By Ed Piper
Every sports team, unless its purpose is a reality show, needs to live in a bubble.
A coach comes in, he or she creates a whole culture of thinking and playing that permeates the program. That's part of the way to being successful, as I see it.
Without the culture--an actual way of verbalizing things: "We play for each other", "I don't care if I score, I just want to put my teammates in a position to score"--they're just a group of individuals, without direction or purpose.
Of course, these phrases of which we're all too familiar can be just window dressing, quoted by a star player after a big win. A team has to actually have its players connect with one another as people, in addition to bringing the technical skills they possess in the sport, if it is going to go beyond the humdrum level.
Then, in my perceived progression of a unit's development, coach and players have to live in a kind of bubble in which things are different than they are outside the bubble.
In our culture, sports media make up a burgeoning entity in itself, living and feeding off even high school sports now (watch high school football games on cable TV).
We as spectators, outside the team bubble, still want the truth. Authenticity. What is really going on among the Lakers who are getting restless and disgruntled over management's recent statements that, beyond young players Lonzo Ball, Brandon Ingram, and Kyle Kuzma, "some are not going to be here next year" as Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka make clear they plan to play big for LeBron James in the free agent market next summer?
But, within the bubble the team lives in, undergirded by a culture of focusing on what each player needs to do in his role, not what others think--I am transitioning to thinking about the La Jolla High boys basketball team, which I follow closely, specifically now--the only thing that matters is the signals Coach Paul Baranowski is putting out.
None of the other things have importance. Yes, each of the Viking 11 (Otto Lenz hasn't been able to play yet, due to his toe injury) is a student on campus, each has friends, teens text and use Instagram and other social media these days. They're carrying out their roles as students at the school, while also being athletes on a team.
So, you have that permeable membrane around the squad, like a cell wall surrounds a cell, helping maintain the physical structure of the cell, letting good nutrients and other stuff in, keeping bad stuff out. It's a dynamic situation--the school year goes on, as the season continues.
Each of the team members--and these are no slouches on the book end--has classes and assignments, which they are tackling and handling.
Still, within the team cell, the "bubble", the most important thing is the mental stream that has to do with holding down one's position, one's role, on the team, all of those 11 adding up to the total composition that is the team.
Why do I wax pseudo-scientific and poetic over bubble reinforced by culture?
Because, looking over the horizon of the New Year, into the Western League season for the Vikings beginning Wed., Jan. 5, I see this as the savior, the godsend, the lifeboat for rescue and success in a league populated by giants: St. Augustine, as always, Mission Bay, new to this level of performance, and Cathedral Catholic.
Mission Bay just made it to the semifinals of the National Division of the Torrey Pines Holiday Classic. Boogie Ellis--come on, his real name is Rejean--had 42 points the other night in leading the Bucs to an early win in the tournament. The Saints look just as scary--mind you, I'm speaking in the language of living outside the bubble--as sophomore Chibuzo Agbo shined in the same elite tournament, along with the usual talented St. Augustine suspects. I don't even know the makeup of the Cathedral Catholic Dons, because, unlike the others, I haven't seen them play.
But, you know what? None of this matters. It's up to each individual Viking to believe in his teammates, trust in Coach Baranowski's game plan and schemes, to stay within the team bubble, living the program's culture.
As well as they do this, will spell how they fare in the 44 days beginning Jan. 5. in the coming Western League struggle.
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
Prep b BB: Tipoff Night at the Holiday Classic
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| The Saints, with Coach Mike Haupt (center left, behind #3), before their one-point win over host Torrey Pines. Gulp, the Vikings have to face them in league play. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
A lasting image of the preview night before the Holiday Basketball Classic at Torrey Pines High Tues., Dec. 26, was 6'10" Taeshon Cherry, a five-star player for Foothills Christian, talking to himself and hanging on the rim apart from any play his team was making. (He was warned by a referee for the rim-hanging antic.)
La Jolla had to face Cherry, last year's CIF Player of the Year, and his talented mates in the Grossmont Winter Classic last week, and the final score wasn't pretty--though the Vikings upheld their honor by competing full-bore the whole game, diving body-over-body for loose balls and battling the giant, Taeshon, in a physically-bruising contest.
You have to feel for the poor man, appearing in a major showcase before a packed house on the North County campus on the night the Los Angeles Times reports that he allegedly is "Player-8", an unnamed prep star tangled in a supposed web of payola involving Tony Bland, an assistant coach at USC, where Cherry had committed to play, then de-committed last week.
As his grandfather asserts in the Times article, the young man is probably a good person and didn't do anything wrong. He is super-talented, and despite his distractedness and lack of intensity, he still had a dominant role in the Knights surviving a late attack by Mater Dei.
By then, however, much of the large crowd had headed for the exits in the two-tier high school gym. The Foothills-Mater Dei matchup was created to be the feature game at 8 p.m., but many basketball fans left after St. Augustine, using an almost all-sophomore lineup led by 6'5" Chibuzo Agbo, eked out a one-point win over host Torrey Pines, the number-one ranked team in the county.
It was like the air was let out of the bag after the Saints' exciting win. St. Augustine, of course, has a large alumni base that, not infrequently, creates big crowds at their football and basketball games. This occasion was no different. Plus the Falcons, being the tournament organizers, were the home team--the only one with a student cheering section at the tripleheader Tuesday night. A long line of exiters immediately formed in the main aisles on both sides of the court at the conclusion of the Saints' victory.
Earlier, in the opening game at 5 p.m., Country Day's 62-50 win over a bad-shooting Mission Bay squad provided another lasting image: Ryan Langborg, the Torreys' 6'4" star junior, skying to block two Buc shots at the basket in the first half, then hitting key shots to nail down the victory in the second. (The Vikings had to deal with Langborg, too, in the Grossmont tourney.) Country Day's big man, 6'9" Jayson Taylor, who didn't do a lot against La Jolla, absolutely controlled the key against Mission Bay, stunning the Bucs with repeated blocks way up high.
My vantage point on the walkway above one basket was fabulous for viewing the action. And it led to a fortuitous meeting with a man I hadn't known previously, Steve Strommen, a retired U.S. History teacher and basketball coach from Bloomington, Minnesota ("That's where the Vikings had their stadium," Steve reminded me), a snowbird spending yet another winter here. Heavily tanned, looking active in shorts with tennis shoes, the long-time coach--whose father was a coach before him--also knows a ton of basketball and provided lots of detail.
We were reminiscing about our own days playing basketball long ago during one of the three games. I recalled telling a student how we used to have a jump ball after every tie-up, which the teenager couldn't believe. "When my dad played," Steve told me, "they jumped the ball up after every basket." I had read that, but since forgotten it. Asked what years that would have been, he said, "In the 40's."
When Mission Bay went down by 15 points late in the game, I asked the retired coach what you do with your team at this point. "You've tried everything by this point. It's too late," he said.
After the Saints' cliffhanger 69-68 win over Torrey Pines, I went down to the floor to tap a sweaty Mike Haupt, coach at St. Augustine, on the back for a comment. "What did you see in your kids?" I asked him, right after the player handshakes. "Toughness. I saw toughness the whole game. What did you see?" he said, turning to me. I said, "The same. Toughness. You play a physical defense." Haupt: "We do." The referees let them play on this night, which led to a clean, but rough-and-tumble, trio of games.
I was later able to Google Steve Strommen's name. He was so modest and would not have trumpeted his own horn, but I found he was inducted into the Bloomington Sports Hall of Fame in Minnesota in 2012 for his coaching of boys basketball, girls basketball, and baseball at Kennedy High. He retired in the early 2000's.
Tuesday, December 26, 2017
Gibby, fiery pitcher
By Ed Piper
I'm enjoying a new baseball book by Sridhar Pappu, The Year of the Pitcher, about the 1968 baseball season when Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA for the Cardinals and Denny McLain won 31 games for the Tigers. I was 14 years old at the time, and at the height of my baseball interest and ability to memorize statistics. (I can still quote you stats off the back of my baseball cards from that era, which I still have.)
I recently have acquired some baseball jerseys, something I had never done before. My wife is from St. Louis, and I have attended a Cardinals game at the new Busch Stadium on Cap Day with her favorite uncle, Uncle Rudy. So it was natural that I would look into a jersey for one of the Cards, an organization with a rich history.
But economics kicked in, and the two players I zoned in on from back in my young baseball-crazy era, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock, don't have jerseys available that are in the lower tier price-wise of already-pricey items. So I settled for Stan Musial's number six. (I had to go check on the rack what Stan the Man's number was--any true-blue--oops! red--Cardinals fan would have known off the top.)
I decided earlier this year that it made more sense to collect jerseys than baseball caps, because I perspire heavily, and I cannot tell you how many good baseball caps I have absolutely ruined over the years. (I still buy caps, but they mostly hang from racks high up the walls in our computer room.)
Anyway, in Pappu's new book, which came out this year, I am relishing the author's research on Gibson, especially. Gibson wasn't a favorite of mine as a kid. He pitched for an opposing team to my Dodgers (I grew up in the greater L.A. area), but he was fiery, took no guff, and was a killer competitor. He threw so hard, that in the completion of his windup he always fell to the left off the mound, in a dramatic finish that is discussed in detail in the book.
I admire Gibson's courage. As a young black man with his mother in the home and his older brother his role model and sports coach (Gibson was an outstanding 6'1" basketball player at Creighton University), he learned a protective posture of walling people outside his family out of his private life.
This was intimidating to many people, and Gibson didn't endear himself to Cardinal fans or the August Busch organization that owns the team's franchise. He just won a lot. But Pappu's narration of Gibson's life makes the glare and the me-against-the-world attitude more understandable, and less threatening. The early parts of the book have increased my admiration for the man, and made me feel a connection in some way, though I never grew up in the projects or faced racism the way he did (though I lived a year in Mexico City, and dealt with being the only non-Mexican in many groups--but I chose to go and live there, and I wasn't the one at the bottom of the totem pole as African-Americans are made to be in our society).
Gibson grew up in the Logan Fontenelle Homes in North Omaha, Nebraska, as Pappu tells us. It was a tough neighborhood. These were the "projects", and you had to learn to be a survivor.
I'm enjoying a new baseball book by Sridhar Pappu, The Year of the Pitcher, about the 1968 baseball season when Bob Gibson had a 1.12 ERA for the Cardinals and Denny McLain won 31 games for the Tigers. I was 14 years old at the time, and at the height of my baseball interest and ability to memorize statistics. (I can still quote you stats off the back of my baseball cards from that era, which I still have.)
I recently have acquired some baseball jerseys, something I had never done before. My wife is from St. Louis, and I have attended a Cardinals game at the new Busch Stadium on Cap Day with her favorite uncle, Uncle Rudy. So it was natural that I would look into a jersey for one of the Cards, an organization with a rich history.
But economics kicked in, and the two players I zoned in on from back in my young baseball-crazy era, Bob Gibson and Lou Brock, don't have jerseys available that are in the lower tier price-wise of already-pricey items. So I settled for Stan Musial's number six. (I had to go check on the rack what Stan the Man's number was--any true-blue--oops! red--Cardinals fan would have known off the top.)
I decided earlier this year that it made more sense to collect jerseys than baseball caps, because I perspire heavily, and I cannot tell you how many good baseball caps I have absolutely ruined over the years. (I still buy caps, but they mostly hang from racks high up the walls in our computer room.)
Anyway, in Pappu's new book, which came out this year, I am relishing the author's research on Gibson, especially. Gibson wasn't a favorite of mine as a kid. He pitched for an opposing team to my Dodgers (I grew up in the greater L.A. area), but he was fiery, took no guff, and was a killer competitor. He threw so hard, that in the completion of his windup he always fell to the left off the mound, in a dramatic finish that is discussed in detail in the book.
I admire Gibson's courage. As a young black man with his mother in the home and his older brother his role model and sports coach (Gibson was an outstanding 6'1" basketball player at Creighton University), he learned a protective posture of walling people outside his family out of his private life.
This was intimidating to many people, and Gibson didn't endear himself to Cardinal fans or the August Busch organization that owns the team's franchise. He just won a lot. But Pappu's narration of Gibson's life makes the glare and the me-against-the-world attitude more understandable, and less threatening. The early parts of the book have increased my admiration for the man, and made me feel a connection in some way, though I never grew up in the projects or faced racism the way he did (though I lived a year in Mexico City, and dealt with being the only non-Mexican in many groups--but I chose to go and live there, and I wasn't the one at the bottom of the totem pole as African-Americans are made to be in our society).
Gibson grew up in the Logan Fontenelle Homes in North Omaha, Nebraska, as Pappu tells us. It was a tough neighborhood. These were the "projects", and you had to learn to be a survivor.
Sunday, December 24, 2017
LJ b BB: Behzad buzzin' circles around foes
By Ed Piper
Behzad Hashemi, the Vikings' point guard, is occupying more space.
The 5'10" junior isn't literally filling up more court territory. But his "sphere of influence", to use a geopolitical term, has increased since La Jolla's basketball season began.
The fleet backcourt player, jet-black hair combed back, speeds ahead bringing the ball up court, then stutter-steps in place as he comes to an abrupt halt.
Opponents applying half-court pressure have to catch up as the Viking flash bolts by, or give way as he feints right, goes left.
Due to Hashemi's quickness, defenders of La Jolla's half-court offense have to show respect by giving him a step or two in front of him. Given such leeway, he'll launch a three-pointer from beyond the arc, or a two-point field goal if he finds himself inside the line.
In this matter of perimeter GPS tracking, he shows an affinity for any location in shooting his smooth two-handed reverse spin off his fingertips: six o'clock (top of the key), three o'clock (the right side along the baseline), or nine o'clock (left side baseline)--as he did in the Vikings' December 22 game against Canyon Crest.
But when he's not shooting the rock himself, he's busy lasering it to teammate Jacob Ohara, who said recently, "Most of my transition baskets are due to him."
The two tandemed for all-tournament honors at Hilltop early in the month. Both unheralded, both lacking newspaper clippings to broadcast their skills.
Now, with La Jolla older and wiser 12 games into the season, having snapped a five-game loss streak with a fortifying win over Rancho Bernardo December 23, the bold Behzad isn't a novelty anymore.
From his point guard spot at the top of the key, he looks in command. Confident. An anchor point for the Viking offense as Ohara cuts to the basket, or Charlie Gal posts near the basket looking for an entry pass.
Where Hashemi's effectiveness was most evident in the 45-40 win over the Ravens to end the Grossmont Winter Classic was in attacking the RB full-court and three-quarter-court presses the North County school employed much of the game.
His lightning speed freed the Vikings from the ball being jammed up in the backcourt. He works against the pressure in Coach Paul Baranowski's scheme pretty effectively, with Gal playing a major role in the middle as a passing point. Ohara and Quinn Rawdin are two other guards who deal well with La Jolla's breaking the press alongside B.H.
But, alas, the red-and-black action figures are human. Not every trip down court against the Broncos was successful. In fact, in the heat of battle, the opponents picked off a number of passes.
Hashemi, who had not had a breather all game, stumbled to the floor twice in the last minute and a half of the five-point victory. On one fall, as he battled RB's aggressive defense, he kept dribbling a la Curly Neal of the Globetrotters as he hit the floor.
Ouch. His left knee was smarting. But after a full timeout, the knee had lost its sting, and the junior floor leader walked back out onto the court without a limp.
The young man displays a lot of bravado in his verbal expressions. Asked earlier in the month about his good free-throwing, he replied, "That's just repetition." Asked for an assessment of the coming season, he said then, "We're going to shock people."
But that's part of his mystique. Part of his game. The confident, speedy roadrunner who moves the ball up court with rapidity, then either drives and kicks, or drives and fires.
Profession
Behzad Hashemi, the Vikings' point guard, is occupying more space.
The 5'10" junior isn't literally filling up more court territory. But his "sphere of influence", to use a geopolitical term, has increased since La Jolla's basketball season began.
The fleet backcourt player, jet-black hair combed back, speeds ahead bringing the ball up court, then stutter-steps in place as he comes to an abrupt halt.
Opponents applying half-court pressure have to catch up as the Viking flash bolts by, or give way as he feints right, goes left.
Due to Hashemi's quickness, defenders of La Jolla's half-court offense have to show respect by giving him a step or two in front of him. Given such leeway, he'll launch a three-pointer from beyond the arc, or a two-point field goal if he finds himself inside the line.
In this matter of perimeter GPS tracking, he shows an affinity for any location in shooting his smooth two-handed reverse spin off his fingertips: six o'clock (top of the key), three o'clock (the right side along the baseline), or nine o'clock (left side baseline)--as he did in the Vikings' December 22 game against Canyon Crest.
But when he's not shooting the rock himself, he's busy lasering it to teammate Jacob Ohara, who said recently, "Most of my transition baskets are due to him."
The two tandemed for all-tournament honors at Hilltop early in the month. Both unheralded, both lacking newspaper clippings to broadcast their skills.
Now, with La Jolla older and wiser 12 games into the season, having snapped a five-game loss streak with a fortifying win over Rancho Bernardo December 23, the bold Behzad isn't a novelty anymore.
From his point guard spot at the top of the key, he looks in command. Confident. An anchor point for the Viking offense as Ohara cuts to the basket, or Charlie Gal posts near the basket looking for an entry pass.
Where Hashemi's effectiveness was most evident in the 45-40 win over the Ravens to end the Grossmont Winter Classic was in attacking the RB full-court and three-quarter-court presses the North County school employed much of the game.
His lightning speed freed the Vikings from the ball being jammed up in the backcourt. He works against the pressure in Coach Paul Baranowski's scheme pretty effectively, with Gal playing a major role in the middle as a passing point. Ohara and Quinn Rawdin are two other guards who deal well with La Jolla's breaking the press alongside B.H.
But, alas, the red-and-black action figures are human. Not every trip down court against the Broncos was successful. In fact, in the heat of battle, the opponents picked off a number of passes.
Hashemi, who had not had a breather all game, stumbled to the floor twice in the last minute and a half of the five-point victory. On one fall, as he battled RB's aggressive defense, he kept dribbling a la Curly Neal of the Globetrotters as he hit the floor.
Ouch. His left knee was smarting. But after a full timeout, the knee had lost its sting, and the junior floor leader walked back out onto the court without a limp.
The young man displays a lot of bravado in his verbal expressions. Asked earlier in the month about his good free-throwing, he replied, "That's just repetition." Asked for an assessment of the coming season, he said then, "We're going to shock people."
But that's part of his mystique. Part of his game. The confident, speedy roadrunner who moves the ball up court with rapidity, then either drives and kicks, or drives and fires.
Profession
Saturday, December 23, 2017
LJ b BB 45, Rancho Bernardo 40
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| The Vikings break their pregame huddle on the floor before their final game in the Grossmont tourney. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
La Jolla was able to exploit Rancho Bernardo's vulnerabilities, as guard Jacob Ohara repeatedly got behind the defense for transition baskets to enable the Vikings to snap a five-game losing skein with a 45-40 victory in the final game of the two-week Grossmont Winter Classic Sat., Dec. 23 on their home court.
Point guard Behzad Hashemi's quickness enabled La Jolla to handle the Broncos' press, and Coach Paul Baranowski started reserve forward Evan Brown in a shakeup of what had become a set lineup over the Vikings' first 11 games.
That meant Quinn Rawdin came in off the bench. He and fellow sub Langston Aron provided a supercharge that reinforced an urgency La Jolla played with to end the painful losing streak. Baranowski only used one other sub, Jacob Duffy, sparingly as he stayed with his core six the rest of the game.
Ohara, a 6'1" senior, slipped behind the defense for baskets in transition in the first quarter for Viking leads of 11-8 and 15-8. The threat he presented forced RB to be on the alert. He persisted in attacking the basket despite having two shots blocked and one tipped in the period.
In the second quarter, as La Jolla was building a 16-point lead, the swift guard slashed through the Bronco defense in the Vikings' half-court offense for a bucket at 19-10. Eventually, the hosts led by nine at halftime.
Meanwhile, his backcourt mate, Hashemi, who with Ohara and big man Charlie Gal played the entire game, was adding his own dimensions of contributions. Besides captaining the offense, he hit two shots in the first quarter, including an and-one on a cutting drive in the set offense.
Behzad's three-pointer from the right baseline early in the second period came during the Vikings' push toward their 16-point lead. Another three in the third quarter put La Jolla up, 33-19.
The speed in the backcourt and the power embodied in the front court in the tandem of Gal with Brown contributed toward Rancho Bernardo's disarray at both ends of the floor.
"Ev" continued to do the little things that pay off. Late in the second period, he tipped a Bronco pass near the basket out of bounds with good anticipation and effort to move there. A short time earlier, his block stymied an RB shot attempt.
In the third quarter, he took a feed from Ohara in the set offense to lay the ball in, La Jolla leading 30-19.
But it was in Hashemi's hands, as he matures into a leadership role, that the win became secure. Not having enjoyed a moment of rest throughout the game, he fell heavily on his left knee as he struggled against defenders in the RB full-court press with 1:22 left.
Baranowski quickly called a timeout. Behzad got up favoring his repaired knee, which underwent meniscus surgery but which he says now has a new unrelated issue. What was impressive was the fact he kept dribbling even while he fell to the floor, Globetrotter-style.
He returned to the court not showing any ill effects. Shortly, with Rancho Bernardo down only by five, 43-38, Hashemi hit both ends of a one-and-one with 24.6 seconds left--after missing the front end of another one-and-one. The Vikings led, 45-38, and they were able to survive a late Bronco effort.
Hashemi led La Jolla with 15 points. Ohara had 14. Gal added 10.
The team (6-6) now takes its annual respite over the holidays until Western League play starts with the opening game at Lincoln Wed., Jan. 3, at 5 p.m.
LJ g water polo 8, Westview 6
By Ed Piper
La Jolla's girls water polo team, ranked third in preseason polls, trailed eighth-ranked Westview 4-2 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter Fri., Dec. 22.
It would have been a bit of a stunning defeat, had Coach Amy Jennings' squad, winners of the prestigious El Nino Tournament only three weeks ago, gone down swinging.
The Vikings, with top-scorer Jensine Bugelli limited to three goals by the stingy Wolverine defense, still trailed early in the fourth period after Courtney Hall's goal put the hosts up 5-4 with 6:19 left in the match.
But from there, La Jolla outscored Westview 4-1 to close out a narrow 8-6 win. Sophomore Jessica Newell scored the equalizer only 16 seconds after Hall's goal. Then veteran Julie Shriver scored her second goal of the game in the next minute for a 6-5 Viking lead.
She followed with another goal at the 2:16 mark for 7-5. Bugelli, who had an earlier shot attempt slip out of her hand, fired in her fourth goal from the two-meter spot with 27 seconds left to seal the win.
La Jolla's girls water polo team, ranked third in preseason polls, trailed eighth-ranked Westview 4-2 with just over three minutes left in the third quarter Fri., Dec. 22.
It would have been a bit of a stunning defeat, had Coach Amy Jennings' squad, winners of the prestigious El Nino Tournament only three weeks ago, gone down swinging.
The Vikings, with top-scorer Jensine Bugelli limited to three goals by the stingy Wolverine defense, still trailed early in the fourth period after Courtney Hall's goal put the hosts up 5-4 with 6:19 left in the match.
But from there, La Jolla outscored Westview 4-1 to close out a narrow 8-6 win. Sophomore Jessica Newell scored the equalizer only 16 seconds after Hall's goal. Then veteran Julie Shriver scored her second goal of the game in the next minute for a 6-5 Viking lead.
She followed with another goal at the 2:16 mark for 7-5. Bugelli, who had an earlier shot attempt slip out of her hand, fired in her fourth goal from the two-meter spot with 27 seconds left to seal the win.
LJ b BB 59, Canyon Crest 78
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| Vikings' Charlie Gal (R) shakes hands in the pregame captains' meeting versus CCA. (Photo by Ed Piper) |
that it looks like up to me
Why don't one of you people
come on and set me free?
The Doors
By Ed Piper
Behzad Hashemi put on his best shooting display of the season, a hot 3-of-4 spurt from beyond the arc in the first quarter--from center, left, and right, showing no preference for launching spot--and Charlie Gal and Jacob Ohara had 15 and 10 points, respectively.
But it wasn't enough, as Canyon Crest Academy rode Aaron Acosta's 20 points and Tyler Elsom's 17 to a 78-59 win over La Jolla in the Grossmont Winter Classic Fri., Dec. 22.
In a well-played game by two disciplined teams utilizing their half-court offenses, the Vikings, now owners of a five-game losing streak, were only seven down near the end of the third quarter.
The hosts were within three of the Ravens late in the first half at 40-37.
But, having trailed from the opening tip, going down 10-0 during a rocky start under CCA's three-quarter-court pressure, La Jolla battled back only to see things unravel in the final period as sophomore Frank Gelfman hit a three and another jumper around Chris Koo's trey to expand a nine-point Raven lead at the end of three quarters to put the game out of reach.
Hashemi, a quick, streaky 5'10" outside shooter, finished with 14 points. After his early burst, he cooled down to only make one basket, another three-pointer, the rest of the way.
Coach Paul Baranowski employed all able-bodied Vikings in the effort, with Gabe Solis subbing in early in the first quarter in an attempt to slow the streaking Ravens and to help the junior newcomer get his legs after sitting out the start of the season with a football injury. Reserve Langston Aron, another junior newcomer, also was inserted early and showed heart and athleticism against a smooth-running CCA squad.
Once again the Solis brothers, including Gabe's brother Diego, both guards, were on the floor at the same time in the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, with the game decided, Gabe twice stole the ball at midcourt in Baranowski's press and passed to his younger brother. But both times Diego's layup attempts missed.
At their best, the Vikings (falling to 5-6 on the season) rallied from an early 11-point deficit to draw within 22-19 to start the second quarter on Gal's three-pointer.
In that streak, commencing with two minutes left in the first period, Hashemi sank one of his threes from the left side, Jacob Duffy hit one of two free throws after being fouled on a shot off an inbounds play, Behzad followed with a trey from the right baseline this time for 16-12, and Duffy scored again on a driving layup.
After Hashemi hit a nifty turnaround jump shot, La Jolla ended the first quarter only trailing by six, almost halving the earlier 11-point CCA advantage.
Meanwhile, while the well-coached Vikings handled much of the press well, Acosta, especially, was making them pay at the other end with his pull-up jumpers. He canned two from beyond the arc along with a two-point field goal in the first period. He added threes in the second and third quarters while the game was still being contested.
Elsom, another talented player the Vikings have been pestered by the past two weeks in the Grossmont tourney--which has not been kind to them--inflicted his own damage with three baskets in the opening quarter, two more in the second. CCA led 44-37 at halftime.
It was good to see Ohara back in double figures. But after the initial tournament of the year, in which he garnered Player of the Tournament laurels, opposing defenses have caught on to his slashing drives, blocking his favored move to his right. Jacob continues to hit free throws consistently, which is a strength--he was four-for-four Friday night--and he is still playing his role in the Vikings' team defense and half-court offense.
Friday, December 22, 2017
Winter break: No soccer
By Ed Piper
Once again, we're in our winter of discontent. During the holiday break, our skilled soccer teams have gone dark, as is their annual custom.
I went by La Jolla High Mon., Dec. 18, the first day of winter break--forgetting, with my subbing in the Poway and San Dieguito districts, which are still in session, that City Schools are out this week--and found almost no one to home.
Soccer field: No practice. I peaked in the gate.
So I walked into Coggan Pool, fortunately, to find Coach Amy Jennings on deck and her varsity water polo players just coming out for an afternoon practice.
Jennings was aware of the differing winter schedules between Poway/San Dieguito, off Dec. 25-Jan. 5, and San Diego Unified, lights out a week earlier and coming back Jan. 3.
"That's why we scheduled games against Rancho Bernardo (Tues., Dec. 19) and Westview (Fri., Dec. 22), said the head coach. "We knew they were still in session."
But our dynamic soccer players are off the pitch, even out of town. That's what boys assistant Victor Zendejas told me when I called him.
"Victor, do you practice today? Or did you already practice this morning?" I asked him, my disappointment about to be realized.
"No, we played Thursday and Friday (Dec. 14-15), then we're off for two weeks," he cheerily informed me. His cheer was due to the fact the Viking boys tied La Costa Canyon, a Division 1 power, then defeated Mission Bay in a cliffhanger.
Why don't you guys compete in tournaments during the Christmas break? I asked him.
"The players go out of town," Zendejas said. "They're not around."
So, anyone trying to get their sports fix will have to stick to the boys basketball team--tournament play before Christmas--and the girls basketball team--tournament play after Christmas Day.
It's a good fix, with the boys program hosting the Grossmont Classic and a full slate of games, three JV contests followed by three varsity games.
This is the first time boys basketball has hosted a tournament in my 14 years covering La Jolla High sports. It's great to be able to show up to the gym and hang out with other basketball enthusiasts while watching game action. It's kind of like going to the beach and watching the waves break: the action is continuous, and it is soothing to the soul.
After December 25, Coach Darice Carnaje's girls enter tournament play. Then, I and other basketball enthusiasts also take in games at the Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High. That is a nation-talent banquet. What a treat.
Once again, we're in our winter of discontent. During the holiday break, our skilled soccer teams have gone dark, as is their annual custom.
I went by La Jolla High Mon., Dec. 18, the first day of winter break--forgetting, with my subbing in the Poway and San Dieguito districts, which are still in session, that City Schools are out this week--and found almost no one to home.
Soccer field: No practice. I peaked in the gate.
So I walked into Coggan Pool, fortunately, to find Coach Amy Jennings on deck and her varsity water polo players just coming out for an afternoon practice.
Jennings was aware of the differing winter schedules between Poway/San Dieguito, off Dec. 25-Jan. 5, and San Diego Unified, lights out a week earlier and coming back Jan. 3.
"That's why we scheduled games against Rancho Bernardo (Tues., Dec. 19) and Westview (Fri., Dec. 22), said the head coach. "We knew they were still in session."
But our dynamic soccer players are off the pitch, even out of town. That's what boys assistant Victor Zendejas told me when I called him.
"Victor, do you practice today? Or did you already practice this morning?" I asked him, my disappointment about to be realized.
"No, we played Thursday and Friday (Dec. 14-15), then we're off for two weeks," he cheerily informed me. His cheer was due to the fact the Viking boys tied La Costa Canyon, a Division 1 power, then defeated Mission Bay in a cliffhanger.
Why don't you guys compete in tournaments during the Christmas break? I asked him.
"The players go out of town," Zendejas said. "They're not around."
So, anyone trying to get their sports fix will have to stick to the boys basketball team--tournament play before Christmas--and the girls basketball team--tournament play after Christmas Day.
It's a good fix, with the boys program hosting the Grossmont Classic and a full slate of games, three JV contests followed by three varsity games.
This is the first time boys basketball has hosted a tournament in my 14 years covering La Jolla High sports. It's great to be able to show up to the gym and hang out with other basketball enthusiasts while watching game action. It's kind of like going to the beach and watching the waves break: the action is continuous, and it is soothing to the soul.
After December 25, Coach Darice Carnaje's girls enter tournament play. Then, I and other basketball enthusiasts also take in games at the Under Armour Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines High. That is a nation-talent banquet. What a treat.
LJ b BB 66, LJCD 75
By Ed Piper
A tourney title accompanied by trophy presentations at midcourt in early December has given way to narrow losses and a silent La Jolla High gym after games in the latter part of "tournament month".
The Vikings were doing enough things to win, as they marched to the Hilltop Invitational championship December 1-8 and were rewarded with one player (Jacob Ohara) being named tournament MVP and another all-tournament (Behzad Hashemi).
In the most recent turn of events, Ryan "Cyborg" Langborg and his Country Day mates pulled away from Nick Hulquist, Charlie Gal, and gang to secure a 75-66 win in the Grossmont Winter Classic Thurs., Dec. 21 on the Vikings' home court.
Langborg, a 6'4" shooting guard who helped lead the Torreys to a CIF title over Gal, Quinn Rawdin, and LJHS two years ago when he was a freshman, sliced and diced La Jolla for 25 points, including three treys.
Latter December this year has proved to be unforgiving for the young men who play on Westbourne. A big loss to top-ranked Foothills Christian last weekend wasn't improbable. But other narrow defeats in the Grossmont tourney--and hosted by Coach Paul Baranowski and his program as an alternate tournament site--to Westview and now Country Day have now been sandwiched around a dispiriting overtime loss to rival Bishop's by four points.
Hulquist led La Jolla with 19 points, including an acrobatic drive and basket, with Hashemi tossing in 15 and Gal 14.
Truth be told, earlier in the month the Vikings also benefitted from a favorable draw, not having to face Canyon Crest, among others, in the Hilltop tourney. They did draw Helix, a strong team, but did recover from that speed bump to win the rest of their games. Canyon Crest is their next opponent in the Grossmont tourney, Fri., Dec. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
The red and black are now playing better teams, and though they're staying around, they aren't "squeezing the ball", as Baranowski exhorts his troops to do on loose balls. In other words, holding on to gain victory.
The eighth-ranked Torreys built an early 10-point lead in the second quarter largely on the strength of Langborg's pair of threes and 16 first-half points overall.
The Torreys led 39-34 at halftime. The public and private schools then swapped leads during the third period and early fourth. They were tied at 60-60 with six minutes left before Country Day pulled away behind Langborg's six-of-six free throws and Raymond Lu's five points.
"We still run some of the same things," said Langborg, referring to the CIF title game win in March 2016. Country Day won that on a third-quarter burst that put the Vikings away, despite Reed Farley's heroics. In the Division 3 contest, played at Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Vikings led by 10 points at the half, then succumbed to a furious Torrey push that bypassed them and left them eight points in arrears at the end of the third quarter, never to recover.
"We really moved well off the ball. It opened up the lanes for us to score," said Langborg after the tourney win. "We adapted through the game. We had our big man (6'9" Jason Taylor) back early in the game, (then repositioned him later)."
Viking guard Jacob Duffy, coming off the bench, had two key shots. With the clock running out at the end of the third quarter, the 5'10" junior hit a set shot from beyond the arc to knot the score at 56-56 as the buzzer sounded.
A short time later, early in the fourth quarter, the rivals tied again, Duffy sank a field goal with the shot clock at one second to put his team ahead, 60-58. After Taylor followed with a bucket from point-blank range at the other end, the Vikings never led again.
LJCD coach Ryan Meier and his crew had obviously done their homework on Ohara, whom the Torreys kept from running wild, as he has done on several occasions. Country Day held the Hilltop MVP scoreless.
A tourney title accompanied by trophy presentations at midcourt in early December has given way to narrow losses and a silent La Jolla High gym after games in the latter part of "tournament month".
The Vikings were doing enough things to win, as they marched to the Hilltop Invitational championship December 1-8 and were rewarded with one player (Jacob Ohara) being named tournament MVP and another all-tournament (Behzad Hashemi).
In the most recent turn of events, Ryan "Cyborg" Langborg and his Country Day mates pulled away from Nick Hulquist, Charlie Gal, and gang to secure a 75-66 win in the Grossmont Winter Classic Thurs., Dec. 21 on the Vikings' home court.
Langborg, a 6'4" shooting guard who helped lead the Torreys to a CIF title over Gal, Quinn Rawdin, and LJHS two years ago when he was a freshman, sliced and diced La Jolla for 25 points, including three treys.
Latter December this year has proved to be unforgiving for the young men who play on Westbourne. A big loss to top-ranked Foothills Christian last weekend wasn't improbable. But other narrow defeats in the Grossmont tourney--and hosted by Coach Paul Baranowski and his program as an alternate tournament site--to Westview and now Country Day have now been sandwiched around a dispiriting overtime loss to rival Bishop's by four points.
Hulquist led La Jolla with 19 points, including an acrobatic drive and basket, with Hashemi tossing in 15 and Gal 14.
Truth be told, earlier in the month the Vikings also benefitted from a favorable draw, not having to face Canyon Crest, among others, in the Hilltop tourney. They did draw Helix, a strong team, but did recover from that speed bump to win the rest of their games. Canyon Crest is their next opponent in the Grossmont tourney, Fri., Dec. 22, at 7:30 p.m.
The red and black are now playing better teams, and though they're staying around, they aren't "squeezing the ball", as Baranowski exhorts his troops to do on loose balls. In other words, holding on to gain victory.
The eighth-ranked Torreys built an early 10-point lead in the second quarter largely on the strength of Langborg's pair of threes and 16 first-half points overall.
The Torreys led 39-34 at halftime. The public and private schools then swapped leads during the third period and early fourth. They were tied at 60-60 with six minutes left before Country Day pulled away behind Langborg's six-of-six free throws and Raymond Lu's five points.
"We still run some of the same things," said Langborg, referring to the CIF title game win in March 2016. Country Day won that on a third-quarter burst that put the Vikings away, despite Reed Farley's heroics. In the Division 3 contest, played at Jenny Craig Pavilion, the Vikings led by 10 points at the half, then succumbed to a furious Torrey push that bypassed them and left them eight points in arrears at the end of the third quarter, never to recover.
"We really moved well off the ball. It opened up the lanes for us to score," said Langborg after the tourney win. "We adapted through the game. We had our big man (6'9" Jason Taylor) back early in the game, (then repositioned him later)."
Viking guard Jacob Duffy, coming off the bench, had two key shots. With the clock running out at the end of the third quarter, the 5'10" junior hit a set shot from beyond the arc to knot the score at 56-56 as the buzzer sounded.
A short time later, early in the fourth quarter, the rivals tied again, Duffy sank a field goal with the shot clock at one second to put his team ahead, 60-58. After Taylor followed with a bucket from point-blank range at the other end, the Vikings never led again.
LJCD coach Ryan Meier and his crew had obviously done their homework on Ohara, whom the Torreys kept from running wild, as he has done on several occasions. Country Day held the Hilltop MVP scoreless.
Thursday, December 21, 2017
LJ b BB: Diggin' Diego's play
By Ed Piper
Diego Solis, a newcomer playing guard for La Jolla's basketball team, visibly grew leaps and bounds in his impact and confidence during the Vikings' rivalry game against Bishop's Tues., Dec. 19.
Solis, a freshman this season, started playing with the varsity players part-time last summer before he had even begun attending high school classes, as head coach Paul Baranowski saw his poise and the scoring contributions the lefty was making.
During the closely-played game against the Vikings' crosstown rivals Tuesday, Solis hit a 10-foot jump shot at the side of the lane that drew hollers from the La Jolla student section.
"He's a freshman," called out one student after one of Solis' exploits--the standard chant in support of a ninth-grade member of a varsity team.
Besides his self-assurance on the court, which he's had since last summer, the 5'6" backcourt player doesn't make a lot of stupid mistakes, even playing against opponents three and four years older.
Baranowski stayed with him as the game with the Knights tightened, from a nine-point Bishop's edge in the third quarter to a tie ballgame early in the fourth period. Then, in overtime, Solis remained on the floor. Normally, you would see a starter--Diego comes off the bench as a reserve--back in there when crunch time comes.
But not on this occasion. And he became the "darling" of the La Jolla student rooting section, which was the largest of the four games the team has played at home after being on the road for a tournament to open the season.
"He's so quick," remarked one LJHS student to a reporter, discussing the young player's exploits in the game.
Solis wasn't afraid to put up an outside shot or two down the stretch. His percentage wasn't good, but he is contributing in so many ways: playing pesky defense, helping keep the ball moving in the Vikings' set offense, copping a steal and layup (which he pulled off against the Knights).
Though La Jolla lost the rivalry game by four points, Solis further showed that he gives Baranowski more options in his lineup. The depth he helps provide on the roster enables the Vikings to deal with the rigors of tournament play: the present tourney they're involved in, the Grossmont Classic, transpires over two weeks and requires games three straight days this week (Thurs.-Fri.-Sat., Dec. 21-13).
Diego Solis, a newcomer playing guard for La Jolla's basketball team, visibly grew leaps and bounds in his impact and confidence during the Vikings' rivalry game against Bishop's Tues., Dec. 19.
Solis, a freshman this season, started playing with the varsity players part-time last summer before he had even begun attending high school classes, as head coach Paul Baranowski saw his poise and the scoring contributions the lefty was making.
During the closely-played game against the Vikings' crosstown rivals Tuesday, Solis hit a 10-foot jump shot at the side of the lane that drew hollers from the La Jolla student section.
"He's a freshman," called out one student after one of Solis' exploits--the standard chant in support of a ninth-grade member of a varsity team.
Besides his self-assurance on the court, which he's had since last summer, the 5'6" backcourt player doesn't make a lot of stupid mistakes, even playing against opponents three and four years older.
Baranowski stayed with him as the game with the Knights tightened, from a nine-point Bishop's edge in the third quarter to a tie ballgame early in the fourth period. Then, in overtime, Solis remained on the floor. Normally, you would see a starter--Diego comes off the bench as a reserve--back in there when crunch time comes.
But not on this occasion. And he became the "darling" of the La Jolla student rooting section, which was the largest of the four games the team has played at home after being on the road for a tournament to open the season.
"He's so quick," remarked one LJHS student to a reporter, discussing the young player's exploits in the game.
Solis wasn't afraid to put up an outside shot or two down the stretch. His percentage wasn't good, but he is contributing in so many ways: playing pesky defense, helping keep the ball moving in the Vikings' set offense, copping a steal and layup (which he pulled off against the Knights).
Though La Jolla lost the rivalry game by four points, Solis further showed that he gives Baranowski more options in his lineup. The depth he helps provide on the roster enables the Vikings to deal with the rigors of tournament play: the present tourney they're involved in, the Grossmont Classic, transpires over two weeks and requires games three straight days this week (Thurs.-Fri.-Sat., Dec. 21-13).
LJ g water polo 15, RB 6
 |
| Viking goalie MC Rendon makes a stop in the fourth quarter against Rancho Bernardo. (Photos by Ed Piper) |
La Jolla's water polo team, winners of the El Nino Tournament in Irvine, jumped out to a 9-1 lead over Rancho Bernardo, and the Vikings only let their foot up on the pedal a little the rest of the way en route to a 15-6 win in the Broncos' pool as the afternoon sun faded Tues., Dec. 19.
"We get a lot of counter goals. We just try to keep using our speed," said co-captain Katie Koenig, assessing her teammates while sitting out on a concussion protocol. "We're really fast," agreed the other co-captain, senior Leslie Rendon.
Jensine Bugelli had scored eight goals before things had progressed very far in the match. After scoring back-to-back goals early in second quarter, the Vikings leading by a wide margin, Bugelli was pulled for a rest to let other team members have a chance to score.
But then, after the halftime chat, Coach Amy Jennings told her, "Jensine, go back in," at which point the junior almost immediately scored again for an 11-2 margin.
What was working for the Vikings?
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| Sophomore goalie Shauna Franke puts the ball back in play after a defensive stop by the Vikings in the second quarter. |
"Keeping our heads in the game. We continued to push," said Rendon.
What do you try to work on when the game is basically a blowout like this one?
"We stop doing counter goals," said Koenig, a junior. "We work on drives, half-court (patterned offense), and picks."
These are similar to moves of the same name in basketball: driving toward the goal; working from a set offense, instead of fast-break/transition, called counterattack in water polo; and picks, blocking a defender to free up a teammate for a scoring opportunity.
For the Vikings, Bugelli (three times), sophomore Jessica Newell (twice), and senior Julie Shriver scored in the first quarter.
In the second period, Bugelli (twice) and Rendon scored.
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| Viking scorer Jensine Bugelli shows intensity in the post-game huddle as Coach Amy Jennings (foreground, gesturing with hand) speaks to team. |
Bugelli (twice), junior Leigh Ann Mallinger, and senior Kiley McClure scored in the third quarter.
Finally, Bugelli and sophomore Stephanie Babcock finished up with goals in the final period.
Sophomores M.C. (Maricarmen) Rendon and Shauna Franke shared time in goal for La Jolla.
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