Guard-heavy Demons open tonight

DHS boys team hosting San Juan, Utah

by Aaron Unterreiner
Herald Sports Editor

Article Last Updated; Tuesday, December 02, 2008

There is no Sam Phippen.

There is no Trent Bowman.

There is no Matt Morris.

There is a new coach, and a guard-heavy team, devoid of
6-foot-7 superstars.

"Pressure D all the time," Durango boys basketball coach Tom Dunne said. "Full court. We have to do that. We don't have the Sam Phippens, the Trent Bowmans and the Matt Morrises anymore.

"We'd walk into a gym in Denver, and people would ask: 'Who's the college team?' That's cyclical. That won't happen for another 25 years."

The aforementioned big men have all since graduated to college basketball.

This year's team will feature the quick and talented guard play of Nick Hofman, Richard Montoya, Jordan Gillen and Matt
Elliott.

"We certainly have the quickness with those kids," Dunne said. "They really get after you."

Hofman returns to run the point, his third season as the starting point guard on the varsity team.

The most dynamic player on the roster, Hofman is currently fielding offers to play college soccer after a senior season in which he was named All-State.

"He has the maturity to do it this year. I hope he can do it again," said Dunne, concerned the recruiting process might interfere with his floor general's concentration.

Dunne, however, said it hasn't affected the player's effort in
practice.

"He gives it 100 (percent)," Dunne said. "He always does."

Hofman will be complemented by Montoya, Gillen and Elliott, all of whom have point guard experience.

Montoya and Gillen both "have taken great steps," Dunne said.

"(Richard) is all over the place. He puts his nose to the grindstone and gives 110 percent. You ask him to do something for you, and he'll die trying," Dunne said.

Dunne said Gillen has "matured as a basketball player."

"He's going to be fun to watch this year and next," he said of the junior.

Gillen and Elliott will represent the left-handed side of the backcourt, while Austin Rochford will provide the left-handed service in the frontcourt.

"He's a big body, we've just got to get him moving vertically a bit more," Dunne said. "He's a deceiving guy as a lefty, because opposing players don't expect that."

The majority of the post offense should flow through 6-foot-5 Loren Doughty, the same size as Rochford plus two years of varsity experience. Perhaps the biggest knock on Doughty the last two years has been a lack of tenacity on the court.

"I think we're going to see that change this year," Dunne said. "That's been Loren's mantra this season: to be more selfish."

Doughty and Rochford will be complemented by 6-foot-3 forwards Dylan Shapiro and Chase Cushing, both of whom received valuable varsity minutes last
season.

"(Cushing) works very, very hard," Dunne said. "He loves the weight room, and it shows.

"(Shapiro) gives us a lot. He's going to help us on the inside. He has really soft hands in reference to his shot."

Dunne also has 6-foot seniors Jordan Griffin and Steven Gillen to turn to off the bench, and a couple of wild cards in Conner McCue and Andrew Mahnke.

McCue was a late-season varsity call-up last season.

"He's got the potential to be a starter on varsity," Dunne said. "He's got a great nose for the ball, and he's always in the right spot."

Mahnke is a 6-foot-2 transfer student from the Front Range and a "real strong shooter," Dunne said.

Dunne, the longtime assistant coach to Tim Fitzpatrick, also will receive help this season from a former Division I college basketball player and a former Durango Demons head coach.

Viki Thyfault, the former All-American point guard at the University of Oklahoma and ex-DHS girls basketball coach, has transferred from girls assistant coach last season to boys assistant coach this season.

"She's always wanted to work with boys," Dunne said. "Now we've got Division I experience on the roster. Fitz and I were
D-II guys.

"She going to be a big help. She has the knowledge and the experience; we couldn't pass on that."

Fitzpatrick played the majority of his college basketball at Fort Lewis and also New Mexico State. During his tenure at DHS, he produced nine collegiate student-athletes and four Southwestern League championships, including the program's first league title after a 30-year drought.

Dunne, a Bronx native and retired police officer from the NYPD after 25 years of service, played his college basketball at the New York Institute of Technology in Long Island.

The new regime, ready or not, will begin at 7 p.m. today against San Juan High School at the DHS gymnasium, against a team that defeated Durango 63-49 last season in Blanding, Utah.

"They're always very disciplined," Dunne said. "They execute really well. They don't make mistakes, and they don't take stupid shots."

"As far as I know, I think they have all the same kids back from last year's team, too."

aaron@durangoherald.com