2024-25 Team Preview: Cibola Cougars

2024-25 TEAM PREVIEW: CIBOLA COUGARS   OVERVIEW   Cibola was 6-21 last season and hasn't enjoyed a winning campaign since 2016-17. It's been a long dry spell for the Cougars but third-year head coach Gabriel Martinez, who succeeded the legendary Ray Rodriguez, believes better days are ahead after spending the past two season building a foundation.   “When I first took the job, I knew it was going to be a rebuild,” Martinez said. “Ray Rodriguez hired me and he told me this would be a rebuild. I said, ‘Let's Go.' This will be my third year and we've been growing, for sure. I know last season's record doesn't show it, but we were in a lot of close games. We improved from my first year to my second year. Hopefully, we'll make another big jump this year.”   Last season's roster featured just four seniors and six freshmen. So, many of the players are back.   “We were really young and a lot of those guys have matured,” Martinez said. “My young guys have played quite a few years of varsity basketball. So, even though we have a large group of guys who are sophomores, they're pretty experienced. We also have a good mixture of upperclassmen that are talented. I'm excited for this year. We had a good summer showing. We're in a good place to be very competitive this year.”          PLAYERS TO WATCH   [player_tooltip player_id='2026077' first='Elijah' last='Martinez'] (G, 5-10, So.): Martinez, son of the head coach, led the Cougars in scoring and assists in 2023-24. One of three returning starters for Cibola. He played varsity as an 8th-grader in 2022-23 and was First-Team All-District. Same for last season. He's also one of four talented sophomores ready to be major contributors in 2023-24. “He's an all-around player,” Martinez said. “He's a good shooter, he can attack the basket and score. He's doing well. He's maturing.” Martinez shot about 40 percent from 3-point range.            [player_tooltip player_id='2147587' first='Isaiah' last='Weinrich'] (F, 6-5, Sr.): Starting center for the Cougars last season and he should fill that role again. “Isaiah is a presence in the middle,” Martinez said. “He's athletic and strong. He's made a lot of improvement. I'm excited to see what he can do this upcoming season.         [player_tooltip player_id='2147586' first='Brayden' last='Peters'] (F, 6-4, Sr.):  Peters was the starting small forward for the Cougars in 2023-24. Peters has a high basketball IQ and usually makes good decisions. Very good knockdown shooter from the wing, including beyond the 3-point arc. “Brayden can knock down shots,” Martinez said.         NAMES TO KNOW   [player_tooltip player_id='2318841' first='Noah' last='Crichlow'] (G, 5-11, So.): Expected to compete for one of the two open starting jobs. Martinez described him as ‘underrated' compared to some of the other players in his class. “No one really knows about Noah,” Martinez said. “He's a good ballplayer. People will know who he is after this season. He's an emerging talent. He should be one of our top players.”      Chris Williams (G, 5-11, So.): Played some valuable minutes for the Cougars last season as a freshman as the second or third guard off the bench. “Chris is a knockdown shooter,” Martinez said. “He's also very good defensively. We can put him on the other team's best player and he'll guard him all game long.”        [player_tooltip player_id='2318844' first='Isaac' last='Behrens'] (F, 6-4, So.): Very good athlete. Tall and athletic. Good basketball skills. He could play any of the forward or center spots. Could play the 3, 4 or 5 spots when the Cougars go big. “I'm looking forward to seeing what he brings and how he helps us this year,” Martinez said.   Joshua Foster (G, 6-2, Sr.): Brings athleticism and height to the guard position.         KEY NEWCOMERS   Mateo Gutierrez (G, 6-1, Sr.): Played JV for the Cougars in 2023-24 and enjoyed a solid summer, earning a spot in the rotation.   [player_tooltip player_id='2026079' first='Jalil' last='Dixon'] (G, 5-10, Jr.): Also a football player. He should be part of the Cougars' 8-to-9 man rotation in 2024-25 and will fight for minutes. He floated between JV and varsity last season.   Teague Brown (F, 6-8, Sr.): Martinez describes him as a ‘little raw' but Brown could contribute and make an impact because of his height. Likely will come off the bench.      FINAL THOUGHTS   With some many returning players, some of whom have taken their lumps as youngsters, Cibola could potentially be one of the most improved teams in the Albuquerque Metro Region in 2024-25.   “We have a lot of guys who definitely have more experience,” Martinez said. “We're ready to rock and roll. A lot of our guys played club ball this summer and did a lot of traveling and played against some good competition.”     [player_tooltip player_id='2026077' first='Elijah' last='Martinez'], who has been offered by a handful of Division 2 schools, played for ABC Spotlight's 16U team, one of several ABC Prep's summer circuit teams.      <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ElijahMtz2027/status/1818767344103309402 </div></figure>   <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/ElijahMtz2027/status/1813256300475916808 </div></figure>

2024-25 TEAM PREVIEW: CIBOLA COUGARS