Let's hear them.

What do you have?

It’s been a long time for me but do they still have the best small school tourney I have ever seen

Anyone going to the ABCA Dallas Clinic January 3-6? I was sharing a room with the Ruidoso coaching staff but their leave request was denied. I have an extra bed if anyone is looking for a room. Room is already paid for. You can buy me a couple meals & we will call it even. Call me if your interested in going.

Riggins
575-693-0810

Keeping Saturday's games in mind, what do your rankings look like for any class?

Draft Favorite Sports Memory Of All Time

Post here

Week of Dec 10-16

Monday
Penasco 61, Tierra Encantada 34
Window Rock (AZ) 66, Wingate 48

Tuesday
Alamogorodo 48, Chaparral 37
Artesia 61, St. Pius X 57
Bernalillo 59, Grants 41
Carlsabd 46, Lovington 45
Bosque 84, Santa Fe Prep 36
Dexter 71, Mescalero Apache 66
Estancia 71, Capitan 31
Farmington 77, Kirtland Central 45
Gateway Christian 69, Hondo Valley 55
La Cueva 96, Hope 80
Los Alamos 56, Santa Fe Indian 41
Los Lunas 42, Del Norte 35
Newcomb 59, Navajo Prep 38
Permian (TX) 73, Hobbs 66
Portales 62, West Las Vegas 61
Rehoboth 73, Crownpoint 40
Santa Fe 89, Espanola Valley 57
Santa Rosa 51, Fort Sumner 46
Santa Teresa 59, Hatch Valley 38
Socorro 62, Laguna-Acoma 60
St. Mikes 58, Pojoaque Valley 47
Taos 68, Aztec 60
Texico 62, Tatum 39
Tse' Yi' Gai 83, NACA 58
Valencia 50, Robertson 29

Wednesday
Volcano Vista 89, Valley 42

Before heading into the Week 4 rankings and outlook, let's take a look at some key games this past week that caught our eye.

5A

1. Hobbs got wins against Cibola but lost to West Mesa in overtime.
2. West Mesa got two HUGE wins over Carlsbad and Hobbs on back-to-back days.
3. Carlsbad loses one to West Mesa but cleans one with Cibola.
4. Sandia defeated Hope but lost to the young Volcano squad
5. Rio Rancho won their own tournament in the finals against Centennial
6. La Cueva sweeps their Academy schedule
7. Piedra Vista drops a tough loss to Centennial
8. Centennial gets a big win over PV
9. Alamogordo wins against Chaparral
10. Cleveland sweeps their schedule at Academy
11. Farmington drops an early season test against Cleveland
12 Volcano Vista wins against Sandia as well as Del Norte

4A

1. Gallup dropped two in-class games (without key players) against SPX and Hope Christian
2. Los Lunas won in dominant fashion at Bloomfield
3. Highland racked up three fairly convincing wins
4. KC defeated Espanola Valley and Ignacio (CO) with some relative ease.
5. Portales split against Las Vegas (W vs. WLV and an L to Robertson)
6. Miyamura took third at Alice King with tough loss against Pojoaque but wins against Moriarty and Melrose
7. Bloomfield dropped one at home against Los Lunas
8. Silver got a solid win over Animas
9. Espanola Valley had a decent showing but still fell 1-2 at Rio Rancho's tournament
10. Artesia went 2-1 on a three day road trip against Academy and St. Michael's but dropped one to Los Alamos
11. Bernalillo went 2-1 at Alice King but suffered a two-point loss to St. Michael's on Tuesday.
12. Hope Christian went 1-3 with alone win against top ranked Gallup

Post Week Three scores here

Just kidding it’s our first this year. Ruger Bravo LHP/1B has committed to Luna CC

Jim Murphy - Hope
Bubba Jennings - Artesia
Mike Brown - Academy

Part of the class

Alice King Tournament Reaction (Day 2)

I want to get this out of the way before I go rambling about it: Every team in this tournament today played HARD. It's the most I've ever seen bodies sliding and diving for loose balls in a single tournament day. These young ladies did not care for their well-being. There was even a double tech in one game that involved a loose ball! Great tournament play today.

Melrose def. Cobre
Coach Caleb King has his girls looking outstanding as far as their direction and discipline. Not a bad group of ladies who are looking to finally finish championship Friday in March with a win. Cobre seemed a bit out of sorts at times, but when they needed a bucket, Skkyla Guck was there to find a way to score. Brianna Martinez does a heckuva job for the Lady Indians in pushing the ball up the floor and getting to the free throw line. Melrose executes so well and the team mentality is there. Nataley Mondragon plays so much bigger than her height and might have the best entry passes of any guard I've seen all season. Shannon May and Hailey Martin are critical to their success.

Bernalillo def. Rio Grande
Juliana Aragon is the real deal. The freshmen got 20 points easily by half with 15 in the first quarter alone. But she more impressive is was her ability to force some turnovers and feed her teammates in transition. She's not just a one woman show either. She has help from Gabby Varela and Dominique Dominguez. Dominguez showed her ability to hit from distance a few times in this game. Causing headaches for Rio Grande. The Lady Ravens struggled on the offensive end as they didn't score a field goal until there was 3:10 left in the third quarter. But their defense did cause a few turnovers and missed baskets. You can't slack against this Bernalillo team though.

Pojoaque Valley def. Miyamura
This was a GREAT game. I mean, first off it's no Gallup vs. Espanola in the Pit but Miyamura is in Gallup and Pojoaque is almost Espanola (I can say that without threats, right?). Anywhom, it didn't take long at all for Pojoaque to establish their key mismatch with junior forward Ashten Martinez. Miyamura couldn't match her height or Pojoaque's shot making early and they fell into a hole. Coach Dupont (Miyamura) changed a few things up and by the time the second half came around the pace quickened to the Patriots' favor. Autumn Enote and Odessa Begay led a furious comeback that had Pojoaque reeling. Miyamura hit some big shots from distance but Pojoaque was able to get some easy baskets in transition. Miyamura had chances to tie or take the lead from the free throw line, but couldn't make them count. Pojoaque's Taylor Roybal and Michaela Martinez did a great job closing out the game late. A great game of two teams who could find themselves meeting in the Pit come March.

Grants def. Moriarty
I was really impressed by Grants who played their 10th game halfway through December. They had their pickings early with Moriarty struggles around the rim. Grants showed great defensive intensity behind Shaylee Montoya and Kaylee Morris. They built their lead early with Angel Valdez establishing the paint and the point duties of Zoe Victorino. After trailing by just over 20 points through much of the game Moriarty would mount their final comeback late in the fourth. The efforts of Brooke Burch and Hope Bennett helped the Lady Pintos cut the lead back to single digits. Grants held on though as Moriarty could not overcome their shooting woes in the first half.

Who would make up your team early on?

Starting Five

Second Unit

Nominations?

Saturday Southeast Showdown

NMpreps.com's Game of the Week: No.2 West Mesa at No.1 Hobbs
Leg two for West Mesa and it might come down to just that: legs. Coming off a big win at No.3 Carlsbad (5-2), West Mesa (3-0) now set their sights on the number one team in the state, the Hobbs Lady Eagles (8-0). But West Mesa showed their ability to play at whatever pace they need to and held Carlsbad to below 40 points for the first time this season. So maybe legs won't come into this? No matter, the pace of play that Hobbs has played this season thus far is blistering. Both teams have numerous scoring options, and both teams specialize again in quicker pace hoops.
Make the drive and get to Tasker Arena. Tip off is scheduled for 1PM.

Player Watch
Hobbs' Wisdom Anthony (8th), Amiah Smith (Sr), and Ayanna Smith (Sr)
West Mesa's Maiah Rivas (Sr), Espi Varoz (Sr), and Emily Burk (Jr)

1A No. 3 Cliff at 2A No. 3 Magdalena
Undefeated 1A Cliff (7-0) take to the road to face 2A Magdalena (5-1) in what will be a critical clash of small school hoops. This will be a rematch of the American Heritage tournament (Melrose) where Cliff got a three point victory over Magdalena by a final score of 46-43. The Lady Steers have had a week to game plan and rest for this matchup. They'll look to senior guard, Kourtney Lewis and fellow senior Shondiin Billy to help even the series at 1-1. Cliff will look to sweep Magdalena with the help of Kaitlyn Trotter and Jamie Jenkins. Varsity girls hoops is scheduled for tip off at 2:30PM.


Tournament Watch

Rio Rancho Tournament

6A No. 5 Rio Rancho vs. 6A No. 8 Centennial - Championship - 7PM
It'll be the first real test for Rio Rancho (3-0) since their season opener against Highland. The Lady Rams have charged their way through their own tournament and set to face a matchup test in Centennial. Centennial (5-1) found themselves in tightly contested game against Piedra Vista where they lost a double-digit lead only to steal it back and win by one late. The Lady Hawks are relatively young. They'll be paced by Jessica Rios, Dianne Hefner, and Andreana Armendariz. On the other side, Rio Rancho looks to continue their guard heavy rotations with the likes of Laura Guiterrez and Julia Chavez.

Academy Tournament

No. 10 Cleveland vs. No. 11 Farmington - 6:30PM
Farmington (6-0) makes their first season trip down to the metro for a one night prime time game to close out the girls basketball tournament at Academy. In his debut season on the Lady Scorpions' sideline Coach Larenson Henderson has FHS with their best start in quite some time. On the other end, Cleveland (6-1) is off to one of their best starts maybe ever. It'll be an interesting matchup between two opposing styles and a big H2H victory for one team. Keep an eye on Cleveland's Desiree Forster and Alycia Harriott as well as Farmington's Jordan Vasquez and freshman Kiiyani Anitielu.

Moriarty Tournament

Pojoaque Valley (5-0) vs. Grants (4-6) - 7PM
Both teams come off surviving late rallies from their opponents in their semifinal matchups. Pojoaque Valley built a comfortable lead on Miyamura off a stellar defensive effort and some cold shooting by the Patriots. Grants played a great methodical pace combined with a hard nosed defensive effort that built a lead that nearly vanished in the final three minutes against Moriarty. Two comparable styles will face off for the Alice King Invitational title but it might be Pojoaque will the slight edge with their outstanding forward/center Ashten Martinez.

Small School Must-See
Orange and Black Tournament Championship - 2A No.6 Clayton (6-1) vs. 1A No.4 Logan (5-1)

Mescalero Basketball Classic - 2A No.4 Mescalero Apache (4-0) vs. 1A No.11 Quemado (4-2)

Hub City (Belen HS)

Las Cruces (6-0) vs Atrisco Heritage (4-0) - 2PM: Two possible Final Four teams will square off on Friday afternoon in Belen. The defending champ Atrisco Heritage Jaguars look to stay perfect against the Las Cruces Bulldawgs. Joziah Ramos, top prospect for Atrisco, battles rising star Rayshan Brown for LCHS.

Also: Belen vs Centennial; Grants vs Tohatchi

Cleveland Storm Tournament

Cleveland vs Roswell - 7PM: Talk about a resume game. Roswell moved "UP" this season in classification and the Storm were the 1-seed last season in the biggest classification. This one has the potential to be a 100-101 type of game.

Joe Armijo

Onate beat Eldorado last night and now take on Hope Christian. Goddard beat host Academy and take on Manzano who rebound from dropping a pair last week, with a win over Gadsden.

What to look forward too in 2019?

* We will continue to add storylines for the season. Feel free to add to the list.

Cesar Garcia (INF) signs with Butler County in Kansas. Not well known in NM because he played JV last year because of the transfer rule. Will be a huge addition for ST. X varsity. Should play 3B or be a very offensive 2B in college.

After a stint at Central Arizona College, the former La Cueva pitcher and one-time Arizona commit is apparently headed to UNM.

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Coaching Carousel: Candidates For Onate

The following is a list of candidates that the Onate Knights should go after or highly consider when searching for their new head coach.

After a two-year tenure by Scott Veliz going 3-17 the Knights are once again, "Now Hiring". As the other programs in the City have head coaches who have long time tenures the Knights seem to be the program on the outside and searching for stability.

*Note: This is the thoughts of NMPreps and NMPreps only. None of the following coaches have applied or expressed interest.

Current Head Coaches

Arturo Duran, Dexter High School: Duran isn't likely going anywhere but why not strike when the iron is hot - coming off winning the 2018 State Championship. The Demons went 11-2 this season and Duran will have a rebuild on his hands in Dexter.

Charles Gleghorn, Hobbs High School: This is likely not happening but Gleghorn has a long history in the Las Cruces area with success at both Mesilla Valley Christian and Hatch Valley High School. Also, you have to think he has taken Hobbs as far as they can go and back-to-back playoff appearance.

Damien Ocampo, Socorro High School: The Warriors are better when Ocampo is on the sidelines (a couple stints as the head coach). Would he join family in Las Cruces and create a rivalry on the other side of Las Cruces?

Greg Jenks, Kirtland Central High School: The Broncos outplayed any prediction and after graduating a do-everything 2018 class they rebounded this season to go 7-4 and earned the four seed. The way that this team improved this season was eye catching.

Kief Johnson, Ruidoso High School: This is likely too big of a stretch but Johnson has been one of the top head coaches for the last five years and an opportunity to play in the biggest classification could have some enticing aspects. The Warriors have two State Championships under Johnson.

Louis Howell, Hatch Valley High School: Howell has been a part of the Bears program as an assistant, winning the title in 2016, and now as the head coach the last two years. The Bears have gone 14-11 in two years - reaching the semifinals in 2017 and quarterfinals this season (3-2 in postseason play).

Assistant Coaches

Who do you have in NM?