Making a Team Effort : Santa Margarita Uses Every Player to Cope With Loss of Stars

Santa Margarita basketball Coach Jerry DeBusk moved another chess piece into position.

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Woodbridge led, 34-28, and appeared about to take control in the Sea View League opener. Enter guard Scott Balo--for his first appearance.

His impact was immediate.

Balo steal; Allen Krist dunk.

Balo steal; Balo three-pointer.

Check.

By the time the Eagles had wrapped up a 50-48 victory, no fewer than five players had made significant contributions. A typical performance for a team that has used up to 14 players in games this season.

“If someone’s not getting it done, then there’s someone behind them who will,” senior guard J.C. Timmons said. “If he’s not getting it done, then there’s someone else. It never ends.”

The Eagles were supposed to be consumed with rebuilding this season after their two top players graduated. Instead, they have gobbled up one opponent after another with waves of personnel. All 14 players have contributed at one time or another.

As a result, the Eagles are 19-1, losing only to Fountain Valley, are ranked fourth in Orange County and could take a big step toward the Sea View League title with a victory over Woodbridge tonight.

“There’s no way we could have expected this,” senior guard Brendan Mulligan said. “Nineteen and one? That would have been cocky and arrogant. We wanted to play hard.”

Out of self-preservation.

The Eagles rolled to the Southern Section Division III-AA title a year ago, with Brian and Brad Finneran doing the pushing. The 6-foot-5 twins were a focused focal point.

As they went, so went the Eagles. Then they went to Villanova.

“They gave us athleticism last season,” DeBusk said. “They were the type who could run, jump, catch with flamboyant play.”

He was left with guys who could do all that, just on a smaller scale.

The Eagles returned two starters, Mulligan and Dennis Keane, and Krist, a 6-8 center who was a clog-the-middle-but-don’t-hurt-anybody reserve.

Tossed into the mix were a hobbled senior and nine juniors from a 23-2 junior varsity.

“Last year, everyone looked to the Finnerans to do something,” Krist said. “Now it’s on us, all of us.”

The closest thing to stars on this team are Mulligan, who averaged 12.6 points last season, and Krist, who bulked up and improved. Krist leads the team, averaging 14 points. But seven players have been the high scorer in games.

“We lost the Finnerans and I think people forgot about us,” Timmons said. “They didn’t see a superstar on this team. They were right. We have 14 guys coming at you.”

All of them equal?

“Well, in a game of one on one, I think I’d beat anyone on the team,” Timmons said. “Of course, I might get some argument on that. If you asked all 14 who would win a team one-on-one tournament, you’d get 14 different answers.”

DeBusk uses them all. Oh, maybe one or two players don’t get in some nights. But the Eagles have overwhelmed teams with numbers.

Such intensity is tough to contain, especially in practice. Afternoons in the Santa Margarita gym can become a little competitive.

“No one can coast,” DeBusk said. “Every guy has to look over his shoulder. No one can start feeling like, ‘This position is mine.’ There’s another guy right behind him.”

Santa Margarita has attacked in waves since the season started, opening with an 85-35 victory against Santa Maria Righetti in the San Luis Obispo tournament.

“We were up 15 and coach started using more of the bench,” Timmons said. “They acted like we were down 15. They just kept stretching the lead.”

It was in San Luis Obispo that the team became close. Four days in a hotel can do that.

By the end of it, the Eagles seemed to come together. Their depth helped them to rally in the second half to beat San Luis Obispo, 69-66, in the final. In three games, three different players had been high scorers.

Santa Margarita also won the San Dieguito tournament. The Eagles beat previously undefeated Mingus, ranked No. 2 in Arizona’s Division II, and San Diego St. Augustine, a team led by UCLA-bound 6-9 Jalani McCoy.

“We don’t have any stars or egos,” Krist said. “It’s one guy doing it one night, another guy the night. That’s the way we want it to be.”