Nevada
‘Stay together’: Without a home court, Democracy Prep boys thrive in 5A
Cory Duke remembers when he received the phone call about an obstacle that could have derailed the big dreams of his Democracy Prep boys basketball team.
Around 1 p.m. on a Sunday, Duke and his family had just gotten out of church when his phone rang. A pipe from a water fountain in the gym had burst and flooded the gym.
Less than 24 hours earlier, he had coached his team in a scrimmage against Losee, serving as the final tune-up before the start of the season. Initially, Duke wasn’t worried. Then he showed up at the scene the next day.
“When I got to school, the court had started to lift off the foundation. That’s when I knew we were in a bad spot,” Duke said.
The court that was the setting for one of the best home atmospheres in the state was gone, leaving Democracy Prep without a home as it prepared to make a jump to Class 5A.
The obstacle was another round of adversity for the program, so Duke’s confidence wasn’t rattled.
“I know that we’re going to come out of this and we’re going to come out of it better,” Duke said. “Any adversity that we’ve dealt with since we got here, we’ve always found a way to figure it out and we’ve done that together.”
“We grew a brothership. We grew closer together every single day and that helped us through all the hard times. We started off coming to this team as a whole bunch of individuals, but at the end of the day, we became brothers.”
Democracy Prep (13-12) has weathered the storm of another adversity-filled season. The Blue Knights were the No. 5 seed heading into the 5A state tournament and opened at No. 4 Desert Pines in a state quarterfinal.
“Going through what we went through, especially with these guys that have been here a really long time, there is a toughness and a grit to these guys that is unmatched of any kind that I’ve been around,” Duke said.
The K-12 charter school is nestled in the Historic Westside of Las Vegas and houses roughly 300 high school students. Doolittle Community Center, a longstanding fixture in the area, stepped up to house Democracy Prep’s home basketball games and most of the team’s practices.
As expected, there were ups and downs with the unexpected disruption of Democracy Prep losing its gym and playing in the top classification, which included starting out 0-3 in league play. But the Blue Knights enter the state tournament having won four of their past five games.
“We just stuck together,” said senior guard Mario Allen, a three-year varsity player. “If we had to play away games all year or we had Doolittle — it was out of our control. We couldn’t change anything that happened. We just had to move forward with it and just stay together.”
‘Be successful through adversity’
After being upset in the 3A state semifinals last February, Democracy Prep turned its attention to next season and looking to move up to 5A and play powerhouse programs like Bishop Gorman, Coronado and Liberty.
The school’s appeal to go to 5A was approved in February 2025 to go from 3A, jump 4A and go into 5A. The decision and process was one of the more easier moments the program has experienced over the past five seasons.
Duke was hired by Democracy Prep in 2020, but there was no high school season because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Blue Knights reached the 2A state semifinals the next year.
Then came an announcement from assistant Mark Coleman that rocked the program. Coleman told the team in September 2022 that he had Stage 4 prostate cancer.
“He was a mentor of mine and my best friend,” Duke said. “I knew that no matter what, we had to find a way to get it done. I was really motivated, but our motivation went to a level that I don’t think anybody was going to stop us that year.”
Duke said he had hoped Coleman would have made it to coach in the playoffs to try and win a state title, but Coleman died on Feb. 4, 2023.
“We comforted our brothers. We were all grieving,” senior guard Kaden Lea said, a four-year varsity player. “After that, we knew what Coach Coleman wanted us to do. We went out there and played our hearts out.”
Democracy Prep would knock off reigning champion The Meadows, after losing to the Mustangs three times previously that season, and won the 2A title.
“We had to be even closer during the hard times,” said Tai Coleman, a four-year varsity player and Mark’s son. “We felt like if we had each other’s backs, nobody could stop us.”
Looking to win a second straight title, now in 3A, it appeared Democracy Prep would be having its “Last Dance” when the charter school announced during the season it would be closing its high school at the end of the school year.
There were a few weeks of uncertainty around the campus, but a few weeks later, the school announced it had received additional funding to keep the high school open. Democracy Prep went on to defeat 3A rival Mater East in a thriller in Reno for its second straight title.
“That’s kind of how we’ve attacked everything since Coach Mark, is there’s nothing that can happen to us that we haven’t dealt with and that we can’t get through and not only get through, but be successful through adversity,” Duke said.
‘One big community’
Danai Young is in his first season as Democracy Prep’s athletic director, and he was looking forward to the electric home basketball games.
Young, also the football coach, spent one season as an assistant football coach in 2021 and got a taste of the sense of community on the Westside. So he knew he could ask the people across the street at Doolittle for help.
“That has been a blessing,” Young said of having Doolittle. “We didn’t know what we were going to do. I came over and I said, ‘Hey, our gym flooded, this is our issue.’ They didn’t blink. ‘Yes, whatever you need from us, we’ll do.’”
Young said the NIAA needed to come over and approve the court, make sure the shot clock was functioning and there was enough space for fans and team benches.
“(Doolittle is) connected with us and they’re connected with the school. … It feels like one big community,” Allen said.
Many days, the team has to practice on half a court, with a giant blue divider splitting the court with the girls’ team on one half and the boys on the other.
On days where they do have a full court, the fast-paced, up-tempo Blue Knights can practice its transition offense and how set up on defense for the talented teams in 5A with the team’s tallest player being 6-foot-5.
“What’s so impressive is I can honestly say I have not had one guy make an excuse or gripe about this situation,” Duke said. “Not one guy. We’re used to this kind of stuff.”
On practice days, the team checks in with the community center to confirm the time the morning of practice with other events and arrangements on the two full courts in the center. Democracy Prep has also utilized Stupak Community Center, roughly a 10-minute drive from the school.
“We’re not going to make excuses for the facilities or what we have or don’t have,” said Duke, who leaned on assistants Leonard Benjamin, Darington Hobson, DaJuan Harris and Parrish Flanders to help maximize the practice time the team has.
Young said the gym is expected to be completed by the summer. Games at Doolittle aren’t quite the same in the larger seating capacity gym on the school’s campus, but the team still feels the same support from the community.
“I’m still blessed and happy that everybody from the Westside, (Democracy Prep), from all over, still shows support and comes to the games,” Tai Coleman said. “That shows love and we still need it. That’s a blessing because you don’t get that (support) all the time or you see fake love a lot. But it’s all real.”
‘We became brothers’
Democracy Prep had to work in several transfers when school started with a few months to get ready for a grueling nonconference schedule.
“We grew a brothership,” said junior Ien Kirkland, one of the newcomers. “We grew closer together every single day, and that helped us through all the hard times. We started off coming to this team as a whole bunch of individuals, but at the end of the day, we became brothers.”
It started at the Tarkanian Classic, where Democracy Prep reached the title game in the “Spalding Bracket,” and fell to California power JSerra Catholic 68-64 in the final.
Then came a taxing nine-day road trip where the Blue Knights played in consecutive tournaments in California and Arizona over the winter break. All 12 varsity players, Duke, his wife and son, piled into a van and ventured to Palm Springs, California, on Dec. 26 for a tournament.
The Palm Springs Classic ended with Democracy Prep going 1-4 in the tournament and after its game on Dec. 30, the van reloaded for a game the next night in the Nike Tournament of Champions Phoenix.
In Arizona, Democracy Prep won the “Saguaro Division” bracket title by defeating Canyon (California) 74-65 to win the title, bringing back a cactus trophy to the school.
“It was brutal in all the right ways,” Duke said. “Wouldn’t change it for the world, may not do it that way every year, but it prepared us.”
Right after defeating Canyon, the van was packed up and the team made the trip home, returning after 2 a.m. and ending a trip where all 12 players spent over a week together.
“(Our chemistry) got better when we were out of town for those nine days going back and forth from California to Arizona,” sophomore guard Dashaun Harris said. “From the start of the year, our team chemistry has gotten better. You can tell (when we are) playing on the court.”
‘Challenge ourselves’
Democracy Prep had over a week off once returning home, which was much-needed as the flu ran through the team. On the first practice back from the road trip on Jan. 7, the team was left with nine healthy players during a practice on half a court.
The rust from the long break was evident in the team’s first league game. Hosting Desert Pines on Jan. 13, Democracy Prep trailed by as many as 16 points in the third quarter, got within a basket with under three minutes left, but fell 75-69.
The next night against Coronado was a heartbreaker with Democracy Prep holding a 51-49 lead with a chance to seal the win with under a minute left. But a turnover led to a Coronado basket, and the Blue Knights gave up another basket with seconds remaining in overtime to fall 62-60.
Gorman and Liberty also were close contests. At Gorman, Democracy Prep trailed by double digits most of the first half, but got within a point in the fourth quarter and lost 61-57. Against Liberty, the two teams were tied at halftime 33-33, but a rough third quarter gave the Patriots a 76-66 win.
“We knew those games every night (in 5A), you’re going against great coaches and great players,” Duke said. “The main reason why we wanted to go is because we’re always looking to challenge ourselves here.”
Things turned a corner after starting 1-4 in league play, with Democracy Prep winning its final three games. Democracy Prep defeated Mojave 72-59 on Feb. 4 to clinch the No. 5 seed in the state tournament on the three-year anniversary of Mark Coleman’s passing.
‘Product of our environment’
Democracy Prep has seven boys basketball state titles, which include five between a stretch from 2011 to 2018 in 2A. The basketball success of the program, then known as Agassi Prep, put the school on the map.
A winning boys and girls basketball program, that is a 5A state title contender, made Democracy Prep’s gym the mecca on the Westside every home game. Screaming students from the K-12 school would rattle opponents. And good luck finding a seat.
“When it gets loud, it’s rocking,” Duke said of the “unbelievable and electric” atmosphere of a home game at the school’s gym. “It’s one of the louder gyms I’ve ever been in. It just funnels all the noise right there to the middle.
“It was a great experience every night in there,” Duke added. “We missed that. We definitely miss that.”
Along the baseline on the old court of the gym is one of the school’s mottos: “Pride of the Westside.” That serves as a reminder to the team to represent the area’s blue-collar work ethic and familial community.
“We want to be a product of our environment and put on for the Westside,” Tai Coleman said. “To put on for everybody who supports us. Everybody in the Democracy Prep community is hardworking. … There’s a lot we can still say about our community, history, Democracy Prep that people don’t know and I want that to be brought to life.”
We had to be even closer during the hard times. We felt like if we had each other’s backs, nobody could stop us.
The team will have to channel the Westside work ethic and sense of family if it wants to make a run at another state title.
A chance to win a 5A title would likely put Democracy Prep on a path to go against three of the four teams it suffered defeats during league play.
It would be a fitting path to a title for a program that’s used to the long odds.
“Ever since I’ve been here, we’ve always been the underdog,” Allen said. “It’s nothing new to us and I enjoy having that underdog role because I feel a lot of teams may underestimate us.
“We have something to prove every single night.”
Contact Alex Wright at awright@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlexWright1028 on X.
More than 10,000 people have enrolled in Nevada’s new public option health plans, which debuted last fall with the expectation that they would bring lower prices to the health insurance market.
Those preliminary numbers from the open enrollment period that ended in January are less than a third of what state officials had projected. Nevada is the third state so far to launch a public option plan, along with Colorado and Washington state. The idea is to offer lower-cost plans to consumers to expand health care access.
But researchers said plans like these are unlikely to fill the gaps left by sweeping federal changes, including the expiration of enhanced subsidies for plans bought on Affordable Care Act marketplaces.
The public option gained attention in the late 2000s when Congress considered but ultimately rejected creating a health plan funded and run by the government that would compete with private carriers in the market. The programs in Washington state, Colorado, and Nevada don’t go that far — they aren’t government-run but are private-public partnerships that compete with private insurance.
In recent years, states have considered creating public option plans to make health coverage more affordable and to reduce the number of uninsured people. Washington was the first state to launch a program, in 2021, and Colorado followed in 2023.
Washington and Colorado’s programs have run into challenges, including a lack of participation from clinicians, hospitals, and other care providers, as well as insurers’ inability to meet rate reduction benchmarks or lower premiums compared with other plans offered on the market.
Nevada law requires that the carriers of the public option plans — Battle Born State Plans, named after a state motto — lower premium costs compared with a benchmark “silver” plan in the marketplace by 15% over the next four years.
But that amount might not make much difference to consumers with rising premium payments from the loss of the ACA’s enhanced tax credits, said Keith Mueller, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute.
“That’s not a lot of money,” Mueller said.
Three of the eight insurers on the state’s exchange, Nevada Health Link, offered the state plans during the open enrollment period.
Insurance companies plan to meet the lower premium cost requirement in Nevada by cutting broker fees and commissions, which prompted opposition from insurance brokers in the state. In response, Nevada marketplace officials told state lawmakers in January that they will give a flat-fee reimbursement to brokers.
The public option has faced opposition among state leaders. In 2024, a state judge dismissed a lawsuit, brought by a Nevada state senator and a group that advocates for lower taxes, that challenged the public option law as unconstitutional. They have appealed to the state Supreme Court.
Federal Policy Impacts
Recent federal changes create more obstacles.
Nevada is consistently among the states with the largest populations of people who do not have health insurance coverage. Last year, nearly 95,000 people in the state received the enhanced ACA tax credits, averaging $465 in savings per month, according to KFF, a health information nonprofit that includes KFF Health News.
But the enhanced tax credits expired at the end of the year, and it appears unlikely that lawmakers will bring them back. Nationwide ACA enrollment has decreased by more than 1 million people so far this year, down from record-high enrollment of 24 million last year.
About 4 million people are expected to lose health coverage from the expiration of the tax credits, according to the Congressional Budget Office. An additional 3 million are projected to lose coverage because of other policy changes affecting the marketplace.
Justin Giovannelli, an associate research professor at the Center on Health Insurance Reforms at Georgetown University, said the changes to the ACA in the Republicans’ One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which President Donald Trump signed into law last summer, will make it more difficult for people to keep their coverage. These changes include more frequent enrollment paperwork to verify income and other personal information, a shortened enrollment window, and an end to automatic reenrollment.
In Nevada, the changes would amount to an estimated 100,000 people losing coverage, according to KFF.
“All of that makes getting coverage on Nevada Health Link harder and more expensive than it would be otherwise,” Giovannelli said.
State officials projected ahead of open enrollment that about 35,000 people would purchase the public option plans. Of the 104,000 people who had purchased a plan on the state marketplace as of mid-January, 10,762 had enrolled in one of the public option plans, according to Nevada Health Link.
Katie Charleson, communications officer for the state health exchange, said the original enrollment estimate was based on market conditions before the recent increases in customers’ premium costs. She said that the public option plans gave people facing higher costs more choices.
“We expect enrollment in Battle Born State Plans to grow over time as awareness increases and as Nevadans continue seeking quality coverage options that help reduce costs,” Charleson said.
According to KFF, nationally the enhanced subsidies saved enrollees an average of $705 annually in 2024, and enrollees would save an estimated $1,016 in premium payments on average in 2026 if the subsidies were still in place. Without the subsidies, people enrolled in the ACA marketplace could be seeing their premium costs more than double.
Insights From Washington and Colorado
Washington and Colorado are not planning to alter their programs due to the expiration of the tax credits, according to government officials in those states.
Other states that had recently considered creating public options have backtracked. Minnesota officials put off approving a public option in 2024, citing funding concerns. Proposals to create public options in Maine and New Mexico also sputtered.
Washington initially saw meager enrollment in its Cascade Select public option plans; only 1% of state marketplace enrollees chose a public option plan in 2021. But that changed after lawmakers required hospitals to contract with at least one public option plan by 2023. Last year the state reported that 94,000 customers enrolled, accounting for 30% of all customers on the state marketplace. The public option plans were the lowest-premium silver plans in 31 of Washington’s 39 counties in 2024.
A 2025 study found that since Colorado implemented its public option, called the Colorado Option, coverage through the ACA marketplace has become more affordable for enrollees who received subsidies but more expensive for enrollees who did not.
Colorado requires all insurers offering coverage through its marketplace to include a public option that follows state guidelines. The state set premium reduction targets of 5% a year for three years beginning in 2023. Starting this year, premium costs are not allowed to outpace medical inflation.
Though the insurers offering the public option did not meet the premium reduction targets, enrollment in the Colorado Option has increased every year it has been available. Last year, the state saw record enrollment in its marketplace, with 47% of customers purchasing a public option plan.
Giovannelli said states are continuing to try to make health insurance more affordable and accessible, even if federal changes reduce the impact of those efforts.
“States are reacting and trying to continue to do right by their residents,” Giovannelli said, “but you can’t plug all those gaps.”
Are you struggling to afford your health insurance? Have you decided to forgo coverage? Click here to contact KFF Health News and share your story.
KFF Health News is a national newsroom that produces in-depth journalism about health issues and is one of the core operating programs at KFF — an independent source of health policy research, polling, and journalism. Learn more about KFF.
Southern Nevada has a proud history of competing — and winning — through boldness and reinvention. We have developed a world-class tourism economy, built globally recognized brands and demonstrated our ability to rebound from significant disruptions. In today’s fiercely competitive global economy, however, we must intentionally design the next chapter of our economic story. Communities worldwide are continuously enhancing their sophistication, and we must keep pace.
Since joining the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance in late August of last year, I have consistently heard from community partners that we must diversify and enhance Southern Nevada’s economy. Our goal is to build upon and complement the strengths we already possess.
To achieve this, the alliance, as Southern Nevada’s regional economic development organization and designated Regional Development Agency, is embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process. This initiative will guide our economic development priorities both in the near and long term, ensuring that we focus on areas that will yield the most positive impact.
The alliance has a history of reinvention, having been established in 1958 as the Southern Nevada Industrial Foundation, later becoming the Nevada Development Authority, and since 2011, operating under its current name in partnership with the Governor’s Office of Economic Development.
Economic development extends beyond merely attracting companies. It encompasses the ability of local families to access high-wage careers, the opportunity for young people to build their futures at home and the resilience of our economy to withstand disruptions.
Over the past decade, Southern Nevada has made significant strides toward economic diversification, with investment outcomes in 2025 surpassing those of 2024. However, our work is far from complete. While tourism will always be a foundational strength and source of pride for our region, over-reliance on any single sector poses risks. A diversified economy enhances stability, and stability creates opportunities. We are united in our desire for more accessible housing, expanded health care and education, and greater upward mobility for our residents.
This strategic planning effort aims to ensure that the alliance and its partners concentrate on the right initiatives in the right manner. It will validate the region’s target industries and subsectors, narrowing our focus on areas where Southern Nevada has genuine competitive advantages and long-term potential. The planning process will include community interviews, focus groups and surveys to ensure our final strategy reflects the real opportunities and challenges facing Southern Nevada. We will establish flagship goals and a prioritized strategy matrix to direct our attention and resources toward meaningful outcomes.
A crucial aspect of this process involves clarifying roles within the broader economic ecosystem. Economic development is a team sport — when organizations replicate efforts, operate in silos or compete for recognition, the region loses valuable time and credibility, allowing opportunities to slip away. I have witnessed this behavior in various markets, serving as a red flag for prospective companies.
We have already made strides in building partnerships, exemplified by a Memorandum of Understanding signed in November 2025 with the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada to jointly support economic development education and advocacy for community leaders statewide.
Our strategic work will also include a organizational assessment of the alliance, evaluating our mission, resource deployment and engagement model. Economic impact requires operational excellence and measurable execution. Most importantly, this plan — which we anticipate completing by late April — will feature a three-year road map with clear timelines, recommended actions and meaningful metrics to transparently track our progress. A longtime mentor of mine often said, “What gets watched gets measured, and what gets measured gets done.”
Las Vegas has always taken the initiative to shape its own future. This strategic plan presents an opportunity for us to do what we do best: come together, think bigger, act smarter and create something lasting. Together, we can build a purposeful and resilient economic future for Southern Nevada.
Danielle Casey is president and CEO of the Las Vegas Global Economic Alliance.
EUREKA COUNTY, Nev. (KOLO) – On Friday, Feb. 27, the Nevada State Police assisted with a cattle crossing on State Route 306 at Interstate 80 in Eureka County.
“While not an everyday part of our job, we like to do our part to assist our local ranchers while keeping traffic from turning into udder chaos,” according to an agency Facebook post. “It was a perfect opportunity to be outside (even if our animal friends were a little moo-dy).”
Copyright 2026 KOLO. All rights reserved.
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