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A few injuries to start the season and a roster hole vacated by the graduation of Casey Benson — one of the best players the state has ever seen — has left the Corona del Sol (Tempe) boys basketball team struggling.

OK, so the Aztecs haven't struggled in a few years, but there is some tweaking to be done before the Christmas tournament circuit begins in full.

"We are playing pretty well and making strides," Corona coach Sam Duane Jr. said. "We are still figuring some things out. All of our returning players have different roles and our younger players are still feeling things out a little bit."

Corona is 8-0 on the year despite having its full complement of players for just one game, its last game, a 87-39 win against Mountain Ridge on Dec. 19.

It was a nice primer for what is to come as the Aztecs plays in the VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge held Dec. 26-29 and HoopHall West event held Jan. 3 in the weeks to come.

"It's a process in developing our team as we gauge our season on being our best in February," said Duane, whose program has won three straight Division I state titles. "We are still finding out who we are in some regard. The good thing is we are pretty ready right now."

The Aztecs open the VisitMesa.com event, which is held at Mountain View (Mesa), with Imhotep Charter (Philadelphia) before playing Gilbert Christian, St. Mary's (Phoenix) and Canyon Springs (North Las Vegas, Nev.).

After that challenge Corona will take on Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.), ranked No. 21 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25, in the Hoop Hall West at Chaparral on the final game of the two-day event with a prime time 7 p.m. tip-off.

"They are the real deal," Duane said. "It's a going to be a great game with a terrific atmosphere. We will certainly know more about who are when this stretch is done."

The Aztecs have the talent to wade through the difficult stretch as seniors Dane Kuiper and Cassius Peat combine with sophomore Alex Barcello and highly-touted freshman Marvin Bagley III for quite the quartet.

Isiah Bolden, Tyrell Henderson, Saben Lee and Nate Marshall have also found important roles as the team played without Bagley to start the season and then Bolden for a bit because of injuries.

"The injuries made us a stronger, as other players filled in those minutes," Duane said. "We are still trying to find some consistency with some of the roles for our young guys, but that will come with time."

The VisitMesa.com Basketball Challenge will feature 16 teams with 11 of the entrants coming from Arizona as Desert Vista (Phoenix), Gilbert, Chaparral (Scottsdale), Red Mountain (Mesa), Sunnyslope (Phoenix), Pinnacle (Phoenix), Tempe, Mesa Mountain View, St. Mary's and Gilbert Christian join Corona.

One of the hottest teams coming is Desert Vista, which has won its first 10 games including a 4-0 run to take the Select Division at the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas last week.

"The time on the road was good for the team because we really bonded together more on and off the court, and that was shown in our playing," said Desert Vista senior forward Brandon Clarke, who had a triple-double in the semifinals. "We have good confidence heading into the Visitmesa tournament. It showed us anything is possible."

Jason P. Skoda, a former Arizona Republic and current Ahwatukee Foothills News staff writer, is a 20-year sports writing veteran. Contact him at jskoda1024@aol.com or 480-272-2449.