LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — COVID-19 knows how to block.
"There didn't seem to be a whole lot of discussion or thought about maybe moving it down to a later season or postponing it. It just kind of ended," said Jeff Kaufman, head coach for Coronado High School men's basketball team and its club program counterpart Air Nado.
But the Coronado High School basketball team - stacked with talent - is still finding a way to get into the paint.
"Now we've kind of been forced to create our own club teams," Kaufman said. "And a lot of schools like us, we're playing as Air Nado."
Kaufman is also head of the Nevada Basketball Coaches Association, which is working creatively to get players on the court and opportunities for them to be seen by college scouts and coaches. But those creative plans need to be backed up with resources.
"We're not allowed to use our gyms to practice so you have to be able to rent a practice facility. You have to be able to travel because we can't play games here," he said.
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Kaufman said Air Nado is lucky. They have resources and with top-level talent, they've also garnered the national spotlight, playing several games on ESPN. For a sophomore like Osiris Grady, this non-traditional season has actually worked in his favor.
"It gave me a lot of exposure and since we have corona, it helped college coaches and scouts to see me play because they could watch on TV," said Grady.
Senior Andrew Marshall's goal is to play for a D1 school and right now, he's being as proactive as possible to advocate for himself.
"What I've been doing is sending film to a couple coaches. I've had to bring down my list by a lot just because I have to target these coaches a lot harder now," said Marshall.
Making the best of a challenging situation, this team is thankful to be playing and still chasing their dreams of playing at the next level.
There is another bright spot when it comes to basketball in Southern Nevada. A high school club program tournament called League of Legends is set to happen in March. They will have a special senior night as part of that tournament.
