Orange County Sports / Prep Basketball : 5-A Boys’ Championship Game : Ramstack Paid His Dues to Join Line of Mater Dei Star Point Guards

Here comes Mark Ramstack of Mater Dei High School bounding down the court dribbling a basketball.

He’s a 6-foot 3-inch lug of a point guard. Teammate Kevin Rembert calls him “fatty.” He’s not overweight, but he’s not exactly svelte, either.

He’s not fast, but he breaks pressure defenses with ease.

He said he couldn’t shoot when he first came to Mater Dei, which is why he became a point guard. But the other night, in the Monarchs’ 87-70 victory over St. Bernard in the Southern Section 5-A semifinal game, he scored 29 points and made 8 of 9 shots from the floor and 13 of 14 from the free-throw line.

He also is the third-leading defensive rebounder, behind senior forwards Rembert and Char Ruppel, on a team that will meet Angelus League rival Bishop Amat in the Southern Section 5-A championship game at 8:45 tonight in the Los Angeles Sports Arena. The game will be shown tape delayed on Prime Ticket at 8:30 p.m. Sunday.

But further, and this is a key point, Ramstack does not fit the mold of what a Mater Dei point guard should be.

Mater Dei point guards play conservatively. They use bounce passes. They rarely shoot. They pass to others for close-range, high-percentage shots. They make few mistakes.

If they fail to follow those simple rules, they do not play.

In order to become Mater Dei’s point guard, Ramstack had to resist making a flashy pass or an out-of-control drive to the basket. He had to slow down a few r.p.m. in order to get in sync with Mater Dei’s slower, ball-control style of play.

“It’s pretty tense living up to the reputation of past point guards here,” Ramstack said.

It took the better part of three seasons of play on freshman, sophomore and junior-varsity teams, and work with members of the Mater Dei coaching staff--who drilled those prerequisites into his head--before Ramstack got it down pat.

And still he’s dissimilar.

That’s not all bad, though, because this season’s team is unlike those of the past.

There’s no big guy, for one thing. No Tom Lewis, Matt Beeuwsaert or LeRon Ellis in the middle to take a pass from a point guard, turn and score.

The three are the school’s all-time career scoring leaders.

Ramstack, who is averaging 13 points and 6.3 assists in the playoffs, is perfectly suited to this season’s running, perimeter-oriented team. Where Chris Patton and Tom Peabody, past Monarch point guards, were counted on to get the ball up court and inside to Ellis, Lewis and Beeuwsaert, Ramstack is needed to do more.

He can work free for his own short jump shots, and he can drive to the basket to shoot, or to pass to an open teammate if the defense picks him up.

“All we asked of those other guys was to toss it inside,” said Phil Bellomo, Mater Dei assistant coach. “Mark is called on to be more creative. And he’s gotten better at it.”

Spending his junior season on the Monarch JV team helped prepare Ramstack for this season.

He spent the first 10 games of his junior year on the varsity team, but saw that he had little chance of playing. As is Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight’s custom with point guards, Patton was going to play almost exclusively, so Ramstack went down.

He said it was a mutual decision.

“(McKnight) knew I wanted to play and I knew he wanted me to play,” Ramstack said. “It didn’t bother me. It was hard not playing and just watching. I wanted to play. I knew I’d play (on the JV team). It was a smart move.”

Once he got to the junior varsity, going against less-talented players, Ramstack could have scored 20 points a game, thrown behind-the-back passes, played it fast and loose.

He didn’t, though.

Ramstack averaged 12 points a game, led the team in rebounding and helped the Monarchs win the Angelus League JV title. Most important, though, he worked on changing his game to fit the varsity’s style of play.

“I thought I would have a tough time adjusting to the ball-control offense,” Ramstack said. “I think that’s what I learned most--not to force a pass. I would try to make a great pass instead of a good one. I learned how to react to what defenses do to us.

“It’s more adjusting to (that style). If I wanted to play, I was going to have to do it the coaches’ way. That’s the way we’re going to win. My sophomore year, I was horrible at it, but I got better my junior year.”

The Monarch coaching staff knew Ramstack had potential. He was, after all, a three-year varsity letterman in football and the Monarchs’ starting quarterback. He passed for more than 1,500 yards last season.

There was no questioning his athletic skills.

“He tended to rely too much on his athletic talents,” Bellomo said. “He’s gotten a lot better not playing just on emotion. He’s understanding what the game is about. He’s reacting to situations, which is what good players do.”

MATER DEI vs. BISHOP AMAT

RECORDS--Mater Dei 20-7, Bishop Amat 27-2.

SITE--Sports Arena, 8:45 p.m.

MATER DEI UPDATE--The Monarchs, the defending 5-A and state champions, are playing very well in the playoffs. Their 87-70 win over St. Bernard in Wednesday’s semifinals was impressive. The Monarchs did a good job defending and rebounding against the taller Vikings. Guards Mark Ramstack and Dylan Rigdon scored 29 and 25 points, respectively. Motivation should not be a problem for Mater Dei; Bishop Amat beat the Monarchs easily in two Angelus League games this season, including a 72-57 win that ended the Monarchs’ five-year reign as Angelus League champions.

BISHOP AMAT UPDATE--The Lancers are led by 6-foot 8-inch center Geoff Lear. Unlike past seasons, Mater Dei has no one who can match up with Lear. Char Ruppel is the Monarchs’ tallest player at 6-6. In their last meeting Feb. 10, Lear scored 17 points and controlled Mater Dei inside. The Lancers also are a fine outside-shooting team. Guards Stephon Pace and Terry Lamb can get hot from three-point range, opening up the middle for Lamb.

KEY TO THE GAME--The pace of the game and defense will tell. If Mater Dei allows Bishop Amat to run and get open shots, it will lose. A slower, lower-scoring game will benefit Mater Dei. The Monarchs need to stop Lamb inside and the Bishop Amat guards outside.

CONSENSUS--If the last two games were any indication, Bishop Amat will run away from Mater Dei, using scoring spurts to build its lead. However, Mater Dei is in peak form. Expect Mater Dei to try to keep it close at all costs, using multiple timeouts if Bishop Amat gets a run going. Playoff experience should help Mater Dei at least do that. Bishop Amat by six to eight points.