5A Boys Basketball Offseason Team Power Rankings: May 2023

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the 2022-23 High School Basketball season coming to a close and with many seniors getting ready to graduate, we look at the first team power rankings of the off-season taking into account players graduating and potential players returning as of Friday, May 12th, 2023.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#1 Volcano Vista</strong> | Won the 2022-23 5A State Title: The Volcano Vista Hawks are the reigning back-to-back 5A State Champions in New Mexico. Despite losing 6 seniors to graduation; including two starters, <strong>Sean</strong> <strong>Alter</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1678037' first='Anthony' last='Gonzales']</strong>. The Hawks still retain several members of their core including three starters. One of those starters is <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']</strong> who is making a strong case as the best player in the state heading into next year with his dominant post-play. Starting Point Guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176305' first='Hudson' last='Brown']</strong> will be returning as well, bringing back improved shooting, elite defense, solid playmaking and great leadership. [player_tooltip player_id='1488493' first='Rian' last='Gonzales'] will be back for the Hawks next season with his lights out three-point shooting and <strong>David Guttierrez</strong> two-way abilities heading into his senior year. Until the back-to-back champs are knocked off their thrown, <strong>Coach Greg Brown</strong> and the Volcano Vista Hawks will be the team to beat until proven otherwise. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#2 Organ Mountain</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Semifinals to Volcano Vista: The Organ Mountain Knights only lost four seniors to graduation and will be bringing back most of their core next season. It was a surprise trip to the 5A State Semifinals to most in 2022-23. They were led by Star Big man <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1633061' first='Brandon' last='Kehres']</strong> who averaged nearly a double-double on the season. Losing <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875286' first='Aiden' last='Pacini']</strong> to graduation will definitely hurt but bringing back the team's best player; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1444750' first='Lenny' last='Washington']</strong> who missed the entire season due to injury makes the Organ Mountain Knights a serious threat next season considering they had the Volcano Vista Hawks on the brink of elimination in the 5A State Semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#3 V.Sue Cleveland</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Quarterfinals to Sandia: The biggest losses for the Cleveland Storm this off-season was losing longtime <strong>Head Coach Sean Jimenez</strong> and core seniors; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1678143' first='Nic' last='Trujillo'] </strong>and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1208048' first='Josia' last='Ortiz']</strong>. Luckily, they'll retain arguably the state's best backcourt duo for another season; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158654' first='Daniel' last='Steverson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht']</strong>. They complement each other really well and will keep the Storm in the conversation as a contender for the 5A State Championship next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4 Eldorado</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A First Round to Cleveland: Despite losing in the first round of the 5A Boys State Tournament last season, the Eldorado Eagles have to be excited about bringing back most of their core next season. The biggest lost was losing their best player; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1362491' first='Caileb' last='Parham']</strong> to graduation, a 22 points per game scorer last season. The Eagles will be returning three starters from last season: <strong>Mike</strong> <strong>Knaub</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1276348' first='Josh' last='Jackson']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679994' first='Josiah' last='Mitchell']</strong>. Eldorado posed a lot of matchup problems for many teams with their size and could pose a similar problem again next season. Eldorado High School has enough talent to make some noise again next year with [player_tooltip player_id='1276346' first='Mike' last='Knaub'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1276348' first='Josh' last='Jackson'] leading the way with their scoring, rebounding and size. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#5 Atrisco Heritage</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Quarterfinals to Volcano Vista: Very similar to the Cleveland Storm, Atrisco Heritage lost some senior leadership to graduation but will still have one of the state's best duos between <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225905' first='Marquise' last='Renfro']</strong>. The biggest shoes they'll need to fill is from longtime varsity player, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076722' first='Chris' last='Parra']</strong>. Luckily, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris']</strong> had a breakout season averaging 18.0 points per game as a sophomore. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1225905' first='Marquise' last='Renfro']</strong> emerged as one of the state's top two-way players. It will be interesting to see players such as <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679990' first='Brandon' last='Lopez']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1679991' first='Mathais' last='Sanchez']</strong> and <strong>Andrez</strong> <strong>Santillanes</strong> get increased roles with losses to three starters: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076722' first='Chris' last='Parra']</strong>, <strong>Lorenzo Pacheco</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1678035' first='Antonio' last='Ortiz']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#6 Farmington</strong> | Missed the playoffs in the 2022-23 season: Farmington High School is the only team inside this updated top ten offseason team rankings on the list that missed the playoffs. They happened to play in the toughest district in the state this season and just missed out on a playoff spot. They will be returning <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1166976' first='Cody' last='Vassar-Steen']</strong>; one of the state's best players along with three other starters; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295242' first='Trel' last='Griego']</strong>, <strong>Michael Beck</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1914028' first='Landon' last='Begay']</strong>. Each of their top four scorers will be back next season and the rest of their district has lost a number of seniors. Even after having a respectable 15-13 record last season, most would agree that Farmington was better than what their record suggested. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#7 Rio Rancho</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A First Round to Atrisco Heritage: The Rio Rancho Rams lost two three key varsity players but should be just fine heading into 2023-24. The good news is their best player; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1295235' first='Jayden' last='Johnson']</strong> who averaged over 14 points per game will be back for one more year and he's still surrounded by solid shooters like [player_tooltip player_id='1685452' first='Jerry' last='Archuleta'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1679999' first='Josiah' last='Marfil']. The biggest holes the Rams need to address is the size and defense they lost from those three senior varsity players; <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1293055' first='Maddox' last='Presser']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547734' first='Jamal' last='Bynum']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1875311' first='Mikey' last='Wood']</strong>. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#8 La Cueva</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Quarterfinals: The La Cueva Bears are in an interesting position. They are not fully in rebuild mode after losing six seniors and three varsity starters, but this team is looking to reload for next year with <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176302' first='Cameron' last='Dyer']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176299' first='Daniel' last='Lovato']</strong> leading the way. It will be hard to replace their best player <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076705' first='Cedarius' last='Yates']</strong>, arguably the best shooters in New Mexico in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076711' first='Isaiah' last='Denetclaw']</strong> and the great leadership in starting Point Guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1208049' first='Josiah' last='Guliford']</strong>. Expect [player_tooltip player_id='1176302' first='Cameron' last='Dyer'], [player_tooltip player_id='1176299' first='Daniel' last='Lovato'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1679998' first='Brandon' last='Bartlett'] to have increased roles and increased shot attempts next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#9 Los Lunas</strong> | Lost in the 2022-23 5A State Semifinals to Sandia: The bad news is the Los Lunas Tigers had seven seniors this past season that are graduating but the good news is they will still have the best player in the State in <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176298' first='Jalin' last='Holland']</strong>. They will still have one of the best coaches in the state in Travis Julian and will have six potential returning players for next season with increased roles. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#10 Santa Fe </strong>| Lost in the 2022-23 5A State First Round: The Santa Fe Demons lost five seniors in 2022-23 but will have [player_tooltip player_id='1897845' first='Lukas' last='Turner'] return for one more season. He had a breakout season averaging about 22 points per game and will be an undisputed top ten player heading into next season. This Demons roster has several young players and up-and-coming talent on the horizon with eight players coming back to make another run next season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->