What do you get when you mix an admiration of Tennessee coaching legend Pat Summitt with the discipline of a former Army sergeant?
Say hello to Pinnacle girls basketball coach Steve Gutierrez, a man who loves hoops — played his way — and loves his Class 3A Timberwolves, several of whom he has coached since they were fifth-graders.
From the first whistle of the first quarter to the final buzzer, the Federal Heights-based Timberwolves, ranked No. 6 in The Denver Post/9News 3A poll, play at a speed near overdrive, and with a fundamental charm worthy of “Hoosiers.”
“When we play, we got to make a statement,” Gutierrez said. “We come out and play strong. If we back down, they’re going to catch up.”
A preseason No. 5, the Timberwolves are 3-2 this season with losses to 5A Cherokee Trail and Montbello. They’ve scored at least 83 points in their three victories.
The Timberwolves play with a lot of intensity.
Not particularly tall, they rotate zone and man defenses, and their motion offense never stops. They hit 3-pointers and push the tempo by pressuring the ball and generating steals. They finish their layups at the other end and are not afraid to pass to an open teammates on a 2-on-1 break.
“You can do anything off that type of offense,” junior Jessica Santistevan said. “You can work the ball around and play your type of game.”
Just as long as that type of game isn’t sloppy. Just about every mistake is noted by Gutierrez, who will be upset with a bad pass in the first quarter of a tight game as much as he will in the fourth quarter of a blowout.
“He’s a great coach,” said senior Rose Akes, who has played for Gutierrez for seven years. “He’s very disciplined, and he gets on us, but he doesn’t ever take it over the edge. He’s always giving us confidence, and he’s always building us up.”
In their 84-28 Frontier League win over Clear Creek, the Timberwolves were unchanging. They pressured the ball at halfcourt through the fourth quarter, they scored in transition and shot 3-pointers if left wide open.
Yet there was never the sense that the Timberwolves were trying to embarrass their foes. There was no showboating or laughing, just a businesslike effort from start to finish.
“I can tell the difference in the games that we do the fundamentals and not worry about anything else,” said senior Kris Anderson, who leads the team with 22.6 points per game.
Just leave the worrying to Gutierrez, who is standing, sitting, pacing and critiquing each moment as if it’s the final seconds of a playoff game, a place the Timberwolves are looking to go deeper than they have in their young history.
