FLAGSTAFF — When a basketball fan mentions the Grand Canyon region of the 4A conference, the first two teams that come to mind are typically Prescott and Bradshaw Mountain.

Deservedly so. Both made the Open State Championship a season ago. Both made the Elite 8 in the 4A state tournament, with the Bears moving on to the Final Four.

The Coconino boys basketball program may not get much fanfare these days, but second year head coach Cooper Elliott is hoping to change that. And change it soon.

“We are rebuilding this year as we have a very young group,” Elliott said.

Coconino isn’t far removed from their own Final Four run back in 2020-21, beating Prescott (62-45) and Mesquite (45-34) to face No. 1-ranked St. Mary’s in the state semifinals, which eventually went on to win a 4A title.

The following 2021-22 season, Coconino claimed the Grand Canyon region title but lost to No. 7 Paradise Honors in the opening round of the state tournament.

Fast forward to today, the Panthers, a group that lost eight seniors to graduation, won 16 games and finished third in the Grand Canyon region a season ago.

They beat Arizona College Prep 69-51 during the state play-in round and lost to then ranked No. 3 Bradshaw Mountain in the first round of state, 54-38.

To open 2023-24, Coconino (2-6, 0-1 4A Grand Canyon) has lost three of their last four, including a 63-45 loss to those very same Bears in the region opener Thursday night, but the season is long and coach Elliott is confident.

“We are looking for players to fill their roles,” Elliott said of the players that return, filling the shoes of those who have moved on. “We haven’t figured it out yet, but I am hopeful that we can soon.”

Michael Chukwuijgha returns from last year, while Tyson Mortensen and J.T. Begay are in the mix as well. Others to watch are Gavin Greene, Fitz Guinan, Trey Parker, Hashke Nelson and Oryon Hauyhualla.

“Our expectations are to overachieve and find our identity. With so many new faces and lack of experience, we need to find who we are and to become really good at that,” Elliott said.

As for expectations…there are none. Only to get better.

“We don’t know how many wins that will equate to, but we are going to compete against ourselves every game to hopefully get to where we want to go,” Elliott said.

UP NEXT

Coconino has road trips to Paradise Honors (Dec. 12) and Lee Williams (Dec. 19) with a home game against Mingus on Dec. 15 in between before Christmas break. All tipoff times are 7 p.m.

Brian M. Bergner Jr. has covered professional, collegiate and high school sports for more than 20 years. Follow him on Twitter @AzPreps365Brian. Have a story idea? Email Brian at bbergner@azpreps365.com.