Avocado League Preview : San Marcos Sports New Attitude, New Success : Coach, 25, Has Given a Once-Weak Team Some New Life

Three years ago, Rick Thompson was playing college basketball at Cal State Stanislaus in Modesto. As a kid who grew up in Huntington Beach and spent his college days in Modesto and at Cal State Fullerton, he had never heard of San Marcos.

Now he’s heard of it. And the way things are going, the town is starting to hear about him.

Thompson, 25, is San Diego County’s youngest varsity basketball coach, but the community of San Marcos High School doesn’t mind. They’re glad to have him.

“I guess it’s pretty surprising,” Thompson said. “You wouldn’t think too many 25-year-olds could get a job like this. But I’ve been in the right place at the right time.”

Thompson is putting together a winning attitude at a school that has been lacking the past few seasons.

The Knights, who have won only three games in the past two seasons and finished 1-20 last season, have not had much of a following in recent years. But the community is starting to support Thompson’s team, which is 8-5.

“At our first game, I think we had maybe 40 fans,” Thompson said. “Now, we’re winning and people are starting to believe.”

The real challenge for Thompson will begin this week, because the Knights find themselves in one of the county’s toughest leagues.

El Camino won the 2-A championship last season, defeating Avocado League rival Oceanside in the final. Oceanside won the 2-A title in 1983-84 and 1984-85.

Still, these tough teams are taking note of Thompson’s Knights.

“I’ll tell you, they’ve got a chance to be very successful,” said Ray Johnson, El Camino’s coach. “We open with them and it’s going to be a good test for us.”

Thompson graduated from Stanislaus in 1982 as an academic All-American basketball player. Two years ago, he applied, along with 126 others, for a job teaching world history at San Marcos.

After he got the job he told some school officials of his basketball background. Coach Richard Belcher hired him to coach the freshman squad. Thompson teams went 19-1 his first year and 11-8 last season.

“When Coach Belcher left, he pushed real hard for me to get the varsity job,” Thompson said. “A lot of people went out on a limb to get me this job.”

A closer look at the Avocado League:

CARLSBAD

Last season’s record: 4-8 league, 7-15 overall.

Finish: 5th place.

This season’s record: 2-7.

Coach: Scott Wright, 8th year.

Top returnees: Shawn Stoll (6-3, Sr., F) and Karl Molinar (6-2, Sr., F).

Top newcomers: Ron Helms (6-4, Jr., F) and Luke Pettorini (6-5, So., C).

Outlook: Asked who his top newcomer this season was, Wright said it was assistant coach John May. May, after a successful tenure at Point Loma High, has joined his old friend Wright at Carlsbad. The two were teammates and roommates while on the UC San Diego basketball team. “He’s a great help,” Wright said. “He just improves our basketball program so much.” To improve on the floor, Carlsbad will have to get some help for Stoll, a forward who averaged nearly 27 points a game in nonleague play. The Lancers are coming along, though, Wright said. “We got a slow start because a lot our kids were playing football. We were still learning fundamentals while other teams were beating us.”

EL CAMINO

Last season’s record: 11-1, 26-4.

Finish: 1st place.

This season’s record: 10-2.

Coach: Ray Johnson, 7th year.

Top returnees: Edmund Johnson (5-9, Sr., G) and Garrett Crayton (6-1, Sr., G).

Top newcomers: Lee Cobb (6-6, Jr., C) and David Hill (6-2, So., F).

Outlook: The outlook wasn’t supposed to be so rosy for the defending 2-A champions, as Johnson lost all five starters from last year’s team. However, the arrival of transfers Cobb, from Colorado, and Hill, from Ohio, has given El Camino new hope. The Wildcats like to run and Johnson, the point guard, fits in nicely. He’s averaging 26.5 points and 9 assists a game. Cobb is scoring 19.5 and Hill is adding 13.5. “I’m pleasantly surprised so far,” Johnson said. “The pressure is off because people aren’t expecting us to win this year.” That may have been true a month ago but now, after a 10-2 start, El Camino finds itself among the favorites for the league title.

ESCONDIDO

Last season’s record: 2-10, 8-15.

Finish: 6th place.

This season’s record: 3-6.

Coach: Mike Williams, 16th year.

Top returnees: Paul Baldwin (6-1, Jr., G), Scott Campbell (6-6, Sr., C) and John Lovett (6-0, Sr., G).

Top newcomer: Tim Bone (5-10, Jr., G).

Outlook: Escondido hasn’t been to the San Diego Section playoffs since 1978, when Williams coached his team to the 2-A title over Mount Carmel. After going 3-6 in nonleague play, it seems unlikely that Escondido will break the spell this season. The Cougars’ problem is size. After Campbell, the 6-6 center, there aren’t many players Williams can look up to. “We are a team that has to rely on our shooting,” Williams said. “We don’t have enough height to bang the ball inside and we don’t have enough quickness to force too much on defense. We’ll give anybody a game if our shooting is on.” So far, the best of the shooters has been Lovell, who is averaging nearly 15 points a game coming into league play.

OCEANSIDE

Last season’s record: 9-3, 19-4.

Finish: 2nd place.

This season’s record: 5-6.

Coach: Don Montamble, 1st year.

Top returnees: Junior Seau (6-5, Sr., F) and Sai Niu (6-2, Sr., G).

Top newcomers: None.

Outlook: The Pirates lost their first five games this season--and then the football season ended. With that came the return of Seau and Niu, and now Oceanside is back on the winning track. The Pirates won the Lt. James Mitchell Tournament (beating El Camino in the final) and are favored to take the league title. Bill Christopher, who coached Oceanside to 2-A titles in 1984 and 1985 and a runner-up spot last season, took over as athletic director this year, but the team is still playing well. Montamble is employing a disciplined, patient offense and strong defense, similar to the style Christopher used so successfully the past three seasons. Seau, an All-County player last year, could be the county’s most dominant inside player.

RAMONA

Last season’s record: 8-4, 14-8.

Finish: 3rd place, tied.

This season’s record: 7-4.

Coach: Brad McNamara, 1st year.

Top returnees: John Schweitzer (6-3, Sr., F) and John Liechty (6-0, Sr., G).

Top newcomers: Jason McClenaghan (5-9, Jr., G) and Chad Nelson (6-4, Jr., C).

Outlook: Ramona, the only team to defeat El Camino in league play last season, was supposed to be facing a rebuilding year. The Bulldogs lost all five starters from last season’s squad. But McNamara’s new team is playing well together and Ramona figures to contend for a playoff spot. “We’re very cautious of what we’ve done so far,” McNamara said. “We’re not a good enough team that we can get a big head or anything. We’ll feel a lot better to get a win under our belt that means something.” Both Schweitzer and Liechty were backup players on the varsity last season and both McClenaghan and Nelson came up from the junior varsity. All four are averaging in double figures through nonleague play.

SAN MARCOS

Last season’s record: 0-12, 1-20.

Finish: 7th place.

This season’s record: 8-5.

Coach: Rick Thompson, 1st year.

Top returnees: Mike Peyroux (6-7, Sr., F), Mike Francis (5-11, Sr., G) and Shaun Sweitzer (5-10, Jr., G).

Top newcomer: Matt Barrick (6-6, So., C).

Outlook: Peyroux and Francis are the only two players who Thompson has not had a chance to coach in his two years at San Marcos. Both were on varsity the last two seasons, and both are key players. Peyroux is averaging 18 points a game and Francis is averaging 15 heading into league play. “One of the advantages I have is that I’ve had a chance to see most of these kids come along since they were freshmen,” Thompson said. “Talent-wise, I’d say a lot of teams are better. But we’ve played real well as a team.” San Marcos showed how tough it can be a couple of weeks ago, defeating a veteran Torrey Pines team. Torrey Pines is 10-3 going into Palomar League play this week. “El Camino and Oceanside are still the teams to beat,” Thompson said. “But we want to be ready for our opportunity if they should happen to have an off night. We have the capabilities to play with them.”

SAN PASQUAL

Last season’s record: 8-4, 13-8.

Finish: 3rd place, tied.

This season’s record: 2-8.

Coach: Frank Vannest, 9th year.

Top returnees: Read Fenner (6-3, Sr., C) and Kevin Vannest (5-10, Sr., G).

Top newcomers: Todd Brose (5-11, Sr., F), Roberto Salas (5-10, Sr., G) and Todd Perry (6-1, Sr., G).

Outlook: The way Vannest sees it, the San Diego Section waited one year too long before installing the new rule that allows four at-large teams to qualify for the playoffs. San Pasqual has finished third, just out of a playoff spot, the last three seasons. However, this year, as a 2-8 start suggests, it is unlikely that the Eagles will finish that high. Kevin Vannest, the coach’s son, returns along with Fenner, but neither started last year. The rest of the players on the team are newcomers, and Fenner, at 6-3, is the team’s tallest player. “I don’t think it’s a matter of us being a year away,” Vannest said. “We don’t have a young team. But it will take a great effort from our kids.”