CHINO HILLS – Some assumed the days of the Chino Hills High basketball program being one of the most formidable in Southern California – and beyond – were numbered once social media legend Melo Ball withdrew from school with two full seasons of eligibility remaining.
“Some” assumed incorrectly, as the Huskies continued to demonstrate Friday night.
Melo Ball and older brothers Gelo (he’s with Melo playing in Lithuania) and Lonzo (of the Lakers, and Ground Zero for Big Baller Mania) are playing professional, and two-year standout Eli Scott is one of the West Coast Conference’s best freshmen at Loyola Marymount.
But the Huskies, following their 89-79 victory over visiting Long Beach Poly Friday night in a semifinal, stand just win short of a CIF Southern Section Division I title.
They’ll take on Pasadena next Saturday – probably at Azusa Pacific College – in the division’s championship game and then begin pursuit of a State Division I state title on March 7 with Southern Regional action begins.
Six-foot-nine Onyeka Okongwu was a key element in the 35-0, Southern Section-, state- and (unofficial) national-title team of 2015-16, and last season’s 30-3 squad that lost in sectional (to Mater Dei) and regional (to eventual state championship Bishop Montgomery) semifinals.
And he’s the driving force behind Dennis Latimore-coached team that has improved to 20-11 with double-figure margin playoff victories over Inglewood (14 points), Dominguez (12), Corona Centennial (13) and Poly (11).
Six-seven senior Andre Ball – the first cousin of Lonzo, Gel and Melo, whose past two seasons were pretty much non-existent because of an assortment of injuries – scored a career-high 37 mostly spectacular (a bunch of dunks and four 3s) points Friday night.
But it was Okongwu who set the table – at both ends of the floor – from Jump Street Friday night.
On the Huskies’ first possession, he took a pass on the left block, spun to the middle and dunked with two hands over two defenders.
At the other end of the floor he blocked a shot, snatched the rebound and then fed junior forward Nick Manor-Hall for a wide-open 3-pointer.
Coach Shelton Diggs, whose team knocked off top-ranked Oak Park Tuesday night, wanted to take a shot at guarding Okongwu straight up – even with no starter taller than 6-3ish – and then send a “help” defender to Okongwu whenever he caught the ball in or around the lane.
That approach was squashed by “O” with that first drop step and slam.
“If we had continued (to use the same approach) he might have scored 60 on us,” Diggs said Saturday morning of Okongwu, who went on to finish with “only” 23 points (on 11 of 14 shots from the floor and one of two free throws), to go with 15 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
“So, basically, we had to triple-team him every time he touched the ball (in or close to the lane).”
That approach left a lot of jump-shooting space and driving angles for the likes of Ball (who missed his first three shots before knocking in a 3 in the first quarter and scoring 34 points over the final 24 minutes), Manor-Hall (three 3s and 13 points), Ofure Ujadughele (nine points, including a 3) and Jaren Williams (nine points, including a 3).
“His passing impressed me, too,” Diggs said. “He always made the right pass to the open guy when we surrounded him.”
In the first week of the season, the Huskies dropped back-to-back decisions by 21 (Rancho Christian) and 15 points (Centennial), as well as their final three games of the Tarkanian Classic in Las Vegas in December.
There were also semi-stunning one-point losses to Upland and Los Osos in the Baseline League.
But Okongwu – unlike “some”, no doubt – didn’t exhibit the least bit of surprise at where the Huskies found themselves Friday evening.
“I knew we were going to keep improving,” he said. “I knew what kind of team we were eventually going to be.”
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