SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS PREVIEW : Bishop Amat Is Team to Beat in a Field of Parity : 5-A

Please pardon the coaches at Bishop Amat High School if they’re feeling a little uneasy entering the 5-A division boys’ basketball playoffs Thursday night.

The Lancers (24-2) are top-seeded in the postseason tournament, but there’s something about being No. 1 that doesn’t agree with Bishop Amat.

For three consecutive years, Bishop Amat’s football team has gone undefeated in the regular season and entered the playoffs as the top-seeded team. Each year, the Lancers have been upset in the second round.

Alex Acosta, a former star basketball player at Bishop Amat in his second year of coaching, dismissed the playoff jinx.

“I’ve never lost a second-round playoff game in my life,” Acosta said. “Of course, I’ve never been in a second-round playoff game.”

Most agree Bishop Amat is the team to beat in the 16-team division. But many also think Bishop Amat just as easily could become an upset victim in the most balanced field since the 5-A division was created in 1985.

The Lancers, who won their first Angelus League title in 14 years this season, certainly aren’t invincible. Geoff Lear, a 6-foot 7-inch center, is the only player on Bishop Amat’s squad that has signed with a Division I basketball school. Lear signed with Pepperdine University. Teammate Stephon Pace has signed with USC on a football scholarship.

“The parity is definitely there this year,” said Gary McKnight, Mater Dei coach. “There isn’t one outstanding team but probably 12 good teams who are capable of winning the title.”

Mater Dei, which has won three consecutive 5-A titles, finds itself in the unlikely position of spoiler. The Monarchs failed to earn one of the four seedings in the division after two convincing losses to Bishop Amat in league play.

A fourth title is unlikely though the Monarchs have a relatively easy road to the semifinals with an opener against Notre Dame and then a likely meeting against St. Anthony in the quarterfinals for the third straight season.

The Monarchs’ best player, forward Kevin Rembert, has been inconsistent most of the season but has played his best basketball in the playoffs the past two years.

Forward Mike Hopkins, who has a scholarship to Syracuse, isn’t playing up to that level, and center Char Ruppel was benched in the regular-season finale against Servite. Still, there is the Mater Dei mystique.

Marina (18-6) is a longshot. The Vikings have an imposing frontline of 6-9 center Cherokee Parks, 6-7 forward Dan Floyd and 6-6 forward Steve Guild.

Guild has ended a shooting slump in which he made only 15 of 47 field-goal attempts in the Vikings’ opening three games in Sunset League play. Parks, a freshman, offers stability inside.

Marina plays host to St. Bernard (18-7) in the best first-round matchup. St. Bernard showed it has one of the best fullcourt presses in the division in a 70-65 victory over Bishop Amat, but the Vikings have had problems winning on the road.

There’s parity in the 5-A division for one big reason. There isn’t a dominating player in the mold of Mater Dei center LeRon Ellis, who led the Monarchs to the state title last season. At least not yet.

Ed Stokes, a 6-10 junior at St. Bernard, could develop into one of Southern California’s best players next season. He’s also a very good three-point shooter.

Parks also has a bright future, but in the meantime, the battle for the 5-A division championship is wide open with any of a dozen teams capable of winning.