The Sedona Red Rock High School boys’ varsity basketball team will tip off its season with a home game tomorrow night, Thursday, Nov. 16, at 7:30 p.m. against the Monument Valley Mustangs.

Sedona Red Rock High School Athletic Director Pedro Ortega Sr. has once more taken on the role of head coach for the team after former head coach George Gleason was recently promoted to SRRHS vice principal.

“[I’ve known] these kids from middle school. I’m looking forward to [helping] them their senior year,” Ortega said. “It should be fun to watch so I’m looking forward to that.”

Ortega was noncommittal when asked if he sees himself coaching the team beyond this season. “I’m doing this year for sure, we’ll see what happens going forward,” he said.

The team has been running drills for the last few weeks with a focus on fundamentals, layups and cardio.

“We like to run-and-gun and shoot,” Ortega said. “We are [a] pretty athletic team and I think it should be fun to watch. My pitch to the community is to come and watch these kids and support them. They should be fun to watch.” “We’re covering every base possible [and] every scenario so they can react to it,” Ortega said. “I like to play fast under control. You got to be under control on your fast breaks. We want to try to play fast so we can score [in] the 60s. It will be our goal every game.”

Ortega’s goal for the team is to make the state tournament and considers the athleticism of this year’s Scorpions one of the most important factors in making that happen.

“Every single day [we’re working on cardio] but I integrate layups with cardio,” Ortega said. “We run all day, but [with] a purpose. We do a layout every drill that I implement, finishing with a layup … I think we [have] the quickness and should be exciting [to watch].”

His focus on layups is in response to some inexperience in last year’s team.

“You can be as fast as you want to; if you don’t know how to finish your layup, it doesn’t mean very much,” Ortega said.

“The big thing is trying to learn the new plays that we haven’t ran in a couple years. And then just trying to find our rhythm with the new coach,” junior guard Nick Hermen said.

Senior forward and center Joan Diaz Rodriquez thinks the team’s success will depend on their early season preparation.

“If we put in the work we are competing high but if we’re just messing around during practices and during games, I’ll probably rank [our odds] really low,” Diaz Rodriquez said, adding that his goals this year are to have more play time and improve overall as a player.

“Everyone’s a little rusty since the last time we played was about a year ago,” senior guard Carlos Gonzalez said. “But the practices have been focusing most on the fundamentals, nothing too flashy, so I think it’s coming along and I think we’ll be good as soon as the season starts.”

One of the team’s advantages is that several of the varsity soccer players are also on the basketball team, including Gonzalez, so they already have been conditioning.

“It takes time adjusting, because three months I was playing with my feet and now you got the balls in your hands,” Gonzalez said. “But I feel like I’m prepared for the basketball season because with soccer that’s 80 minutes nonstop running.”

Seniors Isaac Montes de Oca, Michael Calderon, Joan Diaz Rodriquez and Carlos Gonzalez have been playing basketball since middle school and Ortega hopes their soccer experience will pay dividends this season.

Sedona Red Rock High School Boys Basketball Team

Not Pictured: Ben Metzger

“I think this is their time where they can be part of something special,” Ortega said. “We’re here to make it happen for them so they’re working hard so we’re getting ready. I know we have a tough first game but … we’ll start from there.”