Rancho Santiago’s Watson Plays All Over the Court

To grasp Marlon Watson’s role on the Rancho Santiago men’s basketball team, consider the first few minutes of the Dons’ game against Irvine Valley last Friday.

Watson, who is 6 feet 3, began by jumping center.

On the Dons’ second possession, he out-maneuvered Keon Clark, Irvine Valley’s 6-11 center, for an offensive rebound and basket.

Two possessions later, Watson, who is averaging 10 points, went into the corner and made a wide-open three-pointer.

But Watson doesn’t normally look to score.

His specialties are rebounding (eight per game) and assists (five), and he leads the Dons in both categories.

“I love to rebound,” said Watson, 20. “It’s like scoring to me.”

He is also their most determined defensive player and often matched against the opponent’s best scorer.

“What can I said about him,” Rancho Santiago Coach Dana Pagett said. “He does it all. He just plays so hard all the time. Plus, he’s a great kid.”

Watson has no complaints about his varied roles, but this wasn’t what he envisioned when he came to Rancho Santiago in the fall of 1992. Watson was an All-Orange League point guard at Savanna High and expected to continue in that role for the Dons.

He was a redshirt the first season because Rancho Santiago already had a sophomore point guard. Last season, the Dons had plenty of guards but lacked front-line players so Watson moved up front.

“The team started to get smaller and smaller,” he said.

Watson averaged seven points, six rebounds and four assists and was selected the Dons’ defensive player of the year as a freshman.

“I didn’t play that much defense in high school,” he said. “But I had to make an impact on the team.”

He came back this season with hopes of being a full-time guard but the Dons, who have no starter over 6-4, lack the size for it to happen.

“I know I’m not going to the NBA,” Watson said. “I think of basketball as a great way to stay in shape. But I also know it will help my education. It just so happened that I’m on a small team and I had to do what the coach wanted me to do. . . .I wouldn’t change a thing here. I’ve made a lot of great friends.”

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The final week: Saddleback enters the last week of Orange Empire Conference men’s basketball play holding a one-game lead. The Gauchos (24-4, 11-1) also have the advantage of playing the final two games at home.

Fullerton (13-16, 4-8) visits at 7 p.m. Wednesday in a game that figures to be far more difficult than the records indicate. Saddleback ground out a 70-67 victory when the teams met Jan. 20.

The Hornets also have two of the conference’s top eight scorers. Marcus Austin, a sophomore forward, is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds. Jason Cunningham, a sophomore guard, 18 points and 4.5 assists.

Riverside (26-4, 10-2) comes to Mission Viejo Friday after playing host to Orange Coast Wednesday.

Saddleback and Riverside were each 7-0 in conference when the teams met Jan. 25 in Riverside. Saddleback’s Anthony Carter, a freshman guard, scored 43 and the Gauchos won, 84-72.

Carter is averaging 19.3 points, fifth best in the conference. Eric Ambrozich, a sophomore forward, is averaging 16 but missed the Gauchos’ last game because of an injured thumb. He is expected to return Wednesday.

Rancho Santiago (20-8, 8-4) is in third place and Irvine Valley (19-11, 7-5) is fourth. Orange Coast (12-16, 4-8) is tied with Fullerton for fifth and Cypress (15-16, 2-10) and Golden West (8-20, 2-10) are tied for seventh.

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Important basketball dates: The women’s basketball playoff pairings (20 teams make the field) will be announced Sunday. The Southern California playoffs will be Feb. 21 and 23 with the regional finals Feb. 25.

The four finalists from Southern and Northern California meet in the State tournament March 2-4 at Orange Coast College.

The men’s coaches will wait until Feb. 21 to hold their seeding meeting for the 32-team playoff field. First-round games are Feb. 24 and 25. The second round is March 1 and the regional finals are March 4.

The State tournament is March 9-11 at UC Irvine’s Bren Center.

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This week in baseball: Cypress and Fresno, the last two teams to win State titles, meet Wednesday at Cypress at 2 p.m. The Chargers are the defending champions and Fresno won in 1993.

There will be plenty of other baseball in the county this weekend. Orange Coast, Golden West and Cypress each play host to two games Friday and Saturday in the Golden Coast tournament.

Fullerton and Rancho Santiago each play host to two games in the Casey Stengel tournament Saturday and Sunday.