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HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : GOLDEN LEAGUE : A Sequel to the Impossible Dream of Last Year Improbable at Saugus

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<i> Times Staff Writer </i>

People who claim to be in the know still are perplexed by the Saugus Centurions’ move from obscurity to the championship of the Southern Section 3-A Division. Now they want to know if Coach John Clark can pull off another impossible dream.

“I really haven’t talked about it to the kids,” Clark said. “It’s very unlikely. We’re not very deep.”

It is true that Saugus isn’t exactly overflowing with talent. Senior center Vladimir Bilik, who averaged three points a game last season, is Saugus’ most experienced player.

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Just the same, you won’t catch many teams looking past the Centurions this season. Not after what Saugus accomplished last season.

The Centurions won seven consecutive playoff games, before losing to Woodbridge, 65-53, in the state semifinals. Along the way, Saugus put on a “a clinic,” according to Clark, in a 66-53 win over Rolling Hills that clinched the Southern Section title. Unlikely, considering that Saugus entered the playoffs as a wild-card team.

“Unbelievable is probably a better word,” Clark said.

Not to everyone.

“We knew all along that they were good,” Canyon Coach Greg Hayes said. “They weren’t the Cinderella team that everybody thought they were.”

Said Clark: “It was a tough assignment for the other coaches to convince their players that this wild-card team they were playing was a good team.”

And it will be an even tougher assignment for Saugus to return to the Sports Arena in March.

Or will it? Clark is the first to admit that Saugus wasn’t laden with talent last season, either. Only two players--Rusty Morse and Greg Weber--are playing college basketball and they traveled just a few miles away to College of the Canyons. Is it impossible to capture another championship banner with another group of no-names?

“The odds are against it,” Clark said. “I wouldn’t have believed it last year.”

Clark could make believers of this year’s Centurions the same way he made the Centurions believe in themselves last season--by showing the players inspirational, the-underdog-always-comes-through films.

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“It became kind of a ritual,” said Clark’s son, Jackson, who played guard for the Centurions before graduating. “We watched ‘Rocky III’ and stuff like that.”

Before taking the court, Clark and the Centurions munched on oranges and Snickers bars while viewing “Rocky II, III and IV,” “Top Gun,” “Hoosiers” and “Victory,” another Sylvester Stallone film. Clark and the Centurions spent more time at the movies than Siskel and Ebert.

“It got to where everybody was leaving messages in my mailbox telling me what films to show,” Clark said. “We were running out of movies.”

And finally running out of steam as Saugus fell one game short of qualifying for the state championship game. Will Clark attempt to script a Saugus sequel with the films?

“I don’t know,” Clark said. “We’d probably get beat and then I’d blame the film. We’ll think about it when the playoffs come.”

Saugus

COACH: John Clark, fifth year

LAST SEASON: 23-10; third in league, 7-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Gone from last year’s Southern Section 3-A Division championship team are six graduating seniors, including Rusty Morse, Jeff Dorst and Greg Weber. But Clark has enough returning players to contend for the league title. Saugus’ most experienced returnee is center Vladimir Bilik (6-5), who is beginning his third season on the varsity. Bilik averaged three points a game in limited duty last season. Senior Guard Rick Bilek (5-11) is a good long-distance shooter and should sink a fair share of three-point shots. Three-sport athlete Jared Snyder (6-2), used as a reserve last season, will start at forward, once his bruises sustained from playing quarterback on the football team are healed. New Centurions include forward Jason Harrison (6-2, 160), a transfer from Hamilton High. “He’s quick, he jumps and we’re lucky to have him,” Clark said. Other newcomers who survived Clark’s five-day-a-week running sessions are junior forwards Sean Legaux and Andy Regenberg. Left-handed junior guard Glenn Berdin, another good outside shooter, played well in summer league, Clark said.

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Canyon

COACH: Greg Hayes, sixth year

LAST SEASON: 19-7; first in league, 8-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Canyon has four returning varsity players, but none earned substantial playing time last season. Hayes doesn’t plan on keeping the bench warm this year. “We’re going to depend upon 10 or 11 guys,” he said. “Most of our kids are guard types.” No one will easily replace guard Greg Paskwietz, Canyon’s scoring leader last season. “People have been asking me, ‘Who’s going to fill his shoes?’ ” Hayes said. “I tell them ‘No one. He took them with him.’ ” Senior guard Gary Morgan (5-11), who played behind Paskwietz, will start at point guard. Canyon’s only other experienced guard is senior Chris Schmitt (5-11). Forward Mike Garner (6-1), Hayes’ “big man,” must fill the shoes of Stuart Sayre, Canyon’s career rebounding leader. The Cowboys will play a fast-paced game to compensate for the inexperience and lack of height. “We’re going to use the whole court and try to avoid letting other teams’ big guys get near the basket,” Hayes said. Senior forward Earnest Kelley (6-0), a returning varsity player, and juniors Robby Caulfield (5-11) and Brian Schroeder (6-0) have impressed Hayes. Junior Brad Tufts (6-6) is Canyon’s tallest player, but lacks experience.

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