LJ b BB: The Bush dropoff factor

By Ed Piper

Unfortunately for La Jolla ballers, the Reggie Bush Dropoff Factor didn't come into play to help the Vikings toward a win over a big, physical Helix basketball team Dec. 2 as it did two years ago.

On Dec. 1, 2015, in a special showcase series of games played on a wooden court laid out on the infield of Petco Park's baseball field, Reed Farley and gang pounded the Highlanders--missing some key players who were occupied with the school's football team--for a resounding 55-30 triumph.

At the game, the high-leaping Farley, then a junior at La Jolla High, and his mates were a center of attention.

The game count was constantly displayed on the giant scoreboard in left field, and lighting on the court came courtesy of the stadium lights high above the stands rimming each foul line at Petco.

Evening moisture in the damp air, at the seaside location, crept in and attendants had to move industrial blowers into place at various locations around the court to minimize the slippage that Viking forward Daniel McColl experienced on one drive.

Helix coach John Singer, usually a yeller and screamer on the sidelines, this time sat meekly in his chair as the saga unfolded. He knew that his squad was missing key players, and he couldn't do anything about it.

You see, Bush and his successors in the prominent Highlander football program have perennially been involved in the CIF football championships. That means that, with the overlap of the football playoffs and the start of the basketball season, Singer often goes into battle in the initial games of the season without a few dual-sport athletes.

Of course, after he had assembled all of his players, following the conclusion of the football playoffs, Singer coached his team to its usual successful season. It would have been interesting to see a rematch between LJHS and a full-complement Helix squad later in the season.

Fast-forward back to 2017: The hoped-for help from the "Bush absence factor", with La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski's team facing a long, bruising team in Helix, didn't materialize--at least, not enough to afford the Vikings a channel of light toward a win.

The reality is that, though the red-and-back kept the game within four points in the first half, the final result was a 22-point margin and Blowout City.

Said Viking guard Quinn Rawdin after the game: "They were pretty tall. They were young and athletic."

Junior Behzad Hashemi, asked about his comfort level in his first start as a junior, commented: "Yeah, I was comfortable, but those guys (Helix) were long and athletic, so it was pretty difficult to make any plays."