After graduating five seniors including three of last year’s starters, coach Rodney Cox has some holes to fill.
Luckily, Mancos returns its leading scorer and 2015 First Team All-Conference selection Ro Paschal (18.7 ppg) and point guard Adrian Hernandez.
The Blue Jays finished with a 16-7 record last season and a regional tournament appearance, but this year will be a much different squad.
They may be different, but they’re not entirely inexperienced.
Junior Andrew Plunkett played in every game last year and averaged over five points, and Cox believes that he and fellow junior Andrew Christensen will be significant contributors.
The Blue Jays also have a handful of sophomores in the mix, with Caleb Yoder, Griff Huver and Jake McKie vying for playing time.
It’s a new team and a new season, but Cox plans to play the same kind of style and hopes to remain competitive in the San Juan Basin League.
“We want to be fundamentally sound enough to compete with Dolores, Dove Creek and Ridgway and Ignacio,” he said. “We just want to be able to compete.”