Seven teams with impressive starts to 2024-25 season

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We're just over a month into the regular season. Here are seven teams that have impressed so far:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Albuquerque High (9-2)</strong>: The Bulldogs had their 9-game winning streak snapped Saturday at the hands of Robertson, but so far they've proven to be an outstanding team. <strong>Alejandro Mireles</strong> (6 3-pointers) &nbsp;and <strong>Noah Barela</strong> combined for 42 points in a victory over St. Michael's last Friday in a tournament in Las Vegas. Six-foot-5 junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2827330' first='Ethan' last='Oetzel']</strong> is becoming a star. &nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Cleveland (8-2)</strong>: Led by elite guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1326930' first='Remy' last='Albrecht']</strong>, the Storm are off to a nice start despite losing to Hobbs in the championship game of the Hobbs Holiday Tournament. The Storm have upcoming games against Highland, Hobbs, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista, so we'll found out how good the Storm are over the next few weeks. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Logan (7-0)</strong>: How good are the Class 1A Longhorns? They're ranked FOURTH in the state overall by MaxPreps. Right now, they're probably the heavy favorite to win the title in March. Few dynamic duos are better than 6-foot-5 <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1717329' first='Mason' last='Wallin']</strong> (21.3 ppg + 9.3 rpg) and 6-foot-7<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1717249' first='Hayden' last='Bruhn'] </strong>(17.4 ppg and 12.3 rpg), both next level prospects. And both are juniors, so they'll be back next season. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Hobbs (10-1)</strong>: Hobbs just wrapped up the championship in its own tournament by beating Cleveland in the championship game. They've swept all four Las Cruces schools and beaten both Rio Rancho and Cleveland. Senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687828' first='Abraham' last='Pena']</strong> and 7-foot center <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1524943' first='Parker' last='Henderson']</strong> have played well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Robertson (10-2)</strong>: The Cardinals lost their first two games of the season but have since ripped off 10 wins in a row, &nbsp;including the aforementioned tournament championship game victory over Albuquerque High last Saturday in La Vegas. Football standouts <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714561' first='George' last='Smith']</strong> (18.2 ppg), <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2818687' first='Jesse' last='James Gonzales']</strong> (15.3) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2216707' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales']</strong> (13.0) combine for 48.5 points per game. Smith is a freshman and [player_tooltip player_id='2216707' first='Nathan' last='Gonzales'] is a sophomore. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sandia (9-1)</strong>: Balanced scoring has sparked the Matadors to a great start. They beat Organ Mountain in their last game on <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1687823' first='Thomas' last='Adams']</strong>' 3-pointer at the buzzer. Four players are averaging between 12.9 and 16.7 points. Two of those scorers are freshman – <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714567' first='Isaiah' last='Brown']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714580' first='Gad' last='Harris']</strong>. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Volcano Vista (7-0)</strong>: The Hawks, as expected, dominated opponents in their first seven games. They were challenged only once – the first half against Sandia. Montana commitment <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176300' first='Kenyon' last='Aguino']</strong> and high D1 prospect <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2111977' first='David' last='Lunn']</strong> have led the charge.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Honorable Mention</strong>: Espanola Valley (10-2); Fort Sumner/House (9-1); Melrose (7-1); Organ Mountain (6-3); Pojoaque Valley (8-1); Rio Rancho (7-2); Roswell (8-3); St. Pius X (7-2); Texico (8-0).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:html --> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here the latest NMOT New Year's edition of the Boys Basketball Coaches Polls. <a href="https://twitter.com/JamesDYodice?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@JamesDYodice</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/AdamDiehl15?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@AdamDiehl15</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/turkeyboyphoto?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@turkeyboyphoto</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CharlesWiniecki?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CharlesWiniecki</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/krqesports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@krqesports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/PrepHoops_NM?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PrepHoops_NM</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/sfnmsports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@sfnmsports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsHns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportsHns</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SCSunNews?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SCSunNews</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/nmprepcosports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@nmprepcosports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/ArtesiaSports?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@ArtesiaSports</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/KRod_505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@KRod_505</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/LucasPeerman?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@LucasPeerman</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/SportsHns?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@SportsHns</a> <a href="https://t.co/5TL676w6tj">pic.twitter.com/5TL676w6tj</a></p>&mdash; Richard Tripp (@rick_tripp58) <a href="https://twitter.com/rick_tripp58/status/1873942812330492284?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 31, 2024</a></blockquote> <!-- /wp:html --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->