If the first year is always the hardest for a head coach, the second year is usually the most revealing.
So Mingus Union High School head basketball coach Dave Beery hopes the results the Marauders program achieved this summer will reflect well on the season to come.
After a rookie season in which Beery and the Marauders struggled to finish above .500 in Division II, the MUHS basketball program put together a 33-12 record over the month of June in five different locations — most of which split the Marauders into a younger team and a varsity team.
“We usually played with an A and a B team, based upon experience,” Beery said. “We also brought freshmen teams to Camp Verde and Scottsdale Christian [Academy].”
Although the Marauders came up short in final scrimmages at both the Eagles and Cowboys on June 15 and 23, they would win more than 30 other contests in round-robin tournaments at CVHS, Grand Canyon University, Sedona Red Rock High School and San Diego, where MUHS won three out of four games at a Point Loma Nazarene basketball camp.
“The summer is all about growth and improvement,” Beery said. “You don’t win any championships in June, but obviously we always step on the court wanting to compete and win. Our focus was mostly on improving chemistry and figuring out our identity as a team.”
For the full story, please see the Wednesday, July 29, issue of the Cottonwood Journal Extra.
