Dynamic Drake point guard Malik Huff leads his team into the state Division III title game against undefeated Chaminade.
Photo by Edgar Angelone
The Pirates (26-7) were the ninth-seed heading into the Northern California playoffs but have caught fire late, beating four lower seeds along the way. Drake, led by a superb junior class that includes 6-6
Jesse Hunt, the team’s leading scorer and rebounder, 6-5 shooter
Jasper Verduin (25 points in the NorCal finals) and dynamic 6-1 point guard
Malik Huff.
The Pirates, which won the first D2 state title in 1982, are ranked 83rd in the state.
Chaminade (West Hills), led by big men
Jack Williams (6-8) and
Trevor Stanback (6-10) is No. 13. Drake coach Doug Donnellan is comfortable with the Cinderella role.
“They’re a terrific team,” he said of Chiminade. “They have three quick kids who can really shoot and two big inside players. How we handle their pressure and rebound is key.”
5. Athletes (Moreau Catholic-Hayward) — The Mariners (27-6) take on their mirror image in
Bishop Montgomery (Torrance) (27-6), which by super quick 5-9 point guard
Justin Bibbins and junior 6-4 shooting guard
Stephen Thompson Jr., who Moreau coach Frank Knight said “Is long, can shoot and is destined for the Pac-12 conference.”
Moreau Catholic rejects the notion they are
too young to win a state title with talents
like Oscar Frayer.
Photo by Douglas Stringer
The six-time Southern California champs will face a team with equal quickness and skill, but young. Moreau has four freshman and 13 sophomores on an 18-man roster. They are led in scoring by 6-1 freshman
Damari Milstead (15.8 ppg), 6-5 sophomore
Oscar Frayer (14.4 ppg, 10.3 rpg), 6-2 sophomore
Brandon Lawrence (12.0 ppg) and 6-foot sophomore
Armond Simmons (9.2 ppg). All four are considered Division I college prospects already.
“Neither team has a big post player so it should be a lot of up and down,” Knight said. “They are really balanced and have a lot of guys to deal with. I think we pose the same problem.”
6. Memory (St. Joseph) — Renaissance Academy is taller and just as battle-tested as the Pilots, but they don’t have the memory of a buzzer-beater loss in last year’s state title game like St. Joseph. Coach Don Lippi, who has won 756 games and two state titles in 35 years, said that painful memory will work in St. Joseph’s favor.
Lippi has led the Pilots to four straight state finals and five in six years. Long Beach State-bound
Temidayo Yussuf, a 6-7, 240-pound forward, 5-9 junior guard
Marcus Harris and 6-4 forward
Lamont Banks fell to the court in anguish last year when St. Joseph lost a seven-point lead with 25 seconds to play.
He now faces a long and athletic team that is led by
Steve Herve,
Marty Gaizauskas and
Marquise Mosley.
“The beauty of sports is that sometimes you get a second chance,” Lippi said. “These kids have made the long road back. That’s pretty amazing.”
