The Durango High School boys basketball team will try to rebound after a tough season last winter in which the Demons won only four times.
Durango head coach Alan Batiste said the win total should improve because of the team’s refocused energy and commitment to getting better every day over the offseason. He will get his first look at the team in action at 10:30 a.m. Thursday against Bloomfield at the Shiprock tournament.
Batiste said there is one area in which the Demons are especially focused on improving, and it extends beyond the court.
“We’re talking skill-wise, execution and our biggest thing: our character,” Batiste said. “Last year, a lot of times we lost our character on the court, and so a lot of guys were done for the night and we’d suffer from that as a result. It’s different things, like when we hit adversity, we come together as a team and only thinking about the team and no individuals. It’s been a lot of the off-court stuff we’ve focused on. The boys have been great in the first two weeks, and we return pretty much a full squad, and they got their feet wet last year, so they should be good to go.”
DHS went 4-18 overall and 2-6 in 5A/4A Southwestern League play last season, and Batiste said the team is ready for a rebound.
Senior forward Al Hurworth said last year’s rough season was frustrating for the team and the school atmosphere, as well.
“Coming off of a season like that with four wins, you definitely realize how much it reflects on you and the school, and you come into the offseason ready to work so hard to prove everybody wrong,” Hurworth said. “When you come off of a varsity season like that, you’re ready to do whatever it takes to move on. Because last year, for one thing, nobody bothered to show up to our games because we really didn’t play as a team and we were five individuals on the court instead of one team. Like on offense, if you had a semi-open look, you took it. There was no extra pass, extra look or anything like that, and it was rushed and forced. The biggest thing this year is definitely focusing one day at a time and getting better. We struggled with the big picture last year, and this year, we need to set smaller goals and work one day at a time.”
The Demons lost five seniors from last year’s team that averaged a combined 42 points per game. They have an even bigger senior group for the 2018-19 season with six to go along with seven juniors, one sophomore and 5-foot-11 freshman guard Anthony Flint.
The Demons will have some size, with four players listed at 6-foot-3 or taller. Hurworth is the team’s tallest player at 6-5.
“We’re going to have to outwork every team this season, and we’re definitely trying to use our height to our advantage this year,” said Hurworth. “I think, with our athleticism and strength, we can surprise some teams.”
Durango returned two of the team’s three leading scorers, senior guard Cullen Robinette, a captain who averaged 7.2 points per game last season, and Hurworth, who averaged six points per game and also had four rebounds per game. Other key returners include senior guard Lance Kemp and junior forward Martin Cuntz. Fans should keep an eye on Flint, an all-around athlete who Hurworth called “a player who can definitely surprise some people.”
“They’re going on MaxPreps, they’re looking at our record and they’re going, ‘Oh, we’ve played Durango and they aren’t good,’” said Hurworth. “They kind of take us as a joke. So, I’m ready to go out, kind of stomp on some teams.”
Robinette said this team is ready to put in the work to get back to winning.
“The biggest thing over the offseason was that we really pushed each other,” said Robinette.
“Last year, we were all individuals. But now, we push each other harder, keep them accountable, and we’re just ready to give it our all. I definitely think we can get back to winning ways again and I know as a senior, that’s what we really want to do.”
Durango will be tested, with three road tournaments to begin the season, and it all will start Thursday in Shiprock.
“I think the boys prepare a little bit better, and I think it’ll be good for them because they’ll see so many different styles of play,” Batiste said of going on the road early.
“Basketball out of Shiprock tends to be press-heavy, and the defense tends to gamble a lot. Meanwhile in Farmington, the game slows down a bit, and then we go to Mitchell where the athleticism goes up. So, I think seeing those different styles will help us tremendously because, by the time conference gets rolling, there’s going to be nothing that we haven’t seen and it’ll help out in the long run.”
bploen@durangoherald.com
