PREP WEDNESDAY: 1993-94 BOYS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEW : ‘Tis the Season for Telling Tall Tales

If you’re tired of football, or just plain cold, it’s time to go inside. Basketball season is here.

So for all the things you absolutely need to know, and a few you don’t, about Orange County high school basketball . . .

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Huntington Beach’s Tony Gonzalez reigns as Mr. Inside this season. If his name is familiar, then you must be a football fan.

Gonzalez, 6 feet 6, 225 pounds, is a standout tight end-linebacker for the Oilers. He uses that brute force on the basketball court, but he also is capable of subtlety as well.

He averaged 17.1 points and 8.4 rebounds last season in helping the Oilers reach the Southern Section Division I-A final. Those numbers should improve this season because Huntington Beach lost four starters to graduation.

“Last year we were a well-balanced team,” Coach Roy Miller said. “This year, Tony is going to be a more intricate part of our scoring.”

Translation: As Tony goes, so go the Oilers.

Gonzalez has only one real dilemma, what to play in college? He has orally committed to play basketball at California, but by not signing a letter of intent, he has left his options open. He would have been ineligible to play football for two years had he signed during the early period for basketball.

Gonzalez, an all-county pick last season, is working toward becoming a college basketball player. He knows there aren’t too many 6-6 power forwards on that level. Expect him to play a little more on the perimeter this season.

THE SHOOTIST

Mater Dei’s Miles Simon threw caution to the wind and signed early with Arizona. So no football for him.

Simon will just have to make do as a one-sport star. He’s awfully good at it.

Simon, a 6-4 guard, is Mr. Outside this season. He averaged 17.5 points and was named The Times Orange County player of the year. He is deadly accurate from long range and has made many a clutch shot for the Monarchs.

In fact, probably the only shot Simon would like back is that leaning 12-footer against Los Angeles Crenshaw in the Southern California Division I regional final last season. It rolled around the rim and came out, and Crenshaw won. But Simon can’t make every shot.

Simon’s duties will be expanded this season, as he will be the Monarchs’ point guard. If he has one flaw, it’s his ballhandling.

“He dribbles too high,” Coach Gary McKnight said.

Everyone’s a critic.

MONARCHS RELOAD

Sure, Simon is Mater Dei’s only returning starter, but shed no tears for McKnight. The Monarchs have team managers who could start at most schools.

The cupboard is far from bare.

Guard Clay McKnight returns. He played a lot last season and can match Simon three-point shot for three-point shot. As a tot, he once threw in a three-pointer at halftime of the regional final game his dad was coaching. McKnight made 50% of his three-pointers last season.

Shaun Jackson, a 6-7 junior, should be the team’s best inside player. He saw limited playing time a year ago, but it wasn’t for lack of talent. The Monarchs’ entire starting front line received scholarships to Division I schools. Even DeVaughn Wright, the Monarchs’ reserve center, got one. So there was little playing time left for Jackson.

And watch out for freshman Kevin Augustine, who will play point guard when the Monarchs need Simon to toss up jump shots.

In other words, the question isn’t whether the Monarchs will be good, but whether there’s room in the trophy case for another section championship plaque. You don’t win 319 games in 11 seasons without attracting a little talent.

CATCHING SOME ZZZZZs

Simon gets the more ink, but University’s Demetrius Zeigler might be every bit as good. He might even be a little better, since he doesn’t dribble too high.

Zeigler, a 6-3 senior, led the county in scoring, averaging 27.3 points. He made 89 three-pointers and averaged 7.2 rebounds, three assists and four steals.

The only numbers that weren’t impressive were the ones in the win-loss column. University finished 6-18. Needless to say, Zeigler’s supporting cast wasn’t up to his caliber. The Trojans have more size and experience this season, so they should be better.

Zeigler has attracted many recruiters, but he is leaning toward academics. He scored 1,170 on the SAT. Not bad, but not up to his standards. Zeigler has taken the test again.

Cornell and Columbia are at the top of his list.

HOME AT LAST

Zeigler and the Trojans will have the benefit of playing real home games this season. University’s new gymnasium has been completed.

Last season, the Trojans practiced at 6 a.m. at Christ College Irvine and played their home games at Woodbridge.

“We’d play games at night, then get up early the next morning for practice,” Coach Mike Dinneen said. “It took its toll on the kids.

“We now have the nicest gym in the county.”

Now to build a program to match.

OTHER GYM RATS

Since Fountain Valley’s gym floor was ruined by vandals last July, the Barons have practiced anywhere they could make arrangements.

“I think we’ve practiced at just about every school in our league,” Coach Gordon Billingsley said.

It’s going to be that way for at least another month. Repairs on Fountain Valley’s gym, which cost $180,000, will not be completed before Jan. 1.

GAME OF THE CENTURY

OK, it’s not. But on this level, Mater Dei vs. Los Alamitos is as close as it gets.

The Monarchs and Griffins will start the new year off right, when they play at Bren Center on Jan. 1. The two teams could also meet in the final of the Tournament of Champions in a couple weeks; they are seeded first and second.

Los Alamitos appears to be the only county team that can compete with the Monarchs. The Griffins return point guard Tim Lin, who averaged 6.3 assists last season. Also back are front line players Ryan Staniec (6-7) and Brady Doyle (6-8).

LONG DROUGHT

Brea-Olinda’s Gene Lloyd is trying to break a seven-year winless streak. Of course, it has been that long since he has coached.

Lloyd was 233-93 and won seven league titles as the Wildcats’ coach from 1973-86.

“As I see it, I’m not winless in seven years, I’ve gone undefeated for seven years,” Lloyd said.

That streak will end. The Wildcats are young, and the Orange League is brutally tough.

BIG SHOES TO FILL

Sonora, the defending Freeway League champion, has to replace all-county guard Chris St. Clair and all-league performers Peter Lythgoe and Chris Campbell. So Coach Mike Murphy has rebuilt looking up.

The redwood Raiders have four players 6-7 or taller, and eight players 6-3 or taller. Topping the list is 7-0 junior center Craig Clark.

“I don’t think our guys are going to grow eight inches, so we may have to stack guys on shoulders to match up with them,” Buena Park Coach Ed Matillo said.

But bigger might not mean better. Murphy will get a kink in his neck from looking skyward and maybe a pain in it from watching his team. The Raiders are a year away.

OTHER SKYLINES

Sonora may have cornered the market on size, but there are other big folk lumbering around the county.

--Esperanza has senior Mike Lawson (6-6) and sophomore Josh Greer (6-6), who Coach Mark Hill said is the best sophomore in the county.

--La Habra has senior Andrija Kristich, who is 6-7, 250 pounds.

--Dana Hills has 6-8 Bob Hefty, although at 210 pounds he hardly lives up to his name.

--Servite has 6-9 junior Mark Seaton, who is the heir to Gonzalez as Mr. Inside.

--Whittier Christian has 6-7 Tyler Ream, who averaged 16 points last season.

MORE SIZE

Trabuco Hills’ Derrek Uhl beefed up so he could play linebacker and tight end. At 6-5, 225, he is a formidable sight on the football field. But Uhl better start mixing in a salad or two.

“I anticipate Derrek losing some weight rather quickly,” Coach Rainer Wulf said. “I’m not sure he knows that or not.”

Translation: Got any running shoes, Derrek?

SPOUSE OF THE YEAR

Century Coach Greg Coombs took his wife, Linda, to see “Guys and Dolls” in Los Angeles last week. They then stayed the night in a Beverly Hills hotel and strolled Rodeo Drive the following day.

Hey, it was the least Coombs could do.

Six years ago, Coombs held a scrimmage, then raced home to change into his tuxedo and managed to get to church on time to be married.

A scrimmage on your wedding day? “Actually, it was her idea,” Coombs said. “I said we could get married the Wednesday before Thanksgiving or in the spring. She picked the date.

“She’s a great basketball wife.”

An understatement.

ON GUARD

Tustin’s Doug Gottlieb is considered by many coaches to be the county’s top point guard. Gottlieb, a 6-0 junior, averaged five assists last season.

He also proved to be a clutch shooter.

Said Coach Andy Ground: “We had a last shot against Woodbridge, and Doug drove into the lane. He was covered by a couple guys. But instead of passing, he leaned in and threw up a shot. I remember thinking, ‘That damn well better go in.’ ”

It did.

ADVISORY COMMITTEE

Not that first-year Edison Coach Larry Hirst is looking over his shoulder, but there are four former Edison coaches employed on campus.

Jon Borchert, last season’s coach, is on a sabbatical from coaching, but he’s still a teacher. Don Leavy, Dave Mohs and Barry Leigh also work at Edison.

And Hirst is a former Edison player, too.

“Sure, you want to impress your mentors,” Hirst said. “It’s nice because they’re nice resources to turn to, but there’s some pressure; it’s a double-edged sword.”

Hirst has already been cut. His best player, Micah Kroeger, a first-team All-Sunset League player, sprained his ankle during warm-ups before the Chargers’ scrimmage against Capistrano Valley.

“I hope it’s not a bad omen,” Hirst said.

As omens go, it’s not a good one.