Prep Hoops New Mexico Team Preview: Atrisco Heritage Academy

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Last Season</strong>: During the 2021-22 season, the Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars were once again one of the last teams standing at the end of the year. The Jaguars made the Metro Boys Championship during the Metro Tournament in January. They finished the year with an impressive 20-9 record and secured the #5 seed in the 5A Boys State Tournament. The Jaguars defeated #12 Eldorado at home in the First Round, defeated #4 Hobbs on the road in the Quarterfinals and lost to #1 Las Cruces at the Pit in the Semifinals. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>5A Class</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>District 1:</strong> Atrisco Heritage, Cibola, Cleveland, Rio Rancho and Volcano Vista. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Losses: <strong>Javier Mendoza</strong>, <strong>Colby Wade</strong>, <strong>Diego Miscles-Rivera</strong>, <strong>JJ Torres</strong> and <strong>Aiden Platero</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Key Additions: <strong>Antonio Ortiz</strong> and <strong>Kayson Comes-Killing</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Returning Varsity Players: <strong>Chris Parra</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076708' first='Tony' last='Pacheco']</strong>, <strong>Marquise Renfro</strong>, <strong>Kadarious Sims</strong>, <strong>Andrez Santillanes</strong>, <strong>Mathais Sanchez</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris']</strong>, <strong>Manny Sedillo</strong> and <strong>Alexavier Crawford</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Analysis</strong>: The Atrisco Heritage Academy Jaguars are coming off two straight trips to the 5A State Semifinals in 2021 and 2022. They won the 5A State Championships in 2018 and 2019. The Jaguars lost two varsity-starters (<strong>Wade</strong> and <strong>Mendoza</strong>) to graduation last spring. This will be Head Coach, <strong>Steve Heredia's</strong> first full season coaching the Jaguars after replacing <strong>Adrian Ortega</strong> early last season. He has plenty of experience and has a great roster of players. This team will be led by their starting Seniors; <strong>Chris Parra</strong> and <strong>Lorenzo Pacheco</strong> who are both four-year varsity players. <strong>Chris Parra</strong> is the engine for the Jaguars, an elite playmaker and one of the best shooters in New Mexico. <strong>Parra</strong> is an All-State and All-Metro player who will have a career year for the Jaguars. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1076708' first='Tony' last='Pacheco']</strong> has been the leader for the Jaguars for a few years now and will be again for one more season. He does so many things for the Jaguars that gets overlooked, but is the glue that holds the team together. <strong>Marquise Renfro</strong> is the freak-athlete of the team that can do so many things on the floor. He can play multiple positions and may play a similar role as <strong>Javier Mendoza</strong> last year. <strong>Marquise</strong> is one of the teams best defenders and creates offense with his defense. He had a great off-season and played the best from what I seen from the team in the summer. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris']</strong> is the future of this team and the keys will be handed to him shortly. He had an amazing freshman year, <strong>Latavious </strong>was one of the teams most valuable players last season when the team got hit with injuries and adversity. <strong>Latavious</strong> is a quick scoring guard that reminds you of a few former Jaguar guards. One of the teams best additions over the off-season was getting big man <strong>Antonio Ortiz</strong> who impressed me the most besides <strong>Marquise Renfro</strong>. <strong>Antonio Ortiz</strong> will play the five and is an underrated athlete. He uses the size he has and makes the most of it around the rim. <strong>Antonio Ortiz</strong> uses his strength to his advantage and is a solid face-up scorer. The team also acquired <strong>Kayson Comes-Killing</strong> from South Dakota who is ready to make an impact. <strong>Kadarious Sims</strong> is another athlete who has high basketball IQ and is a smooth scorer. <strong>Mathais Sanchez</strong> is a player to keep your eyes on, he is a defensive minded player who was praised by Head Coach; <strong>Steve Heredia</strong>. <strong>Alexavier Crawford</strong> will receive quality minutes as their backup big when the team plays small-ball. <strong>Brandon Lopez</strong> is one of the teams best three-point shooters who will space the floor. He is a solid "catch and shoot" player that <strong>Chris Parra</strong>, <strong>Lorenzo Pacheco</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris']</strong> will look for on offense. <strong>Manny Sedillo</strong> is another senior that "works extremely hard" according to Coach Steve Heredia and will get important playing time this year. After a recent conversation with <strong>Coach Heredia</strong>, he said "the team expect to compete this year". This team is in the discussion as one of the top contenders for the 5A State Championship and look to win their third title in six years. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Roster: <strong>Chris Parra</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1076708' first='Tony' last='Pacheco'], <strong>Marquise Renfro</strong>, <strong>Kadarious Sims</strong>, <strong>Andrez Santillanes</strong>, <strong>Mathais Sanchez</strong>, [player_tooltip player_id='1176301' first='Latavious' last='Morris'], <strong>Manny Sedillo</strong>, <strong>Alexavier Crawford</strong>, <strong>Antonio Ortiz</strong> and <strong>Kayson Comes-Killing</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"fontSize":"small"} --> <p class="has-small-font-size">Head Coach: <strong>Steve Heredia</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator {"className":"is-style-wide"} --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity is-style-wide"/> <!-- /wp:separator -->