LJ b BB: Game-changer

Reed calms everyone down

while setting up the offense

against UC.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

I'm a team guy. I'm not for one individual doing all the scoring or dominating in some other way.

No one individually is bigger than the team collectively. There is no "I" in "team".

Yes, I know. I believe all these things.

When I played basketball and baseball in high school, baseball on non-school teams, and basketball my first two years in college, I was a team player. Our coaches drilled that into us. Hot-dogging was frowned upon, and we looked down on anyone who tried to bring the glory upon themselves individually.

These values are especially important in high school and youth sports. Because sports are life, or at least part of life, and the lessons our young people learn while playing athletics, they'll apply them in their lives outside of sports.

I hate to say it. But having said all this, I have to say it. Reed Farley...is a game-changer.

We all know that. Anybody who has followed La Jolla High basketball this year knows it. And it was made especially evident during the Vikings' recent streak of six straight Western League losses without him.

It was punctuated with the Vikings' two-point win over UC Feb. 12 upon Reed's return.

Reed will be the first one to tell you that he plays for his teammates. Coach Paul Baranowski preaches this: Play for each other. Don't play for yourself. Farley totally buys in.

But as one of the Vikings' assistant coaches said before the game at UC Thursday night: "They (other ball-handlers) had a tough time with him out."

It's not just Reed's ability to score. It's not just his ability to jump a lot higher than most of his teammates, and slam crushing dunks down on the opposing team that get his teammates fired up.

I hate the word, but it's swagger. I'll call it confidence. Self-assurance.

Farley was back out there last night walking methodically, placing his enormous size-15 sneakers down one step after another. He wasn't in a hurry. He...just...feels...comfortable out there.

And that confidence reassures his teammates. You can see it immediately in their play. "We have Reed with us," they don't say with their lips, but they do with the more-confident manner in which they carry themselves on the court, too. They don't look harried.

A technical skill that Farley also brings is his ability to control the ball--bringing it down court, holding it while eyeing the offense and setting it up. UC wasn't pressing when he had the ball. They were too busy getting down court to defend.

A fine wine will not be hurried. (I don't even drink wine.)

To change metaphors: There is joy in Mudville once again.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b BB: Team game, dream game

Pitrofsky goes up for

opening tip against

UC's Justin Holder.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

 

La Jolla edged University City Feb. 12, 65-63, and it had to be Viking Coach Paul Baranowski's mini "dream" game.

Point guard Reed Farley was back. But somebody else helped carry the load.

Postman Alex Pitrofsky had a breakout game, scoring 23 points and snagging 14 rebounds--a whopping 13 rebounds on the offensive end.

Shooting guard Ladd Castellano scored 16 points and added 7 rebounds.

Senior Zach Duffy tossed in three three-pointers for his only points of the night. A nice contribution.

We all knew Reed could score. And ditto for Ladd. But would someone else from Vikingville step up and put in some points?

That someone against UC was Pitrofsky, who has shown signs of brilliance in shot-blocking and work on the boards in his first varsity season as a junior.

It clicked like synergy between Farley and Pitrofsky, especially at the end of the first quarter and during the second quarter. The Vikings spread the floor around the perimeter, and Farley would find Alex inside.

Even when it wasn't a pass from the point guard, the two clicked. On the last score of the half, Farley drove and was blocked by some Centurions 10 feet from the basket. His shot, instead of launching in an arc toward the hoop, dribbled down and was an unguided missile for an instant. The 6'6" big man, seemingly intuitively knowing where to go, grabbed the loose ball in midair and pushed it up two-handed to the bucket for the basket.

Early in the season, Farley referred to his coach's desire for him to spread the ball around. "I could score more, but Coach wants me to get others involved in the offense," the sophomore said back then.

Someone said: You can get there faster alone. But together you can go farther.

Let's see what happens with two tantalizing games to complete the regular season before playoffs, both at home: Mission Bay Tues., Feb. 17, and Cathedral Catholic Fri., Feb. 20. La Jolla lost to both opponents in the first round with Farley sidelined.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b BB 65, UC 63

Reed Farley (33) was active

in the second quarter after

being out 27 days.

(Photo by Ed Piper)

La Jolla nipped rival University City, 65-63, in a Western League grudge match before a huge UC student body home crowd competing in a fan competition with three other high schools.

The win was the Vikings' first in league play after six straight league losses over the past four weeks. The Vikes did defeat Otay Ranch in a non-league contest Sat., Feb. 7.

La Jolla improved to 3-7 in the Western League, 13-11 overall, with two games left in the league schedule. The key now is to finish well, so that the Vikings can secure the best CIF seed they can and avoid having to open the playoffs in two weeks against one of the high-ranked Division III teams.

La Jolla narrowly led entering halftime, 32-30.

The game was scheduled on Thursday, instead of the normal Friday, due to the four-day school holiday for Presidents Day. Friday is the first day of the extended weekend with no school.

Viking guard Reed Farley returned for the first time after missing the last seven games, and looked fully effective.

La Jolla Coach Paul Baranowski inserted him into the game for Zach Duffy with 3:58 left in the first quarter, with the Vikings trailing the Centurions 9-8.

On the Vikes' next possession, Farley attacked the basket and was rewarded with two free throws, of which he dropped one to knot the game at 9-9.

Postman Alex Pitrofsky was a noticeable beneficiary of the point guard's return, being in position shortly thereafter to take a feed and be fouled on a shot attempt. The 6'6" junior made one of two free throws for a 10-9 LJHS lead.

Pitrofsky then scored a field goal for 12-9.

After two UC scores, including a three, Alex laid the ball up again on a pass from Farley. The game stood tied, 14-14.

After the hosts pulled out to their first five-point lead of the night, 19-14, to end the first quarter, La Jolla came back to begin the second quarter with a tear of nine straight points and led 23-19.

Later, shooting guard Ladd Castellano hit a three-pointer, and Pitrofsky scored again inside. Alex hit two more baskets off assists by Reed to end the half.

The Vikings had to contend with the amped-up UC student body cheering section. The theme was "USA", with students wearing flags, warpaint, and everything else in red, white and blue. CIF San Diego Section officials were on hand to grade them in a four-high school competition called "The Battle of the Fans," between San Marcos, La Costa Canyon, and another North County school, besides UC.

UC kept it focused on cheering more for Centurion players, not riding LJHS players. Jim Esterbrooks, a CIF staff member present to evaluate, said one of the rules of the sportsmanship competition among the four schools is keeping things positive--not singling out opposing players for loud, derisive cheers. In an earlier game this season, Farley missed a shot and opposing fans were repetitive and brutal the rest of the game in shouting, "Airball, airball," whenever the guard touched the ball.

In the game at UC, this was not a feature of the crowd's chants. Before the game, and during the end of the close girls preliminary game, which UC narrowly won, whenever the TV camera present went on, the UC students became louder. KUSI's "Prep Pigskin Review" was on hand. (Viking Mark Rawdin's dad works at KUSI.)

LJHS Principal Dr. Chuck Podhorsky was enjoying the game. His children will attend UC when they grow to high school age. He laughed and said, "I guess I'll stand in the middle," regarding how he would deal with his professional and family rooting loyalties in the future.

Farley's return comes at a fortuitous time for La Jolla. The Vikings entertain Mission Bay and Cathedral Catholic in the final week of the Western League schedule, then enter the CIF playoffs with the momentum of having their full complement back and playing together.

Farley, despite the layoff for injury since Jan. 16, did not show rust. Asked before the game how his ankle felt, he replied, "It feels good." He looked good in action.

This allowed Castellano to stay in his shooting guard position.

Not a large contingent of La Jolla students attended the game. It was evident, though, that students in attendance were enjoying the four-day weekend they embarked following the end of classes Thursday. They have no classes Friday, and Presidents Day holiday is Mon., Feb. 16, with school closed.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ wrestling: Timmy Cundiff to be Army medic

The glory days: Timmy Cundiff defeats Cathedral

Catholic opponent as Vikings win dual meet, 51-38,

Jan. 11, 2012. La Jolla had six league champions.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

I went to Timmy Cundiff's farewell party Feb. 6. The former La Jolla High wrestler and martial arts expert leaves Tues., Feb. 10, for Army basic training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, for 10 weeks. Then he gets medic training for several months at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas.

Timmy, whose parents Gary and Dee my wife Dianna and I have known for several years, was part of the championship wave of wrestlers at La Jolla from 2011 to 2013. Six Vikings won league titles in 2012, when Timmy was a junior.

He said he always had the U.S. Army in mind as he went about getting EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) certification and lifeguard certification after high school. He wants to go airborne, get flight medical training, and become an Army Ranger, which is part of special forces.

"I chose being a medic because you always need medics, and medics can go anywhere" in that branch of the military, Cundiff told me at the gathering at the family house.

He even mentioned desiring to do medevac, which is being flown into a war zone to pick up a wounded soldier, loading him or her up in the helicopter, and taking them back to the army base.

His father Gary, a Marital and Family Therapist, passed away suddenly a couple of years ago.

Timmy urges on teammate (on mat, not seen) as he

begins to move around in preparation for his match.

This occurred during win over Dons.

With his senior year shaping up to be better even then his junior year, Timmy broke his right ankle in a match and was sidelined much of the season. He came back to wrestle in CIF post-season competition, and placed second in CIF, which is outstanding.

But he said he opted not to move on to the Masters level, which would have qualified him for the state meet. He had recently come back from an injury, and he didn't want to put himself at more risk for a repeat injury.

As a junior, Timmy won his Western League title in his weight class. The Vikings won the league dual meet title. It was quite a period of success for La Jolla High wrestling.

He wrestled at 160 pounds, then 170 pounds his senior year.

Timmy said he and several teammates from the championship years attended La Jolla's meet last week against Mission Bay. One of the Viking wrestlers they watched was Jake Harvey.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ b soccer 4, UC 0

Senior James Penner (19) returns to the Vike lineup after

a long respite to help spearhead a big win over UC.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

On a cold night on a surface that is scheduled to be torn from its moorings in less than two months, La Jolla touched up visiting UC for an early goal by Noah Shen, then after a respite the Vikings piled on with three goals within 16 minutes in the second half to blast the Centurions, 4-0, Thurs., Feb. 5.

"Mercurial," one observer called the Viking boys' big shutout win after a reverse by the same margin in their previous game at Point Loma.

Players and coaches were light-hearted and pleased going into halftime with a 1-nil lead. Assistant coach Victor Zendejas admonished players, "Let's not get overconfident."

But the cockiness led within minutes to the first of two scores by Andrew Estrella to put La Jolla up 2-0. That goal came in about the 48th minute (6:27 p.m. after a 5:30 start).

Then, at 6:42 p.m., Estrella stood straight out 10 yards in front of the net on a rebounding ball that arched high in the air. When it came down, he clobbered it to the left of Christian Lathrop, UC's goalkeeper, and the rout was on.

Unofficially, Estrella, a sophomore, leads La Jolla with six goals this season.

The fourth goal, by Jared Roberts in garbage time, came a minute later. By then, Zendejas and head coach Marcos Gonzales were conferring on who else to substitute in, as virtually the entire roster saw action in the victory.

Ole Cassidy (22), Viking student from

Norway, played a notable game against

the Centurions.

"We played as a complete team for the first time and our chemistry showed in how we dominated every part of the game," said James Penner. "Everyone stepped up big and played well. It was a great team effort and I hope it (is) a sign of how the second half of the season will go."

The Vikings didn't make the finish easy for themselves or goalkeeper Alexei Sebald, facing numerous near-misses in attempts on their goal by UC in waning minutes.

There is the phenomenon in soccer in which one team, after scoring a goal or more, suddenly plays with all the confidence of winners, while at the same time the opposing team loses all its gas and becomes extremely vulnerable to another score.

This is what happened between the second and third goals by LJHS. Nothing changed physically, except increased epinephrine shooting into Viking players' veins. It was all psychological. The Vikings went on the attack, and the Centurions became more porous and their defense more of a sieve. It didn't require a single substitution to effect the change.

You can't quite see the mental aspect as clearly in some other sports as in soccer. Maybe lacrosse is comparable in sudden changes of what we call momentum. But lacrosse also can change from one minute to the next in which team has the upper hand, the psychological advantage. In soccer, the flow of one team lasts for a longer period of time, and the shift isn't as quick.

In both sports the ball is put right back into play after a team's goal. This is where the follow-up attack can be mounted to try to score another goal quickly on the heels of the first one.

One athlete has talked about his team's two-minute rule, in which they try to exploit the other team's vulnerability right after a goal by adding another one. There is a window of opportunity, and if a team waits, it is probably lost.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Stats vs. Scripps Ranch

Vikes' Eddie Parker (right)

surveys options while being

guarded by the leaping

Josh Fish (32) of Scripps.

(Photo by Ed Piper)



In addition to Ladd Castellano's 14 points, postman Alex Pitrofsky had nine points while fellow post Mark Rawdin bucketed seven in a 55-38 loss at Scripps Ranch Tues., Feb. 3.

In all, six Vikings scored against the Falcons.

Castellano also had a team-high seven rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Rawdin grabbed five rebounds in only 10 minutes of play, Alex Pitrofsky three in limited minutes.

La Jolla High has a Western League bye Fri., Feb. 6. The Vikings play in the Coaches vs. Cancer benefit Sat., Feb. 7, in a game at Montgomery High in San Ysidro against Otay Ranch.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper

LJ BB: Ladd Castellano, model of consistency

Senior Ladd Castellano (12) guards Kristopher

Wixted (22) of Scripps Ranch, while teammate

Mark Rawdin (far right) defends inside.

(Photos by Ed Piper)

Ladd Castellano got his usual 14 points against Scripps Ranch Feb. 3, even though the Vikings basketball team lost. The senior guard had four field goals and was six-of-eight on free throws.

Number 12 also scored 14 points in a bad loss to Lincoln Fri., Jan. 30. In fact, he has scored that many or more points in eight of La Jolla's games this year.

That is what Ladd does. He scores points consistently. What's more, he does it by attacking the basket.

"I thought that I did (attack the basket)," he answered when asked if he felt he was being aggressive after the discouraging loss at Scripps Ranch.

He's not a point guard, and he knows that. The Vikings know that. In Reed Farley's absence, Coach Paul Baranowski has gone a lot with Gaynor Blackmon in that role. He even plugged Zach Duffy into that slot for a game or two.

Castellano hit a high of 30 points in a dominating non-league 89-58 win over Bonita Vista Jan. 3 to start out the new year.

When Ladd burst onto the scene, it was the start of his junior season and he seemingly appeared out of nowhere to cash in key points for the varsity. He attributed his effectiveness partially to participation on a non-school club team, which is the way Farley grew up his skills beginning in the sixth grade.

Castellano moves the ball on

offense against Falcons'

Carsten Denherder (2).



Club and travel squads, apart from school teams, are a newer generation in many youth sports. In an older generation, AAU teams were not a factor. Playing youth baseball was common, with formal Little League as well as Bronco League/Pony League available for young players.

The newer era with the prominence of non-school sports teams was signaled by the drafting of baseball player Justin Hayward by the Atlanta Braves. Other major league teams had missed on the lefty bat cracker, because they had only sought to scout him during high school games, whereas the majority of his at-bats came in non-school competition.

Castellano has benefitted from the same emphasis. He'll acknowledge, though, that the school coaching he receives from Baranowski is critical in his development as well.

Especially during his junior year, Ladd had a father-son relationship with his school coach that included struggles over the young man "learning his role", in Baranowski's words. That task is a priority in Baranowski's system, in which "playing for the other" is emphasized over "playing for oneself".

Highlights statistically for the two-guard (shooting guard) this season have included 11-for-17 in 28 minutes against Bonita Vista. Castellano has played all 32 minutes in three games this year, against Morse, Cathedral Catholic, and the Lincoln game at home.

He dished out a season-high six assists to teammates against Morse, when he also had three steals. He also had six assists in a home win against Scripps Ranch in the first round of Western League play.

Ten rebounds came in losses to Santa Fe Christian and Morse in December tournament play.

Finally, Castellano has had three games in which he hit three three-pointers.

Ladd felt sheepish after his playful push of Farley after Farley's impressive two-hand slam dunk near the end of a win at rival Bishop's Jan. 16 led to Reed spraining his ankle. Asked about the celebratory push of his teammate the day after the game, he answered via Facebook, "I mean Ed there is no way I knew it was going to happen you know?

"I mean now that I look back on it, it was definitely a dumb thing but, it was one of those things that when you were in the moment you're not thinking cause I was just going wild on reeds dunk."

C'est la vie (That's life), as my mother used to say.


Copyright 2015 Ed Piper