The Preps : Boys’ Athlete of the Week : Kostoff Doing His Part to Extend Point Guard Streak

Mark Thornton of Capistrano Valley High School has been blessed with fine point guards for the past eight seasons.

Ever since Thornton became the head coach at Capistrano Valley, the Cougars’ point guard has been named to the All-Southern Section team.

From Burt Call in 1980-81 through Charles Lockard in 1987-88.

And now comes Chris Kostoff.

“I knew there was a lot expected of me, there always is a lot expected of the point guard,” Kostoff said. “I got a lot of playing time over the summer and gained a lot of confidence.”

Kostoff might not continue the streak, but he’s doing his best to keep it going.

After struggling in the preseason, he became another link in the Cougar point guard tradition.

Kostoff, The Times’ athlete of the week, scored 34 points in two games as the Cougars finished undefeated in South Coast League play.

But it wasn’t the number of points Kostoff scored, it was where he was scoring from.

Kostoff, a 6-foot-2 junior, made three three-point field goals in a 66-43 victory over Irvine and five three-pointers in a 62-55 victory over Dana Hills.

“I was really struggling during the preseason,” Kostoff said. “But once league started, I got into a groove.”

Kostoff has made 36 of 62 three-point field goals (58%) in league play. He had a high of eight against El Toro two weeks ago.

Thornton doesn’t mind his point guard shooting; in fact, he encourages it to help keep defenses honest.

Kostoff is averaging 15 points per game.

“Our point guards always average between 12 and 15 points per game,” Thornton said. “Chris isn’t forcing shots, he takes them when he’s open.”

Kostoff’s recent burst of scoring hasn’t hurt his playmaking abilities. He is still among the assist leaders in Orange County, averaging 8.4 per game.

And he has been able to take some pressure off forward Scott McCorkle, the Cougars’ scoring star.

“I think we were depending a little too much on Scott at the beginning of the season,” Kostoff said. “I think that’s why we struggled in games early in the season.”

But can Kostoff extend the Cougars’ point guard streak?

“I think it depends on how far we go in the playoffs,” Thornton said. “He’s certainly a very important part of our offense.”

TOP PERFORMERS

Malru Dottin of Saddleback scored 51 points in two games and the Roadrunners finished undefeated in the Sea View League.

Jaime Hutchinson of La Habra scored four goals in two Highlander soccer victories. Hutchinson has 16 goals this season.

Gary Lira of Rancho Alamitos scored 47 points to help the Vaqueros win three games and finish third in the Garden Grove League to qualify for the Southern Section 3-A playoffs.

Mike Morris of Mater Dei scored 44 points in two games as the Monarchs finished undefeated in Angelus League play.

Mike Renaud scored 30 points in two games for El Dorado, which finished undefeated in the Empire League.

Chris Kostoff

Capistrano Valley High

Position: Guard

Height, Weight, Class: 6-2, 170, Junior

Last Week: Kostoff scored 34 points, including eight three-point field goals, in two Cougar victories.

Season: Kostoff is averaging 15 points and 8.4 assists per game.