LAGUNA NIGUEL, Ca. – The Chino Hills High boys basketball team is unbeaten and ranked No. 1 in California, as well as being the top seed in the third CIF Southern Section Open Playoff.
Better yet, Coach Steve Baik’s Huskies are the consensus No. 1-ranked team in all of prep hoops after averaging 99.9 points per game to their 27 foes’ 71.5 ppg.
Five of those victories (vs. No. 2 seed Bishop Montgomery, vs. No. 6 Redondo Union, vs. No. 7 Damien (twice) and No. 11 Roosevelt have come against five of the other 15 teams in the Open bracket.
There is also a victory over two-time “mythical national champion” (and current consensus No. 3) Montverde Academy of Florida as well as wins over outstanding teams from Nevada, New York, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Georgia and North Carolina, as well as a pair Ws over San Diego’s best squad, T.J. Leaf-led El Cajon Foothills Christian.
Factoring in that resume with the presence of perhaps the nation’s most dynamic guard – Lonzo Ball – and the history of the first two Southern Section Open seeds (Mater Dei and Bishop Montgomery) having gone four-zip through the brackets – one could come assume that the Huskies border on being overwhelming favorites to win the third Open title.
And, on paper, that’s the case.
But here’s the rub:
The Huskies have handled every obstacle presented over a 27-game schedule – with only five of those games being played on their home court – that was more challenging than those faced by Mater Dei and Bishop Montgomery in 2014 and a year ago.
But the roadblocks they seem on track to face in the SS Open competition are harsh, indeed.
Assuming they dispose of visiting Santa Margarita (and its plethora of big and talented underclassmen) in the opening round Friday night, Tuesday night they will take on the winner of the 8/9-seed Inglewood at Alemany clash.
And then it could get very, very interesting.
A semifinal could pit them against a Corona Centennial program – led by Long Beach State-bound guard Jordan Griffin and future UCLA posts Ike Anigbogu and Jalen Hill – they knocked off in the State Southern Regional Division I final in Long Beach.
Or it might come against the Mater Dei Monarchs – the program that bounced them in the title game in the Honda Center in 2014 and eliminated them in a quarterfinal in Ontario a year ago – which, led by senior post Michael Cage Jr. and sophomore guard Spencer Freedman, have won eight games in a row and has all the appearances of some prime peaking.
So, if the Huskies get to another trek to Anaheim for a title game in the Honda Center, who would stand in the way of program’s first Southern Section title?
Well, it might be No. 2 Bishop Montgomery, which suffered its only loss (71-67) after leading by eight points with about five minutes to go in a game Fairfax State Preview game played at Cerritos College in Norwalk on Jan. 30.
And who knocked off the gifted underclassmen-laden Knights that evening?
Why, none other than Chino Hills which was able to pull the win – and, as it turned out, No. 1 seed in this tournament – despite Lonzo Ball’s mind-boggling two of 21 shooting performance from the field.
Another potential foe in Anaheim is No. 3 seed Sierra Canyon, a program that may have more “innate talent” at its disposal than any in California.
And that is especially so if the family of 6-foot-10 sophomore transfer (from Arizona) Marvin Bagley III is able to grant judicial relief, via a temporary restraining order, that might get him on court for the playoffs although the state arm of the California Interscholastic Federation denied his appeal last week of the Southern Section’s block of his eligibility.
And any celebration of a Southern Section crown and 31-0 record wouldn’t last long.
To even get to Sacramento for a chance to win a State Open Title would likely mean getting through a Southern Regional field that could include some three-team combination of Bishop Montgomery, Sierra Canyon, Mater Dei, Centennial or No. 6 Redondo, as well as L.A. City powers Fairfax and Westchester, and the same Foothills Christian team that lost to Chino Hills by just a point on Jan. 9.
Stay tuned . . .
The first two Open competitions have produced teams that pulled off consecutive “upsets” – by seed, at least.
In 2014 No. 12 Riverside JW North went into Chatsworth to topple No. 5 Sierra Canyon (65-56) and then edged No. 4 Centennial (78-76) in Riverside before falling at Mater Dei in a semifinal.
A year ago another No. 12 seed, Orange Lutheran, took the same route to a semifinal (where it lost to Bishop Montgomery), tripping Damien (60-59) and then Centennial (78-73).
The No. 12 in 2016 is Compton, which picked up its slot in the Open bracket by knocking off Long Beach Poly last week for a share of the Moore League title.
The Tarbabes will be one of the several high school sports team in Southern California that will be dealing with the traffic congestion that will result from the 9 p.m. Friday shutdown of the 91 (Riverside) Freeway between the on- and off-ramps of the 71 and 15 Freeways.
That portion of the heavily-used freeway will re-open Monday morning at 2 o’clock.
A closer look at the Southern Section’s Open Division and its games:
*The 16-team field; Open seeds, overall record and most recent *BurlisonOnBasketball ranking included;
*All but the Compton-Centennial game (6 p.m. Friday) are set to tip-off at 7 o’clock Friday night;
*Championship quarterfinal and consolation-bracket games are scheduled for Tuesday night (7 o’clock).
UPPER BRACKET
No. 16 Rancho Santa Margarita/Santa Margarita (17-9/*24)
Record/Last Watch List: 1-6
Record/Open Field: 0-6
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No. 1 Chino Hills (27-0/*1)
Record/Last Watch List: 7-0
Record/Open Field: 5-0
FB Says: The visiting Eagles have the size, strength and depth up front to at least slow down the Huskies from tattooing the glass with their relentless offensive rebounding. And I have no doubt that Coach Jeff Reinert and his staff have drilled their players all week on not “settling” for the first good-looking shot that seems to present itself and instead try to make Chino Hills go deep into possessions, defensively, in an attempt to slow the Huskies’ transition attack.
But being “drilled” to do those things is not quite the same as executing that approach with the ball-hawking/shot-blocking of Lonzo Ball and the rest of the Huskies swarming them the moment they walk onto the court for the opening tip.
***
No. 9 Inglewood (20-6/*18)
Record/Last Watch List: 1-3
Record/Open Field: 1-2
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No. 8 Mission Hills Alemany (21-6/*21)
Record/Last Watch List: 1-3
Record/Open Field: 1-3
FB Says: This is one of three games (along with Crespi-Damien and Roosevelt-Redondo) that – despite the seeding differences – are “pick ‘ems” with no clear favorite at all.
The visiting Sentinels have much more size and depth across the frontcourt in this one but the hosts may be more dependable in the jump shooting department – especially via Shacquille Dawkins, who hit seven 3s (including the game-winner) in the Mission League championship-deciding win against Crespi a couple of weeks ago.
***
No. 12 Compton (20-8/*25)
Record/Last Watch List: 2-3
Record/Open Field: 1-2
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No. 5 Corona Centennial (21-6/*9)
Record/Last Watch List: 3-2
Record/Open Field: 1-2
FB Says: Can the visiting Tarbabes keep Jordan Griffin from going off from behind the 3-point arc? If so, another “12-5 Open upset” is a reasonably possibility. A future Long Beach State teammate of Griffin’s, 6-6 Javonntie Jackson, joins 6-7 Raysean Scott in what should be a scintillating battled in the lane against future Bruins Ike Anigbogu and Jalen Hill of the Huskies.
***
No. 13 Montebello Cantwell-Sacred Heart (16-10/*UR)
Record/Last Watch List: 1-2
Record vs. Open Field: 1-2
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No. 4 Santa Ana Mater Dei (25-3/*4)
Record/Last Watch List: 6-0
Record vs. Open Field: 5-0
FB Says: Two years ago Cantwell-Sacred Heart nearly pulled off one of the great stunners in SoCal hoops history before losing to the Monarchs in the first round. Mater Dei, led by Stanley Johnson, (a Detroit Pistons’ rookie) went to finish as Open and State champions while finishing at 35-0 and as mythical national champion. Neither squad is quite as formidable but C-SH has a much underrated player in 6-3 Jacob Davision (who signed with Eastern Washington in November)
LOWER BRACKET
No. 14 Los Alamitos (23-4/*14)
Record/Last Watch List: 1-1
Record vs. Open Field: 1-1
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No. 3 Chatsworth Sierra Canyon (23-3/*3)
Record/Last Watch List: 2-0
Record/Open Field: 1-0
FB Says: The Griffins are the first public school program from the O.C. in the Open. Sierra Canyon is making its third Open appearance and has fallen to lower seeds in each of the first two years (to JW North in 2015 and No. 6 seed Etiwanda 12 months ago). My inclination is to be believe that the Griffins, led by UC Irvine-bound guard Eyassu Worku, will be much more “competitive” in this game than are assuming they will be.
***
No. 11 Eastvale Roosevelt (21-6/)
Record/Last Watch List: 3-4
Record/Open Field: 3-2
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No. 6 Redondo Beach Redondo Union (21-4/*6)
Record/Last Watch List: 3-2
Record/Open Field: 2-2
FB Says: These are two offenses dominated by jump shooters, juniors Jemarl Baker and Matt Mitchell for the visitors and Leland Green, Morgan Means, Ryse Williams and Jailen Moore for the Sea Hawks. Whatever team manufactures the most “post” (or at least, via penetration, second shots or transition) production is likely to prevail here.
***
No. 10 Encino Crespi (24-3/*12)
Record/Last Watch List: 2-2
Record/Open Field: 1-1
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No. 7 La Verne Damien (24-3/*7)
Record/Last Watch List: 2-3
Record/Open Field: 0-2
FB Says: Shove me against the wall and make me project the most compelling matchup of the night and I’ll say “this one”. And I must believe it, since I’ll be making the long haul to La Verne early Friday afternoon for this game. Best individual match-up of the night – anywhere? I would say the likely battle between future Pac 12 guards De’Anthony Melton (USC) of Crespi and Bryce Peters (Colorado) of Damien.
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No. 15 Orange Lutheran (21-6/*22)
Record/Last Watch Field: 2-3
Record/Open Field: 2-3
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No. 2 Torrance Bishop Montgomery (24-1/*2)
Record/Last Watch Field: 5-1
Record/Open Field: 4-1
FB Says: Can the visiting Lancers make the same kind of surprising Open run they pulled off a year ago? It’s possible, especially if 6-7 senior KaVaughn Scott (a big part of that 2015 run) has been patched up enough to play well despite the effect of the sprained right ankle sprain he suffered at the Nike Extravaganza vs. L.A. Westchester on Feb. 3
But the Knights of Coach Doug Mitchell, led by two returning starters from the 2015 Open title squad (juniors Ethan Thompson and Jordan Schackel) are going to be tough outs regardless of whose path they cross.
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