SUNSET LEAGUE

Edison. 14-12, 5-5 in 1995-96. Coach: Corey Kelly (first year). Prospects: John Song, a 5-10 guard who averaged 4.5 assists is back, but beyond that Kelly has a major rebuilding job. At least he has a lot of kids to choose from, including guard Kevin Hemsley, wing Dimitri Karnezis and forwards Mike Buckingham, Pat Chidley, Matt Patterson and Pat Zaldo. Jeff Harrell, Garrett Kennedy, Hwan Min and Daniel Nehrig are all making a run at the varsity level. “Our hard play makes up for our lack of size,” Kelly said.

Esperanza. 25-4, 9-1 in 1995-96. Coach: John Cyrus (first year). Prospects: Cyrus steps into a touchy situation, replacing Mark Hill, who was fired after last season. There’s potential with four starters returning. All-league guard Matt Munson is back, as are 6-6 guard/forward Andre Gaulden, 6-5 forward Bryan Moore and 6-5 forward/center Chad Willardson. Guards vying for a starting spot are Jason Dillard and Richard Kim. There’s plenty of height in 6-6 sophomore center Ryan Romberg, 6-6 senior Sean Gaulden and 6-5 senior center Dave Steven. Senior guards Chris McMartin and Everett Winkler return.

Fountain Valley. 11-14, 4-6 in 1995-96. Coach: Mike Warrington (second year, 11-14). Prospects: Ben Rogers, a 6-3 guard, and Ryan Moreau, a 6-0 sophomore point guard, return, along with Brian Jones, a 5-11 senior guard. Jeff Dailey, a 7-0 senior center is up from the junior varsity and could make an impact in the league race. Other JV players expected to make waves on the varsity are sophomore swing Aaron Carter, 6-2 junior forward Todd Daniels, 6-5 junior forward Eric Edmunds and 6-2 senior guard Ralph Stricker.

Huntington Beach. 6-18, 3-7 in 1995-96. Coach: Roy Miller (20th year, 224-226). Prospects: Miller has three returning starters, all seniors, he is counting on: 6-2 guard Ravi Brahmbhatt, 5-11 swing Chris Basich and 6-5 1/2 post David Medlen. Nick Sinclair, a junior guard, is predicted as a starter, as is 6-6 center John Davison, a transfer from Lake Havasu. Senior 6-3 post Lyle Carlson is back after sitting out last season and he’s joined by a host of players battling to play. They are juniors Ryan Gale, Andrew Gurwell, Eric Ho and Mike Mio and seniors Lyle Carlson, Nick Fisher and Steve Mackey.

Los Alamitos. 20-7, 8-2 in 1995-96. Coach: Steve Brooks (16th year, 265-124). Prospects: Adam Seaton is the only starter back. He averaged 8.4 points and 5.7 rebounds and was a second-team choice. But transfer Monroe Moore from Savanna is expected to make a big impact and Brooks has four returning players with varsity experience. They are senior guard Travis Strang, senior forward Kevin Staniec, junior guard Blair Havens and 6-7 junior swing Matt Komer. Strang made 43% of his three-point attempts last season. Other contributors are expected to be Kevin Byrd, Ife Ohalete and Enrique Phillips. “We have good balance, but we lack experience,” Brooks said.

Marina. 8-17, 1-9 in 1995-96. Coach: Roger Holmes (third year, 12-37). The Vikings have senior 6-4 center Pardeep Brar and seniors Peter Yoon and Luis Vazquez, both guards, and Roger Deresyznski, a senior forward. Reality is, however, Marina is another season or two away from getting back on track in this league. Holmes has built for the future, though, with sophomore guard Scott Rivera pegged as the team centerpiece. There’s lots of youth, including junior guards Donald Lank and Jose Vazquez, 6-4 sophomore forward Scott Austin and sophomore guards Jeff Hung and Steve Vo. “We have a great group of young players, blended with senior leadership and a team grade-point average of 3.7,” Holmes said.

--Capsules by PAUL McLEOD