Valley Pac-8 Conference : MID-VALLEY LEAGUE

Canoga Park

COACH: Jeff Davis, 3rd season LAST SEASON: 8-17; 3rd in league, 5-6 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Three starters return. Arthur Mo Bradford, a 6-foot-5, 200-pound junior power forward, averaged 7.6 points and 6.7 rebounds last season. Senior Chace Johnson (6-0), who started just the first eight games last season before illness and injury sidelined him, will start at point guard. Junior forward Steve Woodruff (6-3) is suffering from a chronic knee injury but should rejoin the team by mid-January. Gene Ross (6-5), a senior who was the first player off the bench last season, will start at center. Davis is most excited about junior guard Glenn Davis (6-1), the younger brother of former El Camino Real High and Cal State Northridge basketball player Sean Davis. “This guy is a Division I player beyond a shadow of a doubt,” Jeff Davis said. Sophomore Charles Adams (6-3) is a transfer from Manual Arts and will start at small forward. Dayton Hernandez (6-2), Scott Gonzalez (5-11), Demond Callahan (5-11) and Jody Edington (5-7) are reserves. OUTLOOK: “We’re expecting to be competitive with everyone we play,” Davis said. “There’s no team we can’t compete with. We’ll be knocking on North Hollywood’s door this year.”

Monroe COACH: Paul Graber, 1st season LAST SEASON: 12-12; 4th in league, 4-7 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Graber, who coached the junior varsity last season, will have four returning lettermen who were nonstarters. Senior Johnell Parker (6-0) was the Vikings’ sixth man last season and will start at off-guard. Lane Wilson (6-3), a senior center, should be the best rebounder. Seniors Danny Sims (6-3) and Eric Colier (5-10) also return and will play forward and guard, respectively. Junior point guard LaMarco Rich (5-10) is up from the junior varsity. Jeff Nadeau (6-2), a junior transfer from St. Monica, is a guard who “has some pretty serious hops,” according to Graber. Senior Vince Munoz (6-2) transferred from Palmdale. Graber thinks junior guard Mwitz Steiner (6-0) is the best pure shooter on the team. Otis Hopson (6-3), Neil Spaulding (5-10), Ross Saxton (5-11) and Charles Huss (6-0) all figure into Graber’s game plan. OUTLOOK: Graber is both apprehensive and excited about his first varsity season. He is looking forward to building the program over the next couple of years and hopes the Vikings will be competitive along the way. “This is a good group of kids,” he said. “I think we’re going to get after some people this year.”

North Hollywood COACH: Steve Miller, 7th season LAST SEASON: 15-12; Tied for 1st in league, 7-4 PLAYERS TO WATCH: No City Section team in the Valley area has more returning talent than North Hollywood, the runner-up to Fremont last season for the 3-A Division championship. Eric Jackson (averages of 14 points, 13 rebounds) has graduated but the other four starters return, including the league’s co-most valuable player, Robert Hill (6-2). Hill, a third-year starting guard, averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and five steals as a junior. Senior Doc Hazzard (5-10) returns at point guard, and senior Tim O’Malley (6-8) is back at center. SeniorRoelant Thompson (5-10) is a second-year starter at guard. DeShawn Harvey (6-0), a senior transfer from Michigan, has looked promising at guard. Two talented sophomores have caught Miller’s eye in the preseason: Jamaal Johnson (6-0) is a reserve point guard who is very quick and Damon Ollie (6-5, 210) could dominate inside. Ollie is the half-brother of Dana Jones, the City 3-A player of the year for North Hollywood in the 1989-90 season. Also expected to fit into Miller’s nine-deep game play are Anson Credille (6-3) and Marcus Sanders (6-3). OUTLOOK: North Hollywood has been in the 3-A championship game for the past two years and won the title two seasons ago.

Van Nuys COACH: Ken Lee, 3rd season LAST SEASON: 11-12; Tied for 1st in league, 7-4 PLAYERS TO WATCH: Van Nuys surprised a few teams last season by finishing as league co-champions with North Hollywood. Two years ago the Wolves won just one game, so last season was an unexpected pleasure for Lee. But Mike Crawford, the league’s co-most valuable player who averaged 20 points and seven rebounds a game, has graduated. Senior off-guard Ernesto Dominguez (6-2) is the lone returning starter. Dominguez played center last season to provide a supporting cast for Crawford, but Dominguez will take over the leadership role on this season’s team. Senior Garreth Leslie (5-8), Crawford’s brother, was the team’s first player off the bench last season and will start at guard. Senior Eric Grayson (6-5) will start at center in his first season of basketball. Junior Cesar Felici (6-2) will start at forward alongside junior Tony Mancha (6-5). OUTLOOK: Lee is not expecting his team to repeat as champion in a league that includes North Hollywood. Instead, he is intent on rebuilding the program and getting his inexperienced players to work together.