Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei, Loyola pick up big-time transfers
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It’s always good to check the rosters for the summer basketball season to see who’s new, and Santa Ana Mater Dei and Los Angeles Loyola are the big winners with top transfer students.
Arriving last week at Mater Dei was 7-footer Mike VanKirk, a junior who played last season at Lancaster Paraclete. He could have a greater impact this season for the Monarchs as a volleyball player. In basketball, he’s a work-in-progress, with Coach Gary McKnight saying he’s further along than former Mater Dei 7-footer Alex Jacobson.
‘He’s raw,’ McKnight said.
VanKirk joins another transfer, 6-foot-5 Max Hooper from San Jose.
As for Loyola, the Cubs are waiting for the arrival of 6-3 junior Joe Stein from Concord De La Salle. Stein, a top three-point shooter, is expected to enroll with his older brother, John, a senior lacrosse athlete who used to attend Loyola. The two moved to Northern California but are returning after the death of their father.
Stein’s arrival sets up what could be an epic Mission League struggle next season between the Cubs and North Hollywood Harvard-Westlake, which returns all of its top players. Those two league games before expected sold-out crowds will be something to see.
-- Eric Sondheimer