HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : SUNSET LEAGUE : Ocean View Has Enough Talent and Experience to Be Favored Again

With three starters and three other lettermen returning from last year’s Sunset League championship team, Ocean View High School’s basketball team is the unanimous pick of league coaches to repeat.

The coaches rank Marina second and Fountain Valley third, but in this competitive league, the team that comes out on top could depend on which one stays healthy.

“I think most of the coaches feel the two most valuable players in the league last year were (Ocean View’s) Todd Norman and Mike Frohn, and they are both coming back,” Fountain Valley Coach Dave Brown said. “And they have another starter, Greg Evans, who is very good and he is coming back, too.”

Ocean View Coach Jim Harris, as much might expect, views the race differently.

“This league always presents problems,” he said. “I am very impressed with Fountain Valley, and Marina is very talented and I have always had trouble with Edison. Going in we’re looking as if we’re the one, but we are not taking anything for granted, that’s for sure.”

Off-guard and leading scorer Craig Rice (16-point average) and forward Jerry Sterling (5 points per game) have graduated from a team that finished 16-8, 9-1 in league play and lost to Lakewood in overtime in the Southern Section 5-A quarterfinals last season.

As usual, Ocean View will play man-to-man defense with full-court pressure. Harris expects the offense to be balanced, with three or four players scoring in double figures.

“It has been a long time since we have had two players who have averaged more than 20,” Harris said of Norman and Frohn.

“Every coach says he is going to fast break, especially at the beginning of the season,” he said, “but our emphasis is on the defensive end. I’m more definite in that area. We don’t try to play pressure, we do play pressure defense.”

Marina Coach Steve Popovich also took exception to his team’s ranking.

“Holy smoke, I didn’t think they had all lost it,” he said of league coaches who picked his team to finish as high as second.

The Vikings, who finished second with a 7-3 record last season, return only one starter. But he’s not bad for starters.

Cherokee Parks is a 6-foot 10 1/2-inch sophomore who “is going to be one of the best players around,” Popovich said. “He is very skilled and he is getting better every day. He is fluid and can jump. He is more like a forward-center type who can go out and shoot the 15-foot shot or slam dunk on you. He runs the floor very well. He is not just one of those stick-him-down-on-the-block players.

“But (the coaches) must have forgotten this is a team game. They must have thought we were talking about bowling or golf, one of those individual sports.”

Kidding aside, Popovich acknowledged that his team will be in the race.

“I think we’re in the top three. I think Huntington Beach might be a lot better than people suspect. Edison, they have some kids back. I think it will be typical Sunset League. We seem to have a lot of playoffs for third place, this year might not be any exception.”

Fountain Valley returns two starters, guards Tom Weaver (10-point average) and Lewis Murdent (7-point average). Another returning varsity player is Mike Cook, a 6-5 senior center who averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds on last year’s third-place team.

“We are real inexperienced, and a lot of our success will depend on how our junior varsity comes into the varsity,” Brown said. “The JV was 23-1 last year. That’s good for the JV level. Tom Weaver has been a 2-year starter for us and he is one of the better point guards in Orange County.”

Weaver, a 6-1 senior, was a second-team all-league selection last season.

“I think most coaches feel (the league) is fairly well balanced and very competitive, just like it was last year,” Brown said. “A lot depends on who is hurt or who gets sick . . . and with the 3-point shot you always have a chance to come back. It doesn’t seem like any lead is big enough.”

Here’s a closer look:

EDISON--With no returning starters or lettermen, Jon Borchert’s coaching will be the key. Bryan Murphy, a 6-4 senior forward, and Bill Martineau, a 6-9 junior center, are the top players on a team with good size, if nothing else.

“This is the youngest, most inexperienced team I’ve ever had at Edison,” Borchert said. “The young players will have to accept the responsibility and take over the leadership roles. This team should take its lumps in December, but if everything works out, it could be pretty good by mid-January.”

FOUNTAIN VALLEY--Kevin Andersen (6-6), who averaged 17 points and 10 rebounds last season, is at Golden West College this year. Junior Mike Merli (6-4) will have some very big shoes to fill. “He is the guy we hope can make up some of the difference,” Brown said.

The Barons’ problems are lack of size and 3-point shooters.

“We will be quicker, with better athletes and more depth than last year, but we may lack inside scoring,” said Brown, who begins his 20th year at the school.

Derrick Corcoran, a 5-10 guard, will play quite a bit.

HUNTINGTON BEACH--The Oilers return three starters: 5-10 guard Andy Thompson (10-point average), 6-4 forward-center Jeff Long (12 points) and 6-0 guard Joey Katter (7 points). Reserve center Mark Tostado, a 6-9 senior, gives the Oilers size and experience inside.

“We have three returning starters who didn’t like going 7-18,” Coach Roy Miller said.

MARINA--The Vikings are trying to replace four starters. Steve Guild (20-point average) and David Yamate (15 points) have graduated, taking a lot of the offense with them. Dan Floyd (10-point average) and point guard Jim Campbell (6 points) also graduated.

“We are really young,” Coach Popovich said. “I have five sophomores, three juniors and four seniors and probably only two of (the seniors) will play much. When you look at a team like Ocean View and the experience they have, that makes a big difference.”

Reserve Duane Cameron, a 6-5 forward who averaged 3 points and 3 rebounds last year, returns.

The Vikings do have Parks, who has grown 1 1/2 inches and bulked up from 190 to 215 pounds. “We hope he’s still growing,” Popovich said.

Guard Francis Carreon has good 3-point range and Thi Nguyen, a 5-10 sophomore, figures to have some impact.

OCEAN VIEW--Frohn, Todd and Evans accounted for 40 points a game for the league champions last year.

Frohn made 34 of 70 shots (56%) from 3-point range.

“We are not exceptionally tall. We don’t have any 6-9, 6-10 people, which always presents a problem,” Harris said. “We have all the ingredients. It is how they mix together that will determine the degree of success. We play such a tough schedule it is always interesting.”

The Seahawks have games against Los Alamitos, Long Beach Poly, St. Paul and Mater Dei, and they are entered in the Las Vegas tournament, a national tournament featuring 30 teams.

WESTMINSTER--Only one letterman--6-8 senior center Tim Dietel--returns from a team that was last in the league with a 2-8 record. The Lions, with only one other player taller than 6-feet, are a good shooting team but are “all midgets,” Coach Dick Katz said.

SUNSET LEAGUE

1987-88 Overall, League Record in Parenthesis

SCHOOL 1988-89 COMMENT Edison (17-11, 5-5) Youngest, most inexperienced team. Fountain Valley (15-8, 5-5) Quicker, with more depth than last year. Huntington Beach (7-18, 2-8) Three starters return; good size and quickness. Marina (18-7, 7-3) Cherokee Parks is bigger (6-10 1/2) and stronger. Ocean View (16-8, 9-1) Six returning lettermen, including Mike Frohn. Westminster (13-11, 2-8) Good shooting team, but very short.