Boys’ basketball: Allen transfers to Pacific Hills

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So much for Crenshaw being a City Section title contender in boys’ basketball. The Cougars no longer have Geoffrey Allen on their roster after the senior swingman transferred to Pacific Hills, Crenshaw Coach Ed Waters confirmed.

Crenshaw was a fashionable pick to challenge Westchester, Taft and Fairfax for the City championship before Allen’s depature, and the Cougars still return a talented duo in Reynaul Baker and Duce Zaid. But I’m not sure that’s enough to compensate for the loss of Allen, who blossomed over the summer into a Pacific 10 Conference-caliber player.

‘His return this year made him a key component, however because of our team concepts it is hard for any one person to kill our goals for success,’ Waters wrote in an e-mail. ‘Our team will miss him, and I will miss him as a player and person. ... We wish him success [but] believe we will be very competitive this year.’

Waters noted that without Allen, the Cougars lost by only four points to Westchester in the championship of the Watts Summer Games. Allen was part of a JV team that went 26-0 and won the City title several years ago. He won’t be able to repeat that success on the varsity level--at least not at Crenshaw.

Westchester, with practically every key player returning from last year’s state championship team, and Taft, with an influx of new players, will likely be the top two City teams heading into the season.

--Ben Bolch