The morning after ...

Only those within the administrative offices at Capital High School saw the end of the Ben Gomez Era coming. Looking back, those who follow the program closely probably saw serious problems with the program that had been festering for the last couple of years.
In hindsight, the breakup between Gomez and assistant coach Mark Senteney might have been the biggest blow to the program. Both had been together for six years and it had been a very productive relationship until the last couple. It's no surprise that the 2007-08 and the 2008-09 seasons were underwhelming years for the program as a rift slowly ripped the program apart.
I've witnesses the pre- and post-game talks with the coaching staff and the players, and a lot of times they were very frank discussions.
Yes, Gomez can be very demanding and his demeanor can be intimidating to the players. Sometimes that seeped onto the court. At the same time, the player only occasionally showed the mental strength to battle back from adversity. Often times, they looked scared and unsure of themselves, and that is something the players have to confront.
Despite the problems, practices, especially at the end of the year, were as intense as they had been. It didn't seem like the program was buckling under the strain.
Perhaps what has not been talked about enough is the talent level with the program.
It wasn't to the level of the state championship teams in 2004 and the runners-up in 2005 and 2007. It was a team that struggled to shoot from the field in general and was either very good or very bad. There was no in between. Now you can make the argument that the kids were scared or intimidated into playing poorly, but the truth of the matter is that they had to play at an optimum level just to be competitive.
There was no go-to player on the team, and the one who tried to be – Reese Goodman – was maddeningly inconsistent at best.
The players need a year of working on their shooting skills, hitting the weight room and simply playing without fear, which was something that they showed against more talented teams (especially Española Valley).
The new coach who steps in will have to recognize that its a program that is going through a slump right now and will need to have patience to get the program back to the level it enjoyed just a few years ago.
As for who that will be, that's a good question.
Could it be Senteney, who also guided the programs at Mesa Vista and Española Valley before coming to Capital? Maybe, but how awkward would it be for him to be at the same school with some of the same coaches he was a part of when he was let go? Is that the kind of situation to walk into?
How about junior varsity coach Zack Cole? While a good coach, he has yet to get his head coaching chops. If anything, he needs a few years as a top assistant or a head-coaching gig at a smaller school (AA or AAA) before he could take that leap of taking over a larger and very respected program.
Another name to perhaps throw out is Farmington head coach Rick Holman. In talking to him, he has a lot of respect for what Capital High has built at the school and the intense nature that high school basketball has in the North.
What about another Lenny Roybal protege? Maybe Gordon Betancourt? Tony Gallegos? How about Matt Pribble, who has resurfaced at East Mountain recently? Maybe Rick Apodaca, the former Taoos High coach who is at St. Michael's now? Former Santa Fe High head coach David Rodrigue is still around and he did go after the Demons job that he lost a few years earlier in 2005.
Of course, this is all speculation. I have nothing to go on other than my (still) limited knowledge of coaching names in the North. Certainly, there will be quite a few who will apply for the job because of what Capital has done over the years and – let's face it – the respect coach Gomez has among the coaching ranks around the state.