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Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei is No. 1 (duh)

Los Angeles Times staff writer Ben Bolch
By Ben Bolch
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Not that this should surprise anyone, but Mater Dei’s boys’ basketball team will open its season in the Loara tournament on Dec. 1 ranked No. 1 in the country by USA Today.

The Monarchs have five starters who have committed to major college programs. Twins Travis and David Wear have signed with North Carolina, guard Gary Franklin Jr. has committed to USC, guard Tyler Lamb has committed to UCLA and swingman Andy Brown has committed to Stanford.

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Mater Dei plays a schedule to match its talent, with games against Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep (ranked No. 6 by USA Today) and No. 17 Chicago Young, which features Michael Jordan’s son. The Monarchs could also play more ranked teams in the City of Palms Tournament on Dec. 19-23 in Fort Myers, Fla.

For those interested in getting an early look at Mater Dei, the Monarchs will host a scrimmage against Concord De La Salle at 11 a.m. Nov. 29.

--Ben Bolch

Varsity Times Insider
Ben Bolch

Ben Bolch has been a Los Angeles Times staff writer since 1999. He is serving his second stint as the UCLA beat writer, which seems fitting since he has covered almost every sports beat except hockey and horse racing. Bolch is also the author of the recently released book “100 Things UCLA Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die.” He previously covered UCLA basketball from 2010-11 before going on to cover the NBA and the Clippers for five years. He happily traded in gobs of hotel points and airline miles to return to cover UCLA basketball and football in the summer of 2016. Bolch was once selected by NBA TV’s “The Starters” as the “Worst of the Week” after questioning their celebrity journalism-style questions at an NBA All-Star game and considers it one of his finer moments.

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