Chatman leads Santee into Southern League play

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When Curtis Hughes took over the boys’ basketball program at Santee High, he predicted his team would compete for the City Section championship in three years. A third of the way into their third varsity season, the Falcons are out to make good on Hughes’ prognostication.

The first step for Santee is winning the Southern League -- a quest that begins Friday when the Falcons host defending champion Los Angeles at 7 p.m. Santee (4-3) finished runner-up to the Romans last winter, falling twice to L.A. by a combined three points.

Hughes expects his team to reverse those losses thanks in part to the all-around play of 6-6, 225-pound senior center Joshua Chatman.

‘He’s the real deal,’ Hughes said of Chatman, who averages nearly a triple-double. ‘He demands a double-team at all times and he changes the whole game when he’s on the floor. You have to shoot all jump shots against us because that lane belongs to him.’

Chatman is scoring 18.9 points a game and leads the City in rebounds (17.1) and blocks (7.1), according to MaxPreps.com. He had a typical day at the office in Thursday’s victory over Maywood Academy, playing 30 minutes and finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.

And Chatman isn’t merely padding his stats against inferior competition. In December, he put up 20 points, 15 rebounds and six blocks against Simi Valley -- easily the Falcons’ most formidable opponent thus far.

If Santee hopes to make noise in the City playoffs, you can bet Chatman will have to carry much of the weight on his broad shoulders.

-- Steve Galluzzo, guest blogger