Now with Mike Grayson and Brandon MacLellan, the last two 5A Southern Region Players of the Year, gone, those two slots are the most ambiguous for a Buena team trying to make it to the state tournament for a fifth straight season.
The only three returners who saw significant playing time on last season’s 23-7 team — Derek Lane, Anthony Miller and Casey Mackin — all happen to be the three best defensive players on that team.
 Buena sophomores Merle Branch, left, and Devonte Malcolm. (Mark Levy-Herald/Review) |
Add to that mix superb backcourt defenders in sophomore Devonte Malcolm and DeChé Milburn and Buena could have its best defensive team ever, at least the best since the 2006-07 squad that lost in overtime to Corona del Sol in the first round of state.
The problem is, Lane excelled at guarding perimeter players while Mackin defended in the post knowing he had the strong rebounding of MacLellan backing him up. Now, both must drop to the 4 and 5, where at some point their lack of size will be tested.
“I don’t think that’s that big of an issue on this end of the state,” fifth-year head coach Dave Glasgow said. “But when we get to state it will be.”
Offensively, the Colts are missing the 16 points and 8 rebounds per game MacLellan provided, and there too, the 6-foot-2 Lane will be asked to fill void.
“Derek is a very intelligent player,” Glasgow said. “He knows how to play down there. Cole Colvin can score in the post, too.”
Lane, who has yet to practice this season because of a nagging back injury, hopes to be ready for Monday’s season opener against Rincon in the Salpointe Tip-off Classic.
“I know I can do that so I’ll be looking forward to it,” Lane said. “I think we’re a lot quicker, a lot more passionate. But where our scoring’s going to come from, I don’t know — I think it should come from the defense.”
The rest of the Buena frontcourt is rounded out by the 6-2 senior Colvin, who has a nice inside-out game yet to be displayed at the varsity level, 6-2 junior Julio Beswick and junior Parker Dalrymple, who showed solid footwork and the potential to make every bit of his 6-foot-8, 190-pound frame work for him.
Replacing Grayson in the backcourt figures could be equally difficult. For three years, Grayson seamlessly dribbled his way through opposing pressure defenses. Now, Glasgow hopes to beat the press by creating matchup problems, which he can easily do with Lane, or 6-foot-3 junior DeAndre Little who pushes the ball up court with the same vigor that made him the Southern Arizona’s most fearsome linebacker in the football season.
“Everything we do at both ends will be centered around (Lane), because he can handle and he can pull out their post,” Glasgow said. “It takes DeAndre a little while to get back into it after football. But he’s kind of a nifty ball-handler for a guy 6-3.”
Little thinks he’s up for the task.
“I’ve had DeChé guarding me all the time in practice, and Anthony and Te (Malcolm),” Little said. “My size will help me keep my space, so I won’t have to dribble as much as Mike did last year. We can pass and take the pressure off.”
Assuming Lane and Mackin can slide down from 3 and 4 to 4 and 5 and hold down the post successfully, and using Lane, Little and a host of others to initiate the offense, works, then the biggest question the Colts will have to answer is scoring.
That’s where a pair of sophomores in Malcolm and Merle Branch come in.
Branch transferred over the summer from Olive Branch High in Tennessee, where he played on varsity sparingly as a freshman. Malcolm, who only began playing basketball a couple of years ago at one of Glasgow’s off-season camps, is probably the purest talent on the Buena roster. He gave fans a taste of this potential when he exploded for 19 points in the second half to lead his team to a come-from-behind victory in the intrasquad scrimmage last Saturday. He scored on three three-pointers with a contesting hand in his face, hard takes to the basket, and lay-ups in transition.
All of this was sparked by Glasgow telling Malcolm during a time out to be more aggressive on offense.
“Devonte basically played like Devonte in the second half,” Glasgow said after White beat Blue in the scrimmage.
While Malcolm matures as a prolific scorer at the varsity level, and Branch gives Buena significant points in similar ways, the Colts do have an improved shooting team overall from a year ago.
Casey Mackin may be the best outside shooting big man in the region and Daniel Chavez with his quick, left-handed release, can light it up in a hurry from beyond the arc.
Buena has plenty of questions heading into the season, but such is the case throughout the 5A Southern Region Division I. No team was hurt harder by graduation than Salpointe Catholic which beat Buena in the region championship last year. Tucson High also loses its top players from a year ago, but Glasgow said the Badgers have some up-and-coming “freakish” athletes head coach Gary Lewis will be trying to incorporate.
Herald/Review sports editor Matt Hickman an be reached at 515-4612 or by e-mail at sports@svherald.com.
