Returning from the holiday break found the Bayfield High School boys basketball team in an unfamiliar position in recent seasons – being ranked.
Maxpreps.com rates the Wolverines as the No. 9 team in Class 3A in Colorado and the CHSAA 3A poll gave them six votes, good for No. 13 if the poll extended that far.
“I think it’s always positive to have recognition that they’re starting to notice the boy’s efforts at this point. I don’t put a lot of stock in it beyond that,” BHS head coach Jeff Lehnus said in a phone interview with The Durango Herald on Saturday. “It’s nice for Bayfield basketball to start achieving some type of recognition. It’s up to us to continue, to, regardless of rankings, focus on ourselves and our progress.”
It’s a large leap given BHS (4-1) finished 11-9 last season and hadn’t notched a winning season in the two years before that. In fact, Bayfield’s only loss so far this season came against 3A No. 5 Jefferson Academy on a neutral floor.
“The boys walked away knowing some higher possibilities are achievable,” Lehnus said.
Lehnus also acknowledged the recognition the rest of the Intermountain League has received so far. CHSAA has Alamosa at No. 7, and Monte Vista received two votes.
“We have a very tough league,” Lehnus said. “It’s challenging and yet also bodes well for the teams that are fortunate enough to advance out of our league. If your league’s not strong enough, you’re not ready; you haven’t seen tough enough competition on a regular basis.”
Before the Wolverines get to the IML, though, they open their 2015 slate with a visit from Miyamura (Gallup, New Mexico) at 7 p.m. Tuesday at BHS. The Patriots are 4-7 this season with a 13-point loss to Aztec, a team the Wolverines beat by 11.
“We don’t know a lot, but we do know Aztec defeated them,” Lehnus said. “We know what type of game to typically expect – more of a guard-oriented game. Our focus is on continuing to progress what we do.”
BHS practiced for three days last week after taking the first week of their break off to rest and recover.
Lehnus tried to strike a balance on the rest vs. rust continuum.
“You read your team, you read your players. You’ve got two months and maybe another week or two in March (left),” he said. “You just want to think long term. We could have practiced more, but we’re striking a balance between refreshing the mind and body and not losing your flow, especially because we were going into the break with good flow.”
kgrabowski@durangoherald.com
