Boys’ Basketball Preview: Plenty of new faces, beginning with St. Francis
Whether it’s change or stability, it appears that growth, progress and improvement are key elements that all the local boys’ basketball teams have in common as the 2015-16 season gets underway.
Maybe the most interesting of the squads is St. Francis High.
The Golden Knights finished 11-18 and 0-12 in the Mission League for seventh place, but earned an at-large berth to the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA playoffs and advanced to the quarterfinals.
That run happened despite a mid-season and postseason coaching change that led to the departure of co-coaches Jeff Stephens and Ray O’Brien.
One team that finished ahead of St. Francis in the Mission League was Chaminade, coached by Todd Wolfson. In the offseason, St. Francis tabbed Wolfson, a CIF State champion, as its new coach.
Despite his success at Chaminade, Wolfson does not feel his employment at St. Francis equates to taking a step back, but forward.
“St. Francis has a lot of good things to offer,” said Wolfson, whose Eagles finished 22-11 last year and advanced to the semifinals of the same Division IV-AA playoffs. “A lot of schools have bent things and ways to be successful in the past. St. Francis has done success the right way. They’ve always stood up for morals and values.”
Wolfson has implemented many different strategies and policies, such as incorporating yoga into the team’s regiment and changing practices times to the evening to better simulate game-time situations.
Wolfson’s change of culture may be easier than normal given the youth of his team. His squad of 14 players has only three returners with two key standouts in seniors Joey Walsh and John Stephens.
“You’re looking at two pretty good players,” Wolfson said. “With Joey, you have a very versatile guy who could play at the next level. With John, he’s a coach’s son and he’s going to be an X-factor for us.”
Wolfson is emphasizing that success will not come overnight, but that his players are on the right foot.
“I have aspirations to really build up this program and that starts with keeping our homegrown players here first,” Wolfson said. “The school is already excellent and with an upgraded basketball program, we’ll have success.”
Last season, Crescenta Valley finished 19-9 overall and 10-4 in league, which was good for third in the Pacific League behind Pasadena and Glendale.
Crescenta Valley, though, suffered a second consecutive first-round defeat Division I-AA action at Oak Park, 66-46.
From that squad, Crescenta Valley has five players back on a roster that includes 13, many who will see considerable action.
“We have some spots that are still open and our plan, at least early on, is to play about 10 guys,” Crescenta Valley Coach Shawn Zargarian said. “We’re going to have a pretty active bench.”
One person Zargarian can count on is senior forward Arin Ovanessian, an All-Area and All-Pacific League first-team selection who averaged 14.1 points and five rebounds per game and who averaged 42% from behind the three-point arc.
Ovanessian will again serve as Crescenta Valley’s No. 1 option on offense, although Zargarian is expecting help from guard Tadeh Tarverdians. The senior cut his teeth last year when guard Berj Krikorian struggled with injuries.
Junior guards Koko Kechichian and Trey Ballard are newcomers expected to make an impact for Crescenta Valley.
Change is afoot at Glendale after a magical 2014-15 season.
In what was the final season in the 19-year career of coach Steven Snodgress, the Nitros finished 16-12 overall and 11-3 in the Pacific League for second place with notable victories over Pasadena and Muir and a sweep of Hoover.
Glendale then defeated Santa Fe, 62-60, in the first round of the Division I-A playoffs before losing in the second round.
With a new coach and the graduation of seven seniors, goals and expectations have shifted.
“The main goal for us is about development,” said new Glendale Coach Ib Belou, who was hired in March. “We have a really young group and we just want to improve every day.”
Belou has a squad of 11 players with only two returners in guards Max Perez and Argam Aghajani.
Even with the lack of experience, Belou is confident he’ll receive leadership from his two captains: Larrenz Carino and Daniel Gonzalez. Aghajani and junior guard Daniel Madden, who excelled during the summer, are expected to be two of the team’s leading scorers.
At cross-town Hoover, the Tornadoes also had a season to be proud of in 2014-15 as they finished 15-11 and 7-7 in the Pacific League for fourth place.
Hoover defeated Garey, 92-67, in the first round of the Division III-A playoffs before being beaten in the next round by eventual champion Beverly Hills, 72-57.
Tornadoes sixth-year Coach Jack Van Patten is expecting his roster to have 12 or 13 players with senior guards Niko Kalpakian, Rene Deravanesian and Alec Pirjanian listed as the squad’s three key returners.
“Yes, we graduated a lot of players, but we expect to have a good year again,” Van Patten said. “We have a good team, but we just have to take care of business.”
Maybe the biggest addition for Van Patten comes in the form of former La Salle/Monrovia Coach Steve Goldstein, who will be assisting the program this year.
“He’s a real good edition for us and his help is immeasurable,” Van Patten said.
Van Patten is also expecting contributions from junior guards Josh Francisco and Monte Iskandraryan, sophomore forward Angel Mino and senior guard Larenz Garcia-Joseph.
At Flintridge Prep, coach Garrett Ohara is looking for a bounce-back campaign from his squad that finished 8-16 overall, 2-6 in league and lost to Saddleback Valley Christian in the first round of the postseason.
“It should be a somewhat exciting this season,” Ohara said. “I think we can challenge for a Prep League title and we’ll be stronger than last year.”
If there’s good news, it’s that the Rebels’ squad of 12 players will have eight returners, paced by Prep League first-team selection Dante Fregoso.
The two-time reigning All-Area Boys’ Volleyball Player of the Year is also an accomplished forward and averaged 13 points and eight rebounds a game last season.
Fregoso will be joined by senior guard Andrew Tsangeos, the starting quarterback on the football team, and junior forward Jake Althouse.
Tsangeos was the squad’s leading scorer last year and averaged 16 points and seven rebounds per game, while Althouse was a league second-team selection who averaged 10 points and eight rebounds per contest.
“We have a lot of experience, which is good in terms of knowing what to do,” Ohara said, “but it’s also a challenge for this group to get past a disappointing season last season. We lost our last eight games of the season and it’s time to put that in our rear window.”
St. Monica Academy Coach Peter Grimm is looking forward to a playoff return after his team finished 15-10 last season and 9-3 in the International League for third place.
The Crusaders defeated West Shores in the first round of the Division VI playoffs before falling in a heartbreaker to No. 4 Joshua Springs, 60-57.
The squad graduated five players from that unit, but Grimm expects a 12-person roster with seven returners.
“I think from top to bottom we’re pretty strong athletically,” Grimm said. “There’s no real superstar on this team and there are no seniors and there’s only a couple of juniors, so we’re a really young team.”
Grimm is expecting continued progress from sophomore center/forward Freddy Sayegh, while junior guard Eamon Mireles was tabbed as one of the team co-captains.
Junior shooting guard Jerome Grimm, Peter Grimm’s nephew, will also be counted upon as one the Crusaders’ top scorers.
At Glendale Adventist, the Cougars have a new coach in Robert Pascal, who is taking over for Amanda Gupilan.
This is year No. 2 since the program was reinstated and the Cougars are looking for their first victory after the team finished 0-16 last season.
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Andrew J. Campa, andrew.campa@latimes.com
Twitter: @campadresports