Leading by example

Mike Sciacca

James Lambert took a recent recruiting trip to Cambridge, Mass., to

check out Harvard University, and the excursion left a lasting

impression on the Marina High senior.

“It was awesome,” he said of the November trip. “It was just how

you see the campus in the movies.”

The Crimson is highly interested in landing Lambert, who is

considered one of the key returning basketball players in Orange

County.

In addition, he’s a top student with a grade point average of 4.2

and score of 1420 in his SATs.

The trip to Harvard was the first on the recruiting trail for

Lambert, and a Crimson assistant coach is expected to come watch him

play sometime next week.

UC Irvine, Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and several NCAA Division II

schools also have expressed interest in Lambert, his coach, Roger

Holmes, said.

It’s just some of the attention the 6-foot-3 post player is

expected to generate in the 2003-04 season.

Lambert enters the new season regarded as one of the county’s top

players. Last year, he averaged 20 points and eight rebounds as

Marina won the Sunset League championship.

The current season, his last in a Marina uniform, caps a four-year

varsity career at the school.

“Our team hasn’t gotten much respect in the papers as being one of

the big teams, so my goal is to help get us there,” the senior said.

“I think we can have a great season.”

Marina began the season with promise on Monday, as it defeated La

Serna, 62-55, in the opening round of the Fullerton Tournament.

Lambert, the only four-year starter on the squad, scored 17 points

in the victory.

“He’s definitely right up there with some of the top players who

have played in this program,” Holmes said. “I think James just has a

good feel for the game. He has a really good work ethic and he’s a

good role model in showing some of the younger guys what it takes to

play at the varsity level. He’s been an incredible kid to have around

the program.”

Holmes said he took notice of Lambert the summer before his

freshman year.

“I saw that James was real mature for his age,” he said. “He

worked really hard and it was obvious that he had the physical

ability and mental toughness to play varsity.”

Lambert was a “sometimes” starter on varsity as a freshman, Holmes

said, but assumed a full-time role by his sophomore year.

He earned All-Sunset League Second-Team status as a sophomore and

ascended to become the league’s most valuable player as a junior.

He capped last year by being Second-Team All-CIF Southern Section

Division IA.

“I’ve watched him really mature as a player,” Holmes said. “As a

sophomore, he was more of a spot-up shooter. From there, he developed

his game and last year, he put the ball more on the floor and took it

to the basket. He’s also developed his post game and his defense, and

that has made him an better all-around player.

“Another thing that has impressed me is that he has done a great

job in the weight room the past few years. The more physical he has

become, the harder it is to guard him. He just never tires. He’s a

huge threat on the court when he has the ball.”

Lambert’s hustle, he hopes, sets the tone on the court.

“I like to set an example to the rest of my teammates, and I do

that by playing hard the entire game,” Lambert said. “It’s about work

ethic, and I take pride in that.”

* MIKE SCIACCA covers sports and features. He can be reached at

(714) 965-7171 or by e-mail at [email protected].