Herrera, a 6-foot-8 senior, pulled of three consecutive triple-doubles last week to propel the Bobcats to their 10-2 record and the No. 2 ranking in Class 2A by MaxPreps, behind defending state champion Colorado Springs School. Ignacio lost close games to Montwood from El Paso, Texas (48-46) in their second game and to Farmington, N.M. (44-41) in their following game.
Herrera certainly has played a key role in Ignacio’s inside game. And while he has the three straight triple-doubles, he has also cashed in for double-doubles in every game but two this season. He pulled off his first triple (13 points, 15 blocked shots and 11 rebounds) in the Bobcats’ 89-47 victory against Bayfield.
"That was probably my best game of the year overall," Herrera said. "And that’s because Bayfield is such a huge rivalry for us. There is just a lot of intensity when we play and we were really into the game. We know there is still a tough road ahead; we have to keep focused and we all have a high desire to win."
Herrera then followed with 26 points, 10 blocks and 15 rebounds in Ignacio’s 78-54 victory against Dolores. He scored 18 points, had 10 blocks and 11 rebounds as the Bobcats beat Ridgway 62-41.
"Alex’s size is one thing, but he has something a lot of kids don’t have," said Ignacio coach Chris Valdez, a graduate of Ignacio. "It is not about him; he is all team. He could score a lot of points, but he is unselfish to a fault. He has been double- and triple-teamed this season and he is more than willing to give up the ball. He is averaging 3.5 assists a game, but when he gets open, his teammates get him the ball.
"He has such fine potential," Valdez said. "Because of his size, and he is a young senior who just turned 17, he has not been able to catch up with his growth. He’s come a long way, is humble and somewhat shy and he doesn’t like the limelight. He has not played in full games several times this season because we’ve been far enough ahead to get a lot of guys in. That has helped our depth; we can go nine guys deep with no trouble."
Herrera is averaging eight blocks a game, good enough to lead the state, regardless of classification. The 15 swats against Bayfield was his top effort in the category this season. Overall, his production reads 14.5 points, 14 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game.
Herrera will attend Fort Lewis College in the fall and he’s looking forward to the challenge of college basketball. And that’s where Valdez really feels that Hererra will come into his own.
"I’m pretty excited to play at Fort Lewis and looking forward to making good contributions," said Herrera, who has had yearly growth spurts of about 2 inches a year since he was an eighth-grader. "They’ve only lost three games this year and are having a fine season."
Before that, Herrera will help Ignacio in its drive toward a state championship. Ignacio carried a 22-1 record into last season’s Class 2A state tournament, but after a quarterfinal victory against Heritage Christian, the Bobcats lost their next two games to Holyoke and Meeker.
Making valuable contributions has been the team’s leading scorer, 5-8 junior Pedro Vigil (16.5 points), and the Brooks brothers, 6-5 senior Shane and 6-6 junior Ryan. And, when it comes to defense, Valdez is quick to point to senior Oakley Hayes.
"We just put Oakley on the other team’s leading scorer," Valdez said. "He is only averaging 4.5 points a game, but had one of 17 and another of 16 this season. Defense, though is his forte’. Pedro is just a fine team leader, strong and moves extremely well with the ball. And, the Brooks have been strong underneath as well."
Ignacio also can look to Trae Seibel, Terrence Whyte and Shane Richmond for added depth.
The name says it: University is doing well behind the play of junior guard Jake Winn, who certainly has the right name when it comes to athletics. He had a big game, especially in the first half of the Bulldogs' 63-48 victory against Highland on Friday. He scored all eight of University’s points in the first quarter and had 19 at the half. He finished with 24 points, which included six 3-pointers. The Bulldogs are 5-1 in the competitive Patriot League, 8-6 overall.
Long-range leaders: Nate Engesser of Colorado Springs Christian tops the smaller schools when it comes to hitting 3s. He has hit 51 on the season, a 3.4 per-game average, helping him to average 20.2 points a game in Class 3A. The Class 2A leader is Tanner Hamm of Dolores, who averages 3.1 treys a game and averages 21.4 points. Sam Rueb of Hi-Plains leads 1A hitting an average of 2.1 a game. The overall boys leader is Boulder’s Min Sung, who averages 3.9 treys a game.
On the girls side, Yuma’s Kelsie is the 3A leader, hitting 2.9 a game to average 20.6 points an outing. Her average also leads all classifications for the girls in this department. Akron’s Sydney Clarkson is scoring 14.8 points a game with the help of her 2.1 treys per game in 2A, while Deer Trail’s Baylee Purdy, who also leads Class A girls in scoring with a 25.6 average, hits 2.3 a game.
