By Ed Piper
La Jolla High coach Paul Baranowski newly posted his roster for his 2017-18 varsity, populated by a passel of talented wing/guard players who are fleet and well-versed in the native Zonie's system.
Guards Jacob Ohara and Quinn Rawdin lead the Vikings (see separate article on fellow senior Charlie Gal), as Ohara returns with his slashing drives to the basket, while Rawdin brings his experience and left-handed marksmanship from outside to the Viking parquet.
The blizzard of tournament games begins Fri., Dec. 1, with four dates in the Hilltop Invitational, followed a week later by four games in the Grossmont Invitational, including a matchup against CIF basketball power Foothills Christian Sat., Dec. 16, in the feature game that night at 7:30 p.m.
Foothills Christian just took CIF Player of the Year Taeshon Cherry away from St. Augustine two weeks before the start of the new season, which is pretty unconscionable.
But the event portends to be a fantastic test for the Vikings, who will feature their usual well-disciplined team offense and defense.
Behzad Hashemi showed in summer league that he can fill up the basket from outside.
Gabe Solis, coming off an all-league performance as a receiver on the Viking football team, will display the same athletic skills on the court that he showed on the Edwards Stadium turf, quickness and jumping ability. He just needs to get some seasoning to get more comfortable at the varsity level, where the ball moves much quicker and there is always somebody bigger in front of you that you have to negotiate getting around. He needs to discipline his athleticism to increase his effectiveness.
The big surprise of the spring and summer was lefty Diego Solis, Gabe's younger brother. Diego is only a freshman, but he acted like he belonged out there during considerable playing minutes in the Grossmont and Montgomery leagues in the offseason. He looked comfortable, poised, and he contributed some key scoring that the Vikings will welcome.
Jacob Duffy, part of Baranowski's talented junior class with Evan Brown and Gabe Solis, brings a good basketball I.Q. Nick Hulquist, a long drink of water at 6'5" in the backcourt, shot inconsistently in the offseason but brings a lot of basketball depth to his position. He'll be a tough matchup for the average opposing guard, with his height.
Otto Lenz, a 6'1" forward, is another junior who contributed to the red and black bunch in the spring and summer. He can shoot the ball in the lane. He will only develop more.
The Vikings were moved up to Division 1 for this season, so they'll be back with the bigs in the Western League, including Cathedral Catholic and the Saints in their new, incredible basketball facility on the North Park campus.
The difference from La Jolla's previous existence in the Western League is that, with the division upgrade, they won't get any letup in the playoffs playing down, as they did before. They'll have to strive for a placement in the Division 1 postseason bracket alongside tough teams that don't get promoted to the Open Division playoffs.
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