BOYS’ 3-AA BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Luck of Opening Draw Favors Trabuco Hills

Rainer Wulf, basketball coach at Trabuco Hills High School, figured the Mustangs team would get a good draw in the first round of the Southern Section 3-AA playoffs.

He couldn’t have asked for a better one.

The Mustangs, 16-8 and defending 3-A champions, will meet La Quinta (2-20) in one of the more interesting first-round matchups today at Trabuco Hills.

La Quinta, which lost its first 19 games this season, tied Los Amigos for last place in the Garden Grove League. The Aztecs were one of 14 teams in 3-AA to petition for and receive an at-large bid.

Despite the record, Wulf said he’s still concerned about the first-round game.

“The thing about playing against La Quinta is that you’re playing against (Coach) Jim Perry,” Wulf said. “He knows how to get them ready.

“They’ve won two of their last three games, and if they’re on a roll at all, they’re on it now. This is a chance for them to forget the whole season.”

The 3-AA, which is in its first year, is an offspring of the 3-A division. The 3-A tournament was becoming too large, so Southern Section officials split the division by enrollment. But only 28 of the 32 available spots in the 3-AA division were filled, so La Quinta was added despite its record.

“I wasn’t surprised that we got La Quinta,” Wulf said. “They were in a pool of four teams I figured we might play, (including) Sonora, Los Amigos and Bolsa Grande.”

Only two other teams made the playoffs with worse records than La Quinta--Serrano (1-20) in 2-AA and Mayfair (0-22) in 3-A.

Perry said he asked his players two weeks ago if they wanted to play in the tournament. He said everyone wanted to, so he sent the application papers in.

“One of our goals every year is to get into the playoffs,” Perry said. “We saw there’s a chance here. It’s not a big one, but it’s a chance.”

Perry said he’s happy with his first-round draw. “It could’ve been a lot worse,” Perry said. “We could’ve been playing Morningside or Brea-Olinda. If our kids go down there in the right frame of mind they can compete.”

Thirteen county teams are in the 3-AA tournament division, including league champions Trabuco Hills (Pacific Coast), Foothill (Century) and Newport Harbor (Sea View). Brea-Olinda and Western were co-champions in the Orange League.

Foothill and Brea-Olinda have first-round byes as well as Inglewood Morningside, which is 23-3 and seeded No. 1.

Morningside lost to Corona del Mar in semifinals of last year’s 3-A playoffs. Trabuco Hills then beat Corona del Mar in the 3-A final.

Morningside defeated Brea-Olinda, Ocean View and Los Alamitos in the Tournament of Champions in December. The earliest the Monarchs would face an Orange County team in the playoffs would be the semifinals.

The Monarchs are averaging 85 points a game while giving up only 55. Leading scorer Tyrone Paul, a 6-foot-5 forward, is averaging 18.8 points.

Brea-Olinda (21-5) features forward Keith Walker, the county’s leading scorer with a 33-point average and Foothill uses a consistent half-court offense and solid defense.

“Morningside, Brea and Foothill, athletically, have an advantage over everyone else,” Perry said. “Then there are another six, seven or eight other teams who could go in there and win it all, including Trabuco Hills.

“Their quickness can cause a lot of problems. Beau Hossler, Tim Manning and Randy Kriech are three big-time athletes.”

Wulf said any one of six teams could win the tournament. Although Trabuco Hills is the defending 3-A champion, Wulf said his team might be an underdog.

“We have a shot at it because there’s so much balance (in the division),” he said. “There’s no team in this division we can’t beat.”

3-AA PREVIEW

DEFENDING CHAMPION-- First year for division.

TOP TEAMS-- Morningside (23-3), Western (18-5), Brea-Olinda (21-5), Foothill (18-6), Lompoc (18-5), Trabuco Hills (16-8).

DARK HORSE-- Newport Harbor (18-7).

BEST DRAWS-- Morningside, Brea-Olinda and Foothill each get first-round byes and shouldn’t be challenged until the quarterfinals. Other good draws include Western (18-5) against Sonora (18-6) and Trabuco Hills against La Quinta (2-20).

WORST DRAW-- Lompoc (18-5) plays Palos Verdes (12-14) in the first round and will likely meet Atascadero (16-6) in the second round.

KEY PLAYERS-- Keith Walker (Brea-Olinda), Sam Sabbara and Robbie Shelton (Western), Beau Hossler and Tim Manning (Trabuco Hills) and Tyrone Paul (Morningside).

NOTEWORTHY-- Trabuco Hills won the 3-A title last season but will find it much tougher in the new division.