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Nov. 30, 2000 BY JIM THOMAS
A nice group of veterans plus several newcomers will compose this season’s edition of the Montezuma-Cortez High School varsity boys basketball team. And from all indications, this should be a memorable season. "We have a good group of kids with good height and speed," MCHS head coach Wade Mortensen reported. "I think we have a good combination although we are a little bit young overall. But I think they will make up for it by the amount of time they put in the gym." The lone returning senior letterman is Chris Garland, a 6-foot-3 forward. The juniors are 6-7 post Kyle Wilson, 6-5 Layne Frazier, 5-7 guard Kyle Chandler, 5-11 Gabe Evans, 5-10 forward-wing Billy Innis. The sophomores include 6-0 Marcus Mortensen, 6-4 Kirk Archibeque, 5-11 Mike Rivas, and 6-3 Jeff Anderson. "We’ve got good overall size. They are good rebounders. We have good depth, and they are strong," he said. The Panthers will not be using the flex offense which has relied in the past. "I think we’ve worked on it one day for about two minutes. We’ve gone to a motion offense which should open things up for our outside shooters. We want to get a solid inside game going. So far, it has looked good. This change was based on our personnel this year. I really like the flex, but the kids understand the game of basketball and like the motion offense. We also want to fast break as always," Mortensen remarked. Defensively, the Panthers have been working hard on half-court man. They will utilize a matchup zone. And as the year goes along, look for the Panthers to press. Mortensen feels he has the kids to run the press. Many of the taller kids have long arms with good reach. Many of the Panthers are quick, according to Mortensen. Wilson is nursing a bad knee and may not be ready or be 100 percent by this weekend’s Cortez Tournament. The Panthers will be joined by Pagosa Springs, Monticello, Utah, and Delta on the boys’ side of the bracket. Boys action begins at 4:45 p.m. Friday, Dec. 1, and at 11:45 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 2. (See related story.) The boys will host Piedra Vista (Farmington) on Dec. 9 and then compete in the Navajo Generating Station Tournament in Page, Ariz., Dec. 14-16. They will close the 2000 part of the slate by visiting Farmington High on Dec. 19 and hosting Grand County (Moab, Utah) on Dec. 21. The 2001 portion begins with a visit to Aztec, N.M., on Jan. 6. They open SWL play at home against Fruita-Monument and Central of Grand Junction Jan. 12-13. The Panthers visit Grand Junction High and Montrose Jan. 19-20 and then travel to Durango Jan. 26. They travel to Fruita and Central Feb. 2-3. They host Montrose and Grand Junction Feb. 9-10 and host Durango Feb. 16 to close the regular season. "The league will be tough once again. Fruita will probably be the team to beat. Central lost quite a few and has gone through a coaching change. Durango will be better than in past seasons. I’m not sure what Montrose has returning," he said. This year the Panthers and Montrose, the only two Class 4A teams from the Southwest League, will join with the Western Slope League in the District Tournament set Feb. 22-24. The top five teams from the District Tournament will then be placed in a 32-team bracket (no Regionals). The top eight teams remaining will travel to Denver for the State Tournament at the Pepsi Center March 8-10. "It’s kind of exciting. It’s set up like the NCAA Tournament. If we come out as one of the higher seeds, there is a good chance we could host some games. Then when it gets down to eight teams, those are the teams that go to Denver," Mortensen explained. "We have a young bunch of kids who are going to get better and better. This should be an exciting season for us and the fans this year. If these kids continue to work and work well together, the sky’s the limit," he added. |
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