Short Oilers Rank Tall in Summer Basketball

It was 8 o’clock on a gray August morning, but the boys on Montebello High School’s basketball team were cheerfully practicing, looking forward to the school year.

They know that if they play as well in the regular season as they have this summer, they can be one of the better teams in their league.

The Oilers, who had a 26-4 summer record, defeated some of the best prep teams in Southern California--and one from New York City. At the recent Bosco Tech Summer Hoop Spectacular in Rosemead, they beat Pius X and 25-game winner La Canada, then jumped to a 15-0 lead against Mater Dei before losing to the much taller Monarchs, 63-60.

“It took everything we had to beat them,” Mater Dei Coach Gary McKnight said.

Seventh-Place Finish

Montebello went on to defeat Paramount, Rio Mesa and Christ the King of New York, placing seventh in the 50-team field. The Oilers, champions of the Arroyo Summer League with a 12-0 record, also made the final 16 in the 128-team June Los Angeles Games.

And they won the Mt. San Antonio College Summer League, beating Charter Oak, 62-33, in the championship game.

“The strength of this team is that . . . they’re a team,” Coach Jeff Schwartz said.

But Schwartz and his players realize that the summer games are just practice, that the real test will come in January and February.

“The goal of summer league is to play as many games against the toughest teams that you can,” Schwartz said. “Your goal is to peak for the league season.”

Strong in Football

Montebello High School has been better known in recent years for its football team. Last fall the Oilers were 12-1, won the Whitmont League championship and advanced to the CIF Southern Section semifinals. They have been strong throughout the 1980s in football.

The basketball team, however, last won a league championship 17 years ago. Schwartz knows how long it has been. He was a junior forward on that team.

Schwartz faces an unusual situation. His tallest player is 6-foot-3 senior Edgar Arenas. Starting point guard Jimmy Webster is 5-6.

The Oilers’ “big man” is 6-2 center John Brown, who averaged 19 points and 12 rebounds per game this summer. The other starters are 6-0 forward Paul Hernandez, 5-10 forward Mando Rios and 5-10 guard Marcus Walley.

When Montebello played Rolling Hills in the first round of the CIF playoffs two years ago, some Rolling Hills fans asked where the Montebello center was when the Oilers entered the gym.

Other Sports Encouraged

“We don’t have much size,” admitted Schwartz, an administrator at the Montebello Adult School. “We just go out and play team basketball, good defense and be aggressive.”

Schwartz is primarily concerned with basketball but said, “I encourage my kids to play other sports--especially after basketball season.”

Thus, the basketball team is a refreshing throwback to the days when high school athletes regularly played more than one sport. For example, Hernandez is a high jumper, Brown plays volleyball, Webster plays water polo and senior forward Mike Valenzuela is a tight end on the football team.

Schwartz also encourages academic activities, and checks his players’ grades during the year.

“If you don’t study, he’ll discipline you,” Rios said.

Walley, who is being recruited by Stanford, missed the first half of a game last month because of a summer school algebra test. He arrived in time for the second half and scored 16 points.

They Practice Hard

Basketball season seems a long way off but Montebello plays and practices hard during the summer. One recent morning the Oilers scrimmaged in half- and full-court drills, although a game was scheduled that night.

Brown, who is regarded by Whitmont League coaches as Montebello’s best player, does not receive as much respect in practice. While driving to the basket on one play, his layup was swatted away by Rod Richardson.

Richardson is one of nine seniors who form the core of the team and who have been with the program for four years and are ready, Schwartz said, “to show the maturity it takes to win a league championship.”

Last year the Oilers, starting four juniors, had a 10-4 record and finished second in the Whitmont League to Santa Fe High. The team’s schedule poster pictured the Oilers wearing “Top Gun” caps in front of an F-14 jet. This year, the team plans no slogan or fancy team picture.

“Last year we said we were going to (win the league championship)” Rios said, looking embarrassed about the Top Gun poster. “This year we’re not going to say anything, we’re just going to do it.”