-8, lost in Sunrise semifinals to Valley. Girls -- 16-14, lost in Sunrise semifinals to Valley.
COACHES: Boys -- Paul Berg, 4th year. Girls -- Joe Moyes, 4th year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 3 boys, 5 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Coronado won this division last year, but coach Paul Berg doesn't expect to roll off another undefeated league season. Guard Travis Stuman leads the Cougars attack, while Sylvester St. Cyr, who has played with Coronado since the school opened, leads the defense in his senior season.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: The Cougars made the playoffs with four starting sophomores last season, so expectations are greater this year. Coronado's deep, four or five players deep at the post and at the guard, and they're tall, with four girls over 5-11. Senior Stephanie Delgado leads the Cougars attack at guard/forward.
Del Sol DRAGONS
2003-04 RECORDS: First-year school.
COACHES: Boys -- James Dinkel, 1st year. Girls -- John Mannion, 1st year.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: With kids coming from four high schools and six middle schools this year, Del Sol's the potpourri team of the Sunrise Region. Terrence Stewart, Quincy Alexander and Eric Burns have come out as keys to the Dragons success this season.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: It's looking like a rough year for the Dragons, who are down to 10 players on this year's team. They're led by former Gorman player Molly Burns, the team's lone junior.
Desert Pines JAGUARS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 6-19, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Coronado. Girls -- 20-9, lost in state semifinals to Reno.
COACHES: Boys -- DeShawn Henry, 2nd year. Girls -- Jim Richmond, 5th year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 4 boys, 3 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: The Jaguars return a playoff team, albeit not a very good one. With four returning starters, including forward Jason West, Desert Pines has some work to do but could make some waves in the Northeast.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: It's the next-best-thing to a rebuilding year for the state semifinalists, but coach Jim Richmond said returning all-conference player Katie Williams, as well as Carmen Deal as sources of power for the Jaguars. Deal has improved, he said, from last year's shaky performances.
Eldorado SUN DEVILS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys: 11-11 Girls: 3-15
COACHES: Boys -- Phil Olsen, 4th year Girls -- Dorothy Kendrick, 2nd year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys (1) -- 1985. Girls (1) -- 1978.
RETURNING STARTERS: 3 boys, 5 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Returning all-conference guard Davell Jackson was ready to go after football season, and leads a paper-thin Sundevils roster in what coach Phil Olsen calls a wide-open Northeast Division. What Eldorado lacks in depth, it makes up for in speed, and plans on playing a full-court game.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: With five returning starters, including three seniors, Eldorado's girls team looks to pick up the pieces after last year's awful record. "We're expecting to shock a couple of people," coach Dorothy Kendrick said. Stephanie Bernas, a 5-foot-10 senior, anchors Eldorado's attack at center.
Foothill FALCONS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 27-7, lost in state championship to Palo Verde. Girls -- 10-19.
COACHES: Boys -- Kevin Soares, 6th year. Girls -- Chris Sefcheck, 1st year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 2 boys, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Turnover's the word for last year's state runner-up. They lost three starters to graduation, including Jamaal Smith, and are without Brandon Baker while he recuperates from a broken leg. With five players coming in from the football team, it may be a slow start this year for Foothill.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: First-year coach Clint Conover brings back four starters, including seniors Shannon Witt, Tulsi Mehta and Randi Kozik and sophomore Leah Thomson. Their goal this year is to get their first-ever wins against Green Valley and Silverado since Foothill opened in 1999.
Green Valley GATORS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 13-14, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Valley. Girls -- 24-7, lost in Sunrise semifinals to Desert Pines.
COACHES: Boys -- Adam Patai, 1st year. Girls -- Alma Randolph.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 4 boys, 3 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: New coach Adam Patai inherits a large and talented roster, led by big men Matt Gonzales, Billy White and Alec Shaw and guard Jordan Ragan.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Jabrenta Hubbard returns to the Gators, who had a strong season last year. Hubbard's performance will be a key for Green Valley this year.
Las Vegas WILDCATS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 20-8, lost in Sunrise semifinals to Foothill. Girls -- 24-5, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Coronado.
COACHES: Boys -- Bob Beskow, 13th year. Girls -- Zack McCoy, 1st year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys (12) -- 1976, 1974, 1972, 1967, 1966, 1965, 1960, 1958, 1953, 1949, 1945, 1944. Girls (1) -- 1979.
RETURNING STARTERS: 1 boy, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: With a large portion of the Vegas talent pool still playing football, the Wildcats won't be at full steam until into league play. Vegas only has seven players on the roster right now, after graduating eight players last year.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Vegas returns four starters, including three all-conference players and Sun All-State honorable mention guard Kim Etol. "She's very consistent with her jump shot," Vegas coach Zack McCoy said. "She's got four years on varsity, she's a really good leader and a really hard worker."
Liberty PATRIOTS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 7-19. Girls -- 3-20.
COACHES: Boys -- Pat Welby, 2nd year. Girls -- Martin Ferriter, 1st year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 5 boys, 2 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: The advantage of being a second-year school is that all your players are returners. That's the case with the Patriots, who are led by Travoy Edwards and ShaRicky Ormond. The Pats are possibly a playoff team.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Erica O'Neill joins the Patriots from Hawaii, and she figures to be a force for Liberty this year. "She's grown up in a family of boys, in the summer she plays with boys all the time," coach Martin Ferriter said. "She really slashes, runs like a true three, can play four, she just fits in well with whatever you're trying to do."
Rancho RAMS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 21-8, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Foothill. Girls -- 10-18.
COACHES: Boys -- Melvin Shivers, 4th year. Girls -- Todd Herrick, 2nd year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys (4) -- 1986, 1977, 1973, 1961. Girls (1) -- 1977.
RETURNING STARTERS: 3 boys, 3 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: "We'll go as far as he takes us." That's what coach Melvin Shivers said about center Kaylon Riley, who has had eligibility problems in the past but comes into this year with what his coach called a new attitude. Shivers is unabashed that his team's goal is nothing less than a state championship for Rancho's 50th anniversary.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Rancho's young team got a little older, but the big minus (and eventual plus) is they're led by a returning starting sophomore. Coach Todd Herrick says Alexandra Melonson "wasn't really a freshman" last year with her summer league and AAU experience.
Silverado SKYHAWKS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 9-17, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Las Vegas. Girls -- 16-15, lost in Sunrise quarterfinals to Valley.
COACHES: Boys -- Robert Pisano, 1st year. Girls -- Diane Hernandez, 11th year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 4 boys, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: A young team with only one senior, Silverado looks to speed up play after a cautious approach to the last two seasons. But the Skyhawks gave up 24 turnovers in a five-quarter scrimmage against Valley on Saturday -- turnovers lead to a long season if this keeps up.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Sophomore Briana DeSantis leads the Skyhawks, who are returning only four players from last year's team. Silverado looks to have a tough defense, but will have to overcome its youth to stay competitive in the Southeast Division.
Valley VIKINGS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 19-10, lost in Sunrise championship to Foothill. Girls -- 16-6, lost in Sunrise championship to Desert Pines.
COACHES: Boys -- Tom Farnsworth, 3rd year. Girls -- Barney Holmes, 5th year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: Boys (5) -- 1998, 1983, 1982, 1981, 1980. Girls -- None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 4 boys, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: The Vikings have seven players still working back to basketball shape after a longer-than-usual football season, notably Charles Jackson and Jarrell Hawkins. The Vikings' backcourt makes them the favorite in the Northeast.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: Valley's girls made it to the Sunrise final last year, losing to Desert Pines. But the Vikings return seven seniors and the bulk of last year's teams, including tough guards Yolanda Johnson and Jenee Webb.
Vo-Tech ROADRUNNERS
2003-04 RECORDS: Boys -- 2-21. Girls -- 2-19.
COACHES: Boys -- Jeremy Shelton, 4th year. Girls -- Jamie Palmer, 1st year.
PAST STATE CHAMPIONSHIPS: None.
RETURNING STARTERS: 3 boys, 4 girls.
BOYS' OUTLOOK: Vo-Tech's got three seniors -- Quinton Mason, Lamore Mingo and Kevin Crockrum -- who are hoping to lead the Roadrunners to a playoff spot. In a still-tough Southeast division, that might be tough.
GIRLS' OUTLOOK: The Roadrunners again are looking at a long season, despite returning four players. Vo-Tech has never won a state championship in any sport.
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