HIGH SCHOOL NOTEBOOK : Simi Valley Is Taking the Summer in Stride

Excuse Bob Hawking if he isn’t overly worried about his Simi Valley High basketball team.

“In spite of the fact we’ve lost a couple ballgames,” the Pioneers’ coach said, “I kind of like our team.

“We might have a chance to win a few games this year.”

Hawking was kidding, of course, and the joke is on those who think there is something wrong with the Pioneers.

Sure, they’ve have come up short in some games this summer. They lost in the L.A. Games. They lost in the Bosco Tech tournament. They lost to Cleveland in the Cleveland summer league.

Hawking’s reaction?

“In summer league, my approach is a little different from some others,” he said. “Our foremost emphasis is not necessarily wins and losses. We have 15 kids on the roster. We want to play a lot of different combinations, give the kids the opportunity to show what they can do.”

The coach has been a little surprised in the reaction of some people to the Pioneers’ summer. “I’ve heard the feedback. Certain summer leagues games have been made into the NBA championship,” he said.

Hawking said those who are solely concerned with winning in the summer are “missing the boat.”

“If you’re winning all the time, then you’re probably playing just seven or eight guys,” he said. “Some teams have done that against us.”

That’s the price you pay when you come off the type of season Simi Valley had last year. The Pioneers were 27-3 and advanced to the Southern Section 4-A final, where they lost to Muir, 58-55.

Add Simi Valley: One of the keys for the Pioneers this season will be replacing point guard Todd Johnson, who graduated last month. Hawking’s son, Butch, has the job.

“He’s done real well this summer,” the coach said. “He’s done everything that’s been asked of him.”

Hawking has also been pleased with the play of 6-5 Scott Sharts, a junior who played baseball but not basketball last season.

The Pioneers, like most high school teams, finish summer league at the end of this month.

For the first time in 11 seasons, Crespi basketball Coach Paul Muff has no returning players from last year’s varsity team. “We’ve always had about one or two starters and three or four guys who played on the varsity back,” Muff said. “This is, without a doubt, my most inexperienced team.”

Steve Puryer, who played sparingly for the varsity last season, has decided to concentrate on football and track in his senior year, Muff said.

Because of his team’s youth, Muff has the Celts playing in three leagues this summer: Cleveland on Mondays, Santa Monica College on Tuesdays and St. Bernard on Thursdays.

Crespi has won three straight Del Rey League championships and four of the last five. Muff said the Celts can contend again, even with an inexperienced team. He does admit, however, that Crespi’s preseason schedule is a “killer.”

Crespi will play in two traditionally strong tournaments, the Tournament of Champions and the Glendale Tournament. The Celts also have games scheduled with Beverly Hills and Calabasas.

The most valuable players from last season’s junior varsity team, 6-3 guard Jason Ringler and 6-0 guard Mike Kennedy, figure to be the leaders of the varsity squad. Ringler has been Crespi’s leading scorer all summer.

Muff said the team’s biggest weakness has been rebounding. To help in that area, he has promoted sophomore Kenny Lynch from the junior varsity. Lynch is only the fifth sophomore Muff has played on the varsity.

“He’s 6-3 and growing,” Muff said of Lynch. “He’s a real aggressive rebounder.”