ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – D’Shaun Vinyard is pretty handy with a basketball. The Magdalena Steers senior is averaging over 18 points and nearly six rebounds per game and it has not gone unnoticed.
Scorebooklive.com is asking basketball fans to vote for the best player in small school high school basketball and Vinyard has been nominated. “When I first heard about it, I was really surprised and shocked and I really didn’t think it was real,” said Vinyard. “I just feel like it’s a great opportunity and I feel really special about it.”
Vinyard’s coach is glad that his player is getting some recognition. “We do a lot of offseason work and D’Shaun is always the first guy there and the last one out,” said Magdalena Head Coach Jory Mirabal. “It’s always neat when a kid like that gets recognition that he deserves.”
Magdalena is 20-0 this season and seems poised to win a third consecutive in boys Class A basketball. “We’re so much together as a team and we really connect with each other, since we’ve all played together since we were all little,” said Vinyard. “So, we just know how we all play and what we’re really good at.”
Coach Mirabal believes in his team but knows winning another title will not be easy. “There’s some great teams out there and we’ve already played some of them and I would say three or four teams probably have a legitimate shot at it,” said Coach Mirabal. “They’re definitely out there trying to get the same goal that we have too. So, there’s [sic] no guarantees.”
