Oh, summer hoops. Where expectations find suitable soil to grow only to burst into flames come March. Trust me when I tell you that I took what I saw at the University of New Mexico’s girls’ basketball team camp with a decent size container of Morton Salt. Teams are rarely at 100 percent during the summer, and despite most rosters with their anchors of talent, no one looked unbeatable.

Regardless, here are my FIVE takeaways from this past weekend's team camp...

Look, most of our readers have seen the Lady Rams, but my first thought (besides the terrifying thought of attacking the lane on Mortensen) was the outstanding guard triumvirate Rio Rancho boasts. The “Ra-La-Lia” guards showed a knack for dribble penetration and getting the ball inside to the their post. Even better, the guards showed a knack for defending beyond the perimeter and applying fairly solid ball pressure. The only question mark I have is what they might lack in their bench contributions.

Yes, Robertson gave a tough Rio Rancho and Sandia trouble. Yes, they have a significant height advantage. Yes, they have a 3A player of the year candidate in Alianza Darley. But the one thing they are missing is pretty obvious: guard play. Now I have no doubt new head Coach Medina will find a replacement for the young stud, Maria Barela, but it was fairly obvious what was missing from this seemingly dominate 3A Robertson squad was a true point guard. They struggled at times getting an offensive rhythm going. They’ll be a force defensively, but unless they want Darley or Ortiz handling 25 feet from the hoop, they’ll need to find a suitable guard for the season if they want to make a serious run.

Now I’m going to be honest and say I wasn’t entirely impressed. They lacked the perimeter defensive pressure and a frontcourt to help. But I had to remind myself that this group is mostly made up of sophomores! The composure and team play between one another was great to see. Plus, they have a talented scoring guard and playmaker in Sapirah Broussard who should be back 100% when the season starts. They had a few problems in the title game as they were undersized in the frontcourt, but they still made it interesting getting points in transition. Don’t sleep on Sandia.

I remember an EV with a Lovato presence in the interior and guaranteed points in the paint. After this past postseason’s quarterfinal that featured the Espanola Valley team falling to Bloomfield it was apparent that if EV wants to win they’ll have to launch bombs from distance. The best part is they have the personnel to do it! The likes of Kayliin Martinez and up-and-coming scoring forward Destiny Valdez give Espanola the title of wild card heading into the new season. Who needs to be favorites when you have a team that isn’t afraid to play 5-Out and launch bombs from beyond the arc? (Espanola Valley moves to the 2nd Place in district in Way Too Early ‘District’ Rankings)

A number of players stood out among their teams as far as their playmaking goes: Calista Vicente from Alamo Navajo, Laguna-Acoma’s Jasmine Kie, Angel Valdez of Grants, and the tandem of guards from Santa Fe Indian, Franki Chavez and Hunter Garcia. Grants showed some sign of the role as a district spoiler this upcoming season (if they can make open baskets). Los Alamos showed some tenacity under new head coach, Lanse Carter. Santa Fe’s timeline still has a year or two to go, but they could be that team to surprise in their new district for a run at runner-up. Valencia looks to be back on track with a decent showing (and numbers as far as players) to a playoff appearance in a season or two.

Tohatchi lacks the proficient go-to scorer they’ve had over the last four seasons. They showed a lot of potential from their youth but not nearly enough to rank them very high in the Way Too Early Class 3A rankings (coming soon).

Shiprock didn’t look nearly as talented as they did this in this past year’s tournament. They’re missing a few critical pieces (mostly at the guard position) that could make them a viable contender in Class 4A. Until then, I’m selling what little stock I got in Shiprock now.

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Question of the Thread: Where's your go-to place to eat during summer hoops with your squad?

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