Francisco Cruz, Abraham Lincoln
You had to see this coming.
Francisco Cruz practically announced, in his own quiet way, that he was going to be a force to be reckoned with his senior season after a string of stellar performances in last year’s Class 4A state tournament.
With one state championship as a role player, Cruz became the go-to guy this season and responded with 23.5 points and nearly eight rebounds per game to guide the Lancers to another 4A championship.
The 6-foot-4 senior from Nogales, Mexico, is deadly from 3-point range, can drive to the hoop and run in transition.
“I knew he was going to kind of naturally emerge as our scorer this year. I saw that develop last year, especially in the state tournament,” Lancers coach Vince Valdez said. “What really surprised me this year was his commitment to guarding. He guarded the other team’s best players night in and night out.”
Brian Forbes, Special to The Denver Post
