Orange League : UCLA-Bound Walker Paces Brea-Olinda

Rest easy Walt Hazzard. Be patient UCLA basketball fans. Help is on the way.

Kevin Walker, Brea-Olinda High School’s multi-talented player, will be wearing a Bruin uniform next season, which is good news for the folks in Westwood. In the meantime, Walker figures to dominate the teams in the Orange League much in the manner he did Friday night against Savanna.

The 6-foot-10 Walker scored 28 points, had 12 rebounds and blocked two shots in only three quarters of play as the Wildcats cruised to an 81-42 victory. It was Brea’s fourth straight romp in league play and improved its overall record to 16-4.

“I used to wonder if Walker was really a big-time player when my smaller players used to take it to him last year,” Savanna Coach Tom Gregory said. “But this year, he’s added 20 pounds, and he’s so much more aggressive inside. He’s really improved.”

Not that Walker ever needed to improve his shooting. Gene Lloyd, the Wildcats’ coach, said Walker has the green light to shoot the minute he walks up the ramp from the locker room. He was 12 of 18 from the field against Savanna, mixing his shots from the 12-15 foot range along the baseline with his nice moves inside.

Walker is also an 86% free throw shooter and he improved upon that figure by making all four of his attempts.

But the most impressive aspect of the Wildcats’ game this season is their defense. Lloyd starts a frontline of Walker and 6-5 forwards Mike Tousey and Doug Dousey that is a formidable trio in the Wildcats’ 1-3-1 zone defense.

Opposing teams are shooting an average of only 34% and averaging only 47.5 points per game. Savanna didn’t come close to matching the offensive output or the shooting average, making only 15 of 57 shot attempts.

“The way we extend our 1-3-1 with our quickness has made it tough on other teams,” Lloyd said. “We have some quickness and we’re big overall.”

Maybe Western Coach Greg Hoffman was right when he said, “Let’s just give Brea the first-place trophy and get on with the race for the other two playoff spots.” Brea has won its four league games by an average of 27 points. Only Anaheim has managed to score 50 points against the Wildcats, who are averaging 67 points per game.

But it appears to be unlikely that the Wildcats will maintain their domination in the 3-A division playoffs. The division features four other teams--Katella, Pomona, Hacienda Heights Wilson and Morningside--with centers that can match up with Walker in both size and skills.

SAVANNA (42)--Campbell 6, Veale 8, Kemple 9, Smith 10, Hunt 2, Cope 2, Koh 3, Sulfaro 2.

BREA-OLINDA (81)--Francis 14, Tousey 10, Walker 28, Chiotti 1, Dossey 9, Thomas 6, Williams 2, Johnson 5, Anderson 2, Graham 2, Sander 2.

In other Orange League play:

Western 64, Anaheim 51--Alvin Lott scored 21 points and Troy Joseph added 20 to help the Pioneers defeat the Colonists at Western High. Tony Robuffo, playing with five stitches needed to close a cut lip he suffered against Brea-Olinda on Wednesday night, scored a game-high 23 points for Anaheim in a losing effort. Western evened its record at 2-2 in league play and is 7-9 overall. Anaheim fell to 1-3 and 9-8.

ANAHEIM (51)--Buis 2, Pacheco 8, Gistlinck 3, Trigg 3, Barber 7, Johnston 5, Robuffo 23.

WESTERN (64)--Joseph 20, Lott 21, Giovannini 5, Bowen 9, Hanson 2, Hurtado 5, Cobleigh 2.

Magnolia 37, Valencia 36 (OT)--Mark Lyons made a three-foot shot with 20 seconds remaining in the overtime period to give the Sentinels their first league victory. Lyons scored 15 points and had 11 rebounds for the Sentinels, now 1-3 and 6-10 overall. Valencia dropped to 2-2 and 10-7.

VALENCIA (36)--LaRue 10, Hood 3, Burbank 8, Nakawaki 2, Jones 11, Robinson 2.

MAGNOLIA (37)--Osuna 2, Banuelos 9, Goff 7, Lyons 15, Gorrien 4.