HOMETOWN HEROES

Just call them throwbacks.

They’re high school boys’ basketball teams comprised entirely of kids from the same neighborhood who grew up together.

At a time when more high school students than ever are transferring, there are several examples of teams whose athletes take pride in staying together, playing together--and winning.

Pacifica, Laguna Beach and Newport Harbor each won at least 20 games last season with players who began in their systems as freshmen.

Their accomplishments help to quell, at least in some quarters, the belief that high-profile, multitalented transfers are required to win in high school basketball.

“The coaches out there doing the recruiting and getting the transfers would love to make everyone believe that that’s what you have to do to compete,” Pacifica Coach Bob Becker said. “But it’s simply not the case.”

Becker’s Mariners were a poster squad for home-grown success last season. With a post player only 6 feet 1, they finished 26-2 and went undefeated in the Garden Grove League. The seniors on that team didn’t lose a league game at any level as they rose to the varsity, Becker said.

“It shows that if your heart is in something, some pretty amazing things can happen,” said Pacifica senior guard Eric Larson, who had significant playing time last season. “You don’t have to build an all-star team to have a good experience in your sports life.”

Building programs with local talent has its on-court advantages. Players become familiar with each other’s tendencies, from knowing where a teammate will be during a complex play to recognizing the meaning of a simple glance.

“We don’t even have to talk about it,” said senior guard Austin Butters of Laguna Beach. “We know what each other is thinking. We can kind of read each other’s mind.”

From the moment they meet their coaches as freshmen, they begin to learn the same offensive and defensive systems, helping make practices smoother and game-time decisions easier.

But perhaps the biggest advantage is the sense of pride.

“These kids grow up together talking about someday playing for Newport Harbor,” Sailor Coach Larry Hirst said. “They have an accountability for the program and how it is represented. There is more there than wins and losses.”

Hirst mentions former point guard Matt Jameson as an example of a local player who had opportunities to transfer but stayed at home.

“He was courted by many a parochial school,” Hirst said. “But he was a ball boy for us when he was in fifth grade. There’s no way he would have left this school.”

Just as teams with players who stick together through their careers enjoy some advantages, those pieced together with transfers each season can encounter particular difficulties.

Capistrano Valley Coach Brian Mulligan, who had high-profile players J.J. Sola and Nate Hair transfer to his school for their senior years last season, acknowledges that while the Cougars’ talent level improved, their chemistry suffered.

“If they are talented and the kid can help the team win, then it’s a good thing,” Mulligan said. “But it can be a distraction. Our team really got better with those two, but when they came, it changed everybody’s roles.

“They were good for our program, but because they had been through different programs, they were tough to deal with. J.J. and Nate did very few of the things we teach at lower levels because they didn’t go through those levels.”

Hirst went so far as to say that if he would have had any transfers at Newport Harbor last season, the Sailors’ 24-6 record--a school record for victories and winning percentage--wouldn’t have meant as much.

It wasn’t long ago that the Sailors had a tough time winning half their games.

“Our players understand how far the program has come,” Hirst said. “If we had a transfer, there’s no way he would appreciate that.”

Players who remain at one school through their prep careers often have a difficult time comprehending the motives of those who transfer.

“I think some of those people have lost sight of what is important,” Larson said. “Like friends and loyalty to school. Why would anyone leave their friends just because they think another team is better?”

Valencia finished 9-19 last season, and some players who might not get in a game if they played for another school cracked the Tigers’ starting lineup.

“We give kids a chance,” Valencia Coach Dean Yoshimura said. “We only have about 15 to 20 kids come out every year, so it’s a great opportunity to play for four years.”

Yoshimura’s players have responded, scraping together enough league victories to qualify for the playoffs each of the past six seasons. No other Orange League team has a longer current streak.

“I like my teammates and I like my school,” said senior forward Eric Dixon of Valencia. “I’ve had the same friends since elementary school. It’s a sense of pride for us to fight it out as a team.”

Senior forward Dustin Illingworth of Newport Harbor said he has been approached about switching schools, but after dedicating so much of his career to the Sailors, he couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“No way I could do it,” Illingworth said. “That would be like leaving brothers.”

Some transfers are unavoidable. Two of the county’s better players, senior swingman Patrick Leffler and his brother, sophomore guard Connor Leffler, withdrew from Esperanza over the summer when their family moved to the Bay Area because their parents got new jobs.

Other players have transferred after a falling out with their coach.

But when a player transfers for the sole intent of enhancing his career, perhaps thinking they will have a better shot at a college scholarship, it leaves players from home-grown programs shaking their heads.

“If you transfer for basketball, it’s pretty obvious that you just want to be seen,” Laguna Beach senior guard Travis Hanour said. “And if that’s the case, you’re pretty much telling yourself that basketball is your whole life. You’ll be missing out on the fun of basketball.

“It’s a game, it’s not life.”