Lujan says team is in a really good spot
By John Earp
The Jal High School Boys’ Varsity Basketball Team begins its season at home this Thursday evening against Texico. The boys have been officially practicing starting Monday. Coach Emmy Lujan says, “We kind of started some off-season stuff on the 13th. We just worked on Monday and Tuesday and then gave the boys some time away with family. Football had just stopped, so we wanted to let their bodies and minds recuperate. We’ve been getting after it this week. We had a short practice yesterday, and then we had Panther Night last night where we played the alumni last night and had a really good turnout.”
Coach Lujan feels confident in his team at this point. He says, “Everybody’s going to be rusty. I think we’ve put in some good work over the past three weeks. We’ve really worked hard on getting in shape. Had quite a few guys that looked really good. It’s always hard to prepare for game shape, no matter what. Texico’s going to be the same way. On both sides it’s always tough to get in basketball shape. It’s a whole different shape than any other sport. We’ve kind of created such a rivalry with Texico the last few years that I expect them not to give an inch, and I expect our kids not to give one.”
The Panthers have two seniors this year, but Coach Lujan says he thinks the team is well-rounded, with plenty of juniors and sophomores. He said that with the numbers that the team has this year, a lot of kids will have plenty of playing time. “When you have up to 30 kids its difficult when you have 15 on each bench to give everybody that time and to get acclimated. I think we’re in a really good spot this early in the season.”
Lujan says he’s working on trying to find the best group of kids to make his team strong this year, with several returning players from last year. Nolbert Cervantes is out with a broken foot, but he’ll be back in a few weeks. Lujan says Brandon Houston, Gabriel Juarez, Adrian Rodriguez, and Ito Arroyo are his more veteran players that he expects the team will rely on this season. Younger players that Lujan says he thinks will make things happen this season are Zadyn Lujan, Daniel Ornelas, Sebastian Arroyo, and Koby Vargas. Lujan says he might get two or three more players to come out for the team who are still recuperating from football.
The Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team will take on Wink next Friday followed by Kermit next Saturday.