Las Vegas Sun

March 28, 2024

HS BASKETBALL:

Sierra Vista poised for breakout season

2010-2011 Boys Prep Basketball

Sam Morris / Las Vegas Sun

Sierra Vista basketball player Viko Noma’aea.

Kent Johnson

Sierra Vista High boys basketball coach Kent Johnson talks about the upcoming boys basketball season.

Ask Sierra Vista coach Kent Johnson who will star for his team this season and expect a mouthful in response.

Johnson can’t limit his response to a few guys, because he thinks almost everyone on the roster is capable of changing a game on any given night.

“Depth is definitely our strength,” Johnson said. “We can legitimately play 10 or 11 down the bench. I’ve never had to deal with that as a coach before.”

No matter how many standouts the Mountain Lions have, look for point guard Viko Noma’aea to draw the most attention. Noma’aea, a member of the Sun Super Seven team, led Sierra Vista with 30 points per game last season.

And, believe it or not, Johnson says that’s not Noma’aea’s strength. Johnson said Noma’aea is more a distributor first and will be able to play more of a natural role this year.

“We asked him to do things last year that aren’t him,” Johnson said. “We pushed him out of his comfort and onto the scoring load. It took him a while to realize he should take this shot and take that shot.”

He has more options to defer to this year. Sierra Vista picked up a load of transfers, including Donovan Williams from Durango. They also added Maiscei Greer, who came from Arbor View, Molosi Kima’Keau, who transferred from Gorman, and a player who moved to Las Vegas from Oklahoma City.

In addition, the Mountain Lions bring back Gary Jacobs and Justice Odabi who started last year. Johnson said his new-look team has already bonded.

“It’s worked really well because they played together during the summer,” Johnson said. “They got to know each other and click. It’s been surprisingly quick.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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