It was halftime of the Millennium Tigers boys basketball game at Agua Fria High School. The Tigers were far ahead in what would become a 71-23 rout of the Owls. Coach Ty Amundsen needed only two of the ten minutes at the break to go over strategy before letting the boys loose.
Nearly all of the Tigers spent the remaining eight minutes laughing, practicing dunks and elaborate layups and shooting. The Tigers are a young group with plenty of talent and energy.
Meanwhile, senior Coleman Fields sat on the bench, quiet and alone, observing.
It was not long ago that Fields, the lone senior on Millennium's roster, was in the young kids' shoes as one of three freshmen that started on varsity in the 2017-18 season. That young core took the Tigers to back-to-back 5A championship games in the past two campaigns.
After a few minutes, a couple of his Tigers teammates wandered over and sat down next to him, looking to get some advice from their captain and the last remaining player from the team's past successful runs.
“He’s done a good job teaching these guys what the culture has been, kind of what the winning tradition here at Millennium is, because he’s won a lot of games with us," Amundsen said.
The other core contributors from the past two title appearances have either gone onto other schools or graduated. Past teammates DaRon Holmes and Justus Jackson that would have been seniors and instantly made Millennium one of the favorites to reach the championship game again. Both went to nearby prep schools, in part because COVID-19 precautions delayed and nearly canceled the AIA winter sports season.
However, rather than dwell on what could have been, Fields is embracing his role as the top dog.
"I’ve been working for this my whole life. Ever since I’ve been here I’ve been preparing for this, being the leader and the guy they look to, so I’m trying to step up," he said.
"What’s changed for him is he has to be the guy taking all the shots, leading the team, instead of the guy that’s coming in and playing his role. You’re going to watch his game evolve," Amundsen added.
Through a 4-1 start in which Fields has averaged a team-high 19 points, along with nearly five rebounds and two assists, it appears he has taken on the role well.
And, despite its youth, Millennium looks to be on track for another winning season. This year's team, in Amundsen's mind, looks similar to the same 2017-18 squad that Fields was a freshman on - a young, talented and sizeable group still finding its identity.
“They’ve got a lot of learning to do, a lot of immaturity that we just need to work on throughout the season," Amundsen said.
"But the last guys were just like that too. And then they learn how to do things and start to win.”
The pandemic knocked out any sense of continuity for a Tiger team that had little to begin with. However, Millennium has shown promise early, and the team feels it will only improve.
There, sitting on the sideline before a game dishing on basketball and being a Tiger, Fields was taking one of the many steps it will take to find success over the course of this truncated season.
“I’m just trying to make sure that we’re all staying together, because we’re a good team, but we’re not all used to playing together," he said. "But if we’re a unit I think we can be great.”
The Millennium Tigers (4-1) are set to host Verrado (3-3) on Feb. 9.
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