2024-25 Team Preview: Manzano Monarchs

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>2024-25 TEAM PREVIEW: MANZANO MONARCHS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>OVERVIEW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>After going 6-21 last season with a senior-laden roster, fourth-yeah Manzano head coach Andrew Dunnell is looking forward to working with a new crop of Monarch players in 2024-25.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Manzano lost EIGHT games by five or fewer points last season, so it wasn't a situation where the Monarchs weren't competitive. They just struggled to win close games. Too often, Manzano was on the wrong side of close.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our lack of experience caught up to us,” Dunnell told Prep Hoops New Mexico. “We graduated eight seniors. Now we have to use our youth and try to keep this thing going and build it to where we need to be. We'll be a much younger team than what we've had in the past. We'll have only three seniors that will play a lot of minutes. The rest will be underclassmen.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Dunnell was encouraged by how his team performed in summer workouts and the Fall League.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're getting better,” Dunnell said. “We might struggle again, but our guys are working very hard. We have some talented young players. Right now, we're getting them better and getting them to where we need them to be. It's a hungry group. They've been fun to coach.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2681001' first='Estevan' last='Gonzalez'] (G, Sr., 5-8)</strong>: One of three seniors, Gonzalez is expected to be a key team leader as the Monarchs point guard. He's been a varsity player for three years. “He's definitely our guy. Her's going to play a ton of minutes,” Dunnell said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2681016' first='Kai' last='Youngberg'] (F/G, Sr., 6-4)</strong>: Expected to be the Monarchs' shooting guard. Rebounding from a broken arm. Should be back to full health before the start of the season. Athletic and long. Great shooter. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Christian Santillanes (F, SR., 6-3)</strong>: Likely play a lot of minutes at the power forward spot. He has the ability to play inside or outside. Very athletic. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>NAMES TO KNOW</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2694458' first='Bryce' last='Johnson'] (F, Jr., 6-2)</strong>: Versatile player who can play close or far from the basket. Very strong. “He'll be a handful for opposing teams to deal with because he can play both inside and outside,” Dunnell said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Justin Duran (G, Jr., 5-10)</strong>: Great athlete. Leading rusher on the Monarchs football team that reached the Class 4A playoffs. Physical and tenacious. Fearless driver. Knows how to get to the basket.. Playmaker. “He brings a level of competitiveness and toughness to our team that we sometimes lack without him,” Dunnell said.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>KEY NEWCOMERS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2714693' first='Broden' last='Price'] (G, Fr., 6-1): </strong>Starting WR for the football team. Caught 27 passes for 477 yards and 7 TD. He also has a bright future in basketball. Great athlete. He'll be thrown into the fire this season to see how he performs. Dunnell sees him as a potential three-year starter beginning in 2025-26.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>CJ Houser (F, Sr., 6-2)</strong>: Houser is an offensive lineman for the Manzano football team. Big body. Expected to come off the bench and fill valuable minutes.  </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>FINAL THOUGHTS</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>How young and inexperienced will the Monarchs be in 2024-25? Even the three seniors who are expected to be major contributors saw action for the JV team last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“Our three seniors played a majority of their minutes with the JV team last year, but I think they're definitely going to open some eyes,” Dunnell said. “They've been practicing with us for two or three years. They're ready to take over. But there's going to be a learning curve with regards to the speed of varsity.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With so many new players, Dunnell said the Monarchs will likely change their style of play for the upcoming season. They won't pressure as much defensively. They will still try to play fast on the offensive end.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>“We're going to try to space the floor out, penetrate and kick, and hit some threes,” Dunnell said. “We don't have a dominant post guy and we're not going to force that. We may not be as talented as last year, but they play well together. They play more as a team. They share the basketball. The ball moves. If we play as a team, we can string together some wins.”</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Manzano competes in District 5A-2 with Capital, Eldorado, La Cueva, Sandia and Santa Fe. The Monarchs open the 2024-25 schedule Nov. 26 with a home game against Bernalillo. They'll head south for games at Santa Teresa and Chaparral in mid-December.    </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>  <br> </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->