Especially after disappointing results last year.
“Last season we should have won more games,” said head coach Larry Schwartz. “We just dealt with injuries.”
The injury-plagued Bears limped to a 2-18 final record, but this year, they are bigger, more physical and have the luxury of added depth.
While Dolores lost leading scorer Mikeal Ford to graduation, it returns its next four leading scorers as a core group of seniors: Josh McCoy, Branden Donaldson, Jalen Balderrama and Ben Lykins.
Schwartz said that Balderrama is a slasher and shoots the ball well from outside, and that Lykins is the team’s driving force.
“Ben is the heart and soul of our team,” he said. “Everybody just feeds off of Ben. He can play all five spots on the floor for us. He’s just a floor general.”
With more size and better numbers, Schwartz and the Bears are looking to get back in the hunt for a San Juan Basin League title.
“Our goals this year are obviously to show improvement from what we did last year and how we ended,” Schwartz said. “And to get back into districts like we were a few years back and at least try to compete for a league championship like we had back in 2012 and 2013 with Ignacio.”