CHANNEL LEAGUE : Improvement of Rio Mesa Tightens Race

Rio Mesa High spanked Buena for third place in the recent Beverly Hills tournament. But, opulent surroundings notwithstanding, the game was not for the gold.

Come January, those teams will play each other twice, likely with playoff fortunes on the line and certainly in front of packed gyms.

Buena, the defending league champion and winner of 22 consecutive league games, appears to have rebounded well from the loss to graduation of 2 All-County performers. Despite the loss to Rio Mesa, the Bulldogs are 4-2 entering this week’s Ventura tournament and have exhibited impressive scoring balance.

Rio Mesa is not as balanced, but Eric Thomas and Jeff Garner are enough to swing the balance in favor of the Spartans. For the first time in 3 seasons, Rio Mesa is more than just Thomas, the 6-6 junior forward who already has been named All-County twice.

Garner, in fact, was the unstoppable one against Buena, scoring a game-high 28 points, including 18 in the second half when Rio Mesa overcame a 6-point deficit to win going away. Garner is a 6-5 swingman who has swung the Spartans into the role of favorite by averaging 26 points in leading the team to 5 victories in its first 6 games.

Having more than one exceptional player makes a team more consistent. “Jeff is the most aggressive,” Rio Mesa Coach Steve Wolf said. “The most talented is Eric.”

Also fielding talented lineups are Santa Barbara and Ventura, although both have had mixed fortunes thus far. Oxnard could battle for a playoff berth. San Marcos, Dos Pueblos and Hueneme will battle to stay out of the cellar.

A look at each league team follows:

Rio Mesa--Despite all of his talent, Thomas has been unable to lift the Spartans into the playoffs the past 2 seasons. This should be the year, although it has more to do with the supporting cast than improvement by Thomas.

Garner has emerged as a dominant player and Rio Mesa has won the games in which he has played well. His shooting touch was cold against Santa Clara and the Spartans, who are 5-2 after Tuesday’s games, perished.

Guards Lester Smith and Bruce Yamamoto are fine ballhandlers and can get the ball to Garner and Thomas. Center Derek Kawai and, off the bench, forwards Chad Worden and Steve Killgore round out the lineup.

For the first time in years, Rio Mesa could be considered a physical team. Garner and Kawai like to muscle underneath the basket and Thomas is playing more aggressively than in the past 2 years.

Buena--Coach Glen Hannah lost 2 All-County players--6-10 center Shawn Kirkeby and point guard Mike Sandoval--to graduation, but the Bulldogs still have some bite. Senior forward Adan Valencia and junior guard Jeff Oliver are returning starters and form the backbone of a team that is capable in either an up-tempo or half-court game.

Oliver has switched from off-guard to the point and Valencia has moved to the post.

“Nobody has filled the void Shawn left but we have a lot of weapons,” Hannah said.

Darren Shearer, a 6-4 power forward, is one. The junior was named to the All-Beverly Hills tournament team. Matt Anderson, a senior small forward, is a 3-point threat and Troy Erickson, a senior off-guard, is a defensive specialist.

The Bulldogs are accustomed to winning; the seniors were sophomore and junior varsity champions before winning the league title last year with a 14-0 record.

Ventura--Gone is Chris Hantgin and Joe Paul, players who held the Cougars together for 3 seasons. Gone as well is Coach Chris Taylor and in his place is Roy Gilmore, a friend of Taylor’s who led Westlake to the Southern Section 4-A final in 1987 and was promptly fired. Ventura, by the way, defeated Westlake in the Beverly Hills tournament last month, so Gilmore already has had his revenge.

Remaining from last year’s 21-6 playoff team are forward Nate Hantgin and center Harvey Jones. Hantgin is a seasoned player who can take over in the fourth quarter. Jones (6-4, 225) is a bit awkward but does a fine job of rebounding and is averaging 14 points a game.

The Cougars were 3-3 entering this week’s Ventura tournament in what hardly qualifies as a rebuilding year; every player is a senior except junior transfer Kevin Williams. But there is not a solid perimeter scoring threat among them.

“We don’t have a true shooting player,” Gilmore said. “We’ll have to rely on balanced scoring.”

Forward Shawn Esgate and guard Joe Dunton have fit in well.

Santa Barbara--The Dons have a record of only 4-5 after playing in 3 tough tournaments but should bounce back strongly in league games. They usually do. Last season Santa Barbara was 22-6 and 11-3 in the league.

Coach Bob Purdy has more than the usual interest in this team: Two of his sons are in the starting lineup. Dan Purdy, a 6-2 senior, is the point guard and Matt Purdy, a 6-7 sophomore, in at forward. Also on the front line are 6-6 juniors David Palmer and Jessie Turner.

Seniors Paul Perkins, the Channel League MVP in football season, and Josh McGrath split time at off-guard.

Oxnard--The most noticeable names on the roster are Johnel Turner and Bryant Taylor, but they are really just outstanding football players in basketball uniforms. The names that really make the Yellowjackets go are Sal Ledesma and Josue Hernandez.

Ledesma is a third-year guard respected for his consistency. Hernandez, a 6-2 forward, played well in the Thousand Oaks tournament last week. Also playing well so far this season is senior forward Dennis Holloway, who scored 10 points in the fourth quarter of a victory over Agoura last week that gave the Yellowjackets a 3-3 record.

Point guard Ray Washington is an adept ballhandler and Turner and Taylor are solid. But Oxnard’s playoff chances could hinge on whether guard Walter Bell, the team’s best player, rebounds from a knee injury suffered during football season. Bell, it turns out, was an outstanding basketball player in a football uniform.

Hueneme--The Vikings are 3-3 and improving steadily under first-year Coach Howard Davis. The team is actually more experienced in football than basketball, but the likes of Freddie Bradley, Mel Nunnery and Doug Brekke have been catching on to playing with a round ball.

“These guys are athletes,” Davis said. “They pick up things quickly and you don’t have to tell them 16 million times to do something.”

Senior guard Jesse May also has impressed Davis with his athletic ability. Senior forward Mike Wolfe, a returnee, is the tallest player at 6-5. Guard Cons Lopez is another returning player.

San Marcos--Tim Krejdovsky, a 6-3 forward, is a 3-year starter and the only experienced player for the Royals, who were 10-12 last season and 5-9 in league play.

John Taylor, a 6-4 transfer from Santa Barbara, has stepped in at forward but the Royals have managed only a 2-6 record.

Coach Jeff Lavender has 5 sophomores and 6-6 freshman center Rob Ramaker on the roster, so lumps taken this season could serve as seasoning for 1990.

Dos Pueblos--The Chargers hope to emerge from last place under Coach Sal Rodriguez, an interim coach. Dos Pueblos, 3-21 last season and 1-13 in league play, is off to a 6-3 start.

The lone returning starter, guard Mark Estabrook, blew out a knee and may be lost for the season. His brothers, Adam and Brian, remain.

Senior forward Bill Barry and sophomore center Chris Gaines have carried the team so far. Barry is averaging nearly 20 points a game and Gaines has been an aggressive rebounder.

Dos Pueblos is the smallest school in the league and probably needs only a .500 overall record to qualify for the 3-A playoffs.