King without a home

Last year, the Kofa boys basketball team not only had a trip to the 5A-II state semifinals, but also a home court to play on.

This year, the Kings had neither.

But they still managed to claim the regular-season Gila Valley Region title by beating rival Yuma twice and made the playoffs, thanks in large part to Kevin Folsom.

The senior point guard averaged 14.8 points and 14.7 assists per game and was named The Sun/Yuma Rotary 2009 All-Region Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Rain late last year warped the Kofa gym, making it unplayable. The Kings played their home games at Castle Dome Middle School and practiced wherever they could.

Folsom said not having a home game made his senior season difficult.

"That put a hole into it," Folsom said. "It's like every game was an away game pretty much. It was another task me and my team had to go through."

Whatever court he played on, Folsom managed to always find his teammates on the court and lead them on and off it.

"He's always pushing the guys to get better every day," first-year Kofa coach Danilo Montialli said. "And his determination. He's fearless and because of that his teammates believe everything can be possible.

"He's a humble kid and he works hard every day," he said. "He comes prepared every day. He has high dreams and he knows the hard work that comes with that."

The Kings topped Yuma twice in the regular season, including erasing an 11-point deficit with 3 minutes, 21 seconds left in the final meeting between the teams to capture the title. Folsom scored 26 in the win, including five straight points in the final 1:21 to give the Kings the lead for good.

Folsom had 11 points and eight rebounds in the first regular-season game between the rivals, also a Kofa win.

"That was beautiful," Folsom said. "It made me think we could do what we did last year and go to the final four. It was a good feeling.

"Last year I was wild with it - way more turnovers last year," said Folsom, who is hoping to play at AWC next year but is also looking at Glendale and Yavapai. "I was better with ball control this year, smarter with what I was going to do, and didn't let anybody get to me.

"I wish we could have gone farther, but I'm happy with my team," he said. "Everybody gave it their all. It couldn't have been better."