Rams ready to compete on the court

With the high school basketball season getting underway, here is a look at the teams MHS will be putting on the court this year, with comments from the coaches on how well the school is likely to fare in league play.

Boys hoops
While the Rams graduated 10 seniors from last season’s team that finished 16-11 and qualified for the Class 4A-II state tournament, they have an array of talented returning players and newcomers who are eager to step into key roles.

“This is again going to be a senior laden team,” Coach Andy Branchik said. “This year’s team is going to be smart and hardworking. They’re going to be coachable.

“We want to be a team that works hard on both offense and defense.”

Branchik is in his eighth season with the Maricopa boys basketball program and his fourth year as varsity head coach. Varsity co-coach Charles Litt is entering his second season on the staff.

“Our players are going to execute more this year,” Litt said. “They will be versatile.”

Senior shooting guard Justin Warren is a returning starter for the Rams, who also have senior small forward Travis Brown and senior K.J. Diehl coming back from last season’s team.

“K.J. is going to look to take over the reins at point guard,” Branchik said about Diehl, who played for both the varsity and JV basketball in 2009-10.

Warren, Brown and Diehl were key players on the Maricopa football team this fall. They went directly from playing in the football season finale on Nov. 5 to practicing with the basketball
squad on Nov. 8.

“These guys have been with the program for four years now,” Branchik said. “The transition [from football to basketball] is pretty easy for them.”

Senior Richard Poyner and junior Marcus Lowe lead the list of players moving up from junior varsity. The Rams also will look for contributions from two seniors who are new to the school district — Tyler Carlson, who came to Maricopa from Montana, and Mike Stewart, who moved here from Mesa. Maricopa will play its home opener — and first game in the Class 4A-II East Sky Region — against Gilbert Higley on Nov. 30.

“Our conference is tough, the same as it was in football,” Branchik said.

Last season’s Maricopa boys basketball team finished 8-6 in the East Sky Region before losing to eventual state runner-up Tucson Amphitheater in the opening round of the 4A-II state tournament. While the opposition again will be rugged, Branchik and Litt are confident the Rams will be a factor in the conference race and will contend for a state playoff spot.

“We’re going to be competitive,” Branchik said.

The girls team
Under seventh-year head coach Jennifer Miller the Rams will feature a fast-paced offense in their quest to return to the Class 4A-II state tournament.

“We have a lot of talent,” Miller said. “Some of our younger girls have gotten stronger. It will be a challenge, because we are not tall. So you can look for us to run and run and run.” The Rams will be led by returning starters Julia Dickerson, a junior post player, and Paige Provost, a junior guard/forward. Also returning to the varsity are senior Morgan Rainey and sophomores Brianna Estrada and Derona Mitchell.

This season’s roster also includes seniors Danika Benton, Princess Dickson, Kyndra Flowers, Tatyana Hyler, Trang Nguyen and Andrea Thompson; and juniors Shinasha Bedonie and Cecily Peters. Miller said the Rams will utilize both zone and man-to-man defense.

“We’re going to let them (the opponents) guess,” Miller said. “We’ll mix it up. We’ll play some man and we’ll play some zone, so hopefully the (opposing) offense never really gets to settle into a rhythm.”

Rebounding will be a key for the Rams, who will try to create fastbreak opportunities for their offense.

“We’re going to have to make sure we get position on rebounds and be strong enough to hold onto the ball,” Miller said. “We’re going to pass the ball well, and we’re just going to have to run. If we can do that and play pretty tight defense, I think we’ll hold our own.”

Miller’s Rams finished 16-10 overall last season (7-7 in the East Sky Region) and qualified for the Class 4A-II state tournament, losing to Glendale Cactus in the opening round.

Maricopa will begin this season by playing in the Scorpion Shootout at Goodyear Desert Edge on Nov. 26- 27. The Rams will open 4A-II East Sky Region competition at Gilbert Higley on Nov. 30.

The Rams are scheduled to begin the regular season by playing three games in the Mesa Skyline Thanksgiving giving Classic from Nov. 22-24. The home opener is scheduled for Dec. 1 against Phoenix Sierra Linda.