Opportunity presents itself for Baldwin to leave his mark

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Was bored last night, so figured I’d kill some time and Google the name Will Baldwin. Not sure what possessed me to do so. Suppose I thought it would be interesting to find out if the search yielded more than a couple of results for the senior leader of the La Canada boys’ basketball team. For the record, it didn’t.

All that, however, could change if Baldwin can somehow, someway, guide the Spartans to a victory over Campbell Hall in Tuesday night’s semifinals of the Southern Section Division III-AA playoffs at Harvard-Westlake High. No one expects the top-seeded Vikings to lose. The only thing standing between Baldwin and his 15 minutes of Internet superstardom is an unlikely upset.

Mind you, I’ve spoken with La Canada Coach Tom Hofman numerous times this season and he’s always said: ‘Will is a team player. He leads by example and doesn’t look for added attention. He knows his job, knows his role on this team. He understands what we expect from him.’’

Baldwin averages a team-high 16.4 points a game, but has proven to be explosive at times with a 32-point effort against La Salle and a 30-point night against Wilson. He’ll have to be at his best for the third-seeded Spartans to remain competitive against Campbell Hall, the defending Division III-AA section and Division IV state champs. The stage is set for Baldwin to deliver a World Wide Web-worthy perfromance.

-- Sean Ceglinsky