Magnolia Is Looking for a Little Respect
Magnolia may be 14-2 and off to its best start in the 25-plus-year tenure of Coach Al Walin, but what does it mean?
The Sentinels, after all, have yet to defeat an Orange County team ranked in the top 10. Their two defeats--to Newport Harbor and El Toro--came against the only ranked teams they’ve played.
Still, Walin contends, with ample justification, Magnolia “is a hidden commodity” capable of making some noise in the Orange League, if not the Southern Section Division II-A playoffs.
The Sentinels won the Buena Park and Fullerton tournaments and finished second in another, defeating three out-of-state powers along the way. And Magnolia has proven it’s capable of winning on the road; the Sentinels have played only two home games so far during their hot start.
Magnolia, which did not receive a single vote for inclusion in the top 10 of this week’s Orange County Sportswriters’ Poll, may finally garner some respect if it beats host Brea Olinda (11-5) on Wednesday in the teams’ league opener.
“It’s a key basketball game,” Walin said, “but it’s not going to be the end of the world if we lose.”
The Sentinels are led by point guard Geoffrey Clayton. According to at least one scouting service, Clayton is rated among the top five guards in the West as a sophomore. He’s averaging 18.8 points and earlier this season broke a school record for consecutive free throws made with 24.
Big men Jacob Davis (12.2 rebounds) and Scott Henry (10 points, six rebounds) have dominated the interior, and guards Stia Asoau and Vincent Bryant have given Magnolia a strong perimeter presence.
“They’re very composed and they’re very confident kids,” Walin said. “It’s kind of like they’re on a mission.”
First, a mission for respect. Then, a mission for a championship.
A TOUGH PAST HELPS
How does one explain 10th-ranked Rosary, which seemed to give away several inches at nearly every position, coming back from a nine-point deficit in the final nine minutes to score a 54-50 victory over ninth-ranked Irvine on Jan. 4?
It’s all about having big-game experience, something the Vaqueros lacked, said Rosary senior Maggie Barnett and Coach Rich Yoon.
“Irvine’s a top 10 team, definitely, and they’ll learn from this close game just like we had to learn when Maggie Barnett was a sophomore,” Yoon said. “You could tell she was ready to make those free throws [with 15 seconds left]. That’s all experience.”
Barnett scored all of Rosary’s points in the fourth quarter, 12 of her season-high 25 points. Irvine scored only two.
Barnett also weighed in on Irvine, which won its first 14 games but had a schedule that did little to enhance its reputation. The best team it played, Torrance Bishop Montgomery, had just defeated Irvine in the final of the Cerritos Gahr tournament, and Irvine lost for the third time in four games when it was beaten Saturday by Santa Margarita, 49-32.
“Sometimes when you’re in the lead, you’re not the aggressor,” Barnett said. “Irvine got the lead, they were shooting well, and they got comfortable. Then they realized we were catching up and they got defensive and weren’t playing like themselves; they were very pensive. That’s just big-game experience.”
And Rosary had a definite edge. The Royals, who won the Southern Section Division III-AA title last season and were a victory away from the state title game, were playing their sixth opponent ranked in Orange County’s top 10. Irvine, which doesn’t have any seniors on its team, was playing its first.
That’s not to say Irvine sought the path it eventually took. Assistant Coach Joni Colburn said the Vaqueros couldn’t find games against the best teams.
“We were a fourth-place team last year,” she said. “No one wanted to play us.”
Irvine Head Coach Dennis Hurley said he had even more trouble trying to schedule quality opponents before Colburn, a former star at Katella and former head coach at Irvine, came on staff.
“I’m a first-year coach,” he said. “Nobody would even call me back. I can’t make apologies for the teams that said they would play us. We got the schedule that we got.”
RECORD-SETTING WEEK
Heritage Christian forward Todd Warner became the first player in school history to score 1,000 points when he scored nine last week against Santa Monica New Roads. Patriot guard Ryan Meyer also set a school record with 18 assists against Rolling Hills Prep, breaking a nine-year-old record held by Allen Dixon (15).
GIVING ALL THEY’VE GOT
Costa Mesa girls’ basketball Coach Jim Weeks had nothing but praise for Estancia’s work ethic before and after they played last week, a 47-38 Costa Mesa victory, the Mustangs’ eighth in nine games.
“Nobody’s played that hard against us,” Weeks said of the Eagles. “Nobody plays that hard in Orange County, except maybe Rosary.”
And of course, Weeks has used the Eagles as an example for his own team. “I tell them they can be champions,” he said, “if they work as hard as Estancia.”
Staff writer Martin Henderson and freelancer Michael Haubrich contributed to this report.
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 ben.bolch@latimes.com
