District 2AA

CORONADO LEOPARDS

Head coach: Ezau Rios (third season)

2008-09 record: 16-12, lost 62-60 to Navajo Pine in the first round of the Class AA State Tournament.

Returning starters: Johnny Chavez, junior, 5-foot-8, guard; Jesse Chavez, senior, 5-8, wing; Patrick Cordova, senior, 6-0, guard; Pedro Valdez, senior, 6-3, post; Josh Jaquez, senior, 5-10, wing/post

Key newcomers: Jose Chacon, sophomore, 5-6, guard; Stetson Schmitz, sophomore, 5-10, post.

Outlook — The Leopards won a district title for the first time since 2004, and hope to repeat that performance with a team that returns 11 of 12 lettermen from last year. Chavez and Cordova are the sharpshooters in Coronado's up-tempo style, but Rios had a team that is stocked with athletic players who can spot up from the perimeter and attack the basket.

What the team lacks is size, and that's where blocking out and playing tough defense will be even more important. The Leopards were a basket away from going to Albuquerque, and that is their intended destination for 2010.

ESCALANTE LOBOS

Head coach: Milnor Manzanares (fifth season)

2008-09 record: 13-15, lost 78-63 to Rehoboth in the first round of the Class AA state tournament.

Returning starters: Justin Atencio, senior, 5-11, forward; Matthew Trujillo, senior, 6-2, post.

Key newcomers: Andrew Garcia, senior, 5-9, guard; Brandon Elwess, senior, 5-8, guard; Carlos Casados, senior, 6-2, post; Jacob Flores, senior, 6-2, post; Eric Belser, junior, 6-2, post; Enrique Ulibarri, junior, 5-9, guard.

Outlook — The Lobos do not have one underclassmen on the roster, which is a first under Manzanares' five-year stint. He hopes that experience translates into a special season. Escalante has plenty of size with a quarter of players at 6-2, but the key will be the progress of Elwess, Garcia and Ulibarri in the backcourt.

If they can handle the pressure of varsity play, Escalante will nip at the heels of Coronado. That also could lead to a trip to Albuquerque for the state tournament.

District 2A

DESERT ACADEMY WILDCATS

Head coach: Daniel Romero (third season)

2008-09 record: 8-19, lost 67-53 to Evangel Christian in the District 2A semifinal.

Returning starters: Jeremy Upsal, senior, 5-8, guard; Ram Rattan-Khalsa, junior, 5-9, guard; Alex Kokesh, junior, 5-10, wing; Josh Lochner, 5-10, senior, forward; Nolan Blackburn, senior, 6-2, forward;

Key newcomers: David Schmidtheisler, junior, 6-1, post; Carter Uhl, freshman, 5-9, guard.

Outlook — From eight to 14 players. It's a welcome sight for the Wildcats, who have struggled with depth in past seasons. Add to that the return of all five starters from a team that almost ran the table in the 2A tournament, and Desert Academy might be staring at a postseason berth. Experience will show in the frontcourt with Blackburn and Lochner, while Schmidtheisler will learn as the season progresses.

The same can't be said with the backcourt, but with greater numbers comes greater flexibility.

NEW MEXICO SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF ROADRUNNERS

Head coach: Robert Haney (second season)

2008-09 record: 12-14, lost 61-47 to Desert Academy in the first round of the District 2A Tournament.

Returning starters: Emilio Garcia, junior, 5-8, guard; Joey Huerta, senior, 5-7, guard; Mark Lucero, senior, 5-11, forward; Julio Ruiz, sophomore, 5-6, guard

Key newcomers: Tyrel Wilding, freshman, 5-10, forward

Outlook — The Roadrunners took a step forward by finishing out of the basement of the 2A regular-season standings. With four starters returning, including leading scorer Huerta (15.5 ppg), NMSD will try to continue its climb up the standings. Lucero and Wilding will be looked upon to fill the void of graduating center and second-leading scorer Justin Vaughan.

But the Roadrunners are in a district where teams are returning plenty of starters, so the road to a top-three finish might be bumpier than expected.

SANTA FE WALDORF WOLVES

Head coach: Jake Yeager (second season)

2008-09 record: 10-9, lost 114-57 to Springer in the first round of the Class A state tournament

Returning starters: Brand Linch, senior, 5-11, guard; McClain Bernard, senior, 6-2, forward; Conrad Fox-Beck, senior, 6-0, forward; Matthew Paulazzo, sophomore, 6-3, center.

Key newcomers: Isaac Loy, sophomore, 5-9, guard; Elliott Radsliff, freshman, 5-7, guard; Josh Hagan, freshman, 5-10, forward.

Outlook — The Wolves made a huge splash in 2A by earning the top seed for the district tournament and becoming the school's first program to advance to a state tournament. Once there, they learned they had more work to become one of the top teams in Class A. Fortunately, Waldorf returns four starters and plenty of experience.

One drastic change is Linch moving from the frontcourt to running the point, but the Wolves have plenty of firepower to repeat their performance.