Well, There’s Death and Taxes . . . and Mater Dei : Monarchs Appear to Be a Sure Thing, Despite the Competition’s Improvement

Hold on to your hoops, boys and girls, but there is a possibility that Mater Dei High School will not win the Angelus League basketball championship this season.

Of course, it’s not a very big possibility because the odds of the entire Monarch team being abducted by beings from another world are pretty miniscule. But it could, well it might . . . oh, what’s the use.

Mater Dei will win the Angelus League. It always wins the Angelus League.

The Monarchs have won 42 consecutive league games over five seasons. Since 1983, Mater Dei has appeared in four Southern Section finals and has won three Southern Section championships, including the 5-A title last season.

The Monarchs are the best high school team in Orange County. Again.

Mater Dei returns center LeRon Ellis, a 6-foot 10-inch senior who will play at Kentucky next season. Ellis is a Street & Smith magazine All-American who many believe will be the best prep center in the country this season.

The Monarchs did lose 6-9 Stuart Thomas to graduation; he’s at Stanford, but his departure figures only to give Ellis greater freedom inside. Greater freedom translates to greater offensive output.

Kevin Rembert, a 6-4 junior forward whose exceptional vertical leap allows him to play as if he’s 6-7, returns. One of the best sixth men around last season, Rembert moves to the starting lineup.

Add Mike Hopkins, a 6-4 junior who will play the off-guard position. Hopkins has yet to play a minute in a regular-season varsity game, but an outstanding summer has coaches in the league buzzing.

“You have to pick them,” said Mike Dinneen, St. Paul coach.

They’ll win, but this time, just maybe, the Monarchs might not get through unscathed.

“It’s going to take someone playing a perfect game,” Dinneen said. “But it could happen. The league is much better.”

“I wouldn’t look for us to go undefeated in the league by any means,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach. “There’s just too much talent this season.”

It seems every team, with the exception of Bishop Montgomery, has a chance in the the race for second place. And it seems every team has a chance to play that one perfect game.

Servite returns practically everyone from a team that tied for second place last season, including all-league guard Tony Smalley.

Bishop Amat is much improved and lost just one game over the summer--to Crenshaw, the defending state champion.

New member St. Bernard lost to Mater Dei in the 5-A semifinals last season. Though the Vikings lost a lot of players from that team, they do return All-American guard David Whitmore.

St. Paul, which made the playoffs last season starting four guards, suddenly has size.

Dinneen, speaking for his team, might as well have been speaking for the entire league when he said: “I think we’ve gone from doormat to respectability.”

Here’s a closer look at the Angelus League:

Outlook--More than a few people say the Lancers are the team to watch. It has nothing to do with last year’s performance. Bishop Amat finished last in the league with a 2-8 record. What makes the outlook good are young players such as Pace, a junior. “They’ve got a great junior class now,” Dinneen said. “These kids have played together the past two years on freshman and JVs. They’ve only lost a few games. I think with a little experience on the varsity level they’re going to be tough.”

Outlook--The Knights finished at 3-7 in league play last season, and that may be where they’ll finish this season. First-year Coach Brian Gauthier has five players returning, but the tallest is Jim Nelson at 6-3. Lack of height was the problem last season, when their tallest player was Peter Burke at 6-4.

Top newcomers--Mike Hopkins (6-4, guard), Richard Politiski (6-5, swingman) and Char Ruppel (6-6, forward).

Outlook--Rosy, as usual. They may lose a game, but the Monarchs are still the class of the league. Ellis was very good last season and will be even better this season. Rembert only figures to improve now that he’s in the starting lineup. Small forward Quigley may have a better outside touch than John Mounce, who filled that role last season. And then there’s Hopkins, the best player that you’ve never seen. Hopkins played on the junior varsity last season. An accurate shooter from 15 to 20 feet, Hopkins was so impressive during summer league that he made several prep All-American lists. “He really blossomed,” McKnight said. “He may have the best outside shot of anyone I’ve had here.” That’s saying quite a lot since a fellow by the name of Tom Lewis used to play at Mater Dei. McKnight said the Monarchs will run much more this season. That puts a pretty big load on point guard Patton, who replaces two-year starter Tom Peabody, now at Rice. “You’ll see us pressing and running much more,” McKnight said. “It’ll be a little different look for us this season.” It may be a different look, but expect the same results.

Alex Flores (6-2, swingman), Greg Willig (6-5, forward), Matt Willig (6-8, center) and Jeff Willis (6-2, guard).

Top newcomers--Jason Hart (6-1, guard), John Overbeck (6-6, forward) and Marty Tourville (6-5, forward).

Outlook--Dinneen called them pygmies. Actually, they were guards. Four of them, none taller than 6-2, along with Matt Willig, were Dinneen’s starting lineup last season. St. Paul played in a frenzied state, went 5-5 in league play and managed its first playoff berth in 19 years. Three of the four guards are gone, but their departure makes way for some rather large, though young, replacements such as sophomores Greg Willig and Overbeck. Sophomore point guard Jason Hart, Dinneen says “may turn out to be the best player I’ve ever coached. . . . I’m really enthusiastic about this season. We’re a young team, but if we mesh we’re going to be pretty good.”

Top newcomers--Keith Brown (5-10, guard), Royce Clayton (6-0, guard) and Eric Nelson (6-4, swingman).

Outlook--The Vikings have lost six of the seven key players who got them to the 5-A semifinals last season, where they lost to Mater Dei. Granted, the one player left is All-American Whitmore, but even his talent may be stretched to keep St. Bernard a contender. Coach Jim McClune may be in danger of not making the playoffs for the first time in his six years at the school. Whitmore, who has signed to play at Georgia Tech next season, did not play summer league with the team because of all-star game commitments. He has not practiced with the team this season because of a foot injury. “I’m hoping he might be able to start practice by the end of November,” McClune said. “I think he’ll probably miss our first few games.” Top newcomer Nelson has had limited practice time because of football. “We have yet to have a practice with all our good players attending,” McClune said. “I have no idea how good we are.”

John Arabia (6-8, center), Brett Caya (6-0, guard), Nick Marusich (6-8, center), James Rollins (6-3, forward), Tony Smalley (6-4, swingman), Shawn Sullivan (6-1, guard) and Shane Wickwire (6-4, forward).

Top newcomers--Steve Brezniak (6-3, forward) and Brian Kenney (5-11, guard).

Outlook--The Friars finished in a three-way tie for second place at 5-5 last season but missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years when their record against the other two teams (Pius and St. Paul) was considered. “That still sticks in my craw,” said Larry Walker, Servite coach. “It was a last-minute thing the way they decided to take the playoff teams.” Don’t expect Servite to miss two years in a row. Led by all-league guard Smalley, who averaged 21 points last season, Servite returns most of last year’s team. “I think Tony is one of the most talented players ever to come through Servite,” Walker said. “But I think our supporting cast is much stronger this season. Our strength may be our depth. I don’t think it will be necessary for Tony to carry such a load this season.” Shawn Sullivan is an all-league performer, and Arabia and Marusich add height.