Horsemen, new(ish) coach settling in
Jan. 6—Friday's game against Bosque School marks the halfway point of Gerard Garcia's first official season as head coach of the St. Michael's boys basketball team.
In truth, he's been the main man at his alma mater for a lot longer than that. Taking over on an interim basis since January 2022, the 1986 St. Michael's graduate helped salvage the team's season by taking the Horsemen all the way to the Class 3A state championship game.
With the interim tag removed, he's well on his way to putting his stamp on a program that is slowly mirroring his cerebral, laid-back personality.
"I've been on some teams where, you know, there's a lot of stuff going on and guys just don't really get along," said Horsemen senior Adam Montoya after Thursday's 58-48 win over Crownpoint in the opening round of the annual round-robin Horsemen Shootout. "This team, guys don't do that. If we're having dinner together or even at practice, everyone is good with each other."
That's a reflection of Garcia's leadership — despite what the man himself thinks about it. He questions his own patience with the way things sometimes go, saying after Thursday's game that learning to take things in stride has been his biggest lesson as a head coach.
From a distance, Garcia appears to be the most patient man in the gym even when things are breaking down.
"Sometimes I expect too much of these guys and I just need to be more patient and let things work themselves out," he said.
He's specifically referring to the Horsemen tend to start most games. They often stumble their way through the first quarter or two before hitting their stride in the latter stages.
That was precisely the case against Crownpoint, one of the better teams in 3A. The Horsemen (8-4) trailed briefly early in the second quarter and found themselves tied with the Eagles (8-3) in the final minute of the first half.
It wasn't until a 9-0 run that bridged the gap between the waning moments of the second quarter and first minute of the second half that St. Michael's got the breathing room it needed. Montoya led the way with bringing the offense back to life, scoring 17 of his team's 27 points during an 11-minute window in the second and third quarters.
It offset Crownpoint's seven 3-point shots that kept the game relatively close. Each time the Horsemen threatened to pull away, an Eagles trey kept the margin in the 10-point range.
Garcia stopped short of saying the Horsemen didn't play up to their potential. Montoya — he wasn't quiet so hesitant.
"We're not playing down to any competition, but we are starting slow a lot," he said. "People can think we're underestimating [teams] but we just kind of take some games for granted and start off slow. Coach will get on us and tell us what to do. It's why we're a second-half team. We can fix that."
The Horsemen will face Bosque at 7 p.m. Friday and close out the tournament Saturday night against Moriarty.
NOTES
Razzle dazzle: By far the most entertaining play of the game was made by Horsemen guard Santiago Sandoval. The 5-foot-10 junior grabbed the ball at Crownpoint's end of the floor and was being double-teamed by a pair of defenders as he made his way up the Eagles' sideline.
He created separation — and brought his teammates to their feet — when he dribbled the ball between a Crownpoint player's legs without breaking stride, then dribbled through traffic at the other end to hit a contested layup as he was fouled and sent to the floor out of bounds. The ball hung on the rim before going through the net as a number of teammates on the bench jumped up to celebrate.
He completed the three-point play. Those were his only points of the game.
Stat sheet: Three Horsemen, Reed Bass, Lucas Gurule and Marco C de Baca each had eight points for St. Michael's, which has now won three straight games after falling to 2A's top-ranked Pecos in last week's Stu Clark Tournament.
Taye Harvey had a game-high 19 points for Crownpoint.
