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CLOVIS - Anyone planning to attend Clovis boys basketball games this winter might get a crick in their neck from swiveling it back and forth so much.
The Wildcats don't plan to be a plodding, methodical, half-court team. They want to push the ball up the floor. Run, run and run some more.
"Up-tempo," Clovis head coach Scott Robinson said. "We are built to be an up-tempo team, both offensively and defensively."
Robinson says he has the players for that style, and it's a classic case of molding the team philosophy around those players' talents.
"I think you have to look at your personnel and put them in a system that suits their abilities," he said. "We are an athletic team. We have fast guards that can get up and down the floor, and we're going to use that to our advantage."
"It's different," said senior guard Jakeem Wynn, last season's District 2-6A Player of the Year. "Last year we just sat in the half-court, slowing everything down. This year is more fun than last year."
"I like playing in (a fast-paced offense)," senior guard Brandon Romero said. "It helps speed the game up more. It helps the other team speed up, turn over the ball more, make mistakes. It helps to keep pushing at them when they're tired."
The players are also looking forward to utilizing each other's talents.
"We all like to pass the ball, get each other the ball," Wynn said. "All of us are unselfish. As long as we win, we're all happy."
"I'm pretty quick as a guard myself," Romero said, "and us being up-tempo will help me get open more and see the other players so I can get them the ball."
What the Wildcats are looking to do, how they hope to operate on the court, begins with Wynn and Romero.
"They are both really, really quick, explosive players," Robinson said. "Definitely, they're going to lead the way for us."
"I can bring leadership to the team," Romero said. "I can help players on the court. ... I can play defense on them (in practice), make them better."
Wynn doesn't feel any pressure about his reigning Player of the Year status. "Not really," he said, "I'm just going out, playing basketball like I usually do. No hype."
Wynn and Romero are joined by junior guard Dominick Urioste, who suffered a torn ACL during the second game of district last season. "He's fully recovered," Robinson said. "He brings explosiveness back to us."
Senior David Rosemond provides a bit of everything for the Wildcats. "He can play at big guard or small forward," Robinson said. "So he brings some versatility to us. Really good defender."
Of junior guard Jacob Moon, Robinson said: "We look for him to have a good season for us. Another really quick, fast guard that can shoot the ball and play really well on the defensive end."
Two other key guards hail from the Class of 2020 - Dewayne Dawson and Josiah Lombrana. "They're going to be a big part of us this year," Robinson said. "Good ball-handlers. They can shoot the ball and they're going to have a lot of responsibility running the point guard position, but definitely capable of doing the job.
"They had a good summer and preseason. They know what's expected of them. Two really coachable kids that have done a good job and have grown into the position."
Yes, the Wildcats can go small and keep the pace lively. But there is also length in the post when needed. Sophomore Bryce Cabeldue is 6-foot-5; fellow soph Ro Morgan is 6-foot-3.
"The size that we have will come from the two of them inside," Robinson said. "They'll need to be factors rebounding and inside scoring for us."
And, they're able to play the up-tempo style Robinson will employ this season.
"They're athletic," Robinson said. "They can get up and down the floor, so they'll fit in nicely with what we're doing."
Robinson did have a 6-foot-5 post player, Jonathan Williams, who led the team in rebounds and blocked shots last year. Williams was due to be a Clovis junior this season, but his family moved to Georgia.
"He was a guy that was set to have a really good year for us," Robinson said, "so those two sophomores (Cabeldue and Morgan) are going to have to do a good job filling in the shoes that Jonathan left. He definitely had an inside presence that's going to be hard to replace, and he will need to be replaced."
The Wildcats are coming off a decent season, going 12-16 only after a two-game, season-ending losing streak. In their tough district, the 'Cats were 5-5. High hopes abound that they will improve on all of the above numbers this winter.
"I think we have a chance to be pretty good," said Robinson, who enters his fourth season as head coach, his 17th coaching Clovis basketball at some level. "I think we're set to have a good season. We're young. We've got a lot of sophomores in some key positions, and there will be some growing pains. But if the kids continue to grow and work hard, we've got a chance to be pretty good this year."
"I think we can make a run at it," Wynn said. "This is the year to do it."
"I feel like we'll do well," Romero said. "We'll be more of a competitor. I feel like this team can put us back on top. We're not the biggest team, but we're a quick team. And our posts can guard guards, too, so we'll match up a lot better."
The journey begins Saturday against Rio Rancho at Rock Staubus Gymnasium, with tipoff scheduled for 6 p.m. Last year the Rams notched a 20-win season, getting the second of those victories with a triple-digit effort against the 'Cats. The final score was 100-74.
That, however, was a year ago. Saturday brings a new season.
"It's going to be a really competitive game," Romero said. "We're going to go back and forth. We're going to press them. They've got some really good guards on their team."
"I think it'll be a good matchup," Robinson said. "They like to play up-tempo. We like to play up-tempo. So I think you'll see comparable styles. They might be a little bigger than we are overall, but I think we have a quicker team."
Let the basketball begin.