Ledes from the Land of Enchantment

Preparing for Basketball: Atrisco Heritage’s new coach is unlikely to fix what isn’t broken

Monday was the first day under new management for the Atrisco Heritage boys’ basketball program.

Former coach Adrian Ortega, the Jaguars’ only head coach since the school opened, took up a new position as the Albuquerque Public Schools athletic district director on Monday.

He leaves a tremendous legacy after leading Atrisco Heritage to two state titles and a second state seat.

Assistant coach Steve Heredia, 45, himself a former national champion with Centennial (2015), will take over the team for the rest of the season.

“We’ll just keep doing what we did,” said Heredia. “There isn’t much that can be changed. Coach Ortega did a phenomenal job. From that perspective it’s a pretty seamless transition. “

Still, it’s a very unique scenario in that high school basketball teams almost never change coaches after a season has started.

Ortega’s last game as Atrisco head coach was a 65-48 win over Albuquerque High on Saturday. The Jaguars have won four straight wins after an opening loss to La Cueva.

Heredia’s first game as head coach is against Eldorado on Friday.

He coached the Centennial boys for the first seven years the school was open in Las Cruces. Then he came north.

“I decided it was time for a career change,” said Heredia. “There was a job posting at (Atrisco Heritage) that I liked, and everything just worked out.”

Heredia was asked how he will put his stamp on the program under these unusual circumstances.

“What my stamp is … will be something I think will play out on its own,” he said. “I don’t think there has to be any change.”

LOSING WISDOM: The girls’ Class 5A basketball landscape is transformed by a terrible injury to one of New Mexico’s top female players.

Hobbs High School junior guard Wisdom Anthony has a torn cruciate ligament in his knee (a non-contact injury) and will be lost to the Eagles for the duration of the 2021-22 season.

“It’s just one of those things, man,” said Eagles coach Joe Carpenter. “It’s hard to fill that void.”

The 5-foot-9 Anthony has already received attention from Division I programs, including Nebraska from the Big 10.

But the loss of Anthony, as dynamic a guard as in any classification, will complicate Hobbs’ efforts to reach the championship for the fifth straight season.

Hobbs was the 5A state champion in 2018 and 2020. The Eagles lost in overtime to Volcano Vista in the 5A final last May, and those two schools, many believed, were on a collision course only to meet again in the final next March.

Carpenter said Anthony will have knee surgery later this month. The Eagles lost 49-44 to 4A Power Gallup in the final of the Armendariz tournament on Saturday night in Santa Fe. Anthony injured his knee during a workout, Carpenter said.

“We’re scary but we’re still fighting,” said Carpenter. His Eagles are 3-5, and that includes three losses to a tournament in Dallas from 2-4. December. “We have five freshmen and one second semester playing, so we’re still so young. I think we’ll jump in with a few other kids and see if we can get this thing rolling before February. “

To put the number of losses this season into context, Hobbs has only accumulated five losses in the past three seasons and only seven in the four seasons.

BEST OF PERFECTS: The Farmington girls have a top score of 5A; The Scorpions are 6-0 after winning three games at the Joe Armijo Classic at the Albuquerque Academy over the weekend. Roswell and Volcano Vista still have to lose in 5A so far in this young season.

Farmington’s team defense and guard play was exemplary in the tournament, led by the Anitielu sisters: 5-7 Senior Guard Kiiyani, 5-7 Junior Guard Kamalani, and 5-10 Sophomore Kapiolani. All three were on Armijo’s all-tournament roster, as was the outstanding Senior Shooting Guard Audrey Henderson.

“I was excited to see what we would do,” said Scorps coach Larenson Henderson, adding, “Gosh, we’re playing a good ball and I hope it continues.”

The Scorpions and La Cueva become favorites in District 2-5A in February.

“I’m impressed with the intensity,” said Henderson. “The girls are starting to motivate themselves and I like that a lot. It took them a while to get them there, but I think they are finally starting to see it, to feel it. “

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