Soledad basketball

Soledad Aztecs (12-12, 6-8)
 Hector Zapien has been around long enough to assist and learn from three head coaches. Not it's his turn to run the Aztecs program.
 "I want to spread them out a little more and have some spacing,'' Zapien said. "We shot a lot of 3's last year. I don't see us doing that. I'm going to try and get the ball in the post more.''
 That's because Zapien has a diamond in the rough in 6-foot-6 junior Billy Hollman, who up until two years ago, had never played organized basketball.
 Hollman is still learning the game. Yet, his raw potential and work ethics have seem him take leaps in his progress.
 "He's improved his footwork tremendously,'' Zapien said. "He worked hard over the summer. He has a nice mid-range jumper. He's just making better decisions with the basketball.''
 And Hollman can be a highlight reel and crowd pleaser when on the break with his ability to soar in the air and dunk.
 Zapien will put the ball into the hands of senior Sam Caldera, who has quietly been the teams second leading scorer this year.
 "He was flying under the radar last year, trying to find his role on the team,'' Zapien said. "He's going to handle the ball a lot this year.''
 A sophomore heavy roster last year included guards Gabriel Burgoz and Isaac Lopez, both of which  will see extensive time on the hardwood this season.
 "These kids played in big minutes in games that came down to the wire last year,'' Zapien said. "So they've got some big game experience. We have a solid rotation of nine guys.''
 Zapien isn't just looking for effort on the court. He wants character players off the court.
 "We're revamping the entire cluster on the court and off the court,'' Zapien said. "If you take care of the character, the rest will take care of itself. I've established behavior responsibility."
 Passionate about what he's preaching, Zapien has made it clear to his players what direction he'll go if you're not buying into what he's selling this season.
 "If you don't believe in what we're doing, we're going to go with those that do,'' Zapien said. "I want passion. I want energy. You can see the energy in practice."