Albuquerque Public Schools
Chasing History Together
Volcano Vista has a chance to capture 4 straight state championships. But coach and players say winning is as much about family as it is basketball.
When you’ve already captured three consecutive state championships, beaten every New Mexico opponent this year by an average of 31 points a game and inched to the precipice of prep basketball history, it’s easy to assume Greg Brown’s mantra might be: Just (continue to) win, baby.
That’s not his message. Not at all.
“The winning has really been fun,” acknowledges the longtime Volcano Vista boys basketball coach. “But what we’ve been trying to work on is not taking anything for granted. It’s having humility through hard work and appreciation – appreciating opportunities in each other and being around a good team and a good program.”
Good might be the understatement of the decade. The Hawks, who are an incredible 112-4 since 2021-22, are approaching dynasty-plus level. They are the overwhelming favorite next month to win a fourth straight Class 5A title, which would equal the mark set by Hobbs from 1999-2002.
In the hyper-competitive world of high school hoops, Volcano Vista has set itself apart.
Which, naturally, makes the Hawks a target.
Which, naturally, creates a great teaching moment for Brown.
The longtime coach says the basics start with making sure his team understands that for as good as it is – and it’s uber-talented – nothing is certain in this world. Besides, there are worthy challengers to the throne: a very good Sandia team (coached by Greg’s brother, Danny Brown), a dangerous Hobbs program and anyone else who’s brave enough and good enough to slay Goliath.
District athletic director Adrian Ortega, who won back-to-back championships at Atrisco Heritage and knows plenty about the pressure it takes to repeat, says it’s not just players who have to be committed. A coach has to be invested as well.
That’s no problem for Brown, Ortega says.
“I mean, he lives it. He eats it. He lives it. He drinks it,” says Ortega. “That’s truly his world.”
But if you think basketball is nothing but height, talent, shooting and incessantly working on pin-down screens, think again. Sometimes, it’s about skills, habits and especially mindsets – the stuff teachers impart in Albuquerque classrooms every day.
Brown says he works to make certain his players are focused on many small details and a big one: making sure they check in on one another, the way family members do. It’s not far different from what he preached with his other state championship teams, which includes a title at Volcano in 2017 and Manzano in 2006.
“For the most part, we really just focus on our day,” he says. “It’s cliche, but we focus on where we are. We’ll put our bar where we want to put our bar ... It’s getting ourselves mentally ready to go play in a hard environment.”
Yes, Volcano Vista has plenty of stars, headed by seniors Kenyon Aguino and Rian Gonzales, who recently set a state record by making 17 3-pointers in a single game. But just as important are guys who create an epoxy for a team’s chemistry. Glue guys like Eli Salas and Lucas Kern, who might not fill up a boxscore, but whose presence and contributions are vital.
After a recent practice, Kern and Salas reflected on how far Volcano Vista can go at the state tournament. But at the same time, they echoed Brown’s message – stay close, stay focused.
“Coach Brown’s always reminding us to stay in the moment and not take stuff for granted,” says Salas. “That definitely helps us through it.”
“Being successful, it’s also like what we do off the court,” adds Kern. “And I think that’s really important besides all the records and the state tournament and whatever. But definitely, winning is a big part of being successful.”
Brown knows a little about history: His dad, Mike Brown, led Albuquerque Academy to six straight titles in what was then the Class AAA division. The formulas, then and now, are eerily similar: a team becomes family, and families produce wins. The evidence of the approach is obvious, and not just on game night. It’s common for the Hawks to gather at their coach’s house to hang out, watch a UFC fight, or just bond in a way that transcends uniforms and scoreboards and even graduation.
Salas and Kern say they believe the Hawks will be close years and decades from now, when almost everyone has forgotten whether Volcano Vista has etched its name in history.
It’s the kind of thing Brown likes to hear.
“When you’re winning, it’s easier to say, yeah, it’s about culture and it’s about behaviors and our work ethic and that’s why we win,” says Brown. “But I just have learned that the more you make everything and anything about winning, the harder it is to do. And sometimes, it’s just not as enjoyable. And so, when you focus on the process – it’s cliche, I know – it just seems like what’s supposed to happen a lot of times feels like it does.”