Mater Dei Leaves Rest of League to Battle for Second Place

The dominance of the Mater Dei High School basketball team is well-documented. But, as a refresher course, here are a few numbers:

--Since Coach Gary McKnight took over the program in 1983, the Monarchs have a record of 193-18.

--In Angelus League play, they are 64-2, losing twice to Bishop Amat in 1987-88.

--In the Southern Section playoffs, they are 26-2, losing only to Long Beach Poly in 1984 and St. Monica last season.

The Monarchs also have won six league titles in seven years, not to mention five Southern Section championships. The only three Orange County teams that have beaten them during the McKnight Era are Capistrano Valley, Ocean View and Saddleback.

So who’s the favorite in the Angelus League this season?

Take a wild guess.

Mater Dei returns nine players from last season’s team, which finished with a record of 24-3. It is the most returning players that McKnight has had since 1987, when the Monarchs won the state championship.

Of course, not everybody is ready to hand the league title over to the Monarchs just yet. McKnight for one.

Dylan Rigdon and Mike Morris, the Monarchs’ top two scorers, have graduated. Rigdon is at UC Irvine and Morris at Stanford.

“The thing we are lacking is a great scorer,” McKnight said. “We got nine guys coming back, but we’ll have to work to put some points on the board.”

The rest of the league’s coaches don’t expect the Monarchs to have too many problems.

“If we played Mater Dei tomorrow, we wouldn’t come within 25 points,” Bishop Amat Coach Alex Acosta said. “It’s pretty obvious that the rest of us are playing for second place.”

And that battle should be competitive, as the other four teams in the league all have a shot.

Even Bishop Montgomery, which has had five coaches in four years, has a chance to make the playoffs. The Knights have not reached the playoffs since 1983.

Bishop Montgomery has four starters returning.

“Bishop Montgomery hasn’t had too much success in the Angelus League, so I don’t want to sound too optimistic,” Coach Doug Mitchell said. “But I’m pretty excited about this team.”

Bishop Amat, league champions two seasons ago, has the league’s best player in Jason Green, a 6-foot-4 forward. Green averaged 20.8 points per game and was named second-team All-Southern Section Division II last season.

BISHOP AMAT--Acosta has made the Lancers a consistent winner.

Bishop Amat was a Southern Section 5-A finalist in 1987-88 and reached the quarterfinals of the 4-AA playoffs last season. Two starters return from that team, Green and J.D. Romero, a 6-5 center.

Romero averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds per game last season.

But the key to the Lancers will be the development of the four sophomores Acosta plans to use. The best of that group are center David Ng (6-8) and guard Randy Edwards (6-2).

BISHOP MONTGOMERY--This could be the best Bishop Montgomery team since 1980-81, when the Knights were co-champions with Servite.

Mitchell has plenty of experience to work with, including Darrel Daniel, a 6-1 guard who already has signed a letter of intent with St. Mary’s College. Daniel averaged 18 points per game and was a first-team all-league selection.

Also returning are guard Joe Habnot, a 6-3 sophomore who was a part-time starter last season; forward Joe Magyar, a 6-4 junior, and center Pete Tolliver, a 6-5 senior.

“We have a lot of talent, we just have to do something with it,” Mitchell said.

MATER DEI--OK, so the Monarchs don’t have a superstar, but they certainly have a lot of solid players.

Three starters return, including point guard Jason Quinn (5-11), the league’s player of the year last season.

Quinn averaged only 3.5 points per game last season but provided good floor leadership (5.5 assists per game) and was a tenacious defender.

Andy Karich, a 6-5 guard, and Derek Stone, a 6-8 senior center, also return. Karich has signed a letter of intent with Santa Clara and Stone is a three-year starter.

David Boyle, a 6-5 senior forward who started half the season, also returns.

The Monarchs have plenty of depth. Charles Andres (6-7), Danny O’Neil (6-2) and Mark Moneypenny (6-11) are all proven reserves.

And look out for Reggie Gary, who McKnight calls the next great Monarch player. Gary, a 6-2 sophomore, can’t play varsity until February, because he has to sit out one year after transfering from Ocean View. He will play on the junior varsity team until then.

“Reggie is a big-time athlete,” McKnight said. “He can get his elbow above the rim. A lot of college coaches have asked about him and they want to come see him play. I told them to get there early, because he’s on the junior varsity.”

ST. PAUL--The Swordsmen lost an average of 65 points in offense with the graduation of Greg Willig, John Overbeck and Jason Hart. And they have only two returning players, both of whom saw limited playing time last season.

But don’t expect any of that to slow St. Paul down. In fact, the Swordsmen will probably speed up, if it’s possible.

Coach Mike Dinneen has only one player taller than 6-2--center Edgar Diaz (6-5)--so the Swordsmen, who averaged 90 points per game each of the last two seasons, plan to run even more.

Mark Walsh (6-0), Brandon Ertle (6-1) and Eric Gutierrez (6-1) are all outstanding shooters. Gutierrez is only a freshman, but shoots so well Dinneen didn’t want to waste him on the junior varsity.

SERVITE--Richard Smith replaces Larry Walker as coach this season. Smith was the sophomore coach in 1988-89 and has never coached on the varsity level.

But the Friars’ inexperience doesn’t end there.

Servite, 12-11 a year ago, has only one starter returning, but he’s one of the better players in the league. Steve Marusich, a 6-7 senior forward, averaged 14 points per game last season and should be even better this season.

Also back are guard Jamie Rosenkranz (6-3) and forward Blaine Patriquin 6-3, who played sparingly off the bench. There are many newcomers, including sophomores Eddie Rubio, a 6-1 guard, and Adam Anderson, a 6-3 forward.

HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW ’89

ANGELUS LEAGUE

1988 Overall, League Records in Parentheses

SCHOOL: Mater Dei (25-3, 8-0) ‘89-’90 COMMENT:Nine returning players, including three starters

SCHOOL: St. Paul (20-8, 6-2) ‘89-’90 COMMENT: Only one player taller than 6-2

SCHOOL: Bishop Amat (16-10, 3-5) ‘89-’90 COMMENT: Jason Green is league’s best player

SCHOOL: Servite (12-11, 3-6) ‘89-’90 COMMENT: Steve Marusich only experienced player

SCHOOL: Bishop Montgomery (9-13, 0-8) ‘89-’90 COMMENT: New coach, but four starters return

Wednesday: Century League