After losing Tuesday, June 2, by over 30 combined points to rival Camp Verde High School and Northland Prep, Sedona Red Rock High School head basketball coach C.J. Sells knew he would have his work cut out for him.

“There are some things that can’t be taught,” he said. “I told the kids in practice, ‘Basketball’s just a game that you have to learn from playing, by experience. Not all experiences are going to be good, so you have to learn from them.’”

The Scorpions will have plenty of experiences to learn from this week. They had open gyms Monday and Thursday, June 1 and 4, with the first two games in a five-week series sandwiched in between Tuesday, June 2.

“These kids think basketball starts in November and ends in March,” said Sells’ son Michael, his assistant coach. “We’re trying to get them to just play as much as possible. When I was in school, you used to play 70 games in a summer.”

Saturday, June 6, the Scorpions travel to Valley Christian High School in Phoenix to play the Trojans, Combs High School and Arizona Lutheran Academy. Sells is one head coach who holds no illusions about the outcome.

“We’re going to get smoked,” he said. “We’re playing the Division IV state champ and the Division III runner-up.”

For the full story, please see the Friday, June 5, issue of the Sedona Red Rock News.