HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEW ’89 : Capistrano Valley’s Combo Provides Edge

Here are three reasons why Capistrano Valley will repeat as South Coast League champions in 1989-90:

Forward Scott McCorkle, the county’s best player, returns for his senior season.

Point guard Chris Kostoff, who shared the league’s most valuable player award with McCorkle last year, also returns.

Coach Mark Thornton, who led Capistrano Valley to the Southern Section’s 5-A division title last spring, is back to coach the talented duo.

That has been an unbeatable combination for the past two years, with Capistrano Valley winning 20 consecutive games in the six-team league.

“McCorkle and Kostoff is a difficult combination to beat,” Irvine Coach Steve Keith said. Keith should know. He watched his team get hammered, 76-49, in the 5-A championship game last season.

Last year, five South Coast teams qualified for postseason play, with Capistrano Valley and Irvine advancing to the final of the section’s most competitive division.

This year, Mission Viejo Coach Bob Minier anticipates a three-team race for the league championship and concedes Capistrano Valley as the favorite.

“It’s a tough, tough league,” Minier said. “All six teams will be a threat, but still, Capistrano Valley will be tough to beat.”

Mission Viejo and El Toro will be Capistrano Valley’s most formidable challengers. Mission Viejo has three returning starters from a team that struggled to a 7-8 record in nonleague play last year and then surprised most by finishing third in the league.

El Toro will be a tall order for opponents, with forwards Rob Johnson (6-5) and Greg Everett (6-5) and center Kirk Riddle (6-7) on the front line.

Naturally, Thornton is downplaying his team’s chances, pointing out that his roster is filled with young and inexperienced players who must learn their roles if Capistrano Valley is to successfully defend its title.

“Those younger players know what to do,” said Tim Travers, El Toro’s coach. “All they have to do is give McCorkle or Kostoff the ball and get out of their way.”

A look at the teams:

CAPISTRANO VALLEY--When last seen, McCorkle was spending time on the bench, brooding after receiving four early fouls in a 69-63 loss to Manual Arts in the opening round of the Southern California Division I regionals.

But once McCorkle got into the game in the fourth quarter, he was brilliant, hitting six consecutive shots and scoring 15 points in a fourth-quarter rally that fell just short. There isn’t a more talented player in the county.

Kostoff, who averaged 15 points and 8.4 assists, was effective from three-point range, where he made 54 of 116 attempts. He also shot 70% from the free-throw line.

Among the top newcomers are center Eric Gruenewald, forward Jose Salvatierra and sophomore guard Tom Airey. Capistrano Valley will compete in the King Cotton Classic in Pine Bluff, Ark., Dec. 26-30.

DANA HILLS--Three-year assistant Tom Riach replaces Rich Skelton as the team’s coach for one year after Skelton was suspended by administrators of the Capistrano Unified School District for violating a Southern Section rule concerning undue influence last year.

Two starters--forward Jason Spizuoco and guard J.B. Taylor--return and are joined by two tall newcomers. Dan Lloyd, 6-7, and Chris Swenson, 6-9, will share playing time at center. Lloyd is the younger brother of last year’s starting center, John Lloyd, now at Brigham Young University.

“We have overall good size, better depth than usual and better athletic ability,” Riach said. “We should be competitive with most teams and will probably be involved in a few close games throughout the season.”

Riach was head coach at Santa Ana Valley for three seasons before joining Dana Hills’ staff.

EL TORO--It was a Dow Jones season for El Toro in 1988-89. Its stock rose following victories over 4-A champion Dominguez and 3-A champion Trabuco Hills and then plunged with a stunning loss to San Clemente.

“We had 12 losses to teams that qualified for the playoffs,” Travers said. “We beat two CIF (Southern Section) champs, and then there were other times we beat ourselves.”

Travers is optimistic after losing only Khari Johnson, among the starters, to graduation. Johnson and Everett are quality players, but guards Dan Somers and Tim Casarez were sporadic in the backcourt last year.

El Toro figures to start slowly with Johnson and key reserve Jeremy Hogue competing on the football team, but Travers expects to be strong once league play begins.

“Competing in this league will be like going through the gauntlet,” Travers said. “Capo should be favored, but I don’t think anyone is going through the league undefeated.”

IRVINE--It was a brilliant bit of coaching by Steve Keith in his second season that helped Irvine become a bona fide power in the county after so many mediocre seasons. But don’t expect an encore.

Irvine has talented junior John Molle returning at forward and sixth-man Greg Bains back at guard. The holes are being filled by Brett Roberts and Brian Boothroyd, most valuable players on junior varsity and freshman teams, respectively.

But Keith anticipates problems matching up at the post and point positions with taller opponents, and inexperience will hurt.

“We have a great player in Molle and some good shooting,” he said. “This team has a lot of work to do to survive our schedule.”

Keith, joking about his team’s loss in the 5-A title game last year: “I think we got beat at the buzzer.” Actually, Capistrano Valley won by 27 points.

MISSION VIEJO--Eric Cramer and Greg Amaya, two underrated players, are back. Cramer is a three-year starter who led the team in scoring with a 15.5 average. Amaya, a strong, 210-pounder, was among the county’s rebound leaders, averaging 9.3 per game.

The Diablos were the surprise team of the league and nearly pulled off a major upset in the 4-AA playoffs before losing to Harold Miner and Inglewood, 77-72, in the second round.

“I like our attitude, athletic ability and depth,” Minier said. “I feel we will be in every game, and could develop into one of the top teams in the county.”

Among the top newcomers are Bill Denny and Tim Snowden, who are competing for the school’s football team in the Division III playoffs.

SAN CLEMENTE--Forward Jason Dunahee and guard Bill Hagedorn begin their third varsity seasons for a team that is vastly improved but out of its league here. Dunahee was a second-team, all-league selection.

Eddie Morgan, a 6-7 junior center, provides some hope for the future, but the team’s lack of speed dictates another long season.

SOUTH COAST LEAGUE 1988-89 Overall, League Records in Parentheses

SCHOOL ‘89-’90 COMMENT Capistrano Valley (24-5, 10-0) Undefeated in league play for two years Irvine (24-6, 7-3) John Molle among county’s top underclassmen Mission Viejo (12-13, 6-4) Surprise team of ’88 returns three starters El Toro (13-12, 3-7) Only 13 points shy of being 18-8 last year Dana Hills (15-13, 3-7) Tom Riach replaces Rich Skelton as coach San Clemente (4-18, 1-9) Vastly improved but still decidedly lagging

Thursday: Sunset League