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Navarro off to fast start under new coach
Published December 25, 2009
GERONIMO — Rick Onofre has been coaching for 15 years now, and even he’s a bit surprised at what the Navarro Panthers have been able to accomplish in his first 14 games at the school.
“Things are going good,” Onofre said. “The other day we were talking about our record, we’re 11-3, and I can’t believe we’ve gotten this far this fast.”
Previously the head coach at Class 1A O’Donnell, Onofre has come into Navarro and picked up right where previous coach Bob Ermel left off.
In fact, Onofre is even improving upon the Panthers’ recent history, as his squad’s current mark equals Navarro’s best record before the holiday break since 2005, when the boys team headed into Christmas with an identical 11-3 record.
What makes this year’s feat so impressive is that Onofre has inherited a team with equal parts talent and inexperience, having only three seniors on the entire roster.
Among those seniors, however, is returning District 28-2A First Team selection A.K. Williams, a slashing guard who’s averaging 17 points a game for the Panthers and has proven to be one of Navarro’s biggest threats every time he touches the ball.
“He was Newcomer of the Year as a freshman and he’s been all-district ever since,” Onofre said of Williams earlier this season. “So he is our team leader and when it comes down to it, we’re probably going to look to him to take those big shots.”
Williams isn’t the only senior that pose a threat, though. Todd Nicholson, a 6-6 post player, has shown that he can complement Williams’ scoring with a strong inside presence and the ability to crash the offensive glass.
“We’re really going to look for (Williams) and our other seniors like Todd Nicholson, our big post guy,” Onofre said. “We’re going to look for him to post up quite a bit as well.”
The only other senior on the roster is guard Obed Rodriguez, a speedy substitute that usually spells one of the two starters — Chris Arce and Kolby Pacheco.
Those two sophomores have each had big scoring nights in each of the Panthers’ most recent wins, with Arce scoring a game-high 18 in Navarro’s win over George Gervin Academy on Dec. 15 and Pacheco putting up 11 in the Panthers’ 57-49 win over Randolph a week ago.
Onofre has acknowledged the improvement of his young guards, while maintaining the fact that they must also be effective distributors when the situation calls for it.
“I always tell them we’re looking inside first and then going outside,” he said. “It’s kind of hard for those young guards to buy into that, but that’s what we’re trying to do.”
But another factor in Navarro’s quick start in 2009 has been the emergence of junior forward Travis Delany, who has added more scoring pop and all-around energy to the Panthers’ line-up.
Navarro’s rotation also includes junior guard Dillon Rangnow, sophomore guard Dakota Goodwin, junior forward Tate Johnson, sophomore forward Cody Orona, junior forward Cody Jandt and junior guard Wesley Sachtlebehn.
Add up all of those pieces and you’ve got a team that was selected as the preseason favorite to claim a district title by the Texas Association of Basketball Coaches.
For that to happen, though, Onofre sees some things that have to change and some other things that must remain a constant.
“(We’re) just looking to get better defensively,” the coach said. “We’ve played a lot more zone than what I would’ve liked, but our zone is looking good, so I’m going to kind of stick with that for a while and switch back to man every now and then.
“Hopefully we can cut the turnovers down. Otherwise, our district will be too tough. We don’t need to spot Poth or any of those other guys 10 or 15 points.”
As far playing the man-to-man defense, Onofre says it’s his bread and butter, although this particular group still has a way to go before it can rely on such a scheme on a nightly basis.
“It’s going to be a slow process,” Onofre said. “We’re not moving our feet, we’re reaching quite a bit and that’s causing a lot of fouls. A lot of team are getting into the double bonus early on us and that’s not a good thing for us.”
What has been good so far, however, is the fortune that the Panthers have had as far as staying away from the injury bug. And after a nice break for the holidays, Navarro will be right back in action, kicking up the competition level with a stay at the 16-team Hallettsville Varsity Tournament.
“That’s going to be really good competition for us,” Onofre said. “Hallettsville always has a good team and they’ve got good teams at the tournament. The main thing is to rest up, get healthy and try and get our legs so we can play that long stretch with that holiday tournament — and then district’s right around the corner.
“It’ll be tough there too.”
The Panthers begin their district schedule on Friday, Jan. 15, hosting the Kenedy Lions at 8 p.m.
Navarro meets Poth for the first time on Friday, Jan. 29, welcoming in the Pirates for another 8 p.m. contest.
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