One has to forgive Jessica Noble of Otis High if she feels a bit of pressure this season on the basketball court.
After all, her dad Rick is the head coach for the Bulldogs, and her mother Jennifer is his assistant. Not only that, but Otis is coming off a state championship volleyball season, having won the Class A title with a sparkling 30-0 record.
Regardless, Noble has helped the Bulldogs (3-1), ranked No. 7 in the state by MaxPreps, to a pretty good start with her 20.5 scoring average.
"Dad can get a little rough in basketball sometimes, so mom steps in and saves me," laughed Noble, a 5-foot-8 sophomore. "No, seriously, I love playing for both of them. But we only have 10 girls on our team, so everyone is family and we are all very close. Yes, there is some pressure as they expect good things from me. But, they expect good things from all of us.
"Basketball is basketball and home life is different," said Noble, who admits she might be better at basketball and is one of three all-state volleyball selections from Otis this season. "It‘s family at home, not sports. But I love mom and dad being involved. Our goal is to just go out and do the best we can each time, and to win back-to-back titles in volleyball and basketball would just be awesome."
Rich Noble admits he feels concerned for not only his daughter, but for all the girls on the squad.
"It can be kind of tough when you have to coach your daughter," Noble said. "But I want to be a coach at school and a dad at home when practice is over. I want to be equal with my daughter on the basketball team as with the other girls. When you get down to it, we probably talk a lot more volleyball than we talk basketball. My wife is the buffer and she is willing to tell me to back off and to take it easy. I think it is tough on Jessica sometimes, but we both love to coach her, too."
There also was a mother-daughter relationship on the volleyball team as Katie Kuntz played for her mother and Otis athletic director Bonnie Wallin-Kuntz. Kuntz is averaging eight points a game for the Bulldogs this season.
Guard Jaci Palser handles the ball well out front and is scoring 6.3 points a game. Anthonya Schaffert, the MaxPreps Class A player of the year in volleyball, is scoring 5.5, while Haley Ruiz, a 5-9 senior and a three-year starter, averages 6.5.
The Otis boys, coached by Ken Bretz, didn’t win the state football title, but the Bulldogs did manage to reach the state semifinals in 6-Man, where they were beaten by champion Idalia. Behind the play of 6-3 senior forward Jimmy McGrath, they have posted a 4-0 record.
"We want to win, be in the Elite Eight and play for the gold ball at the end of the season," Bretz said. "We’ve got six seniors who have been playing together since they were in the eighth grade, and they are such a fun bunch to coach."
McGrath said he questioned his basketball abilities when he was younger and points to Bretz, football coach Ryan Collier and Wallin-Kuntz for his success as a player and student. He knows this season is going to be a challenge.
"I was not a real athlete growing up," said McGrath, who averages 17 points. "I thought I might have a little natural talent, but had it not been for coaches Bretz and Collier and Mrs. Wallin-Kuntz, I would not be where I’m at. Then, there are my teammates who have also helped me realize my potential."
Tip-ins: Weld Central’s J.J. Sirios has helped the Class 3A Rebels to a 6-0 start. He is averaging 23.5 points, 5.8 rebounds, 5.3 steals and 3.0 assists a game. Sirios is the second-leading scorer in 3A behind Buena Vista’s Josh Morgan (30.3), who leads the state overall . . . The 2A scoring list is topped by Dolores’ Tanner Hamm (23.7), with Maranatha Christian’s Josh Edgecomb following at 19.3 and Soroco’s Cody Miles at 18.4 points a game. Miles leads the classification in rebounding with a 14.6 average . . . Primero’s Justin Robinson leads Class A in scoring at 18.7 points a game, while Elbert’s Kyle Brown is second with his 17.5 average.
On the girls side, Estes Park’s Kimmy Hansen is turning in another stellar season and currently leads 3A in scoring at 26.3 points an outing, which is good enough for second overall in the state behind Berthoud’s Amy Ekart (28.3). Hansen’s top effort this season was 32 points against Peak to Peak . . . Sedgwick County junior Makenzie Ault is the early leader in 2A, averaging 21.5 points a game, but La Veta’s Shely Morgan is close behind with her 20.8 average . . . Jorday May of Stratton is scoring 23 points a game, while Baylee’ Prudy of Deer Trail is scoring at a 21.0 clip in Class A.
Tournaments of note this weekend in the small-school ranks include Akron, Fowler, Middle Park, Wiggins and the Delta County Invitational. All include boys and girls brackets. Also of note is the Lamar Chamber of Classic tournament, which features the many of the top 1A programs in southeastern Colorado (Eads, Granada, Holly, Kit Carson, McClave, Springfield, Walsh and Wiley). The championship games in that tournament are scheduled for Saturday (boys, 9:30 p.m.; girls, 8 p.m.).
MaxPreps Colorado editor Gerry Valerio contributed to this report. Follow Valerio on
Twitter for Colorado high school sports updates.
