By Ed Piper
"People think he's older," Sandy Solis, mother of La Jolla High brothers Gabe and Diego Solis, said of rising freshman Max Raulston. The 14-year-old handles himself ably on both the basketball court and football field, as noted previously.
In play over the weekend, June 29-July 1, in summer league basketball at Grossmont High, the dark-haired wing/forward comported himself well alongside Harry Kaseff, a rising sophomore, and Otto Lenz, a rising senior also seeking to carve out a role in Viking coach Paul Baranowski's rotation for next season.
"We've known him (Raulston) since he was three," said the mother of the Solis pair of La Jolla back court men.
The elder Solis brother, enjoying a productive summer in both sports, talked Tues., July 3, about the usefulness of getting to know one another as teammates and "building chemistry". He was speaking in the context of Coach Tyler Roach's football team, which he, Diego, and Max all also play for. But he could have been talking about the basketball team as well.
Things really came together in games Friday evening, June 29, and Sunday afternoon, July 1, against Olympian in the Grossmont basketball league. The Vikings had a flow and an ease that absolutely powdered the Eagles. Rising senior Nick Hulquist, the heir apparent to team leadership, went off in shooting from the perimeter. The Solises ran wild.
Meanwhile, Raulston showed an aggressiveness and ability near the basket. He doesn't seem to be experiencing much of a transition into the LJHS system.
And Baranowski has got to like what he is seeing on the court from the future ninth-grader, especially at such an early stage. Raulston hasn't even matriculated at the high school yet. But he is kind of making like Diego Solis did last summer--the rising freshman who shows poise and seems to fit.
Especially with a dearth of non-guards, it may be even harder for the coach not to include Max on the varsity roster come November 1, when official preseason workouts begin.
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