Daily Pilot Boys’ Basketball Dream Team: Trey Wilborn’s versatility took Edison far
Work in the weight room is not the only thing that has made Edison High senior Trey Wilborn stronger on the basketball court.
So has adversity.
Wilborn started out at Mater Dei High as a freshman. At that point, he was mostly known as the son of Terence Wilborn, a key part of the dominant Monarchs’ teams in the early 1990s who went on to play at San Jose State.
The fit wasn’t right for Trey, though, so he came to Edison as a sophomore.
“I always wanted to go there and kind of live out his legacy,” Trey Wilborn said. “It was kind of tough transferring from there because of that, but I think it was the right move for me personally. I feel like my game grew better here than it was there.”
Even so, there were more obstacles to overcome. A high ankle sprain robbed him of about half his junior season. His senior year would be his first full one with the Chargers.
And what a senior year it was.
The 6 feet 5 senior forward helped Edison (28-6) set a program single-season wins record and advance to the semifinals of both the CIF Southern Section Division 2A and CIF State Southern California Regional Division II playoffs. Wilborn averaged a team-best 17 points and seven rebounds and was a tall task for opponents to guard with his inside-outside game.
Wilborn is the 2021-22 Daily Pilot Boys’ Basketball Dream Team Player of the Year.
“It was a surprise to a lot of teams how strong he is and what kind of damage he could do inside,” Edison coach Rich Boyce said. “People think just because he can shoot threes that he wouldn’t venture inside the paint, but that couldn’t be farther from the truth. There were many games he led us in rebounding, and obviously points in the paint. He wasn’t afraid to do the dirty work, and he did a lot of that for us.”
Wilborn, the Surf League MVP and an All-CIF selection, had plenty of memorable moments. There was the 71-65 overtime victory over rival Los Alamitos on Feb. 3 that helped the Chargers clinch the outright league crown. Two weeks later, he helped spark a comeback from 13 points down in the fourth quarter at Pacifica Christian Orange County in a CIF quarterfinal game, hitting two big baskets from three-point land during the rally.
Edison also had a 17-game winning streak during the season, which ended at the hands of rival Fountain Valley despite Wilborn pouring in a career-high 36 points.
“Once we got it going, it was kind of easy,” he said. “We felt confident. We felt like we were going to go into every game and win. That was a good mindset to have. There was no time when we backed down.”
Wilborn and his mentality was a big part of that, Boyce said, calling him a gym rat. He was the leader of a hard-working team that accomplished great things together.
And he had a good support system including his father, mother McKenzie and grandparents Tom and Barbara, who never missed a game.
Trey ended up taking a different path than his father. In the end, though, it was a success story, and he will cap it Saturday by playing in the Orange County North-South all-star game at Cypress College.
Wilborn has also started taking college recruiting trips. This week, he picked up an offer from Holy Names University.
His basketball career may not be over, but he won’t soon forget his senior season with the Chargers.
“We had amazing team chemistry,” Wilborn said. “Everybody liked each other, everybody wanted to be there, which was big. The friendships that I was able to create with my teammates were great.”
Here’s a look at the Coach of the Year and the Dream Team first-team and second-team selections:
COACH OF THE YEAR
Rich Boyce
Edison
Boyce became the Chargers’ head coach in 2000, following four years in the same role at Estancia. Few teams in his 22 years in charge — or any Edison teams before that — can match the accomplishments of this year’s group, which featured no college basketball signees. Edison finished 28-6, setting a program single-season record for wins, and went undefeated through the Surf League for just the second outright league crown in program history. Credit Boyce’s leadership for extending the season, too. After a disappointing loss to La Mirada in the CIF Southern Section Division 2A semifinals, the No. 11-seeded Chargers earned their first two state playoff victories in program history to reach the Southern California Regional Division II semifinal, where they finally lost to No. 2-seeded Hacienda Heights Los Altos.
FIRST TEAM
Roddie Anderson
G | Fountain Valley | Sr.
The Barons were hit harder than most by the coronavirus pandemic, but Anderson still enjoyed a very successful senior season. He averaged 23 points, five rebounds and five assists for Fountain Valley (12-9), helping the Barons clinch a share of the Wave League title and advance to the CIF Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Anderson, a co-Wave League MVP who is bound for UC San Diego, also poured in 37 points as Fountain Valley beat rival Edison, snapping the Chargers’ 17-game winning streak.
Eric Hodgkins
G | Marina | Sr.
Hodgkins made headlines when he was a freshman, sinking a buzzer-beating three-pointer to beat rival Edison. After four years on varsity, he grew into an unquestioned leader. Hodgkins was the co-Wave League MVP and averaged a team-best 14 points per game, sinking a team-best 70 three-pointers at a 41% clip. He helped the Vikings (20-10), coming off a Division 2AA final appearance a year ago, earn a share of the league title and advance to the second round of the Division 2AA playoffs. Hodgkins will play Saturday in the Orange County North-South all-star game at Cypress College.
Parker Strauss
G | Pacifica Christian Orange County | Jr.
Strauss, a transfer from Edison, turned into a big-time leader for the Tritons. The first-team All-San Joaquin League selection led Pacifica Christian in per-game averages in points (11.9), rebounds (6.6), assists (3.9) and steals (2.9). He helped a young Tritons team (17-13) finish third in league and advance to the quarterfinals of the Division 2A playoffs. Coach Jeff Berokoff appreciated the versatility and positive attitude of Strauss, an All-CIF selection who should be one of the top returning players in the area next season.
Tyler Hampton
F | Edison | Sr.
Hampton was a three-sport star for the Chargers, also known as a rock-solid football receiver and a high jumper. Those jumps sometimes turned into dunks for the basketball team, but he was much more than just a high-flying act. Hampton, an All-Surf League selection, averaged 13 points and six rebounds for Edison. He was also arguably his team’s most consistent playoff performer, including the game-winning layup against Mission Bay in the first round of the Southern California Regional Division II playoffs.
Carter Bryant
F | Fountain Valley | So.
Bryant, who is 6 feet 8 and inching toward 6-9, is the son of Fountain Valley coach D’Cean Bryant. He grew in more ways than his height as a sophomore for the Barons this season, averaging a double-double with 10 points, an area-best 13 rebounds and four assists per game. Bryant, an All-Wave League selection, is considered a rising college prospect and was recently received an offer from UNLV.
Ramon Lopez
F | Ocean View | Sr.
First-year head coach Steve Harris put the 6-foot-6 Lopez, nicknamed “Chico,” at small forward this year. This helped cause the scoring average of Lopez, a good perimeter shooter, to blossom. He averaged an area-best 25.7 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game for Ocean View (18-9), which finished second in the Golden West League and advanced to the Division 3A playoffs. Lopez, the co-Golden West League MVP and an All-CIF selection, scored 30 or more points seven times, including a season-best 39 against Compton Dominguez and Laguna Hills. He will play Saturday in the Orange County North-South all-star game at Cypress College.
SECOND TEAM
Position, Name, School, Year
G Hudson Bond, Corona del Mar, Sr.
G Robert Aguirre, Marina, Sr.
G Brandon Kincaid, Newport Harbor, Sr.
F Jeremiah Whitmore, Fountain Valley, Jr.
F Jackson Sirianni, Laguna Beach, Sr.
C Lewis Tate IV, Estancia, Sr.
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