Eagles’ Pinto is holding the reins

Chris Yemma

Estancia High senior basketball guard Carlos Pinto has added a new

repertoire to his game each year since the first time he donned an

Eagles’ jersey.

Freshman year he was a youngster considered to have potential.

Sophomore and junior years he was adding to his unstoppable offensive

prowess, and now, in his senior season, he is starting to learn and

improve on his defensive game.

“Offensively, he’s very talented,” Eagles’ Coach Jason Simco said.

“Defensively, he’s going to need to defend next year and he wants to

learn.”

Learning is a big part of Pinto’s game. Since his freshman season

on varsity, and the first game he started in -- a game in which he

scored 14 points and led Estancia to a win over Costa Mesa -- Pinto

has had to adjust to numerous different defenses that have all been

out for the sole purpose of shutting him down.

Opposing teams know that he is the go-to guy for Estancia and they

constantly throw double teams at him. In the past, Pinto has fallen

victim to the pressure of opponents double-teaming him. But now,

along with his defense, he his learning and improving on how to deal

with the pressure.

“Last year when they started double teaming me I got frustrated

and started forcing shots or losing the ball,” Pinto said. “This year

I see open guys and pass to them and they are good at hitting those

shots.”

Pinto said that in the past it was a confidence issue about

whether his teammates could hit the shots, but now he has all the

faith in the world. His teammates bring him trust and enhance his

game, he said.

“We can all shoot from the perimeter, which is one of the biggest

strengths of the team,” Pinto said. “Our biggest strength, our inside

game, hasn’t shown yet.”

So far, the Eagles’ inside game hasn’t needed to shine. The team

is 7-1 after finishing off Santa Ana Valley Saturday for the Garden

Grove tournament title. And of course, Pinto was named tournament

Most Valuable Player, an honor he has received two out of the last

three years in the Garden Grove tournament.

He leads the Eagles in scoring, averaging almost 23 points per

game, and had a 31-point performance in a 64-45 victory over Irvine

Dec. 7 in the La Quinta tournament.

With all the flash, bang and point scoring, Pinto is on pace to

become team MVP for the third-straight year.

“That’s pretty impressive,” Simco said. “He would be only the

second player in Estancia history to become a three-year MVP, and

definitely the first to play on varsity all four years.

“He is one of the top five best players to come through here.”

During Pinto’s freshman season, Simco was the freshman boys coach

at Estancia. Simco was hoping to have Pinto on the team, but he was

placed on varsity, a move Simco said he thought was questionable.

But after seeing him play, Pinto proved him wrong, Simco said. And

now, after a few years of experience, he’s a vastly different player.

“When he was a freshman his shot was really slow and he didn’t

defend,” Simco said. “Now he’s quick, he’s posting up and playing

defense. He’s extremely versatile.”

Pinto said he still has room for improvement, though.

He is likely to play college ball next year as a point guard, so

now he is trying to work on all the skills he will need to use then.