By Ed Piper
Interestingly, a Viking baller who did his bar mitzvah has decided to play at a university that has its roots as an "orthodox Quaker" institution next year.
Charlie Gal, a 6'6" frontcourtman for Coach Paul Baranowski's La Jolla High team since his sophomore year, increased his leaping ability during the offseason and multiple times has been spotted with his teammates at various LJHS events.
Adding an inch in height since the inception of the 2016-17 season didn't hurt his basketball chances, either.
The unusual mixing of traditions and worldviews that is possible in today's international scene makes it possible for Gal, whose mother Lisa proudly shared with a reporter last season about her two sons' bar mitzvahs, to matriculate at Haverford College in Pennsylvania in 2018.
Gal has nice form on an outside shot, but to this point in school ball he has been streaky and more prone to bang inside under the boards.
He lost his long-time teammate on the baseline, Daniel McColl, with graduation last June. Now it will be up to the dark-haired postman literally to dip his shoulder into defenders and figuratively shoulder a lot of the rebound burden in the imminent season.
Evan Brown, newly up from last year's junior varsity, looked good in spring and summer action. The younger brother of Garrett Brown, a reserve forward on last year's team and starting catcher for Gary Frank's baseball team, he loves contact and mixes it up underneath.
Brown, good-sized at 6'3", will have to go through the inevitable transition from the JV to varsity level. But it will be good to have him get his feet wet with tournament action that starts next week, and he looks to be the other main postman for Baranowski alongside Gal.
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