City Eastern League Preview : Mira Mesa and Madison Will Pose a Stiff Challenge to Favored Morse

In terms of basketball talent, the City Eastern League is one of the richest in the county, possessing at least three teams with valid hopes for playoff success. Yet the talent is spread unevenly, resulting in a sharp division between the haves and the have-nots.

The haves--Morse, Mira Mesa and Madison--are considered by many coaches to be among the top 10 teams in the county. The have-nots--Patrick Henry, Point Loma and Serra--will face the unenviable task of having their weaknesses exploited by Morse’s height, Mira Mesa’s quickness and Madison’s aggressive defense.

Morse almost enjoys an embarrassment of riches, with a bench that can outplay most teams’ starting five. No team in San Diego County has been able to beat the Tigers so far, and, with defending 3-A champion Poway not as strong as before, Morse is among the early favorites to win the San Diego Section title.

“There’s no doubt about it--Morse is the team to beat,” said Tom Williams, who coached Serra to the league title last season.

“I think the two toughest teams will definitely be Morse and Mira Mesa,” said Patrick Henry Coach Fritz Ziegenfuss, who believes his team has an outside shot at the playoffs. “Morse because of their athletic ability and Mira Mesa because of their style.”

In fact, the only Eastern League coach who does not share that opinion is Morse’s Ron Davis.

“To be realistic, all the teams are a threat in our league,” Davis said. “There is no team that is sure to win or sure to be beaten. I’d be surprised if any team made it through its league schedule without losing.”

Morse will face one of its biggest threats tonight when it plays host to Mira Mesa. Davis said he does not consider his team a heavy favorite, a view not shared by Mira Mesa Coach Tim Cunningham.

“It’ll be an upset if we can get a win out of there,” Cunningham said. “The last time we played on a Friday night at their place, we won in double overtime.”

Madison

Last season’s record: 1-9, 10-12.

Finish: sixth.

Coach: Jim Thompson.

Top returnee: Maurice Jackson (6-4, 170, Sr.).

Top newcomers: Marvin Prather (5-7, 140, Sr.), Andre Mitchell (6-4, 195, Jr.) and Jeff Alexander (6-6, 185, Sr.).

Outlook: When a first-year coach inherits a team from which all five varsity starters have graduated, he usually faces the prospect of a dismal season. However, the future is bright for Thompson since the junior varsity team was 18-0 last season. Madison is bolstered by the addition of Alexander, a transfer center from Oceanside. Madison is 9-4 this season, and Thompson said his team can hold its own in the league. “Mira Mesa and Morse are the teams to beat, but I think we’re capable of it. I think, on a good day, we can beat them,” he said. But if the Warhawks are going to reach that target, they will have to improve their aim. The team shot 22% from the floor in a nonleague loss to Mira Mesa. “Our defense is good, our pressure is good, we pass well . . . the problem is finishing the play--putting the ball in the net,” Thompson said. “I think we’ll get more consistent as the season progresses.”

Mira Mesa

Last season’s record: 6-4, 16-8.

Finish: third.

Coach: Tim Cunningham.

Top returnees: David Lee (5-10, 135, Jr.), Mike Eicher (6-4, 190, Sr.) and Scott Cummings (5-11, 150, Sr.).

Top newcomer: Ray Rowe (6-3, 210, Sr.).

Outlook: Fleet-footed and tough defensively, Mira Mesa is off to a 12-2 start. One of those losses, however, was to Morse. But Cunningham does not think that early-season play is a barometer of the league season. “The kids, when they know it’s league play, turn it up a notch or two,” he said. “Whoever’s in the driver’s seat is going to have to play us, and hopefully we’ll make it tough.” Lee is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 13.8 points a game at guard, but Cunningham said center Eicher is Mira Mesa’s big man in more ways than height. “He means an awful lot to us,” Cunningham said. “So he goes, so we go.” Eicher and Miller are both averaging more than 10 points a game. Rowe rebounds aggressively and paced the offense with a 22-point game in the Marauders’ six-point loss to Morse.

Morse

Last season’s record: 8-2, 16-6.

Finish: second.

Coach: Ron Davis.

Top returnees: Rey Parson (5-9, 150, Sr.) and Willie Russell (6-1, 190, Sr.).

Top newcomer: Marcus Combs (6-5, 185, Jr.).

Outlook: In its 12 nonleague games, Morse has lost to only one team: Muir of Pasadena. The Tigers have both height and depth on their front line with Combs, Anthony Butler (6-4) and Richard Moore (6-4) starting and Oliver Arbuthnot (6-7), Craig Helm (6-5) and Guy Henry (6-4) in reserve. Sparking the offense is point guard Parson, the team’s leading scorer with 12.5 points a game and the only returning starter. Comparing the Tigers to Mira Mesa, Davis sees his team’s lack of seasoned starters as a potential liability. “I think they might have more experience than we do,” Davis said. “We just have kids who have been on the bench, who pretty well know the system.” Morse has produced teams that went to the section 3-A championship game in 1981, ’83 and ‘85, and just may do so again in ’87.

Patrick Henry

Last season’s record: 2-8, 9-11.

Finish: fifth.

Coach: Fritz Ziegenfuss.

Top returnees: Charles Russell (5-11, 155, Sr.) and David Hawke (6-4, 165, Sr.).

Top newcomers: Terrence Hamilton (6-3, 150, So.) and Collis Hunt (5-11, 170, Jr.).

Outlook: If there’s a dark horse in the Eastern League, this is it, according to several opposing coaches. Ziegenfuss would like to think they’re right. “We can compete with those teams,” he said. “We have to handle the ball real well and shoot for a high percentage to do it. But we’re going to try to make a fight out of it.” The Patriots’ strength is their backcourt, where Russell and Hunt combine passing and shooting ability that has traditionally been the key to Henry’s high-speed offense. “I would classify us still as a pretty good fast-break team,” Ziegenfuss said. “We have to work hard on when not to fast break, on when to set up and take a high-percentage shot.”

Point Loma

Last season’s record: 5-5, 14-11.

Finish: fourth.

Coach: David Aros.

Top returnees: Arlondo Hill (6-2, 215, Sr.), Bob Brasher (6-5, 190, Jr.) and Fran Meredith (5-7, 145, Sr.).

Top newcomer: Jeff Johnson (5-11, 165, Jr.).

Outlook: For first-year Coach Aros and the inexperienced Pointers, this is a season to get acquainted and prepare for the future. Point Loma’s 7-8 record so far is not bad, considering that only two players have ever started regularly in organized basketball. Hill, averaging 13 points a game, is the team’s most consistent performer, and Johnson is its most promising player. “He’s an excellent shooting guard,” Aros said of Johnson. “He’s given us a real lift offensively.” Going up against league opponents, Aros is just hoping to be respectable. “We’re not really afraid of getting swamped,” he said. “We play good defense that keeps us in the game. Being a first-year coach, I can’t base (my success) on wins and losses. I have to base it on where we started and where we end up.”

Serra

Last season’s record: 8-2, 21-3.

Finish: first.

Coach: Tom Williams.

Top returnees: Matt Tileia (6-3, 175, Sr.) and Todd Knight (6-3, 175, Sr.).

Top newcomer: Keith Ladue (6-0, 165, So.).

Outlook: After losing virtually its entire league champion team from last season, Serra has lost nine of its first 11 games this season. Yet, Williams is taking things in stride. “After 28 years, I’ve been up and down the yo-yo several times,” he said. “We knew we were going to have trouble. The top three teams in the area are in the Eastern League. We just want to give experience to the younger kids and help them along.” Knight has been one of the few bright spots for Serra, averaging 15.9 points a game.