Boys basketball: Reconnecting with the past
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Barry Faulkner
COSTA MESA - If this year’s Estancia High boys basketball team
needed a reminder of the program’s proud tradition, it received one first
hand in the school’s recent alumni game.
“We got hammered,” Eagles Coach Chris Sorce said of the Nov. 23
exhibition in which former All-CIF standouts such as Sam Nelson and Mike
Curtis helped the former Eagles school the undergraduates.
That tradition, including the only CIF State title in Newport-Mesa
hoop history (the 1991 Division III crown), took a hit last year when the
Eagles failed to make the CIF Southern Section playoffs for the first
time in 14 seasons.
Sorce, however, believes this group, including first-team All-Pacific
Coast League and all-district senior Micah Young, has the ability to
return to the postseason.
Personnel, as well as a complete offseason, have helped bolster the
confidence of the second-year coach, who took over the reigns from Rich
Boyce the summer before his first campaign.
“I tell people I kind of feel like this is my first year as head
coach, since I’ve gotten to do things the way I wanted in the spring,
summer and fall,” Sorce said.
“We had a lot of success in the summer and I’m really happy with the
progress the kids have made.”
That progress includes more scoring options, after Young (17.9 points
per game) and then-senior Eliasar Maldonado (17.7 ppg) carried the load
for last year’s 10-15 squad.
“It’s kind of hard when you’re relying on one or two guys,” Sorce
said. “This year, we have six or seven guys who could be our leading
scorer in any given game.”
Young, a 6-foot-2 senior, still heads that list. Sorce believes Young,
remarkably successful as an undersized post last year, will be even more
effective mixing in a perimeter game this season.
“He’ll still be an effective inside guy, but he can also knock down
the three-pointer if we need him to,” Sorce said. “That should make him
much more difficult to defend.”
Helping ease Young’s inside burden is the emergence of 6-7 junior Joey
Lindquist, whom Sorce calls “our most improved player from the spring up
till now.”
Lindquist, the most improved player on last year’s junior varsity, is
capable of double-figure production in points and rebounds, Sorce said,
but could struggle with consistency against varsity competition.
“(Lindquist) could have a real big year,” Sorce said.
Additional returners include 5-9 senior Jorge Prado and 5-10 junior
Matt Cachola, who will play heavy backcourt roles this season.
Cachola started a handful of games at point guard last season, but is
still bothered by a leg injury that sidelined him much of the fall
schedule.
“Matt getting hurt turned out to be a real blessing in disguise for
Jorge, who had to step up and run the point,” Sorce said. “We have two
guys who can play the point for us and that was an area we struggled some
last year.”
Prado, who has shown effectiveness from three-point range, averaged
6.1 points as a junior.
Fernando Maldonado, a 6-1 senior, has also emerged as someone Sorce
will count upon, after earning MVP honors on the junior varsity last
season.
“He has probably been our most consistent outside three in the
offseason,” Sorce said of Eliasar’s younger brother. “His work habits are
second to none and he has made big strides.”
Senior Jermaine Snell, a 5-7 Fountain Valley transfer who starred for
the Estancia football team this fall, provides extreme quickness and
defensive tenacity, while senior Mitch Valdes and junior Zach Novak are
also expected to contribute.
“Mitch has a lot of leadership qualities and is never lacking in
effort,” Sorce said. “And Zach (the third Novak brother to play for the
Eagles) is always the leader of the pack when we have
diving-for-loose-ball drills in practice.”
Juniors Lewis Bradshaw and Erik Andersen, two more football players,
should add depth, as will freshman Carlos Pinto and junior Jermaine
Young, Micah’s brother.
“Lewis didn’t play with us in the summer, so he’s just getting
acclimated to our system,” Sorce said. “He battles in the paint and his
defense and rebounding could help out a lot.”
Sorce is also excited about Pinto’s promise.
“He has a really nice shooting touch,” Sorce said. “When you watch
him, he doesn’t play like a freshman.”
The Eagles open at home Wednesday at 7 p.m. against Santa Ana.
Estancia boys basketball roster
1 Mitch Valdes 5-6 Sr.
3 Jermaine Snell 5-7 Sr.
4 Fernando Maldonado 6-0 Sr.
11 Matt Cachola 5-10 Jr.
12 Zach Novak 6-1 Jr.
21 Jorge Prado 5-9 Sr.
22 Micah Young 6-3 Sr.
23 Lewis Bradshaw 6-3 Jr.
33 Jermaine Young 6-1 Jr.
34 Erik Andersen 5-10 Jr.
44 Carlos Pinto 6-3 Fr.
50 Joey Lindquist 6-7 Jr.
Coach: Chris Sorce
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