PREP BASKETBALL ‘92-’93: EMPIRE LEAGUE

KATELLA

1991-92 RECORDS OVERALL: 10-13 LEAGUE: 5-5

COACH: RECORD AT SCHOOL

Tom Danley: 482-194

RETURNING STARTERS YR. HGT. P Brian Carlson Sr. 6-6 F Keith Carraby Sr. 6-0 G Benny Garcia Sr. 6-1 F Nick Roditis Jr. 6-1 G

TOP RETURNERS YR. HGT. P Todd Swans Sr. 6-3 F

TOP NEWCOMERS YR. HGT. P Robert Guzman Jr. 6-0 G

OUTLOOK

Danley, the dean of Empire League coaches, is in his 26th season as Katella coach and has won more games than all the other league coaches combined. Over the years, he has produced some of the finest players and teams in Orange County history. But it’s been a while since Katella’s glory days back in the 1970s, when Katella was the county’s premier basketball program. The Knights were as well-known for their unfashionable buzz haircuts as for their suffocating full-court press and dead-eye shooters. There are signs that the Knights will be more competitive than in recent seasons, though nothing on the scale of Danley’s highly ranked teams of the ‘70s and early ‘80s. After struggling for the past few years, Katella just might have the players to make a run at the league title, although Esperanza and Los Alamitos might have too much firepower for the Knights. At the heart of this turnaround is Carlson, who averaged 16.7 points, was an all-league selection last season and is one of four returning starters from last season’s third-place team. Roditis averaged 11.3 points, Carraby 8.1 points and Garcia 6.7 points. All in all, it looks like a solid nucleus for Danley. The first step is a winning record, which eluded the Knights last season despite their move to the league’s top three.