From left, Durango’s mens basketball players; Michael Diggins, Chase Ruiz, Demetrius Valdez and Jason Landman, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2015.
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 | 4:11 p.m.
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Gaels, Patriots and Hoops
Las Vegas Sun sports editors Ray Brewer and Case Keefer sign off on football season by previewing the state championship before briefly turning their focus to basketball.
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Durango High basketball coach DeShawn Henry’s scheduling philosophy didn’t provide his young team much help last season.
But a seven-win campaign against tough out-of-league competition in 2014-15 did have one benefit: Preparing players for this season.
Durango got better toward the end of last year, only losing in the Sunset Regional quarterfinals by four points. This season, it returns eight players — easily tops in the Division I. They open today against Green Valley.
“We played a tough schedule. I think the guys learned from that,” Henry said.
Durango will again play a challenging schedule, including games against three-time Sunrise Region champion Canyon Springs and Sunset Region power Centennial. They’ll also play Denver area school Cherry Creek, travel into Southern California to face Loyola of Los Angeles, and play in the always-competitive Tarkanian Classic.
With four-state defending state champion Gorman and Centennial in Durango’s Sunset Region, and only one spot at the state tournament for Sunset teams this season, the non-league games will be a good test for the playoffs.
“Once you (face) that competition you are forced to play harder, go out and play as hard as you can,” said Chase Ruiz, Durango’s 6 foot 4 senior guard.
Ruiz and junior point Demetrius Valdez will lead the Durango backcourt, and 6 foot 8 forward Michael Diggins and Alabama transfer Jason Landman provide experience in the post.
Diggins is one of the Trailblazers’ best defenders and is a shot-blocking threat, and Landman is committed to Air Force. Landman averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks per game in Alabama last season.
“I just don’t like people scoring,” Diggins said of his defensive philosophy.
For Henry, the philosophy is all about defensive pressure. If blocked shots and steals turn into easy baskets, the coach feels his team can be competitive.
“We like to get up and down the floor,” Henry said. “We want to be real aggressive on the defensive end. We like a lot of contact, but we want to get down the floor quickly and covert those buckets very quickly.”
Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21
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