HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : MARMONTE LEAGUE : No Clear Favorite for 1st Time Since 1985

For the past few years the Marmonte League championship has not been won with buzzer-beating bombs on the season’s final day. It has not been won with a clutch trip to the free-throw line in the season’s final minutes. It has not been won with a daring steal in the season’s final seconds.

No, for 3 seasons, the championship was won a decade or so ago, when Don MacLean tightened the laces on his first pair of high tops; when Shawn DeLaittre snared his first rebound on the playground; when Butch Hawking launched his first shot from the far reaches of a musty gymnasium.

It was won when former Simi Valley High Coach Bob Hawking brought it all together for 3 championship seasons.

But they’re all gone: MacLean to UCLA, DeLaittre to Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Butch Hawking to the Air Force Academy and Bob to Pepperdine. Gone is the domination that was 3 consecutive league walkovers and a league record of 35-1 in that span.

Not coincidentally, the potential winner of the Marmonte League title is back as a topic of conversation.

At Newbury Park, Coach Ken Barone has called his team the best he has had since 1981 when the Panthers went 25-1. Multisport standout Wayne Cook is the leader and 1 of 2 returning starters for Newbury Park, which had an 18-7 summer season after posting a regular-season record of 6-16.

“Wayne Cook was probably the best player I saw in the area this summer,” Camarillo Coach John Harbour said.

Not far behind is Kurt Schwan, Westlake’s returning forward who averaged 13.1 points and 6.4 rebounds a game last season. Schwan already has signed with Division I Weber State, a member of the Big Sky Conference.

As they did last season when first-year Coach Greg Hess led them to a second-place finish, the Warriors have size on their side. Schwan is 6-8, and there is no frontcourt player shorter than 6-5.

In Simi Valley, the battle cry for another league title rings out.

“We have a motto that says ‘One more for four,”’ said first-year coach Dean Bradshaw, the Pioneers’ junior varsity coach for the past 7 seasons. “We could be the first team to ever win four Marmonte League titles in a row.”

Much of the responsibility for such a streak will depend on the maturation of junior guard Steve Carnes, the only player back from last season’s Southern Section 4-A Division champion. Carnes, who has recovered from the broken ankle he suffered this summer, has the athletic ability and skill to take over a game.

“He’s improved confidence-wise,” Bradshaw said. “He knows he’ll be the guy we’re looking to during crunch time.”

Camarillo, Royal and Thousand Oaks will be in the market for a playoff berth but will need some breaks along the way.

Camarillo is led by sophomore guard David Harbour, the son of the coach, who saw some varsity time early last season.

He will be joined by part-time starters Ed Lane, a 6-7 senior, and Scott Foster, a 6-5 junior.

“Athletically, we’re going to be a lot better than you’ve seen us,” John Harbour said. “It’s just a matter of our skills holding up.”

Harbour is also more comfortable with the Scorpions’ depth, which has been a problem in the past.

“For the last couple of years, frankly, if one our top three players didn’t play well it was good night,” he said.

Royal will need plenty of good nights from J. P. Ouellette, a 6-1 off-guard who was second in the league to Hawking with 56 three-point shots last season. Junior forward Russell Myers, who as a sophomore averaged nearly 7 points and 6 rebounds a game, will give the Highlanders bulk inside.

Thousand Oaks has a skilled starting five, but talent drops off after that. Senior John Bushart (6-4) returns at center, as does Jeff Peterson at point guard and Todd Anderson at either guard or forward.

Coach Ed Chevalier reckons that the road to this season’s playoffs is the same, well-travelled one as the past three.

“Simi Valley is the three-time defending champion,” he said. “Until you beat those people, you’re not going to win it. The road to the championship leads through Simi Valley.”

Channel Islands Coach Don Salado could be the one standing roadside with his thumb in the air. Only one player is back from last season’s third-place team--point guard Jerry Santiago.

Even worse, Salado only found out that he had the job again in early September, meaning he was not involved in the spring or summer programs. Salado coached the Raiders for 14 years but a 3-year layoff precluded him from the entire MacLean-DeLaittre-Hawking era. He said it was just a coincidence.

“If I had to come back it’s a great time to do it,” he said.

Camarillo

COACH: John Harbour, 10th season

LAST SEASON: 10-12 overall; fifth place in league at 5-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: David Harbour, the coach’s son, begins his first full season at the varsity level. Harbour is a 6-1, 160-pound sophomore who is adept at both the point and off-guard positions. He was the Scorpions’ leading scorer over the summer and can drive and create or score from the perimeter. John Harbour is quick to add, however, that David is young. “He’ll probably have a couple games scoring in the 30s and other games when he’ll be just OK,” John said. The young Harbour will have some support this season. Other possible guard combinations may include 5-10 junior Rick Schnell, 6-1 senior Jeff Castellanos and 5-9 senior Wes Nathaniel. At forward is senior Ed Lane, a 6-7 returning starter who averaged 6.5 rebounds a game last season. Scott Foster, a 6-5 junior, and Frank Dews, a 6-4 senior, will contribute along the front line. Lloyd Johnson (6-0) is a strong rebounder because of his leaping ability and he may contend for a starting forward position.

OUTLOOK: “The league’s going to be a shoot-out,” John Harbour said. “It’s whoever gets some momentum.” Camarillo will have a solid chance because of depth and athletic ability, qualities the team has lacked in recent years.

Channel Islands

COACH: Don Salado, 15th season

LAST SEASON: 14-10 overall; third place in league at 6-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: After coaching 14 seasons at Channel Islands and taking a 3-year hiatus, Salado is back with a Raider team that has one returning player. He is point guard Jerry Santiago, a 5-10 senior, who is expected to lead the team physically and emotionally. The rest have only junior varsity experience, but 6 have played varsity football. Still, the Raiders are young and Salado will need time to re-teach his system. “It happened so fast I really wasn’t prepared,” Salado said. “I’ve had to go back over my old notes and clips and videotapes.” The junior varsity influx will include 6-0 senior Jerry Williams, the Marmonte League’s most valuable football player, 5-9 senior Mike King, 6-2 sophomore Paul Estrada, 6-1 senior Henry Joe, 6-1 senior Walter Matthews, 6-1 senior Russell Edwards and 5-11 junior Marlow Durmiendo. Salado, 54, took the job after former Coach Mike Prewitt appeared to have left for a similar position in Northern California. Prewitt has since returned, but Salado will stay on for at least a year.

OUTLOOK: Most of the coaches’ polls agree on the league’s last-place finisher: Channel Islands. Salado has seen the polls and, to a degree, agrees. “I believe we’re probably in the lower half,” he said. “They’re calling us an underdog, and I think that’s what we are. But I think we can surprise some teams.” To win, the Raiders will have to run and press and pick up a little confidence along the way.

Newbury Park

COACH: Ken Barone, 11th season

LAST SEASON: 6-16 overall; last place in league at 2-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Panthers are among the league favorites because in 6-4 forward Wayne Cook they have the league’s only returning player to lead his team in both scoring and rebounding. Cook, also an all-league quarterback, averaged 15.3 points and 8 rebounds a game as a junior. In fact, Cook has led Newbury Park in those categories for 2 consecutive seasons. He will be joined along the front line by junior Kevin Loveall, a 6-6 center, and senior Anthony Rutter, a 6-3 forward. Rutter averaged 6.8 points and 4.4 rebounds last season. Two juniors will start in Barone’s backcourt. They are 5-10 off-guard Shane Gallimore and 5-11 Brian Smith at the point. Barone has thrust the burden of the Panthers’ fast-break offense and full-court pressure defense in part on 3 juniors. Sophomores Tim Lane, a 5-9 guard, and Chris Falzone, a 6-2 forward, will provide the depth, along with seniors Amir El Farra, Shane Jeffers and Derek Hull.

OUTLOOK: “We’re optimistic about ourselves, but we have to be realistic,” Barone said. “It’s a long way from the top to the bottom.” Or, from their perspective, from bottom to top.

Royal

COACH: Joe Malkinson, second season

LAST SEASON: 11-12 overall; sixth place in league at 4-8

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The good news for the Highlanders is that their leading scorer is back. The bad news is he averaged only 10.9 points a game. Senior J.P. Ouellette, a 6-1 off-guard, hit 56 three-point shots last season to rank seventh in the Southern Section. He is joined by returning starter Russell Myers, a 6-5 junior forward who averaged nearly 7 points and 6 rebounds a game last season. The other projected starters are also juniors. They are Chad Smith, a 6-4 forward, Chris Moriarty, a 6-3 swingman, and Greg Laranjo, a 5-7 point guard. Laranjo, who Malkinson endearingly compared to “a water bug,” is a quick penetrator who is making the jump to varsity from the sophomore team. Matt Hicks, a 6-0 senior, can contribute an effective outside shot, and Dana Boian, a 6-4 senior, was the junior varsity’s leading rebounder last season.

OUTLOOK: Royal has steadily improved since Malkinson took over, but the Highlanders may still be a year away from a bid for the league title. Malkinson is not quite ready to concede. “This year I don’t know how far we can go,” he said. “It depends on how fast we mature.”

Simi Valley

COACH: Dean Bradshaw, first season

LAST SEASON: 28-4 overall; first place in league at 12-0

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Junior Steve Carnes is the only player to return from last season’s Southern Section 4-A Division champion. The 6-2 guard who will be able to leap with the league’s best forwards, was the first or second man off the Pioneer bench last season, so he has experience. Bradshaw says that once Carnes enters into his “comfort zone,” where his confidence peaks, he could be among the league’s best players. Jeff Marciano, a 6-2 senior guard, and Dennis Cook, a 6-4 senior forward, joined last year’s varsity for the playoffs. Marciano scored 25 points a game in league play for the junior varsity and Cook was the junior varsity’s defensive player of the year. Cook, Mike Wawryk (6-5) and Ken Hood (6-4) will lend size and strength to the Pioneer front line. Simi Valley will be 8 or 9 players deep, according to Bradshaw, who coached the junior varsity to 6 league titles in 7 seasons and the last 5 in a row. Off the bench will be 5-10 guard Chris Quirmbach, 6-0 guard George Talledo, 5-11 guard Dave Smalling and 6-4 forward Jason Doherty.

OUTLOOK: Bradshaw is well-aware that for the first time in 4 years there is a legitimate league race. “The league champion can have 3 or 4 losses,” Bradshaw said, “and that hasn’t happened in a long, long time.”

Thousand Oaks

COACH: Ed Chevalier, 10th season

LAST SEASON: 8-13 overall; fourth place in league at 6-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Two starters--6-4 center John Bushart and 5-11 point guard Jeff Peterson--are back from a Lancer team that came within tie-breaking procedures of qualifying for the playoffs. There is little doubt Thousand Oaks will sorely miss the scoring of Kevin Martin, who graduated and took 21 points a game with him. The scoring will be more balanced this season. Led by Peterson, 6-1 guard-forward Todd Anderson and 6-1 guard Darren McMaster, Thousand Oaks could be very accurate from the perimeter. Mike Sandlin, a 6-3 junior who could fit in at forward or center, will lend Bushart a hand up front. Chevalier is somewhat optimistic. “We look OK,” he said. “I see a lot of glaring problems, but it’s nothing that can’t be resolved. The skill is there in all five positions.” Likely candidates to lend depth are 6-3 Chris Lenehan, 5-9 Courtney Greene or 6-0 Anthony Gonzales, the football team’s quarterback.

OUTLOOK: Chevalier talks as if the league race is like a breath of fresh air--which it is. “Don MacLean was such an anomaly in our league,” he said. His departure gives everyone a chance, including Thousand Oaks. “It sheds a different light on the league,” he added.

Westlake

COACH: Greg Hess, second season

LAST SEASON: 15-10 overall; second place in league at 7-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Warriors are expected to make a serious challenge to end Simi Valley’s league championship reign. Westlake is, first and foremost, big. Returning from a team that got better as the season progressed is 6-8 Kurt Schwan. The senior forward averaged 13.1 points and 6.4 rebounds as a junior. Schwan likely will be the dominant big man in the league. “Kurt’s got to score inside,” Hess said. “We’ve got to get the ball to him and get him to the line.” Westlake’s size barely dips from there. Senior forwards Pete Mladina and Mike Waggoner are 6-5. Then, there is junior B.J. Sena, a 6-6 forward, sophomore John Van Spyk, a 6-7 forward, and junior Matt Heckmann, a 6-6 forward. The Warriors’ guards will need to grow up in a hurry. Three 6-foot seniors--Chris Coffey, Jeff Maurer and Marc Rohleder--will share time.

OUTLOOK: Westlake is ranked No. 3 in the Southern Section 4-AA Division. This, after Hess took the Warriors to the playoffs in his first season. “We had a successful season last year,” Hess said, “and I felt good about it. This season we could go to the middle or go to the top.”