New Coach Nothing New at Tustin

The revolving door in the boys’ basketball program at Tustin High continued last week when the school district announced that Jeff Aguilar, who was a lower-level coach at Tustin previously, had been appointed to finish out the season as varsity coach after the sudden resignation of Darryl Gabriel.

Gabriel, a teacher at a private elementary school in Long Beach, was hired last summer to replace Tom McCluskey, who held the job for about a month but resigned in the best interest of his family. McCluskey replaced Andy Ground, who resigned at the end of the 1998-99 season and became an assistant at Saddleback College.

The late start hurt Gabriel, a walk-on coach who recently moved from Hawaii to California. He never had a chance to settle into the role, Tustin Athletic Director Al Rosmino said.

“It’s been a tough situation,” Rosmino said. “I really believe Darryl gave it his best shot, but he took on some things after awhile that were overwhelming to him. He had to go to school for a teaching credential and his wife was pregnant. When basketball season started, the stress he was under was tremendous and he just couldn’t do it all. He didn’t want to put his wife in harm’s way with all that pressure.”

Aguilar graduated from Tustin in 1994 and has been the Tillers’ lower-level coach for several years.

PERFECT FIT

When it came to selecting a college, Esperanza senior Lloyd Walls set three major criteria: The school had to be close, it had to have a top-notch computer science program and it had to provide the opportunity to continue his basketball career.

He considered Westmont, UC Irvine and Loyola Marymount. But when Loyola Marymount offered a scholarship, the decision was easy.

“It came down to what I wanted in academics and basketball, and Loyola had both,” said Walls, who committed on the final day of the early signing period. “After talking with Coach [Charles] Bradley I was sold. He’s running the type of team-oriented program I want. Plus, the school has one of the top computer science programs in the United States.”

THIN AT THE POST

The Huntington Beach girls’ team has yet to play a game with Kelsey Ball this season. Ball, a 6-foot sophomore, has been dogged by a severely sprained right ankle. Coach Bill Thomson said Ball should begin working out with the team this week or early next week.

Ball isn’t the only post player absent in the Oilers’ lineup. Junior Lauren Murray, also 6-0, had a torn tendon in her ankle and began practicing on Monday.

“It’s had a tremendous impact on us,” Thomson said. “Our two post players are out with basically the same injury, and we don’t have any presence in the middle at all.

“It goes beyond points. We miss their defensive presence and we’re hoping for 25 points and 15 to 20 rebounds from them.”

Huntington Beach is 3-1, having lost to No. 3 Troy last week.

*

If you have an item or idea for the prep basketball report, you can fax us at (714)966-5663 or e-mail us at martin.henderson@latimes.com or paul.mcleod@latimes.com

*

Staff writers Ben Bolch and Martin Henderson contributed to this report.