The Springlake-Earth Wolverines’ varsity basketball team is coming off of a season where they were undefeated District Champions and made it to the third round of the play-offs, as they look to make another post-season push with their veteran squad.
The Wolverines are off to a 11-6 mark overall and are 4-0 in district play.
Head Coach Cj Castillo is into his sixth year at Springlake-Earth and third year as the head basketball coach.
He is assisted this year by Israel DeLeon and Brian Mahler.
The Wolverines took down Groom in the Area round last year, before falling to the eventual State Champion Texline Tornadoes in the third round.
“This year we have really matured and understand what’s at stake with five seniors on the team,” Coach Castillo said. “They continue to keep getting better and continue to gel together what this group started last year. They are determined this year and have seem a great deal of improvement across the board.”
The Wolverines returned their entire squad from a season ago, which includes five seniors, three juniors and one sophomore.
The Coach talked about the roster, starting with the seniors, saying, “Evan DeLeon is a returning senior point guard. He has been such an evolving player for this program. His experience, his leadership, his hard word and player abilities has evolved to become the player he is today. Josh Samaron is another senior guard who presents great experience. He is a great kid on and off the court, is very coachable and works hard.”
He added, Kaden Castillo is another senior guard and a returning starter for us. His ability to diagnose the game and his playing ability has really evolved. He has also taken great leadership and plays by example. His ability to score has been a great benefit for us this year. Trace Goodman is a returning starter and is also a senior guard. He is tenacious on defense and has great experience at the varsity level. He leads our defense with his presence.”
He continued, “Keshan Holmes is our senior center and is a returning starter. He continues to dominate the paint. His presence in the paint has been great for the team and he has great ability to finish at the rim and rebound.”
The junior class includes Alex Alvarez, Derrick Rosales and Micah Sanchez.
“Alex has been our sixth man. He has experience at the varsity level and presents great defense,” Coach Castillo said. “He comes in and knows his role. Derrick is a junior center and returns from last year’s team. His ability to rebound for the team and his aggressive style of play has been great energy for the team.”
He added, “Micah Sanchez is a great addition to the team this year. He is a center and he has a great IQ for the game and gels well with the guys. His rebounding abilities and his aggressive play in the post adds another dimension for the team.”
J.J. Jaramillo is the lone sophomore on this year’s team.
JJ is a guard and has made his way into the starting line-up for the Wolverines this year.
“His guard play and shooting ability has added another dimension to our game,” the coach said. “He has been a great addition to this year’s team.”
The coach talked about how these guys contribute to the team, stating, “Evan is the one you have to know where he is at on the floor. Kaden’s ability to shoot from anywhere is a threat around the perimeter and paint and Keshan is a rebounding machine. Trace is a defensive beast and Alex is a great contributor with his smart style of play.”
He went on to talk about who his leaders have been this year, saying, “I would say that our senior class has really stepped up this year as a whole. They have been the leaders on and off the court. Evan and Kaden continue to lead the offense this year and continue to show leadership skills at practice and during the game.”
He added, “Trace continues to create havoc with his defensive ability and hustle and Keshan and Josh also continue to hold the team accountable at practice and in game situations.”
Coach Castillo talked about his team’s strengths, saying, “We are still developing as a team but at the same time, we have seen the maturity in our team. Understanding game situations, what style of play is needed, and continuing to show our chemistry on the court are our strengths right now.”
He added, “Some things we have to work on are, we play good basketball but we know we have to take it up a notch. We have been in real close games with good op ponents and we have to find ways to win those kind of games.”
The coach talked about the season to this point, saying, “We definitely have had our ups and downs this year. We just got to put it all together at the right time and continue getting better. Our hard schedule and tournament play has really been an eye-opener for us. We have been sharpened by this type of competition and this will benefit us in the long run.
He added, “We have high hopes on winning district but we also know that takes work. The district also Continues to get better as a whole and we are looking forward to the challenge this year.”
Springlake-Earth’s remaining schedule is as follows:
Friday, Jan. 21 st at Cotton Center; Tuesday, Jan. 25 th at Lazbuddie; Friday, Jan. 28 th at Hart; Tuesday, Feb. 1 st home against Anton; Friday, Feb. 4 th home against Kress and Tuesday, Feb. 8 th home against Amherst; Feb. 11 th at Dimmitt and Feb. 15 th home against Cotton Center to close out the regular season.