Mater Dei Trio Ready for Stretch Drive

Together they have won more than 100 games.

They have a state title and three Southern Section titles. Don’t forget their three league titles, although they sometimes do.

They’re from Mater Dei, after all, where championships are as common as acne. No question about it: There are worse places to spend your teen-age hoop years.

For support we offer this look at the careers of Kevin Augustine, David Castleton and Mike Vukovich, Monarch teammates and friends who will leave after next season with a haul of nifty hardware. They’re spending their final summer as high school teammates at the Nike All-American Camp at Indiana-Purdue at Indianapolis, which ends today, working on their games, enhancing their recruiting stock and preparing for a last hurrah.

The road ahead looks good, they said. But looking back isn’t tough either.

“We’re all close. We’ve grown up together,” Augustine said. “Me and David especially since we’ve been playing together since the seventh grade. It’s been a lot of fun throughout high school.”

How couldn’t it be?

During their careers, the Monarchs have played 108 games and won 104. Augustine, Castleton and Vukovich haven’t experienced a league loss, as Mater Dei is 30-0 over the three-season stretch. They aren’t likely to find out what that’s like this season either.

Augustine is the Monarchs’ point guard, and one of the nation’s best, college coaches say, and Castleton is his backcourt mate. Vukovich is a forward/center. Augustine was selected South Coast League MVP last season, and Castleton and Vukovich were chosen first-team all-league. The camp is a great way to spend their final summer together in high school, Vukovich said.

“The competition is really good,” he said. “It’s been a long summer, and we’ve still got about two weeks to play, but it helps.”

Castleton, also an all-county wide receiver, and Vukovich have helped themselves at the camp, recruiting evaluators said. Augustine, being recruited by UCLA and Stanford among others, is considered the best college prospect of the three.

“Kevin is one of the top 75-100 [players nationally], and he’s the fourth-best [point] guard [in the Southland],” said Joel Francisco of Socal’s Finest Scouting Service. “He’s fundamentally sound and I think he’s quick enough to play anywhere in college.”

Having three guys at the Nike Camp gives Mater Dei a big edge over the Orange County competition, Augustine said.

“It’s a good experience for us,” he said. “We’re all out here to work hard and improve our games, and that’s important because you’re always being evaluated--especially in your senior year.

“It’s great exposure for us, but it’s also going to help our school team to have three guys who have been playing at this level of competition.”

Although they’ve enjoyed the prestige of being part of the camp, they’re looking forward to getting home. They’re also anxious to see Coach Gary McKnight, who underwent surgery June 11 to remove a tumor in his chest.

“I was surprised, I really was,” Castleton said of hearing the news. “He said there was something wrong with him for the last two weeks of school.

“But when he told us he had cancer and he was going in for surgery we were all pretty concerned. It was like, ‘How could this happen to our coach?’ Luckily he pulled through and got through it the way only he could.”

The experience changed McKnight, Augustine said.

“He has a totally different outlook now,” he said. “Once you face something like cancer, which is life and death, it shows how little this basketball is, how we should just go have fun every time we’re out there and maybe not take it so seriously.”

Now that their Mater Dei careers are winding down, they finally realize how lucky they’ve been. Isn’t it always that way?

“High school has just been so much fun, but it’s gone by so quick,” Vukovich said. “It’s amazing how quick it’s all gone.”

Guys, get used to it.