With the playoffs looming a mere two weeks away, some of the top teams in the Southland are trying to reach peak form for playoff readiness.
But some of those teams are also playing the risk vs. reward card. Play the best, beat the best.
Lose to the best.
While everyone is eyeing the more tangible picture, such as Los Angeles City Section, Southern Section and State championships, there are mythical national championship hopes that are also at stake.
That’s easily apparent in Santa Ana this weekend when Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.) plays host to the Nike Classic at the Meruelo Events Center, featuring five girls’ games on Friday and nine boys’ games on Saturday.
“There is some risk, but I really believe the rewards outweigh the risks because it prepares you for the next step, and if you continue to win down the road the rankings will come back,” said Derrick Taylor, coach at Taft (Woodland Hills, Calif.). “We want to win a section and state title more than anything.”
Taylor’s team is one of four boys’ basketball teams from MaxPreps’ Xcellent 25 national ranking that will take the floor in back-to-back games during the evening session: No. 6 Mater Dei against No. 14 Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, Nev.)at 7 p.m., and No. 11 St. Patrick (Elizabeth, N.J.) vs. No. 24 Taft, 9 p.m.
“It really does prepare you for the playoffs,” said Taylor, whose team figures to face Westchester (Los Angeles, Calif.) for the City Section title. “Unless you have a monster team in your league, you generally won’t get it. Our league is down right now. We do it so we can get prepared for the playoffs, it puts us in an environment where we have to focus, put in specific game plans, the level of play has to step up, physical play steps up. That’s why we play these types of games. It definitely gets you ready.”
The four marquee teams should certainly ratchet up the focus and the atmosphere. Mater Dei closed out January with back-to-back 101-point performances behind Keala King (Arizona State), Gary Franklin (California) and Tyler Lamb (UCLA). Mater Dei is facing its first national-level opponent since upsetting Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha to give Coach Gary McKnight a state-record 844 career victories.
Bishop Gorman (20-1) scored at least 80 points in its last 10 games behind the likes of seniors John Loyd and Anson Winder, and sophomore Shabazz Muhammad.
St. Patrick (15-2) last week knocked off previously unbeaten Plainfield, N.J., and both of its losses were by one point, 71-70 to No. 10 Henderson (Nev.) Findlay Prep, which had been No. 1 this season, and 65-64 to No. 5 Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep.
Taft (17-3), ranked No. 12 in the preseason, reappeared in the Xcellent 25 this week following a 71-64 victory over Gardena Serra, which had been 22-1 and was on the verge of breaking into the Xcellent 25 as well.
The two late games in the evening session will be preceded by Orange Lutheran against Ocean View at 4 p.m., and Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler (16-4) against L.A. Fairfax at 5:30 p.m. Wheeler is No. 6 in Georgia.
The early session has five games beginning at 8 a.m., with a new tipoff every 90 minutes: Anaheim Servite vs. Westminster, 8 a.m., Villa Park vs. San Juan Capistrano JSerra, 9:30 a.m., Bellflower St. John Bosco vs. Ontario Colony, 11 a.m., Los Alamitos vs. Upland, 12:30 p.m., San Diego Torrey Pines vs. Santa Margarita, 2 p.m.
General admission is $12 for both sessions, with $22 reserved seating for the evening session.
Taft no longer daft
Last week Taft was in a Saturday Night Special as the Toreadors took on Serra, which was ranked No. 12 in the nation in MaxPreps’ Freeman Rating. It was part of the State Preview Classic. Taft (17-3) scored the first nine points and led wire-to-wire in a 71-64 victory behind De’Andre Daniels’ 28 points. Serra (22-2) never got closer than four points. Vaughn Autry scored 23 for Serra.
“Our chemistry is starting to come together, everyone is starting to accept their roles, making us a better team,” Taylor said, citing the MaxPreps Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines as “disastrous” as Taft lost its last two games of the tournament.
“The kids, their parents and the entourages were focused on their numbers, making it more important than the team numbers,” Taylor said. “It took some time to break that mindset. We don’t play for individual glory. Individual glory comes with championships. It’s all about team and you have to get guys to buy in. You have to sell them that team is first. They’re finally buying into it now.”
With Daniels (Texas) and Bryce Jones (USC), Taylor believes he has as talented a duo as there is in the country. As long as guards Spencer Dinwiddie and Landon Drew, son of former NBA player Larry Drew, perform like they’re supposed to, Taylor likes his team’s chances.
Price not right for Crenshaw
Right before Taft and Serra did battle in the State Preview Classic, Los Angeles Price and L.A. Crenshaw staged a classic, a 90-86 overtime victory for Price, the state’s No. 6 team. Price was led by Allen Crabbe’s 38 points, but it might not have mattered if not for the three-pointer by Askia Booker with 20 seconds remaining that tied the score in regulation, 75-75. Reynaul Baker scored 33 for Crenshaw (14-3), which had won 11 in a row and is averaging 82.9 points.
Price (21-2) is ranked No. 6 in the state and Crenshaw a very dangerous No. 39.
There was also a big intersectional battle as North Hollywood Campbell Hall narrowly beat Oceanside El Camino, 49-48, although it so without its two top scorers, Austin McBroom and James Johnson, who were out with injuries. Craig Huff scored 16 in the victory.
Mater Dei girls face another challenge
Mater Dei, which was No. 1 girls’ basketball team in the nation a couple of weeks ago when it lost to No. 3 Brea Olinda for the second time in a year, has a chance to regain a measure of its confidence on Feb. 5. The Monarchs, now ranked No. 3 in the Xcellent 25, will take on No. 7 Chicago Whitney Young in the marquee game Friday at the Nike Extravaganza at Mater Dei.
Mater Dei, which has lost only twice in the past two seasons – both times to Brea Olinda – is led by Kaleena Mosqueda-Lewis and is coming off a 69-57 Westside Extravaganza victory over state-No. 23 Santa Monica in which Jessica Duarte scored 19 points and Mosqueda-Lewis matched Santa Monica’s Thea Lemberger with 17 points. Young (19-0) is ranked No. 1 in Illinois by MaxPreps.
The contest will be the last of five games, beginning at 3 p.m.: Santa Margarita vs. Long Beach Wilson, Orange Lutheran vs. San Bernardino Cajon, San Juan Capistrano JSerra vs. La Jolla Country Day, Villa Park vs. Woodbridge and Mater Dei vs. Chicago Young.
No easy time for Brea, either
Brea may not have an easy time either, this weekend. The Ladycats (19-2) , currently ranked No. 2 in the Xcellent 25, will play host to Fullerton Troy (19-2), which is coached for former Brea assistant Roger Anderson and is ranked No. 7 in the state. Last weekend, Troy beat then-No. 21 Etiwanda, 52-43, even though it had six players injured. “It’s beyond comical now,” Anderson told The Los Angeles Times. A week earlier, Brea beat Etiwanda, 61-47.
These teams played some outstanding games when current Mater Dei coach Kevin Kiernan coached at Troy. The Warriors’ defense will have its hands full: Well-rounded Brea has four players – Kelsey Harris, Alexis Perry, Jeanier Olukemi and Keitra Wallace – averaging between 9.9 and 12.8 points.
High praise – and expectations – for Gretzky
Football coach Bill Redell has spent the latter part of this decade watching Jimmy Clausen and Nick Montana quarterback his team at Oaks Christian, so the man probably has an eye for what’s going to work at the position. Next season, the son of Joe Montana will be succeeded by the son of Wayne Gretzky. Trevor Gretzky – who stands 6-feet-4 – is ready to take over.
“I think he’ll be the surprise player in the Southern California,” Redell told The Los Angeles Times.
Fajardo gives his word, keeps it
Quarterback Cody Fajardo, the Orange County Register’s player of the year who led Anaheim Servite to Southern Section Pac-5 title and a victory in the Division II California State Bowl championship, signed with Nevada after committing over the weekend. He had actually been courted by Nebraska as well, but was its second choice; when Nebraska’s first choice didn’t work out, and it wanted to offer Fajardo on Monday night, it was too late: The scrambling QB had already given his word to Nevada.
“I do admire Cody for sticking with Nevada,” said Coach Troy Thomas. “It’s a great fit . . . and he stood by his decision.”
Fajardo, who guided his team to a 14-1 record and a victory over Huntington Beach Edison to avenge its only loss, completed 69.9% of his passes for2,380 yards, 20 touchdowns and only two interceptions, and was Orange County’s 25th leading rusher with 1,085 yards and eight touchdowns.
Your reservation is ready
More and more athletes who made commitments to one school continued to play the field, sometimes reneging on the original commitment but sometimes sticking to it on National Signing Day.
Long Beach Press-Telegram reporter Frank Burlison had an excellent story about the levels of commitment made by athletes today, including most commitments simply being a reservation until something better comes along.
Among the notable nuggets in the story was a quote from Thadd MacNeal, the coach at Lakewood: “As a coach, I think it is my job to make sure” the player “knows what he is doing when he says he wants to commit to a college program. If my kids tells me he wants to commit but still plans to make other recruiting trips, then I will tell him don’t do it. These colleges are spending a lot of money and the coaches’ livelihoods are often at stake. They deserve to be treated with more respect.”
City Section football and futbol changes
The L.A. Times reported that the Los Angeles City Section has axed freshman-sophomore football teams and, in the 2010 season, will begin calling them junior varsity teams. The key element of the change is that juniors will be allowed to play on the teams.
The City also ruled that any student participating on a professional soccer academy team will be prohibited from playing for his/her high school team that same season.
Johnson gets picked by the NFL
Bob Johnson of Mission Viejo was named the NFL High School Football coach of the year for 2009. He had been nominated to two former players in the NFL, Mark Sanchez of the Jets and Nick Reed of the Seahawks. Johnson has coached Mission Viejo for 11 seasons; he had coached El Toro for 13 seasons before that, and Los Amigos for three. His 242 career victories are second in Orange County history.
Among the other finalists was Raul Lara of Long Beach Poly, whose young team didn’t have a single returning starter on defense but showed enormous improvement over the course of the season and, despite losing twice in league after 80 consecutive Moore League victories, reached the Pac-5 semifinals.
Russell Otis sentenced to 60 days
Russell Otis, the storied former coach at Compton Dominguez who led his boys’ basketball program to six state titles and 10 Southern Section championships between 1987 and 2008, was sentenced to 60 days in jail on a misdemeanor charge of child molestation, according to the Los Angeles Times. The coach will also receive three years’ probation, a year of counseling and must register as a sex offender for the remainder of his life.
Otis, 47, was acquitted of felony theft and forgery charges, and a jury deadlocked 10-2 in favor of conviction on a felony charge of meeting a minor for lewd purposes. The molestation charge stemmed from hundreds of text messages in which he propositioned one of his 16-year-old players. Otis was released on bail pending an appeal.
False alarm at Rialto
Despite an allegation of illegal recruiting and harassment by former player Diamond Smith against Rialto girls’ basketball coach Michael Anderson, the school’s investigation showed no wrongdoing, Principal Andres Luna told the Riverside Press-Enterprise.
Alhambra names its coach
Lou Torres, who played under Gil Ruedaflores and then coached alongside him for many seasons, was named Ruedaflores’ successor earlier this week. Ruedaflores had been head coach for 21 years.
Newport Harbor’s special feeling about signing day
Outside linebacker Cecil Whiteside is the only football player at Newport Harbor to sign on Wednesday, putting pen to paper and declaring his allegiance to California. But Coach Jeff Brinkley is pretty certain he has two other Division I players on his team, the kind that often get overlooked when college programs try to score big points on National Letter of Intent day: A kicker and a long snapper.
Dillan Freiberg was the Orange County Register’s all-county kicker, and for good reason: He is the county record-holder with 71 consecutive extra-points. Five of his 12 field goals this season were from 35 yards or more, and he only missed two PATs on the year. He also averaged more than 41 yards per punt.
Ryan Iverson, a two-way starter at tight end and linebacker, is the long snapper, and both Colorado State and San Jose State have taken a good look. “They’re definitely interested in him,” Brinkley said. “He’s a bonus guy because as a long snapper he can run down and cover and make a tackle.”
Colleges often take a wait-and-see approach toward both positions, perhaps offering preferred walk-on status. Certainly, no one wants to burn a scholarship on a kicker who was a mistake.
“We were fortunate to have both those guys, they’re as good as I’ve ever had,” Brinkley said. “We’ve never had any combination like those two guys, a kicker and long snapper who I feel are D-1.”
Freibeg and Iverson may have to wait awhile, but the Sailors also have another special player. Defensive end Cameron Koziara, who did not play sports until his senior season, will attend Princeton. He is 6-4, 220, and away from campus he is a kick-boxer. “I told all the recruiters he has such an upside because he’s so green,” Brinkley said. “Every week he’d get better and make a play like, ‘Whoa.’”
A Parade of top players
Seven Southland athletes were named last week to the Parade Magazine All-America team, and they covered just about every area of the field. They were running back Malcolm Jones (Oaks Christian), receiver Robert Woods (Gardena Serra), defensive lineman Ronald Powell (Moreno Valley Rancho Verde), defensive lineman George Uko (Chino Don Lugo), offensive tackle Chris Ward (Mater Dei), linebacker Hayes Pullard (Crenshaw) and defensive back Josh Shaw (Palmdale).
Mater Dei has a ceremony
Mater Dei has a storied football history, and the Monarchs held possession of the most coveted recruit in the country, Matt Barkley, in 2008. Although it boasted offensive lineman Chris Ward, who signed with UCLA, the Monarchs’ other top senior prospects from 2009 were honored among 12 athletes making their college decisions on Friday. They give a clue as to why Mater Dei (6-4) was considered to be in a transition year: Nose tackle Conrad Tavarez (6-1, 275) and guard Fred Eggert (6-4, 265) were headed to Georgetown, and defensive back Matthew Billeci (5-9, 170) to Brown. Great schools, but not great football schools.
Martin Henderson began covering Southland preps in 1993 for the Los Angeles Times. He contributes to the Orange County Register, Inland Valley Daily Bulletin and San Bernardino Sun, and offers up motorsports opinions at Racescribe.com. You can reach him at southlandpreps@yahoo.com.
