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BOYS’ BASKETBALL ‘94-’95: SOUTH COAST LEAGUE : Warnick Set to Show He’s Tough Enough : Basketball: Trabuco Hills guard says he’ll bang with the big guys to help the Mustangs survive in their new, more competitive league.

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Get this straight: Trabuco Hills’ Rob Warnick is tougher than his sister. Yes, even on the basketball court.

Sure, Sarah Warnick is a bruiser for the Mustang girls’ team. But Rob can take her, even down on the block.

“All I heard from the coaches last year was, ‘Your sister is tougher,’ ” said Warnick, a 6-foot-4 senior guard. “Sarah is a real physical player. She’ll beat the heck out of people. But when they say she’s tougher than me, I get motivated.”

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That can translate into some pretty impressive numbers. Warnick averaged 16.4 points and a team-high 6.5 rebounds last season. Warnick points to the second statistic with pride.

“Every time they tell me I’m not tough, I tell them I led the team in rebounding,” he said.

Mustang coaches, especially Coach Rainer Wulf, know that. They just want a little more.

Trabuco Hills will need that extra push from Warnick this season. The Mustangs, Pacific Coast League co-champions a season ago, have moved uptown to the South Coast League.

“Rob’s game is finesse, grace and athleticism,” Wulf said. “His sister is rough and tough. No one is going to go inside without some contact. We would like to see a little of that from Rob.”

They will, Warnick says.

He plans to bang heads with the best this season. His goal?

“A couple triple-doubles would be nice,” Warnick said.

Considering Warnick’s ability, that’s not too far-fetched.

Basketball has come easy to him, maybe a little too easy. He started in a youth league when he was in the second grade. He scored two points all season.

The next season, he was a star.

“I grew a few inches,” Warnick said. “I played point and would just dribble down and lay it in.”

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That pretty much summed up his youth career. Still, his grit was questioned even then, usually by his family.

Warnick is the oldest son in a family with eight children. But with two older sisters, life hasn’t always been easy. Holly, his oldest sister, would tease him about what she felt was a lack of toughness.

All in good fun, of course.

“I remember one time she called me a wimp, and I’d had enough,” Warnick said. “I picked her up and pushed her. She was OK, but she went through the drywall at our house.”

OK, so maybe he can take this aggressive thing too far. But Wulf would like to see a little of it in a more constructive place, such as on the court.

“Yeah, the coaches get on me pretty good,” Warnick said. “It’s all meant in fun. They try to motivate me with a little sarcasm.”

Warnick has been on the varsity since his sophomore year. His scoring abilities were apparent, especially as the 1992-93 season progressed. In fact, he saved the Mustangs several times.

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He tossed in 25 points in an 88-73 victory over Estancia, which ended a two-game losing streak. He scored 24 in the next game to give Trabuco Hills a share of the league title. Warnick averaged five points on the season, but 18 in his last six games.

Warnick made improvements last season. He had some big games in big games, scoring 25 in a victory over Capistrano Valley, which was ranked fourth in the county at the time. But there were other nights that weren’t so memorable. He scored two as the Mustangs were stunned by Santiago in the Century tournament.

“That was the worst loss I’ve ever been involved in,” Warnick said. “We thought they were a bad team and just went out and loafed. That taught me a lesson. I learned you have to work hard all the time.”

And bang a little.

1993-94 IN REVIEW

Standings

League Overall School W L W L Mater Dei 10 0 34 1 Dana Hills 7 3 14 12 Mission Viejo 5 5 11 15 Capistrano Valley 4 6 15 11 San Clemente 3 7 12 12 El Toro 3 7 11 14

Highlights

Last season, Mater Dei got oh-so close to a State championship. The Monarchs were 34-0 heading into the Southern California Division I regional final. They ran into a strong Los Angeles Crenshaw team and lost, 71-67. It was the second consecutive season an undefeated Mater Dei team lost to Crenshaw in the regional final. The Monarchs’ Schea Cotton, considered one of the top freshmen in the nation, scored 36 points in an 84-68 victory over Fresno Bullard in the regional semifinals and had 29 points and 16 rebounds in an 85-54 victory over La Crescenta Crescenta Valley in the first round. Miles Simon, named The Times Orange County player of the year for the second consecutive season, led the Monarchs to the Division I-A title. He averaged 14 points during the regular season and 19 during the playoffs. Cotton was named first-team all-county. Shaun Jackson and Clay McKnight were named second-team all-county. Capistrano Valley, Dana Hills and San Clemente qualified for the I-A playoffs, but were eliminated in the first round.

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