The Meadows plans to hold on to state reign

Last year's 2A champions, Mustangs hope to repeat this season

After winning its first state basketball tournament two years ago and then repeating the feat last year, The Meadows School boys' basketball team apparently has no plans on letting go on its hold on the Nevada Class 2A state championship trophy.

Last year the Mustangs (17-7) defeated Lincoln County, 73-46 on Feb. 26 at The Orleans Arena in the championship game, beating the Lynx for a second straight year in the title tilt prompting chants of "Dy-na-sty, dy-na-sty," from the throngs of Meadows supporters at the game.

And if the Mustangs do repeat -- or three-peat as state champions -- then dynasty will be the right word.

Despite losing star seniors Jacob Burnett and P.C. Youngblood, The Meadows and coach Greg Goorjian returned a solid nucleus and got off to a 12-3 start this season with two of the Mustangs' three losses coming at the hands of Summerlin rival and defending 3A state champion Faith Lutheran.

Last season, the Mustangs started 3-6, due in part to injuries to Burnett and Youngblood, but the team went 14-1 in its last 15 games en route to capturing its second state crown.

Coach Goorjian said those injuries ended up making his team all that much better for this year.

"What those injuries did for this year's team is give those three youngsters -- (Brandon) Baccus, my son Camden (Goorjian) and (Jon) Chino -- a chance to play a lot," Goorjian said. "With those guys injured, they had to fill the roles."

And now with two state titles under their belts and two valuable years experience on the hardwood, those players have assumed their roles as leaders and are hoping to guide the team to the state finals in Reno Feb. 23-25.

At the guard spot, Goorjian starts his son Camden (5-11) and Baccus (5-11), a talented pair of juniors who can both effectively run the floor or score when needed. At forward, senior Richard Smith (6-2) and sophomore Chino (6-3) also are good ball-handlers and can be counted on for offense.

Coach Gooorjian talked about what his lone senior starter, Smith, brings to the party.

"He's very integral to our team," he said. "He's a third-year starter and has been to the state championship game three times in his three years -- he's won twice -- so he's seasoned and it's just nice to have a senior in your lineup to give you a little stability."

Chino, who runs the floor like a third guard for the Mustangs, has incredible skills for a sophomore and will only get better playing with such a talented team.

Coach Goorjian, who played for Jerry Tarkanian at UNLV from 1980-81, really likes Chino's game.

"He plays small forward and gets out on the wing on the break very well," Goorjian said. "He's left-handed and has some good skills. He could be a very good player for The Meadows in the years to come as well this season. He contributed quite a bit as a freshman last year."

Filling the paint underneath the basket for The Meadows is center Mychal Martinez (6-5), a strong junior who should provide matchup problems for Mustangs opponents all year long.

The coach talked about his big man, who showed what he is made of with a follow-up slam dunk in a 68-52 loss at Faith Lutheran on Jan. 10 where he scored a team-high 15 points.

Goorjian knows how important Martinez has been in the past, how big he is for this season, and how much he will matter for the future of this talented program.

"He's a big-time scorer for us," Coach Goorjian said. "And he's got a good pedigree there -- he's (Dallas Mavericks' Keith) Van Horn's nephew."

Besides having an athletic team that knows how to win basketball games, Goorjian says this squad also is fun to coach.

"I really enjoy the team," Goorjian said. "They're fun to work with. They're coachable and really try to look out for each other so they're really a true team. It's really a joy to coach them. We've been producing to this point ... but the practices are definitely enjoyable."

The Mustangs talented bench includes seniors Daniel Merica and Gene Shlark, junior Shaunte Sheffey, sophomores Graham Hilts -- the first man in off the bench -- Colin Freedman, Guy Capanna and Thomas Wheeler.

In bettering themselves over the last couple of years, The Meadows has sharpened its teeth by playing 3A champ Faith Lutheran, a showdown that ends up making both teams that much better in the long run.

"It used to be a very competitive rivalry. Now it's still a rivalry but they've grown into such a large school -- their enrollment has surpassed ours, maybe doubled it," Goorjian commented. "We'll always compete against them as long as they'll put us on their schedule. We love the good competition, and we love the close proximity, the (short) travel time and it's always nice to have the rivalry across town. It's always nice to play against a good opponent who has played some quality competition."

Faith Lutheran coach Bret Walter likes the look of Goorjian's team this year.

"I don't think they have the same caliber athletes as some of the 4A schools that we've played. On the other hand, there are a few 4A schools that we've played that I think they would beat," Walter said. "They obviously lost a little bit of their scoring with Youngblood and Burnett with those guys and they have some young kids out there but they're definitely going to get better."

When asked who he was worried about in the Southern 2A, where the Mustangs started 3-0, Goorjian was quick to respond.

"I always worry about Lincoln County in our conference," he said.

The Lynx (7-7), the team The Meadows has beaten twice for the state title and a team they may meet again in Reno next month, lost only two players off the roster from last year's state runner-up team.

As confident as he was last year about his team's prospects in the playoffs, Goorjian is just as intent this year on bringing another trophy back to Summerlin this campaign.

"That's what we play for, that's what we focus on, that's the goal (to win the state championship)," Goorjian said. "And we know there's a lot of action that needs to be taken to get there. We know that, and we have a plan to get it done."

The Meadows hits the road this weekend with league games at White Pine (7-13 at press time) on Friday and at West Wendover (12-7) on Saturday. The Southern 2A playoffs will be held on Feb. 16 and 18 at Del Sol High School.