LJ b VB: Values

Tryouts for Viking boys court volleyball were held Sat., Feb. 21. In the coaches' information on the school website for students wanting to try out for the varsity, junior varsity, and novice teams, it says: "The coaches will assess players, taking into consideration different criteria—skill level, motivation, attitude, potential, 'coach-ability,' and responsibility/maturity."

 

Head Coach Dave Jones and I have talked about this multiple times over the past several years. His program is not merely to prepare teams to win games. His philosophy includes an overall perspective that takes into consideration the whole person as student athletes participate in his program.

 

This is important to me, because I am a classroom teacher, I am a stepfather and grandfather, and my parents inculcated similar views into my sister, brother, and myself as we grew up. A grounding in values is important for any individual, young or old. I know I'm preaching here, but without these values being held foremost by coaches and other adult role models, high school sports become an empty shell in which self-advancement, placement in college with an athletic scholarship, and similar become the end-all and be-all for parents and their daughters and sons playing sports for all the wrong reasons.

 

The tryout information section goes on to say: "Volleyball is a TEAM sport; the goal of the coaching staff is to place athletes in the best situation for the success of the program first, then each team, and finally, the players’ individual volleyball development. We’ve built a tradition of excellence in our volleyball program here at LJHS; selection to the team is an honor and privilege."

 

Amen. This has to be said over and over, because individual parents and others, while seeking to advance the interests of their young athlete, may try to override the coach's grasp of the entire situation--academics, the athletic team, individual situations, and so forth. That is why classroom coaches and walk-on coaches have to have accountability. These are school sports. They are not professional sports. They are not scholarship procurement programs. But the occasional parent will go off the deep end in trying to push their way for their child to play more, play a different position or role, or you name it. It's not the purpose of the program.

 

I remember as a youth baseball player a 12-year-old opponent's dad who screamed and yelled at games and generally completely embarrassed his son by his behavior in the stands at the games. Another horror story I've witnessed was when I was public address announcer for girls basketball at a high school in Ventura County many years ago. The coach's spouse, who I had played basketball against in high school and who had played professionally in Europe, carried his vocal behavior from the stands so far as to be prohibited from attending his wife's games. Can we keep a little perspective? These are the visible examples at games. Other actions may occur behind the scenes.

 

Support your local coach. That's my motto. Let's make school sports a healthy vehicle for our young people to develop and mature, both as athletes and as young people. The behavior we model is what they will learn. Let's teach them--using words, if necessary--the values of team spirit, modesty, honesty, hard work, and all those other things we value.

 

 

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Boys BB: CIF path

T.J. bombs from long

range over Connor

McCroskey.



8:30 p.m., Tues., Feb. 24, LJHS Big Gym
My boys are out, with La Jolla being eliminated 52-43 by Bishop's in the first round of the CIF playoffs. Who do I want to go watch in the second round? Foothills Christian? T.J. Leaf is said to be the best player in the county.

5:30 p.m., Fri., Feb. 27, before driving to East County
But how do I make it palatable reading for an LJHS audience? Via the Bishop's angle? Not likely. Make it a travelogue. Story-telling.

6:13 p.m., stuck in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the 94 East, cars not moving
A quarter of greater San Diego residents must live out here, or at least be commuting home at this hour from San Diego. Red lights everywhere. Hoped to talk to Foothills coach Brad Leaf before the game, but now it looks like I'll have to settle for just getting to the game.  Several trucks in traffic. Question: Are there more trucks per capita in East County than in other areas of San Diego County?

6:27 p.m. Breakthrough. Turned out it was an accident (a badly gnarled car still waiting to be towed by the roadside). We're zooming now. Where is Cuyamaca College? I've never been there.

6:35 p.m. Cuyamaca gym. Almost no one here. It's going to be a small crowd?

Nick Levine, Bishop's coach: "We've played them twice before. We want to play good defense and make them shoot over us. Easier said than done. Are you going to write something for the La Jolla paper?" No, for my blog.

Brad Leaf, Foothills coach, spoken to at the free throw line as he watches his players, including his 6'9" son T.J., warm up. A little startled that a reporter would walk out onto the court with 13 minutes left before game time to ask him questions. What are you going to focus on? "Get the ball inside." How is everyone's mental outlook? "Good. Everybody's ready." You played professional basketball in Israel, and that's when T.J. was born? "Yes. That was a lot of years." Good luck.

Phi Slamma Jamma by Leaf as

Bishop's can only look on.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

7:00 p.m. Prayer led by a Foothills Christian staff member. 7:01. The National Anthem doesn't play on the sound system. "Recite the Pledge of Allegiance." The crowd, mostly for Foothills, now in the hundreds, recites the pledge.

6:46 left in the first quarter. T.J., towering over his opponents, follows a missed shot to bank a shot in. 2-0 Foothills. It looks too easy. Knights forwards Justin Woodley and Sahil Sheth, both 6-footers, look like dwarves. Foothills' starting lineup, besides Leaf, is 6'6", 6'5", and so forth.

Half-court pressure forces Bishop's to turn the ball over. 6:12 first quarter: Leaf, at the free throw line, deftly passes to 6'4" Omajae Smith underneath for a 4-0 lead.

5:48. Nikko Paranada, the only Foothills starter under 6 feet, scores on a layup off a steal. 6-0. Another Bishop's turnover follows. Leaf, though 6'9", is setting up outside the three-point arc at two o'clock as you look from the baseline. Wow. Like a giant guard? I thought he'd be positioned under the basket. (I haven't seen him play since summer league a year and a half ago against La Jolla at Alliant University after his freshman year. He was Sunset League Player of the Year as a ninth-grader.) He's averaging 27 points a game. Surely he gets most of those near the basket, if he's that tall?

Bishop's looks like it could get blown out early. But guard Connor McCroskey, who looks tiny next to the Foothills guards, hits a three, 6-3.

Another pass underneath and another easy basket, 8-3. Another turnover forced. Reporter writes in notebook: "Scary. FH is awfully good." Instead of the normal passing around the horn you see in high school, Foothills passes over their opponents, across court, and sometimes repeatedly. The Foothills players look so relaxed, poised. The visitors look harried, like little kids reaching up but the older kids are holding things out of their reach.

T.J. now positioned at the left box, underneath the basket. He passes to teammates--not a ball hog--and pounds two follow shots to finally score, now 10-5. Lob to T.J. doesn't work. Bishop's Stefan Thomson bombs a three, 10-8. Bishop's doesn't give up. The first quarter ends 12-8.

Luis Salgado (24) scores and

gets the foul call against

Sahil Sheth in third quarter.

"We're the mighty Knights and we can't be stopped," the Foothills cheerleaders chant between quarters. (Both teams' mascot is the Knight, which eliminates that option for identifying the teams in a sports story.)

7:15:30 p.m. The second quarter starts. No rain outside, though forecast for all weekend. The entire Bishop's bench, including Levine, erupts, pointing fingers, when two players get tangled together. No foul called.

14-8, Foothills lead, on a steal and layup by Omajae. Do they ever turn the ball over? Leaf doesn't need to be a one-man show with this talent around him. Foothills has been ranked number one or two in San Diego most of the season. It is said that the Coastal League, which both teams play in, is the best in the county. Foothills' fans, mostly families mixed together in the stands unlike the LJHS mini-"Show" in which students stand together in one section, cheer like this is what they're used to seeing.

17-8 on 6'4" guard Luis Salgado's jumper.

20-11 on Leaf's long three-pointer from two o'clock. He has nice form with his lanky body. He doesn't put much arc on his shot. More like a line drive. But good rotation. Reporter writes in notebook, between taking photos: "This is ridiculous what you have to defend against."

Another T.J. line-drive three, 23-14, 5:00 on the clock. This time from 10 o'clock behind the arc. "He can shoot." The early bulge goes to 25-14, the first time Foothills has led Bishop's by double figures. T.J., who is human, doesn't sprint downcourt on defense, his one shortcoming I can spot. Omajae called for a technical for unsportsmanlike conduct with 2:30 left.

Woodley, Sheth passing up shots or being harassed when they do shoot. It's a tall forest in there.

T.J. draws a double- or triple-team, then passes to the open man. Definitely an aware and good passer. The first half ends 35-21, with Foothills pulling away after Bishop's closing the gap to 27-21 on one of the technical free throws by senior Eric Yu, playing his final high school game alongside McCroskey.

In the second half, Paranada (which means "for nothing") shoots jumpers and scores on layups consistently. T.J., at one point, gets removed from the game by his dad and chewed out--"We were just getting our communication straightened out" on a defensive alignment, the son says--then is quickly reinserted.

The big boy has two slam dunks, one on a putback, the other an authoritative move to the basket. The crowd loves the show. Leaf also scores off a pass on an inbounds play. He backs Sahil in, then turns to shoot. He does that from the left box. He shows he can do similar from the right box, in addition to his outside shooting. He's not the only one slam-dunking--Omajae does it easily, too.

At 48-27, the win secure: "They're playing against their own standard, not against Bishop's." The shorter Knights are game but overmatched. 74-52 the final. It takes one hour, five minutes for Foothills to dispatch their second round opponents.

T.J.: "We started off slow. We knew what we wanted to do. Nikko is huge. He doesn't make turnovers. That's the biggest thing." Appears very comfortable in a quick on-court interview immediately following the win.

Bishop's Yu, who helped beat the Vikes three days earlier: "We shared the ball well. In the first half we stayed aggressive and didn't get intimidated." Regarding playing his last game with his backcourt mate McCroskey: "It was a lot of fun playing against him on club teams. He didn't play last year." Finally: "I'm really proud of our team this year. We weren't the biggest, but we played hard."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ baseball: Preview

The La Jolla High baseball team not only has a field to play on, but a solid crop of players to move around as chess pieces on that field.

That's the fortune of the baseball program. As of later this spring, the football team won't have a field to play games on or a field to practice on. That's all yet to be arranged with the replacement of the 10-year-old Edwards Stadium surface.

Right up above a few thousand feet, Head Coach Gary Frank's fire eaters are preparing for a scrimmage Tues., March 3, and the annual Alumni Game Sat., March 7.

Timmy Holdgrafer is one of the top dogs coming back. He's committed to play baseball at St. Mary's in the Bay Area. He is a two-time First Team All-Western League selection and a three-year starter. "He'll pitch one day a week," says Frank. "We're not a hundred percent sure (about where he will play on his non-pitching days). He could be at shortstop and third base. He could be in the outfield. He's basically where we need someone to plug a hole."

I asked the coach if he has ever thought of having the versatile Holdgrafer play all nine positions in one game, a la Cesar Tovar of the Minnesota Twins and Campy Campaneris of the Kansas City A's back in the day. "When we weren't very good, we had Robby Ortiz play all nine," says Frank. "It's tougher in high school, because it's only seven innings. We moved Robby around within an inning to different spots in the outfield."

Weston Clark, a lefty to Holdgrater's righty, returns as a Second Team all-leaguer last year and a three-year starter on varsity. "He'll play a lot of rightfield and start the year as our number two starting pitcher," offered the coach.

James Whelan will patrol centerfield and pitch a little. He was Second Team All-Western League in 2014. "He closed a little last year with Brett (Volger, senior who graduated). He might be a starter. He might be relief."

Luke Bucon is s returning starting pitcher who hit .300 last year and was third on the team in RBI's with 19.

Noah Strohl is a strapping first baseman who stood 6'6" last year. We'll see if he has continued to grow and extend his reach at the prime bag. He led the team in RBI's with 23 last year and three home runs. He hit some shots last year.

Sean Hofmann "will lead off. He is real fast," according to his coach. "He's working at shortstop and second base. He'll get time at both." In fact, Frank views the middle infield positions as fairly interchangeable, with others working out at both positions as well.

"We're losing only three seniors from last year," says Frank, "and all three made all-league. But we have excellent players coming back." All the starting position players batted .300 or a fraction within it in 2014.

"We were toward the bottom of Division II last year. Now we're near the top of Division II. Hopefully, if we do well we can get up to Division I and the Open Division in the next year or so."

A transfer from Parker is Zach Sehgal, a sophomore who has already committed to play at Stanford. Sehgal will have to sit out part of the season as a result of his transfer to LJHS.

Trenton Fudge "came back to baseball after a year in tennis," says Frank. "He can play everything. He can play middle infield. He might be a starter. At the beginning he won't start because he has some rust to get rid of, but he is very talented."

Frank said it is his guess that the Edwards Field construction will affect his team next year, when "it will be hard to get on the (baseball) field before the season" because of displaced teams' need for some place to practice.



Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

Boys BB: Playoffs

To track La Jolla's opponent in the first round of the CIF Division II playoffs, Bishop's, the Knights receive the unenviable task of facing top-seed Foothills Christian and 6'9" T.J. Leaf in the second round at Cuyamaca College Fri., Feb. 27, at 7 p.m.

The team that eliminated the Vikings from the playoffs will have to try to find answers for who is said to be the best player in the county. Leaf, a junior, is averaging 27 points and 14 rebounds a game. Bishop's defeated Foothills when Leaf was injured. But the private school in El Cajon is hitting on all cylinders right now, destroying poor Patrick Henry 77-37 in a first-round game.

Foothills Christian is not a one-dimensional team, either. Coach Brad Leaf, father of T.J., has a long history of winning teams. T.J.'s older brother Troy set CIF San Diego Section scoring records from long range. T.J., interestingly, was born in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was named Player of the Year in the Sunset League as a freshman and has developed considerably since then.

Brad Leaf played basketball professionally in Israel. During that time is when T.J. was born.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ g water polo 4, Bishop's 8 - CIF Semis

Lefty Addie Seale launches from her perimeter

position out front in Vikes' 8-4 loss.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

The Bishop's girls water polo team smothered La Jolla, 8-4, in the CIF Open Division semifinals Thurs., Feb. 26, as Viking Addie Seale finished out her high school career and the red and black completed their run as the number-four team in San Diego County.

The Open Division is a battle among the elite teams, so La Jolla faced a juggernaut in hosting the rival Knights, whom they know well, at Coggan Pool before a large playoff crowd. But the Vikes are no slouches themselves, coached by LJHS alumna Keller Felt in her first year at the helm.

Unfortunately, La Jolla fell behind 3-0 before Ciara Franke scored a goal with 1:54 left in the second quarter. Then it was Kira Bruno's turn to bring the Vikings back within 4-2 with four minutes left in the third period. But from then on, it was garbage time as Bishop's built up an insurmountable 8-2 lead before winning by the final margin.

Junior Lexi Atwell scored LJHS's third goal at 4:36 on the clock in the final quarter. Seale, the senior captain, scored her only goal 40 seconds later.

The winner gained the right to move on to the finals.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: WGTL

As I stated in the game story on La Jolla's loss to Bishop's in the first round of the Division II CIF boys basketball playoffs, the Viking basketball players didn't show the signs of "WGTL"--an acronym I just made up that stands for "We're going to lose."

As they warmed up before the game, as they got closer to game time, as what turned out to be a pretty good-sized crowd continued filing in, the La Jolla players didn't carry expressions of impending doom. They didn't move around like they were headed to the chopping block. And that was very refreshing.

Their point guard was injured and unable to play again. But it was different this time. The coach didn't make an issue of him being out. At the team banquet Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22, in the campus cafeteria, Coach Paul Baranowski spoke, team members spoke, and nothing was said about the lineup change. I know it was discussed, because someone had to start in the guard's place and fill his particular roles.

But it was atmosphere of "We've done this before." Reed Farley had been out for almost four full weeks earlier in the season. Another factor contributing to a can-do attitude this time around was the fact it was a CIF game. All the regular-season rules are off. Anything can happen. Unexpected things happen all the time in playoff games. New heroes are made.

Look at Owen Porter. He canned four three-pointers in the second half, a performance he had never delivered before. After he made one or two, he was positioned at the top of the key, where he never strays. He's usually on the wings at the free throw line extended, or along the baseline. He said he didn't go into the game planning to shoot from afar, but normal patterns are suspended.

Despite the loss, the valiant effort without the deer-in-the-headlights panic was a good way for the seniors--I'm thinking especially of Zach Duffy, Ladd Castellano, and Porter--to go out. They gave their all. They broke through the mental barrier of WGTL. The large crowd, hundreds of LJHS students, sure weren't acting like it was inevitable their team was going to lose.

At the boys soccer playoff just before the basketball game, while taking photos, I overheard some LJHS boys debating whether to go to the game. "Reed probably isn't going to play," said one. "There's really no point in going. He's the whole team. His Top Gun club team was ranked tops in the nation a couple of years ago."

Inside the gym, before the game, I relayed this to Reid Martin, who I know from covering the football team. I asked him what he thought of it. He smiled: "We're above that." It was already loud and hard to hear, but his point was no, he and others were there expecting a real ballgame.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b soccer 0, Serra 1 - CIF First Round

Vikings' Will Curtis (3) battles for ball in front of goal

as La Jolla frantically tries to score in compensation

time. (Photo by Ed Piper)

In a dramatic CIF boys soccer playoff game just prior to La Jolla's basketball playoff against Bishop's Tues., Feb. 24, the Vikings gave up a lone goal midway through the second half and, despite numerous late attempts, were unable to tie the match up. They fell 1-nil to the Conquistadors on their home pitch in the last game they will play on the old surface, soon to be replaced.

This is the first CIF playoff game the boys have qualified for in the last couple of years.

Fans for both sides were surprisingly vocal, much more so than fans observed at boys or girls soccer games in the past few years. And they had reason to voice their emotions: as the clock ticked down, and the referee added five minutes of compensation time, every possession seemed contested.

Serra's goalkeeper came several yards out in front of his goal multiple times in closing minutes, resulting in collisions between him and Viking offensive players. Players lay sprawled after some of the high-speed contact. Jared Roberts left the game for the Vikings after one of these incidents, seeming to rub the right side of his back.

As an observer agreed within the past week, La Jolla has plenty of talent on its boys soccer team. First-year head coach Marcos Gonzales, moved up from the junior varsity, said earlier in the season that he planned to stay next year. This would provide some of the continuity LJHS has been missing the last few years with numerous coaching changes. But Gonzales also brought on a new assistant coach after the start of the season, adding yet another adjustment for the team to make.

Jared Roberts (on ground, right) and Serra

goalkeeper 13) lie on ground after collision

late in game. Both seemed okay afterwards.



Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB 43, Bishop's 52 - CIF First Round

Vikes' Owen Porter (background left)--

nearly "unconscious" in hitting

four 3's in the late-going.

(Photo by Ed Piper)



La Jolla High was afforded the rare opportunity of hosting crosstown rival Bishop's in the first CIF match-up of the two schools' boys basketball teams in recent history Tues., Feb. 24--the result of the San Diego Section's shift to power rankings from school enrollment in the last year.

But the Vikings and their bulging student turnout didn't enjoy the result as the private-school Knights rode steals and some clutch shooting to a 53-42 win.

Viking Owen Porter, a senior, didn't go out without making a statement as he hit four heretofore unseen three-pointers in the third and fourth quarters to keep his team in the ballgame.

The last one, an exclamation coming with 3:47 left in the game to bring La Jolla within seven, 46-39, turned out to be more of a period as Bishop's held onto its lead and forced LJHS into a pressing/fouling situation in the closing minute or two.

Asked about his near-unconscious shooting from long range, Porter said he hadn't gone into the game planning to shoot. "I was feeling good," he said as the reason he continued putting shots up.

Earlier in the game, it was apparent he was being more aggressive in looking for shots in the lane. Again, no, he hadn't been told to shoot more. The opportunities presented themselves for him to shoot.

For example, in the second quarter the senior wing, playing his last high school game, scored on a left hook at 21-17, Bishop's in the lead. He hadn't been known to take such a shot in his two years on the varsity, but the result was good.

A short time earlier, the righty had connected on a 10-foot jumper. He hadn't taken too many of those recently. Again, aesthetically pleasing, result pleasing.

The Vikings, down a man with point guard Reed Farley out, struggled with their frequent nemesis, the turnover. Knight guards Eric Yu and Connor McCroskey made life difficult for Farley's fill-in's on the ballhandling front.

First-year Bishop's Coach Nick Levine said before the game, "We want to do what we do: defend in the half court." He named Yu and McCroskey, his senior co-captains who have played together since youth league, as the key players for his team in the game. The Knights carried out their coach's mandate, and the two backcourt players proved him right in his assessment.

But the beauty of the effort on the red-and-black side was that the Viking players didn't have that deer-in-the-headlights look before the game. You didn't sense a cloud of inevitability that La Jolla was going to lose the way it seemed to hover over the team during a streak earlier in Western League play when LJHS lost six of seven games while Farley was out.

Shooting guard Ladd Castellano played hard and sacrificed his body on numerous drives from the right elbow of the lane extended, slamming to the floor as Bishop's defenders fouled him in trying to detour him.

Fellow senior Zach Duffy brought desire. It was evident Morgan Albers, who didn't play in the previous game, was more intent in fighting for the ball and trying not to get beat physically by his Knight counterparts.

By winning the first round game, Bishop's most likely wins the right to face Division II power Foothills Christian, which features T.J. Leaf, an outstanding 6'9" big man, Friday night, Feb. 27. 


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Day-of-game preview

Paul Baranowski, coach of La Jolla's boys basketball team, said his team's preparation for their first round CIF playoff game at home against Bishop's Tuesday evening, Feb. 24, was a matter of working on what the Vikings do best.

The veteran coach was speaking the morning of the game. His point may seem basic or obvious, but his explanation was in response to a question about how to respond to what Bishop's will throw at the Vikings.

"It's pretty hard in a timeout to start making stuff up," he said. In other words, as La Jolla has to make adjustments, depending on how the game is going and what is happening, Baranowski will tweak or emphasize certain things that his players have already practiced. A team doesn't suddenly start trying to do something it hasn't practiced or isn't accustomed to doing.

The question comes up, at least in this reporter's mind, partly because the Vikes will face certain challenges in ballhandling with point guard Reed Farley sidelined with his second sprained ankle (the most recent occurring in the loss to Cathedral Catholic Fri., Feb. 20).

Will Gaynor Blackmon handle some of those duties? "Yes, but he won't start," said Baranowski. "Morgan (Albers) will start in place of Reed."

Bishop's is known for pressuring the ball, with some quick individuals in the persons of guards Eric Yu and Connor McCroskey, and forward Justin Woodley. The Knights will also try to push the ball upcourt in transition. They're not hesitant to shoot from the outside, or go to the basket if they think they have an opening.

La Jolla would probably be the team of these two rivals that sets up its offense more and uses the 35-second shot clock to look for opportunities for shots.

Albers is not a ballhandler, so that would seem to indicate that shooting guard Ladd "L.C." Castellano will be bringing the ball upcourt part of the time, setting up the offense. It would also seem that senior guard Zach Duffy might handle some of these responsibilities, as he did earlier in the seven-game stretch when Farley was sidelined with sprain number one after the first Bishop's game.

Alex Pitrofsky, Mark Rawdin, and Owen Porter, other Vikings who often start, would have other duties. Their roles do not include handling the ball on the floor or setting up the offense.

McCroskey, a senior guard and co-captain with Yu, is kind of excitable. He reacted and got a technical foul in a game earlier this season. He is tenacious, and plays tough defense. He also wears his heart on his jersey tanktop.

Baranowski, asked about Rawdin, agreed that Mark's strength on offense is at the lower box at the edge of the key. He has worked on and learned certain moves that start with his back to the basket from the low post. He is comfortable taking a pass, putting the ball to the floor, and then wheeling into the lane. He can either stop and shoot the ball from his position on the right side of the lane. Or from the left box, he can step into the lane to shoot a jump hook or other shot.

The question comes up because in the game against Cathedral Catholic to end the Western League schedule, Rawdin positioned himself at the right elbow of the key against the Dons' bigger defenders. That's a location he doesn't usually inhabit.

"That's because he thought that was a better position," said his coach.

The unpredictability of sports and young people is the reason games like this are so enjoyable, but also so impossible to forecast. Even adults playing competitive sports are unpredictable. But with teenagers, anything can happen. There should be a large contingent of fans from each school tonight. Mia Kelley has already said her La Jolla cheerleaders will be present for the playoff game. It has an evening start time of 7 p.m., instead of the 5:15 start for weekdays league games. It will be loud. The rivalry between the two schools will exacerbate conditions.

Baranowski said this is the raison d'etre for high school sports. They are unpredictable. But there is a clear winner and loser, unlike the rest of life. It isn't a life-and-death matter, so people can suspend their seriousness about work, school, finances, health, and all the rest, and just enjoy.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: CIF preview

Sahil Sheth and Justin Woodley, two of Bishop's front court players, aren't tall but will shoot from outside.

La Jolla hosts Bishop's in a first-round CIF Division II boys basketball playoff game Tues., Feb. 24.

Woodley, 6-feet or so, can elevate. He is athletic and mobile. He is only a sophomore.

Sheth is bulkier, about 6'2", and plays with intent. He is not as athletic as Woodley.

The Knights play team ball, have no outstanding stars, and will attack defensively as aggressively as they can. Senior guard Eric Yu is not a talented outside shooter, but he will hawk the ballhandler and he helps move the ball on offense to his teammates.

How do I know all this? I covered Bishop's for the La Jolla Light last year, when Woodley first played for the Knights as a ninth-grader and the basic unit that is in place now was the unit they used last year under their previous coach.

Emotion will come into play in the playoff game, because of the crosstown rivalry. I was explaining to Mia Kelley, the new LJHS cheer advisor, that UC is a league rivalry, whereas Bishop's, though non-league, is a "blood" rivalry. (I meant that many of the players on the two teams know each other as friends and have played together in youth sports.)

There should be a good-sized crowd, even though it is a Tuesday game, because of the 7 p.m. starting time. During Western League play, weekday games start at 5:15 p.m., leading to disappointing crowd attendance. It will be loud.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Foul situation II

I asked Paul Baranowski about leaving guard Reed Farley in the game with four fouls for the entire second half against Mission Bay Tues., Feb. 17.

Normally, a coach would remove a player in foul trouble and save him for later in the game to avoid having him foul out prematurely. (A player is allowed four fouls in high school, removed on the fifth.)

"He doesn't do me any good on the bench," was Baranowski's succinct explanation.

The gamble worked out. Farley didn't commit another foul the rest of the game. He was in the lineup to make the shot that won the game with three seconds left, a little dump in the air in the lane. Mission Bay had imposing 6'9" shot blocker Armstrong Ojunkwu lurking nearby. But Reed successfully made his way from the left top of the key into the lane and let fly the teardrop. At which time any tears by La Jolla fans were avoided with the joy of the upset win.

This conversation took place before the Cathedral Catholic game Fri., Feb. 20.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Banquet II

Other things learned or observed at the La Jolla boys basketball banquet:

Gaynor Blackmon wears glasses. (I had never seen him in glasses before.)

I interviewed Owen Porter for a story a month ago. I failed to uncover the truth that he hates to do running in practice.

I was impressed at the team members' comfort and ability at speaking up front at the banquet. I was recounting to my wife Dianna on the way home after the banquet how team banquets were adult-driven back in my day. Only the coaches got to speak. Too bad.

This approach gives the guys further experience and poise in addressing crowds. We called it "public speaking" back in the day.

In what is not an uncommon practice at such events I've attended, a player will talk about a teammate--anecdotes, strengths, good points, etc.

Coach Paul Baranowski is extremely organized and structured when it comes to giving talks about his players at end-of-year banquets. One of our coaches in high school (Camarillo), I remember, gave every detail of every game, occupying the dais for an hour and a half to two hours. And he wasn't the varsity coach! He was coach of only one of multiple teams that were being recognized that night. The varsity coach was incensed, because now, on a weeknight, the banquet was going to stretch on that much more.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Banquet and CIF

Some things learned at the La Jolla boys basketball team banquet Sunday afternoon, Feb. 22:

Wing Owen Porter hates to run in practice.

Johannes Osypka is going to study engineering in college in his dad's native Germany (in the city of Karlsruhe, in the southwest of the country, if I'm not mistaken).

Shooting guard Tony Coan is comfortable speaking without notes about his teammates before an audience.

Ditto 6'6" Alex Pitrofsky.

Known before the banquet:

The Vikings get a home game Tuesday night, Feb. 24, at 7 p.m., against rival Bishop's in the first round of the CIF Division II playoffs.

Wow. LJ was awarded the eighth seed, which is fantastic, ahead of the Knights' ninth seed. The Vikings defeated Bishop's in their face-to-face meeting, hence the higher seed.

La Jolla lost six out of seven through the middle of the Western League schedule. But, at full roster strength, they had been 10-4 through the first half of the season. That had to count for a lot.

Unfortunately, Reed Farley's right foot was in a walking splint at the banquet, held in the campus cafeteria, moved from the original planned site at the Old Del Mar Trolley Station due to the rainy weather forecast. Life goes on for the Vikes. They need to play ball.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB 45, Cathedral Catholic 59 - Senior Night

The script didn't play out the way La Jolla wanted Friday night, Feb. 20.

The Vikings fell in a hole early to visiting Cathedral Catholic, trailing by scores of 15-3 and 19-7. They didn't hit early shots the way they did in their upset of Mission Bay three days earlier, and ugly turnovers reared their heads as in days of old.

But despite the early deficit before a big crowd on Senior Night, with both band and cheerleaders raising the energy level, the La Jollans didn't fold their tents and give up. They battled back to within three points late in the second quarter--giving the assembled multitude the thought, We have ourselves a ballgame--before letting things slip away in the third quarter.

The final was 59-45, Dons. There was a little disappointment at the ending to the regular season, with the loss following back-to-back wins. On the other hand, seniors Daniel Hemming, Johannes Osypka, and Grant Miller all saw significant playing time, and performed admirably in potentially their last home game.

And in an eight-minute stretch when the Vikings cut the Cathedral lead from 15-3, a 12-point difference, to 21-18, only three points, midway through the first half, they made time stand still and showed that they had the potential to battle back against a good basketball team.

During that effective stretch, from 3:21 left in the first quarter to just over two minutes left in the second, it was a team effort. Big man Mark Rawdin subbed in and immediately was fouled on the offensive glass and made two free throws. Rawdin scored off a pass from guard Gaynor Blackmon. Shooting guard Ladd Castellano hit two free throws. Miller entered the game at the end of the period.

Then to start the second frame, Castellano hit his first three-pointer. "Joho" Osypka was subbed in by Coach Paul Baranowski just in time to knock down one of two free throws. Then Hemming was inserted into the game.

Ladd sank one of two free throws, before point guard Reed Farley hit both ends of a one-and-one, and the home team trailed only 21-16. After forward Alex Pitrofsky tipped in a shot, the Vikings were within 21-18 when a timeout was called with 2:07 left in the first half.

Unfortunately, La Jolla couldn't keep the genie in the bottle, and turnovers bit the red and black as the Dons reeled off eight straight points and led 29-20 at halftime. They increased their lead in the third quarter to 41-23, and the game turned out to be virtually decided.

The Vikings helped make Austin Beech of Cathedral look like an all-star, as he continually scored and went to the line in the first quarter. He dominated play in the early going, as La Jolla had no solution for the 6'5" guard.

Showing the intensity and emotion of the Senior Night game, several hard fouls and resultant hard falls to the floor occurred. Vikings Owen Porter and Blackmon committed physical takedowns in the first quarter. At the end of the period, Miller was involved in a collision on defense, but no call was made as the clock ran out.

The only physical play that resulted in an injury was Farley's fall on his back to the floor with 1:58 remaining in the third quarter. At the time, La Jolla was down 45-28. Reed's right ankle apparently ended up under his body, and he reacted visibly. He spent the remainder of the game with a big bag of ice on the ankle.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Foul situation

The Vikings' Reed Farley played most of the second half against Mission Bay Feb. 17 with four fouls. He committed his fourth foul soon after the start of the third quarter. It put La Jolla in a bind, because Coach Paul Baranowski didn't want to remove him from the game. He was a key player in the close game.

La Jolla ended up prevailing 51-50 on Farley's shot with three seconds left.

Said Farley, "I picked up a few (fouls) early. So I had to kinda change my mindset but I couldn't let it bother my focus or overall play."

Did you go in super aggressive? What was your mindset going in? the sophomore guard was asked via text.

"Nothing different than usual. Aggressive but well aware of my situation."

One foul he needlessly picked up in the second quarter was a swipe at a Buccaneer as the Mission Bay player went by with the ball. Farley missed the ball, fouled the player, and ended up sprawled on the floor.

Farley was asked, Were you pumped up?

"Of course, but I don't think any more than usual. I was probably more pumped for last Thursday" (against UC Feb. 13).


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Rotation

"I thought Mark (Rawdin), even though he didn't play a lot of minutes, played well," said La Jolla basketball coach Paul Baranowski, looking back at the win over Mission Bay Feb. 17. "I thought Gaynor (Blackmon) played the best ball (he has played recently). He didn't turn the ball over."

Commenting on the seven players he employed against the Bucs, Baranowski said, "The rotation gets smaller the later in the season you get. The kids understand it, even though they may not like it."

The veteran coach explained the rationale for who plays in the rotation: "You have to be able to execute the plan. It's about more than size, ability, or buy-in, but who can actually execute the game plan."

Part of that plan against Mission Bay was limiting turnovers.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper
 

LJ BB: Playoff outlook

CIF Division II playoff seedings depend on what happens on the final day of the league season. However, La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski says the Vikings could go as high as the sixth seed with a win over Cathedral Catholic at home, or as low as the 12th seed with a loss.

"If our season ended today, our opponent would be Bishop's," said Baranowski Thurs., Feb. 19, the day before the finale against the Dons. "Even though they're (presently) the eight and we're the nine, because we beat them head-to-head we would get the home game. That's my understanding."

That's all nice, but it's before the slate of games the final day, Fri., Feb. 20, that will determine final seedings. Those will be announced Saturday afternoon, Feb. 21, after CIF meets and chops bait.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Cathedral preview

Cathedral Catholic narrowly defeated Lincoln Tues., Feb. 17, while La Jolla was upsetting Mission Bay. The Dons look destined to finish as runner-up to St. Augustine for the Western League boys basketball title, splitting their two games with the Saints in league play. St. Augustine has only lost one game, Cathedral two in league play.

"Cathedral presents some unique problems," said Viking coach Paul Baranowski, looking ahead to his team's regular-season finale on Senior Night at home Fri., Feb. 20. "Number one, they all shoot the ball well. Two, they're long.

"They're capable of turning it over just on their length."

The coach said La Jolla will have to replicate its performance of low turnovers against the Buccaneers, eight, versus their usual of 16 or so. The Vikings played almost error-free ball in the first quarter, when they were playing over their heads and jumped out to an early 11-2 lead. Mission Bay actually outscored the Vikings in the second and fourth quarters. Still, La Jolla stayed within themselves and their pattern offense.

"We're going to have to be extremely patient. We're going to have to see some extra emotion," he said. With Senior Night, there will be a big crowd. There is a doubleheader, with the girls varsity playing first at 6 p.m. So emotional introductions of all seniors from the boys basketball team, girls basketball team, and cheer squad will take quite a bit of time and ratchet up the sentiments.

La Jolla witnessed this last week at University City, when UC introduced all its seniors from the three squads plus dancers. The ceremony was lengthy, so LJHS's boys basketball team retired to their team room and returned to the floor after the ceremony for a re-warmup of 10 minutes before tipoff. They won that contest. That's a good portent.

Baranowski was asked if he will start all seniors. "I honestly haven't decided," Baranowski said. "I want to honor the seniors. I also want to do what's best for the team overall."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Coach B

"We lost our minds for a second, but we didn't stay in that mode for long," said basketball coach Paul Baranowski of La Jolla's scratching and clawing near the end of their 51-50 win over Mission Bay Feb. 17. After leading 11-2 and 21-9, they were tied with 3:53 remaining in the game.

"I felt good about the way we executed the game plan," the coach said.

The Vikings led 45-40 at the end of the third quarter but trailed 49-48 with 2:40 remaining in the game.

Baranowski complimented his defenders for limiting Buccaneer Justin Moore's options. Even so, the 6'4" junior guard scored 22 points, just about his average for the season.

Regarding Alex Pitrofsky's report card, the coach said, "A lot of growth. Much more confident. Still a work in progress. He knows that, but he has made a commitment to be better. And he commits to get better every time he steps on the floor."

The LJHS coach looks forward to working intensively with Pitrofsky this summer. "I'm excited to have him for another summer to get him stronger and clean up his footwork."

The 6'6" front court man went on a family vacation right in the middle of the preleague season. Hopefully, he will be in town this December to build momentum and enter Western League play with a ton more development under his belt. He is tall, athletic, he jumps well, and isn't afraid to take the ball up high to the backboard against the likes of 6'9" Armstrong Ojunkwu of Mission Bay.

"We talk about attacking bigs," said Baranowski. "You can't let bigs intimidate because of their size. It is rare to have a clean blocked shot at the high school level." In other words, Pitrofsky needs to continue to take the ball up to the basket, and he will have a good chance of either scoring or getting a foul call to go to the free throw line.

Regarding winning two close ones in the last two contests, "Coach B" said, "I can tell you from a coaching standpoint it's much more fun to coach a game like that. To win or lose by 40--there's no fun in that."


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ g LAX: Tryouts Sat.

Senior Lauren Robbins reports that tryouts for girls lacrosse at La Jolla High are scheduled Sat., Feb. 21.

 

"We have two sets of tryouts on Saturday, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. I expect the tryouts to be very competitive, since there are two new coaches and there are a lot of very talented underclassmen," Robbins says.

 

"I expect that the season is going to be tough in the beginning, because it will be a lot of girls playing together for the first time, but once we play a decent amount of games together I think that we will have quite the victorious season."

 

 

Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Balance

Mission Bay only had three players--out of only six who played--score more than three points in the Feb. 17 game against La Jolla.

Much gets made around the water cooler over how much the Vikings basketball team depends on one player. Actually, the Buccaneer case shows it's not that uncommon an issue.

For the visiting Bucs, guard Justin Moore, who averages 22.9 points a game, netted 22. Big man Armstrong Ojunkwu scored 15. He averages 9.5 points. Finally, James Burdette put in 8 points. Burdette scores at a 10.2 ppg clip.

Which is all to say, you're not always going to have scoring evenly balanced in the prep game. Players are young. It goes in cycles who attends your school in what year. And so forth.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Winning shot

The Vikings, down 50-49, took the ball out with 29 seconds left against Mission Bay Feb. 17.

Coach Paul Baranowski had called a timeout after Buc big man Armstrong Ojunkwu missed a seven-foot jump shot from the left side of the basket.

La Jolla waited five seconds, from 34 to 29 seconds on the clock, before calling a timeout to set up the final play. The Vikes had the ball on their offensive end of the court.

The 35-second shot clock was turned off.

Let Reed Farley take over from here: "We were looking to get a drive and kick starting at around 14 seconds. On the kick from Ladd (Castellano) I noticed I wasn't open, and tried to see if I could get Zach (Duffy) open for a kick.

"He couldn't get a good look, and when he gave it back I wanted to see if I could penetrate the zone and get a good look, and I guess I got a good enough one."

Farley drove from the perimeter into the left top of the key, lofting a leaping shot in the lane. It went in with three seconds on the clock.

As time transpired, the clock clicked down to zero. But the referees directed that two seconds be put back on the clock for Mission Bay to take the ball out. That meant further nervous time for La Jolla fans.

Coach Dennis Kane's squad, though, was the full court length from their basket. The half-court attempt thrown in the air didn't come close.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Players' comments

La Jolla, in building its early lead over Mission Bay Feb. 17, limited its turnovers. The lead was crucial, because the Vikings were able to fend off the Bucs in the later going with Reed Farley playing with four fouls the second half partly because of the cushion they had enjoyed earlier.

"I think the biggest thing for us was only having eight turnovers against a team that last time forced 20-plus on us," said shooting guard Ladd Castellano.

Said Alex Pitrofsky, "It was really cool to have back-to-back buzzer-beater wins," referring to the win at University City Feb. 13.

"We all played good defense in stopping the other key players from scoring their usual 14 or so and we all played together," said senior guard Zach Duffy.

Both Reed Farley and Pitrofsky referred to Coach Paul Baranowski's comments to the team after the game that they stayed to the game plan. "We stuck to the plan and everyone did what they had to do," said Farley, who scored the winning basket with three seconds left.

"After the game, Coach told us that we did really well sticking to the plan," echoed Pitrofsky.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b BB: Further analysis

Owen Porter (2) puts a hand up against

Bucs star Justin Moore in first quarter.

(Photo by Ed Piper0

Right after the Vikings took a 3-0 lead on their first possession, Mission Bay's 6'9" Armstrong Ojunkwu put up a shot underneath at the other end of the floor. It was important, because it was in the early going and the Bucs had so manhandled La Jolla in their previous meeting.

6'6" Alex Pitrofsky, not so tiny himself, contested the 220-pound Ojunkwu's shot, and Ojunkwu missed.

It made you think Pitrofsky could have an effect on the game. We can stand 6'6", but if we're relatively new to the game and haven't played that many good players, we can easily look at the other guy and think he's a tall tree compared to me--too tall for me to go up against.

Increasingly, you see signs that Alex thinks he belongs as this league schedule progresses. He followed up a miss to score shortly after his contest inside with Armstrong. Ojunkwu successfully scored over Pitro the next time.

But Alex didn't fold up shop and quit. He is young in the game, but he is willing to take the ball up inside. It might get blocked, but it also might not. A couple of minutes later he took a feed from Owen Porter and laid the ball up. The Vikings led 16-7.

A strength La Jolla has is that with Pitrofsky also comes Mark Rawdin, who is 6'5". He has shown a lot of improvement this year in his work around the basket. Fittingly, he scored the next basket for 18-7 with 2:40 still left in the first quarter. La Jolla was enjoying a nine-point lead over their former tormentors, who beat them by 19 points at Mission Bay two weeks previously.

Then the 6'9" Ojunkwu made himself known again by scoring over Rawdin. It was a seesaw quarter like that.

Ojunkwu finished with 15 points.

Only three players scored more than three points for the Bucs. Justin Moore, their star, pocketed 22 to lead all scorers.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper