LJ b BB: On the run

From left, Viking ballers DeAndre Vaz, Kavon
Balbarais, and Shane Fay.
(Photos by Ed Piper)

By Ed Piper

A driver was heading down Nautilus Drive innocently Wed., Nov. 22, the day before Thanksgiving, barely any traffic out.

And to his left he suddenly spotted teenaged boys in T-shirts and sneakers running up the hill in the opposite direction.

No one wore any particularly distinctive colors, so identifying which school they all hailed from wasn't possible.

There was first a clump of three runners, then a few more, then several more.

Ah, finally, a huge figure, mustache and more facial hair, was viewed standing along the southern sidewalk, gesturing to his runners.

The easily recognizable figure was Hugh Demiral, freshman coach for the La Jolla High boys basketball program. Demiral, who played professionally in the Euro League, stands 6'9", so that was like a kind of sign post announcing who the kids running by him were.

The group of 15 or so was on a preseason training run. The steep incline is a favorite pick of basketball coaches to get their players in season form.

The driver, having identified the group satisfactorily, drove by without a word as he hurried to the girls water polo practice for a media contact.

Afterward, walking down Nautilus Road returning from the run were three members of the conditioning group: freshmen DeAndre Vaz and Shane Fay, and sophomore Kavon (pronounced KAY-von) Balbarais.

New member of the sportswriter's dash family:
mascot El the elephant, next to LA Dodge.

"I think Coach D is gone," answered one of them in response to a query.

"We ran from the gym up to All Hallows School," said another.

They were bright and interactive. Fay and Vaz, both 14, went to Muirlands Middle School last year.

"I'm from Oregon," volunteered Balbarais, who was asked to spell his name. "That's Filipino." Sounds more like French, with the distinctive "ais" ending.

He attended ninth grade at Westview High in Beaverton, which is Nike country. He just moved here.

"We don't practice until Monday (Nov. 27)," the day after the week-long Thanksgiving break, said one. "We think the varsity is practicing over the break."

Fay is a 5'5" wing player. Balbarais, who said he's in line to play for the junior varsity, plays shooting guard and small forward at 5'9".

Vaz, 5'10", plays two (shooting) guard.

The freshman and JV teams begin their official games soon after the tryptophan break.