Young squad for Warriors

Only three returners back from last season

The Del Norte Warriors boys varsity  basketball team is pretty much starting over from scratch this season.

The Warriors have only three returners back from last year. The rest are newcomers or junior varsity veterans.

Del Norte dominated last season, finishing 21-6 and earning a co-share of the Big 5 Conference title. Del Norte graduated seven seniors, including all five starters.

“We’re very young,” head coach Blaine Lopez said. “We’ve got a lot of kids new to the varsity program.”

 In the 20 years he has helped with the Warrior hoops program, Lopez said this year’s team is the least experienced he has seen, so there will be more of a learning curve to get them up to speed.

“It’s going to be a learning experience for everyone,” Lopez said. “We have a long ways to go.”

Lopez coached the team for five seasons until 2008 and returned as head coach this season. He said that while it’s nice to be back at the helm, it has been a different experience coaching a youthful team like this. He is glad he is being helped on  the bench by assistant coach Dave Brous, who coached alongside him in his previous tenure with the team. Lopez is also getting help from junior varsity coach Jeff Cook and freshman coach Kirk Burrows, who  coached the varsity team for several years.

The new squad, which features eight juniors, has struggled in the early going with an 0-2 record in the first two games of the year at a tournament in Yreka.

On Thursday, they came back from 12-point deficit but fell by a single point to Klamath Union of Oregon, 38-37.

On Friday against Anderson, Del Norte came out sluggish from the start as they were blown out 60-27.

Senior Collin Taylor, who played some key minutes off the bench last year, is expected to be a major contributor this season.

But getting him back may take a little bit of time.

Taylor is still nursing a hamstring injury from football season and has yet to play this year. Lopez said he does not know when he will return.

The other two returners from last year, seniors Colby Japp and Darrien Simpson, have been key contributers the first two games of the year.

The coaches will try to give all the players a good look early in the season and see who can help the squad be competitive this year.

Lopez said it would be nice to have a steady group of players that can contribute between 6 to 8 points per game.

If this group can buy into the team-oriented system he runs, which emphasizes tenacious defense and cohesive teamwork, the Warriors can hopefully make progress by the time the Big 5 Conference season comes around, Lopez said. 

“We want everyone to work together and play a role,” Lopez said.

Lopez, known as a passionate and vocal basketball coach during his previous tenure with the Warriors, showed he had not lost that attribute during practice on Tuesday at the high school.

While watching a drill, Lopez fixed his gaze on the action, shouting advice and direction as he he tried to get his team prepared for the season ahead.

“Come on. Crash the boards.”

“We’ve got to work on getting better movement, OK?”

“Come on. We got a game in two days!”

Lopez commended his team for giving good effort in practice trying to quickly learn to work together.

It has been a challenge to get ready for the season since they had only six full practices as an entire team before the  game on Thursday. This was due to several members coming in late because the football team played the playoffs.

“It’s not a lot of time to get ready,” Lopez said. But, he added, the team has to find a way to be prepared, go out and give it all they can on the basketball court.