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SAINTS MARCHING AGAIN

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TIMES STAFF WRITER

Has a team ever been so vastly different from one year to the next?

Santa Clara High a year ago was marching through the boys’ basketball playoffs, brushing opponents off like crumbs, each conquest another step toward an inevitable state Division V championship.

Their best players, B.J. Ward and Nick Jones, pounded out 25-point performances with laughable ease, shredding defenses with the skill of master machinists.

For added motivation, it was becoming apparent that Lou Cvijanovich, the winningest coach in state history, was in his last season at Santa Clara, creating a sense of urgency by his players to send him off with a state title.

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They did. And now they’re all gone.

Ward is at UC Santa Barbara, getting decent time at point guard while appearing in every game this season for the Gauchos.

Jones, also at UC Santa Barbara, is redshirting, partly because of a recurring foot injury.

Cvijanovich, who was 72 years old and won 829 games when all was said and done, was prodded into resigning by school administrators, an event that did not sit well with Cvijanovich nor many of his followers.

Even the best returning player for the Saints, Anthony Camper, chose not to come back, transferring to Hueneme, where Cvijanovich was an assistant for part of the season.

Things would surely change at Santa Clara this season. Or would they?

With a new coach and five new starters, Santa Clara is beginning a march through the Southern Section Division V-AA playoffs.

The fresh faces are attempting to leave their mark on school history, a chance they’ll get tonight when the Saints (17-6) play third-seeded Downey Calvary Chapel in a quarterfinal game at Rio Mesa High.

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The playoff victories might not be as one-sided this season. Their existence alone is a surprise to just about everybody . . . except those who play for the Saints.

“Our biggest goal is to prove everybody wrong,” said senior center Earl Hall, who saw limited time last season. “We knew we didn’t have a lot of people behind us [as the season began], except for our coach and our team.

“We decided to prove to everyone that we’re still a great team.”

If the players were under pressure, imagine what Martin Meyer felt.

It’s hard to think of a worse job than trying to replace a legend, even if the candidate is a tried-and-true sergeant.

Meyer, a member of the Oxnard Police Dept., coached 13 years of freshmen and junior-varsity basketball at Camarillo, but nothing could possibly prepare him for his first varsity job.

One of few applicants for the Santa Clara coaching vacancy, Meyer faced a mountainous climb from the day he took the job.

New talent had to be groomed at Santa Clara, which has seen enrollment drop steadily since the late 1980s.

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And Meyer’s system had to be carefully merged with the structure created by Cvijanovich.

After a slow start, it all started to work, a concept Meyer plays down.

“I haven’t had to do a whole lot,” said Meyer, who has continued his job as a sergeant. “Everything was in place. As long as I didn’t screw it up, everything was going to be OK.”

But the scrutiny left Meyer feeling like he was pressed between two glass plates, clamped down under a microscope.

The inevitable comparisons to Cvijanovich took their toll.

“I was just telling my son the other day that I don’t ever want to go through another first year,” Meyer said. “There’s just so much pressure.”

Meyer would be pleased to know Cvijanovich approves.

Despite his less-than-perfect departure from Santa Clara, Cvijanovich, who has been battling an upper-respiratory viral infection since mid-December, is proud of what the Saints have accomplished.

“It’s wonderful to see them succeed,” Cvijanovich said. “I’m thrilled with it. They’ve learned their lessons well.”

Meyer credits the abilities of Hall and Jason Angell for easing the transition from state champion to solid playoff team.

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“I think there’s some oversights in recruiting them,” Meyer said. “Athleticism-wise, these guys are college players. They’re very hard-nosed. I don’t think there’s been a game where Hall had less than 10 points and seven rebounds.”

True to form, Hall had 13 points and 11 rebounds in a 61-42 victory Tuesday over Western Christian.

Angell, whose brother, Mel, was a starter last season, was a reserve during the state-title drive, usually playing when his outside shooting was needed.

This season, Angell is the team’s leading scorer, averaging nearly 18 points per game.

Angell remains highly deferential to the awe and amazement of last season--”They were a lot more athletic than we were”--but Angell knows why this team is winning. It has a lot less to do with talent than desire.

“We’re just fighting with all heart,” Angell said.

Meyer also praised Chris Post, a guard who came alive during league play, surpassing the 20-point mark several times.

Said Meyer, without realizing the irony: “They don’t have a sense that they’re finished yet.”

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