Mike Luera played a key role in the success of the El Dorado High School boys basketball team the previous two seasons as an assistant coach.
Now Luera will get the chance to lead the Aztecs program on his own after he was hired as the head coach. He replaces Justin Avalos, who was recently selected as the head coach at Class 6A Eastlake.
El Dorado competes in Class 5A and is a part of District 2-5A.
“I’m eager and excited to continue the progress of the program,” Luera said. “We have some strong returnees returning and our junior varsity and freshman programs were strong this past season.”
Under Avalos’ guidance and Luera’s help as the top assistant, El Dorado made the Class 5A Texas UIL playoffs twice and improved from six wins to 16 wins and 21 wins in his three years.
Luera has been at El Dorado for nearly six years. He was also an assistant coach under Raul Lopez for the Aztecs before Avalos was hired.
“Coach Lopez gave me a great opportunity to start on the high school level and working with coach Avalos has been a great learning experience,” Luera said. “I’ll use some of what I’ve learned through the years and add in a few things. I’m excited for the future.”
Luera is a 2004 graduate of Americas High School and also coached on the middle school level before moving to the high school level.
“Coach Luera is a great coach and he’s earned this opportunity,” Avalos said. “He will do great things.”
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: El Paso’s El Dorado HS names Mike Luera new boys basketball coach
Reporting by Felix F. Chavez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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