HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL : SOUTHERN SECTION PREVIEW : MARMONTE LEAGUE

Agoura

COACH: Kevin Pasky, 6th season

LAST SEASON: 15-9; 3rd in league, 8-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Chargers will rely on three returning starters and a blend of seniors and talented underclassmen. Senior guard-forward Jeff Niemann (6-foot-3) enters his third varsity season and is one of the league’s top ballhandlers. Niemann averaged 11.1 points and 6.1 rebounds last season. Senior point guard J. C. Padilla (5-9) averaged 2.9 assists. Senior forward Lloyd Silvers (6-3) averaged eight points and five rebounds as a starter in the latter half of the season. Junior guard-forward Bennon Ureda (6-4), who averaged six points and three assists, also moves to a starting role. Forward Lenny Dunn (6-1), a good post player up from the junior varsity, is the only other senior, but Pasky is excited about the squad’s younger players. The most promising might be sophomore center Ben Richardson (6-5), a reserve with the varsity last season who will start. “He’s pretty polished for his youth,” Pasky said. Freshman guard Brian Laibow (6-2) is expected to be among the top seven or eight players. Junior Mike Park (5-9) is the team’s best defensive guard. Sizable junior forwards Aaron Philpott (6-4) and Damon Blechen (6-3) both move up from the junior varsity.

OUTLOOK: Many league coaches consider Agoura improved and no easy game on the schedule. If the Chargers’ younger players develop rapidly, Agoura could challenge for the title in the next two or three years. “We’ve had at least one sophomore on the varsity for the last three years because we’ve had some pretty talented young players come in,” Pasky said. “This team is going to play the best defense we’ve had in six years.” Agoura will play in the San Diego Sweetwater tournament.

Camarillo

COACH: Mike Prewitt, 3rd season

LAST SEASON: 3-20; 8th in league, 1-13

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Three players return along with “a good nucleus of newcomers,” Prewitt said. The team’s best player is senior forward Jimmy Harbour (6-3), who averaged a team-high 11.5 points a game and 6.3 assists last season. Senior point guard Jaime Jaquez (6-1) averaged 10 points and 2.4 assists. Both were third-team all-league selections. Senior forward Dennis Lunderg (6-4), who played sparingly last season, is the third returnee. Junior guard Jim Hansen (6-1), who averaged a team-high 16.9 points a game for the junior varsity, and senior forward Matt Cullen (6-4), who averaged 8.5 points and nine rebounds on the junior varsity, are likely starters. Junior Jeremy Fischer (5-9), a point guard, leaped 6-11 1/2 last season to win the Marmonte League high jump title and went on to capture the 3-A Division championship. Senior Craig MacClean (6-4) shoots well and has good upper-body strength. Junior guard Andrew Richards (6-2) is another good perimeter shooter. Battling for starting roles are senior guards Joey Rockenstein (6-0) and Todd Allen (5-9), senior forward John Llapitan and junior forward John Romansic (6-1), a transfer from Louisiana. “They’re really pushing the guys in front of them,” Prewitt said.

OUTLOOK: With nowhere to go but up, the Scorpions have the depth they lacked last season, which should allow for the frequent substitutions Prewitt hopes to employ. Height, however, is another issue. “Pretty obviously, we don’t have a lot of size,” Prewitt said.

Channel Islands

COACH: Gary Abraham, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 11-14; 7th in league, 4-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior point guard Dewaun Nunnery (5-10) returns as one of the league’s top players. Nunnery averaged a team-high 15.2 points a game and has improved, Abraham said. Senior guard Demetrius Hawkins returns to add to an experienced backcourt. The Raiders need to find a replacement for center Fred Gaines, a second-team all-league selection who averaged 12.3 points as a junior but decided not to play this season. Abraham is uncertain about plotting an attack. “We won’t have a center,” Abraham said. “I think Hawkins will play a little bit more of a post than anyone else.” Senior forward Joe Valenzuela (6-0) battled injuries last season but is healthy and should move into a starting role. A long list of newcomers follows. Senior guard Andre Lanns was the best shooter on the junior varsity. Also being promoted are senior guard Nick Anderson (5-11), senior forward Alan Baladad (6-2) and junior forwards Josh Babauta (6-1) and Miguel Garcia (6-2). Junior guard Scott Clark (5-11), a transfer from Oxnard and a good shooter, is expected to back up Nunnery. Senior center Mia Voloaga (6-5), who played tight end in the fall, will fill in at center.

OUTLOOK: “The loss of Gaines is really going to hurt us,” Abraham said. “We’re going to have trouble matching up with some of the taller teams. But we’ve got some kids coming in who will try to pick up the slack. But it’s going to be hard for us.” This season marks the debut of the inaugural Channel Islands tournament.

Newbury Park

COACH: Greg Ropes, 4th season

LAST SEASON: 14-11, 4th in league, 7-6

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Four of the Panthers’ pivotal players were members of the school’s league-champion football team that was eliminated in the first round of the Division III playoffs. Junior point guard Keith Smith (6-0), who passed for a Ventura County-record 3,318 yards this season, is an excellent all-around basketball player, Ropes said. Smith, who averaged four assists and 2.9 steals last season, “will shoot a whole bunch this year,” Ropes said. Junior forward Leodes Van Buren (6-1) a standout wide receiver, and junior guard-forward Jason Tucker (5-9), who played running back, both move up from the junior varsity and are good ballhandlers and good shooters. Senior Brad Henderson (6-3), a starting offensive tackle, also moves up and will start at center. Senior Luke Borghi, a reserve last season, joins Smith as the only other varsity returnee. The roster also includes two volleyball players, a baseball player and a track athlete. Senior forward Paul Niedermuller (6-1), a two-year letterman in volleyball, and junior forward Erik Netzer (6-5), another volleyball player, are battling for starting positions. The same goes for junior forward Marshall Watson (6-2), a member of the baseball team. Senior guard Thinh Vo (5-10) is the school’s fastest 100-meter sprinter. Senior forward Joe Anderson (6-6), who played basketball for the first time last season on the junior varsity, shows potential, Ropes said, but is battling a strained knee.

OUTLOOK: There is no shortage of talented athletes. But can they play basketball? Ropes insists the answer is yes. “These kids dribble and shoot the basketball year-round,” he said. The Panthers’ first-round exit from the Division III football playoffs might be a blessing. Preseason basketball practices have lacked key players, especially Smith, who could prove to be as good a point guard as he is a quarterback. “Keith Smith is as valuable to our basketball team as he is to our football team,” Ropes said.

Royal

COACH: Ira Sollod, 2nd season

LAST SEASON: 10-15; 5th in league, 7-7

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Highlanders have three returnees and several promising newcomers. Senior Steve Hodge (6-3), who averaged 13 points and 8.8 assists last season while earning second-team all-league honors, shifts from forward to off-guard. Seniors Josh Penrod (6-6, 175) and Khamisi Thurman (6-1, 210), and sophomore Eric Carlsen (6-5, 177) form a meaty, yet agile, front court. Penrod and Thurman both started part-time last season. Sollod called Carlsen, a newcomer to the program, “one of the best sophomores I’ve coached.” Junior Johann Nash (6-3), another newcomer, will start at point guard. Senior guard-forward Todd Ward (6-1) will be one of the first off the bench and can shoot as well as Hodge. Up from the junior varsity are senior guard Jon Mikita (6-1) and senior forward Stu Dowling (6-0). Senior forward Jared White (6-1) joined the varsity late last season. All three are good defenders. “We’ll have a scrappier group coming off the bench,” Sollod said. Senior forward Andre DeSaussure (6-3), the 3-A Division champion in the 200 and 400 meters and a wide receiver-defensive back for the football team, is an exceptional athlete who will contribute heavily, Sollod said.

OUTLOOK: Sollod is optimistic about the Highlanders’ young talent. However, inexperience might leave Royal a notch below league powers Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks. A lot will depend on how much players mature during December. “I think we can play with Simi Valley and Thousand Oaks, but we’ll have our work cut out for us,” Sollod said. “We’re going to get nothing but better as the year goes on.”

Simi Valley

COACH: Dean Bradshaw, 5th season

LAST SEASON: 21-6; 2nd in league, 10-3

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Pioneers have six returnees--three starters and three reserves who saw considerable action. Senior guard Ryan Briggs (5-10), a first-team all-league selection last season, averaged 10.9 points and had a Ventura County-high 187 assists. Junior forward Nathan Simmons (6-3), who averaged 7.5 points and 4.7 rebounds, is being touted by many league coaches as one of the area’s best players. Senior guard Craig Griffin (6-0) averaged 4.1 points and 3.1 rebounds as a starter. Senior guards David Quitazol (5-10), Curtis Cardinez (5-7) and Jason Conmay (6-3) all logged “quality minutes,” last season, according to Bradshaw. Last season’s junior varsity was 20-1 and many talented players move up, including 6-6 junior center Vernon Simmons (no relation to Nathan) who averaged 10.3 points and 8.4 rebounds. Senior guard Sean Malia (6-2) led the junior varsity by averaging 16.1 points and sinking 46 of 94 (49%) three-point attempts. Senior forward Jeff Barlow (6-5) averaged 11.5 points and 7.6 rebounds. Senior forward Mike Arlotto (6-2), also up from the junior varsity, is a good defender. Junior guard Jeremy Roberts (5-9), who averaged 7.8 points on the junior varsity, is the “best pure shooter” among the newcomers, Bradshaw said. Sophomore point guard Chris Bell broke the school record for sophomores with a 36-inch vertical leap.

OUTLOOK: Simi Valley, traditionally solid, is talented and deep. Along with Thousand Oaks, the Pioneers are contenders to win the league title. “We have high expectations,” Bradshaw said. “But there’s no more pressure than we place on ourselves.”

Thousand Oaks

COACH: Ed Chevalier, 14th season

LAST SEASON: 18-8; 1st in league, 12-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Size can be intimidating, and the Lancers have it. “This is the tallest team I have ever coached by far,” Chevalier said. The two-time defending league champions have five players who are at least 6-6 and all should contribute significantly. Identical twins Paul and Nick Foster (both 6-7) are good ballhandlers for their size and an excellent inside tandem. Paul averaged 7.9 points last season and has improved his perimeter shooting. Nick, who will play center, averaged five points and three rebounds in limited duty. “They do things well together,” Chevalier said. Junior forward Jason Hartman (6-6) moves into a starting role. Guards Denny LeVine (5-11), a senior, and Peter Lauer (6-1) a junior and a three-point specialist, likely will complete the starting five. LeVine averaged three points a game as a backup last season. Long-legged reserves include junior center Paul Brandt (6-10) and senior forward Scott Detmer (6-6), both newcomers. Senior guard Aviv Hever (5-11) is another good perimeter shooter and possible starter. Senior forward Denny Nowak (6-3) brings more size off the bench as sixth man.

OUTLOOK: League coaches overwhelmingly look to the Lancers, who repeated as league champions for the first time in school history, as the favorite. However, Chevalier downplays preseason plaudits. “By no means is this going to be any kind of a cakewalk,” he said. “Our guard will be up.” Thousand Oaks will rely primarily on nine players. “I certainly plan on keeping a lot of fresh players on the court,” Chevalier said.

Westlake

COACH: Gary Grayson, 3rd season

LAST SEASON: 10-14; 6th in league, 6-8

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Senior forward Brad Schwan (6-6, 235), who averaged 11 points and 7.2 rebounds last season, is a returning starter and among the area’s most versatile big men, according to Grayson. Schwan, a third-team all-league selection, has inside moves and a good perimeter shot. Junior guard Jason Bedell (5-8), the only other returning starter, is recovering from a sore shoulder sustained while playing running back. The Warriors might have a pleasant surprise in senior forward Mike Ormsby-Wilson (6-5), a transfer from Loyola who averaged 11.5 points in part-time duty. “He’s pretty good,” Grayson said. Senior small forward Chris Hayden (6-0), a part-time starter last season, is the Warriors’ best three-point threat. Senior point guard Ramin Kabir (5-9) is a three-year varsity member. Challenging Kabir for the point guard job is senior Payam Soliemanzadeh (5-7), a reserve last season. Senior forward Alex Pavich (6-3 1/2) also was on the varsity bench last season. Junior forward Erik Bentz (6-4), a good defender, joined the varsity in midseason. Junior guard Billy Zaruka (5-10) also joined the varsity briefly. Junior forward Kevin Crook (6-3), the school’s quarterback, is a good rebounder and three-point shooter who averaged 19 points to lead the sophomore team.

OUTLOOK: An injury to Schwan and an outbreak of chickenpox put a damper on the Warriors’ season last year. This season could be different. Schwan is one of the league’s best players and the supporting cast is quick and better than average. “We’re really athletic,” Grayson said. “When we’re running on all cylinders, we can be pretty good.” It could be only a matter of time. Westlake’s freshman team is 36-4 over the past two seasons.