Area boys basketball teams matchup in Magdalena

A two-day boys’ basketball camp hosted by Magdalena High School offered area teams the opportunity to compete during their developmental phases. The Steers charged no camp fee and fed breakfast and lunch to their guests.

It’s a move that comes with some financial costs, but it also has its benefits for the Steers’ basketball program. Magdalena players start out summer basketball with real officiated games; they get to sleep in their beds, and there’s no travel involved.

Magdalena is tucked a little out of the way, and the Steers’ camp is like a scholarship for teams where you are eventually going to face the state’s elite Class A team and most likely get beaten. Still, coaches also get to see where their teams are in a situation against a top-tier team.

“We’ve done it for so many years now. It’s a tradition, something that everybody looks forward to. I don’t feel like making a bunch of money off that because I know how it is trying to get games in each summer,” Magdalena head boys basketball coach Jory Mirabal said. “I don’t want an expense to be a reason why a team can’t come and get their kids on the floor.”

Mirabal admits there are benefits to hosting a camp.

“I think there’s multiple reasons. It provides an activity for our local community and kids. By the time you get out on the road, pay for fuel, and pay for feeding people, it’s a pretty big expense to families; why not play that many games out there in your backyard,” Mirabal said. “I feel like it’s a way we can give back to the game. We have a way to do it; we have good facilities, and you have enough people around who can help appreciate these summer games.”

The Steers are 2-3 in the state championship game over the last five seasons. Magdalena lost marquee all-state players to graduation and made what many considered to be an improbable return to the state title tilt this year.

Starters Joe Zamora, Jeff Stuteville and Ayden Herschbach are returning, and the biggest question is who will step up to the Steers’ point guard spot to run Magdalena’s high-octane offense.

The Steers didn’t come out and dominate teams during their camp like some fans were expecting, and the street talk about Alamo Navajo giving Magdalena a run for its money made its way into the stores of Socorro. It’s much the same fodder basketball aficionados consumed last year when the buzz was that the Steers weren’t capable of reaching the state championship game.

“No matter how experienced our teams are, our summer is 100 percent about development,” Mirabal said. “We do not pay attention to our win-loss record during the summertime because that’s not what is important to us.”

The Steers beat Tularosa (2A 24-5 in 2024) at the Mescalero camp this week. Still, there wasn’t any celebration about beating a bigger state tournament team.

“We just had a good game with Tularosa about an hour ago, and we had to hold on at the end. â¯We didn’t spend time after the game talking about the fact we beat them. We spent time afterward talking about some individual possessions and what we could do better, right? It sounds boring, but know I don’t read too much into that other stuff. The wins and losses take care of themselves when they count,” Mirabal said.

Socorro’s Critical Summer

When Socorro’s Ray Gonzales took over boys’ basketball, it appeared to be one of the biggest challenges in the veteran coach’s career, but that looked like small potatoes compared to the second-year gauntlet he faces.

While some fundamentals may have been missing last year, Gonzales did have the advantage of having a senior-laden team, but graduation decimated the Warriors’ roster, and eight of 11 players are onto the next chapter of their lives.

Only Luke Ganadonegro, Andrew Handrich, and Jaquavis Brawley return from last year’s squad. Thanks to Gonzales’s foresight, they all have playing experience and appear ready to step into starting roles next season.

“It’s a challenge because we haven’t had a summer program. I don’t know the last time we’ve had summer basketball,” Gonzales said.

His hiring came too late last season for summer basketball, so this is the first full run for players through Gonzales’ system. Fundamentals are critical with what will be a very young team that is height-challenged.

There’s also a money challenge with summer basketball taking directly away from the team’s budget.

“In order to run a summer program or to continue with our offseason basketball, we need some funding, and I’m working on motivating these kids to fundraise,” Gonzales said. “But we could use some help. If anyone is interested in donating or helping out with the basketball program, I would greatly appreciate it.”

Even with Magdalena offering free entry and meals, there is still the price of fuel and the cost of a bus driver.

“We’re very grateful for the whole basketball camp Magdalena is hosting because it’s free. They are feeding us breakfast and lunch. Then it’s close by, which cuts down on the gas that cuts down on the gas. If we want to continue playing and going to camps (most of the camps are charging between $275 to $300 per team), so if we took two teams, it would cost us $500-600,” Gonzales said.

Players and teams are developed in the summertime, with some schools getting in as many as 30 games. It translates into another season of experience for athletes.

“Every team in the state is playing at least at least 20-30 games over the summer. When the season starts, they’re pretty much all getting their offenses and defenses organized, and they don’t have to teach the game. The players know their roles,” Gonzales said.

Gonzales plans to have an open gym Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. until noon, but the Warriors’ coach wants his players to do more than shoot baskets.

“Mainly, I want them weightlifting, and then we’re going to start practicing, probably from 4:00 to 5:30 in the evening. I want us in the weight room because we’re not a big team and we have to be strong in order to compete,” Gonzales said.

Alamo’s Next Step

As he heads into his fourth year at the helm of Alamo High School boys basketball coach Lemuel Guerro has put his brand on Cougar basketball with two straight district titles, a pair of trips to the state basketball tournament and the school’s best-ever season.

Guerro may be collecting the hardware and putting it in the school’s trophy cases, but he’s far from done establishing his basketball program.

“We’re in Magdalena to improve and build a team to have a great season next year. We want to win as many games as we can. Summer is where we do develop the players, and that way, the regular season is about picking up where we left off,” Guerro said.

The Cougars’ next step is to win a state tournament basketball game after qualifying for two straight seasons. The previous steps the Cougars have taken are significant, with 2023 and 2024 being the only times Alamo Navajo has participated in postseason play.

“In the summertime, I’m looking for participation and attitude. You can be the greatest player on the court, but if you have a poor attitude, it’s not going to work,” Guerro said.

The Cougars showed up in Magdalena prepared to work and even had the state’s top team scratching its head on occasion before falling to the Steers by two.

Considering the Cougars were without three of their starters, Alamo is off to a good start for summer basketball, and Guerro knows his work is far from over as he looks to replace players lost to graduation.

Both the boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have several camps scheduled, including one in Grand Junction, CO, later this month. The Native American Invitational is also in Phoenix, AZ.

“We’re looking at getting as much playing time for our players as possible and to get the team into as many real-game situations as possible,” Guerro said.

The main focus is to get his players to act as a team because there have been times when players went off script, which led to some struggles in games.

“I’m excited for this coming season because we’re there. These boys need to realize what ‘team’ is because once they know what team is, nobody’s going to be selfish,” Guerro said. “Everybody’s going to be helping each other, have each other’s back, and start building friendships and all that. Team chemistry is what I look for, and also, like I said, above all, their attitudes are most important.”