June 1, 2012

Joshua J. Grine
NMPreps.com Basketball Analyst

NMPreps.com continues to cover New Mexico High School athletics like never before. The team at NMPreps.com doesn't miss a beat when it comes to sports in New Mexico.

Josh Grine is NMPreps.com's Senior Basketball Analyst . Email him your questions, comments or story ideas to grinejosh@yahoo.com and follow him on Twitter Here.

Today, I will talk about some of the headlines from the month of May and keep you up to date on what has been happening around the state. With another month down and only 153 days (plus or minus 3) until the basketball season tips-off us basketball junkies live off off-season news.

Also keep an eye out for all of our 2012-2013 basketball material that will be released this month. In case you missed them two features have been released this off-season with our, One-on-One with Adonis Saltes of Farmington High School and also we took a look at new Duos Due for Dominance in 2012-2013.

First Catch: Coaching Carousel Continues

1. Shocking news out of Piedra Vista. Brain Shock who led the Piedra Vista Panthers to it's only Final Four appearance in 2011 resigned earlier this month. Shock resigned to become an assistant coach at 1A power Cliff High School under legendary head coach Pete Shock. Many folks, myself included, believe it's a coach-in-waiting position.

2. Tigers continue making smart hires. Los Lunas high school made waves in April hiring Marty Zeller as it's girls head coach. Well, they continue making solid hires making Travis Julian as it's next head coach. Julian who lead 5A Manzano High School to the 2011 Final Four and a pair of Final Fours is one of the biggest hires on the boys side in 4A hoops. Side note is his son Ben Romero (NMPreps.com Top 50 Player) will suit up for the Tigers transferring from Manzano as well.

3. Destination Alamogordo. Big news last week came when Alamogordo decided to part ways with head coach John Madden who failed to reach the post season the past three seasons. The Tigers who will return a talented bunch could be a hot destination for a coaching wanting to break into the 5A ranks. Two hot rumors circulating is former Clovis head coach JD Isler and former Mullen High School (Colorado) head coach Porter Cuttrell.

See all of the off-season coaching moves: Coaching Carousel 2012

Second Catch: Recruiting New Mexico

1. 4A Player of the Year staying in state. NMPreps.com Regular season player of the year Nick August of Gallup High School decided to sign with Western New Mexico this month, giving the Mustangs a top of the line in-state recuit. August who led the Bengals in just about every stat category the past two seasons also led the Bengals to the 2012 State Championship.

2. The 2011 4A State Champ backcourt is back. Northern New Mexico College head coach Ryan Cordova continues to build the small northern school with in-state players. This time he signs Espanola Valley guard Jeremy Romero reuniting him with 2011 NMPreps.com Mr. Basketball player Rodney Coles, creating the same back court that won the 2011 title.

More May Commits:

Max Suazo - Taos HS - Adams State

Josh McKnight - Albuquerque HS- Atlanta Metro JC

John McKnight - Albuquerque HS- Atlanta Metro JC

Garrett Hendren - Mesilla Valley Christian - Lesley University (Massachusetts)

NM Up to 13 commits: Where are the rest playing?

The Big Catch: 2012-13 Preseason Coverage!!

This year with so much material going to be released before the 2012-2013 season we have unveiled our NMPreps.com Preseason Hoops Cover Page. All of the information that you will need for the season will be located here. If New Mexico High School basketball is a favorite of yours please take time to check out all of the material that will be released.

See the feature here: 2012-2013 Hoops Preseason Page