DECATUR -- Since winning the 2A 4 West district title Feb. 22, the Decatur Bulldog boys' basketball team has received several honors. Mario Urquidi was voted district co-player of the year and named to the 2A All-State team and four Decatur players were named to the all district team. But one honor belongs to a member of the Decatur coaching staff.
John Unger, boys' head basketball coach, was nominated district coach of the year by one of his peers during the 2A 4West post-season meeting in Eureka Springs.And, for the second year in a row, Unger was voted district coach of the year.
"They see me as a leader coach," Unger said. "It is nice when they respect me like that; it makes me feel good."
Unger had several new players on this year's team, players that had no prior high school basketball experience.
Last season, Unger had eight seniors in addition to sophomores Mario and Victor Urquidi. Although they only won the season championship and lost in the district tournament, they still had several players named to the all-district, all-state and all-star teams.
"This year we had all those new guys playing, Trey (Kell), Meng (Vang), Pheng (Lee), Terry (Kell) and Allen (Castenada) that have never played in high school," Unger said. "It took them a while to get going, but once they got comfortable you can tell."
The beginning of this season started out very slow, with the Bulldogs in the losing column more than in the winning one. After the Hackett game in early February, the team turned around and started winning game after game. By season's end, the Bulldogs were district runners-up and eventually 2A 4 West district tournament champions.
In addition to a great team effort by his players, Unger was supported by his assistant coaching staff, which consisted of Jason Porter, Bill Niven and Shane Holland. All these elements combined to form the 2013-14 Decatur Bulldog basketball team.
Unger has high hopes for next year's basketball team. He has added several non-conference games to the schedule. This will give the Bulldogs a chance to play games with different coaching styles. This strategy will help the Bulldogs evolve beyond the district playoffs into the regional and eventually the state finals.
In the meantime, the 2014-15 Decatur Bulldog boys will continue honing their basketball skills throughout the summer and by November, hopefully, a championship team will be born.
2013-14 Decatur Senior Boys Basketball Team accomplishments:
2A Region 4 West runners-up
2A Region 4 West District Tournament Championship
John Unger - District Coach of the Year
Mario Urquidi - District Co-player of the year
Mario Urquidi - 2A All-State team
Mario Urquidi, Victor Urquidi, Tray Kell, Meng Vang - All-District Team, Pheng Lee - All-District team honorable mention 14 - 10 overall, 10 -4 conference play, 2-1 tournament play
Sports on 03/12/2014