Last season, the Durango boys basketball team had an inflection point in early January.
The Demons initially struggled with a 3-7 record. Before the new year, Durango’s last four losses were by an average of 30 points.
Then Durango coach Alan Batiste and his assistants got together to try changing things. Batiste wanted to get rid of a selfish brand of basketball and take excuses out of the equation.
After Jan. 1, the Demons only had one loss by 30 points or more and had a big win against Montrose in Durango’s second-to-last game.
“We move forward and that was our buying over the summer, the offseason, all the games we played and you can see it now because now we're competing,” Batiste said. “We're competing in games, versus the game being over 16-2 or 18-4 or 18-1 in the first quarter.”
Durango returns numerous contributors from last year’s 7-16 squad. Senior guard Zach Unruh, one the Demons’ top scorers in 2022-23, is back. Durango also has some good size returning to the frontcourt in 6-foot-4-inch senior forward Tyler Harms and 6-foot-7-inch senior center Jacob Nuebert. Freshman forward Donovan Whitehead will also bring great size at 6-foot-6.
Batiste said he sees Harms, Nuebert and Whitehead as vocal leaders for the Demons, while players like Unruh, junior JT Nuebert and junior guard Noah Miles are players who lead by example.
On offense, Batiste wants his team to get inside the half-court and thrive in fast-break scenarios.
“On the defensive end, using our length is going to be key for us getting deflections with the ball,” Batiste said. “Rebounding is crucial. I keep challenging the boys, we can't lose the rebounding battle. There are a lot of teams that aren’t our size. So our length is going to be crucial this year on the defensive end.”
While players said they want to win the 6A/5A Southwestern League title this year, Batiste wants his team’s mental state to be better because that’s where a lot of last year’s problems arose from. He also wants his team to be consistent, and to win the rebounding and turnover battles.
Batiste also believes the league is wide-open this year with Fruita Monument having the top spot to start the year after an excellent 21-3 season last year.
“It’ll be good, but I don't see it as being a weak league,” Batiste said of the 6A/5A Southwestern League. “We already get that label anyway because we're on the Western Slope and that’s everybody that's Fruita, that’s Junction, that’s Central that’s Durango. But I think we can make some noise. A couple or three teams can make some noise and make a little run.”
bkelly@durangoherald.com
