Gracia Guards Against Being One-Dimensional

Norwalk Glenn was having a hard enough time battling Loara on the basketball court, when Saxon senior point guard Herb Gracia decided to make things worse.

Midway through the third quarter, Gracia stole the ball three consecutive times and converted each into a basket. The flurry of defense and points pushed Loara’s lead to 58-26. Although it was only the third quarter, the game was over.

Loara, which won a school-record 20 games and shared the Empire League championship with Katella last season, is off to a 10-1 start this season, largely due to Gracia. A 5-foot-10 senior, Gracia is a floor leader and team handyman.

If Saxon gunners Wes Wardrop and Johnny Patton are having hot nights, Gracia is content to build up his assist total. If Loara is struggling from the floor, Gracia will put up jumpers until the offense rights itself. And he always brings his defense; last year he set a school single-season record with 112 steals.

“He’s an overachieving gym rat,” Loara Coach Ed Prange said. “I’ll come here on Sunday to watch film and he’s in the gym shooting jumpers. You never have to tell him to go the weight room. He will do anything he can to improve himself.

“He is one of those players who gets the most out of what he has. He doesn’t cheat himself.”

He also doesn’t depend on flash or glitz. Gracia may throw the occasional no-look pass on a fast break, but he’s more concerned with getting the ball to his teammates at the right spot on the floor than how he looks doing it.

Gracia said his controlled style of play evolved over his three years on varsity.

“As a player my biggest growth is as a shooter,” said Gracia, who is averaging 17 points this season, up from 13.5 points last season. “A couple of years ago I got off more on passing. But last year the coaches told me to score more. It was a difficult transition in the beginning, but now I’m a little more mature.”

Prange said he needed Gracia to become more of a scoring threat from the outside to open things up on the inside for Wardrop and Patton. Both have nice size at 6-2 and 6-4, but they are not going to overpower bigger forwards and centers.

Loara’s game, in fact, depends more on speed than strength. The Saxons depend on their trapping, full-court pressure to harass teams into mistakes. Again Gracia is the point man, who works the front of double teams, trying to slap away a careless dribble or steal the ball outright.

“On defense I’m supposed to get everything started,” Gracia said.

It was Gracia’s defense that first caught Prange’s attention. “We needed his speed,” Prange said. “As a sophomore he didn’t score much, but he had those quick hands that could disrupt the other team’s flow.”

Prange knew he wanted Gracia to be his starting point guard as a junior. But he wanted Gracia to be an all-around player, not just a passing or defensive specialist.

So Gracia went to work on his shooting skills. Last season he played well enough to make the all-league team. So far this season “you can list him among the top point guards in the county,” Prange said.

Glenn Coach Mike Carrasco was impressed by Gracia’s 11 points, nine assists and five steals in Loara’s 77-49 victory. “[Gracia] is definitely their leader,” Carrasco said. “Whatever they needed in the game--a basket, a steal, a key pass--he gave it to them. If he stays healthy, they can go a long way with him.”

Gracia believes the Saxons are capable of going beyond a league title this season.

“I think we could be better than last year,” Gracia said. “Last year we weren’t really that mature as a team. We never quit and were willing to work hard. This time, we have the maturity to go with the work ethic. And we may be a little more talented.

“I wasn’t sure how we’d start this season. And our start is good. But we can still get better.”