Del Rey Has No Apparent Bully to Replace Crespi

This may be the season that Del Rey League basketball teams have been waiting for, one they probably thought would never come.

Crespi High, the bully of the league, is in a position to get slam ‘n’ jammed this season. Yes, the same Crespi that has won three straight league titles, four of the past five, and has been the league’s dominant team since Coach Paul Muff took over 11 years ago.

Not only does Muff have no returning starters, he does not have a varsity player returning from last season’s 20-5 team that advanced to the Southern Section 5-A quarterfinals. This is certainly a different situation for the Celts, who have qualified for the playoffs eight times in the past 10 years.

“Without a doubt,” Muff said. “I’ve always had at least one starter and three or four others back every year. I guess we’re a pretty big question mark with the rest of the league. Who knows? We may surprise some people.”

Alemany Coach Joe Anlauf doesn’t expect Crespi to fall as fast as Oprah Winfrey off a balance beam.

“They keep telling everybody that they’re young,” he said of Crespi, “but Paul’s a good coach and they’ll probably push for a playoff spot.”

With Crespi down this season, Anlauf’s Indians, along with St. Francis, enter the season as the league favorites. Anlauf, beginning his fourth season at Alemany, is optimistic, but he isn’t ready to clear the mantle for a championship trophy.

“Everybody keeps saying that we’re going to be good,” he said. “But we haven’t played any games yet. I think we’ll be good, but we may not be great.”

Alemany, which was 12-12 last season and finished fifth in league with a 5-7 record, played well during the summer, finishing third in the Cleveland summer league. Valley-area powers Simi Valley and Cleveland finished first and second.

The Indians’ most visible weakness is depth. They will carry only nine players.

Still, Anlauf, who led Alemany to an 18-7 mark in 1983-84, believes that this season’s team is probably his best.

“At this point in the season, I’d say this team is a little stronger than the one in ‘83-84.”

Under rookie Coach Mickey Cady, Notre Dame may also challenge for a playoff spot. That’s saying something for a team that finished 10-13 last year and in the league cellar each of the past two seasons. Cady coached the Knights’ freshman team to a league championship in 1985 and is hardly a new face to most of his players. Nine of the 13 players on the team have played for him at lower levels.

“It makes the transition a lot easier,” he said. “They won’t look at me and say, ‘Who is this maniac?’ ”

One player that Cady is crazy about is senior point guard Josh Oppenheimer, who is considered by other league coaches the best playmaker in the league. In the past, Notre Dame has run a slow, deliberate offense. Cady says that will become only a memory, and hopes that the losing will become the same.

“My style is more up-tempo,” he said. “I really don’t like that slow-down stuff.”

In Oppenheimer, he believes he has just the man to lead the charge.

“We have one of the best point guards around,” Cady said. “That should keep us running.”

And it may, all the way to the playoffs.

ALEMANY

LAST SEASON: 11-12, 5-7 in league

THIS SEASON: Depth may be a weakness, but height is definitely a strength for Alemany. So much so that Coach Joe Anlauf has said that he is considering starting four forwards. That’s not a bad idea considering he has plenty of tall talent to choose from. Second-team All-Del Rey League forwards Bill Lucid (6-6) and Dave Swanson (6-5) both return for their senior seasons. Fred Dear, a 6-5 forward who was promoted from the junior varsity, averaged 20 points a game last season. If Anlauf decides to go with four forwards, 6-1 senior Mike Rooney will start. If not, three players will battle for the guard spot next to Shaun Thomas. Jon Beaucheman, Randy Thompson and Dave Berganio are all still under consideration. Thomas may be a key for the Indians. As a starter last season, he played well. Thomas has “improved tremendously” since then, Anlauf said.

CRESPI

LAST SEASON: 20-5, 12-0 in league

THIS SEASON: Mike Kennedy and Jason Ringler will figure in any success the Celts will have this season. Both seniors played on the junior varsity last season and were impressive during summer leagues. “They provided us with about 70% of our scoring during the summer leagues,” Coach Paul Muff said. “They’re our two best outside shooters. I think we’ll have more balanced scoring once the season starts, though.” Kennedy is a 5-11 shooting guard and Ringler is a 6-3 small forward. Ken Lynch, a 6-3 sophomore forward who was named most valuable player of the freshman team last year, is a good bet for a starting position. Junior forward Lance Smith (6-3) also will battle for a starting spot. The leading candidates for the Celts’ other back-court position are juniors Matt Turner and Mike Pilkian. Turner, the younger brother of former Crespi standout Jason Turner, played well at point guard through most of the summer, while Pilkian also has been impressive.

NOTRE DAME

LAST SEASON: 10-13, 3-9 in league

THIS SEASON: Start with point guard Josh Oppenheimer. He is considered among the Valley’s top players this season. “He should be our biggest gun offensively,” Coach Mickey Cady said. He missed summer league, however, because of a broken wrist. Bruce Heicke (6-2) started as a forward last season. Cady has moved him to guard this season, giving Notre Dame experience at both back-court positions. Senior center Kurt Schmiederer (6-6), should also start. Four players will compete for a starting spot at the forward position. Junior Ed Cogan (6-5), junior Paul Nelson (6-4), sophomore Kenny Hicks (6-3) and senior Tim DeGrasse (6-2) will all play no matter who starts. After two sub-par seasons in which the Knights finished last in the Del Rey League, they may be ready to challenge for a postseason bid. “I’d say we’re looking at the season with guarded optimism,” Cady said. “We’re happy where we’re at right now.”