LJ b BB 82, Olympian 44 - Grossmont summer league

By Ed Piper

Here we are at the end of June, the summer now in full swing, the warmth and sun meaning a good day for the beach. There is a relaxed mood, with school now having been out for two weeks.

And the freedom, the lack of preoccupation with class and homework duties, is evident in La Jolla's student athletes.

Four of them compete in both football and basketball--Gabe Solis, Evan Brown, Diego Solis, and Langston Aron.

The Vikings' summer basketball squad, which includes solo-sporters Nick Hulquist, as well as Otto Lenz, rising sophomores Christian Gamboa and Harry Kaseff, and rising freshman Max Raulston, showed flair, speed, and power in overwhelming a younger, inexperienced Olympian team in a Grossmont summer league game, 82-44, Friday afternoon, June 29. (Returners Behzad Hashemi and Jacob Duffy weren't present.)

During the latter part of the first half and early in the second half (contests consist of two 20-minute running halves, with no shot clock), Hulquist dominated the game. The rising senior, whose skills are in full flower, made noteworthy moves that even got coaches on the sideline remarking to each other.

The 6'4" guard with the big hair hit from the perimeter, as well as displayed his patented inside swooping moves off the dribble during his hot stretch--until La Jolla coach Paul Baranowski removed him to give him a rest.

The more-talented Vikings opened up a quick 8-0 lead, upon which Olympian coach Marty Ellis called a timeout. La Jolla then expanded that to 10-2, then 25-9, and 28-12 on a Hulquist basket.

Gabe Solis, continuing to show the energy and mobility that he had on the basketball two years ago in helping lead the junior varsity, bombed a three from the left corner, just behind the arc, for 35-16.

He and his brother Diego, only the day before in a 7-on-7 round-robin in football, had been on both ends of a passing completion--Gabe the receiver, lefty Diego at quarterback. Then both had lined up at receiver, and came down clutching the same pass in an ultimate show of fraternal unity.

Hulquist decided it was his time, scoring on a finger roll with arm extended over a defender on the right side of the basket. His swooping layup upped the ante to 37-18. At halftime, in a meaningless summer frolic, La Jolla led 39-18.

Diego Solis continues to show his development, still only a rising sophomore with a season of varsity play under his belt. On one play late in the game, he out-raced an Eagle opponent to the ball, then swerved his body into the path of his defender as he took the ball and scored cleanly on a layup because the Olympian player was blocked from providing further opposition.

The thing to be said about Raulston is that, on the football grid as well as on the basketball parquet, he doesn't play like a freshman. You would think he's a year older. He may provide Baranowski another option on the wing and near the basket in addition to Gamboa, who showed he knows his way to the basket in Friday's game.