We’re not into the full swing of basketball coverage yet, and won’t be until the first week of January—but we’re happy to be easing into it as football season ends, and until things really get going, we’ll bring you weekly updates of where the teams stand and how they’ve been playing. This week’s roundup centers around the Ocean View Tournament of Champions, which Poly, Jordan, and Lakewood have been competing in. This weekend we’ll bring you final results of the tourney, as well as our first girls’ roundup.
Cabrillo
Under first-year head coach Jim Nielsen, formerly of Redondo Union, the Jaguars’ basketball team is basically where its football team ended the season: winless but optimistic. They’re 0-4, and have lost those games by an average of 16.7 points—they’ve received solid performances from juniors Christian Verdugo and Tony Bell, both names to watch out for. Cabrillo’s next game is against West Torrance High this Thursday, in Torrance.
Compton
Compton’s hoops squad, like its football team, has the lightest preseason schedule of the league, as they’ve played in only two games so far—we only know the result of one, a 77-55 win over Banning, who’s 3-5 on the year. The Tarbabes are trying to replace Demar Derozan, one of the best local players in recent history. Their next chance to try and prove they can win without him will be January 5th, against rival Compton Centennial.
Jordan
Our own Ryan ZumMallen has seen this team twice at the OV Tourney, and is impressed by what he’s seen. You can read his articles about the Panthers here and here. Their win last night over Garces improves the team to 6-1, and with Stephen Heard (their 6’6″ center) and his supporting cast, they’ll be a team to watch this year for sure. Their next game is today at noon against Clovis West, at Ocean View High School.
Lakewood
We got a chance to see Lakewood in action last night, which you can read about here, and it was obvious that they’re a young team with a lot of potential—right now with a 2-5 record, it’s anybody’s guess as to whether they’ll be able to capitalize on that potential. Jared Garber and Jonathan Snugg are both capable players who may develop into something greater by season’s end. The Lancers’ next match is tonight at six against Killarney, on Lakewood’s home court.
Millikan
The Rams will probably be a “bubble” team this year, and they’ve certainly begun the season looking like one, with a 2-2 record. Jeff Breuklander’s team lost their first two contests by a total of 58 points, but have won two in a row, including a huge one-point win over Dominguez. They’re led by Kierre Beverly, who’s averaging 15 points per-game.
Poly
An easy win over Clovis West earlier tonight (in which the ‘Rabbits never trailed) raises Poly’s record to 5-2, good news for a team that’s still missing its productive center, Julian Camper, who’s out due to playing in the CIF championship with the football team. Shelton Boykins has come up huge in his absence, as the 6’5″ junior is averaging 15 points per-game, shooting over 50% on the season, and is leading the team in rebounds and blocked shots as well. Poly plays today at 1:30pm against Garces at the OVTOC.
Wilson
Wilson is 3-2 and definitely looking for its identity heading into next week’s North Orange City Championship tournament. Will they be the team that’s given up an average of 48 points in each of their wins, or the squad that’s had an average of 73 posted on them in their two losses? First-year coach Matt Michelson is hoping leading scorer Michael Wilder can continue his blistering pace (averaging 25 points per-game and leading the team in rebounds) and that center Joel Bitonio can continue to be the workhorse in the middle. Wilson’s next game is in the OCC tourney on Monday.