CIF-SS Large Enrollment Division Preview:
Bay League 2001-02--(Oct. 6, 2001)

The Bay League is historically one of the best in Southern California, and typically has multiple Division I college prospects.    Last year, the league was particularly competitive, sending every team but one (North Torrance) to the playoffs.  Teams from the Bay League last year won one Section Championship (Redondo in II-A, as UCLA-signee Dijon Thompson's team beat Stanford-signee Josh Childress' Mayfair Monsoons), and placing one runner-up (Inglewood, which lost to three-time State Champion Compton Dominguez with Tyson Chandler, now in the NBA on the Chicago Bulls' roster). 

The league is actually part of the South Bay Athletic Association, which consists of two leagues, the Bay and the Ocean League, and every few years, the association reconfigures the leagues, with teams moving between the two leagues, depending upon their overall competitiveness.  The Bay League half of the SBAA is generally considered the more competitive of the two, but with teams like Compton Centennial in the Ocean League (which has been a D-III Section finalist the past two years), it's not as though it's much less competitive than the Bay.

The Bay League is always tough though, always compteitive and always features a some of the top talent in Southern California.    This year is no different, and as in past years, the top talent will be concentrated largely at two schools: Redondo and Inglewood.  Here's a look at what we know about the teams this early in the fall:

Inglewood

The Sentinels finished 21-5 overall and 13-1 in league, runners up in Division II-AA to eventual Section and three-time State Champion Compton Dominguez.  With the Sentinels returning one of the strongest teams in the State this year again in terms of sheer, raw talent, regardless of division placement for playoffs, they will again be a favorite to take the league title from Redondo.  This year, they will move to  II-A for playoffs, but it won't be any easier as there are some tough teams in that division, including Mater Dei, Dominguez, Santa Margarita, and Pasadena, all traditionally strong programs.   Inglewood returns one of the only potential NBA-hopefuls from the class of 2002,  DeAngelo Collins (6'-9" Sr. F) a big, strong power forward who can hammer down low or step out and hit the perimeter shot, and really there aren't many more big guys in SoCal who are as skilled on the court as he is.   DeAngelo was also selected as the co-MVP of the prestigious adidas ABCD Camp all-star game this summer.  Many say that he's not ready for the NBA, and it's rumored that he's still considering college, but we're guessing he'll make the jump to the pros.  At the very least, he could do very well in the development league.  The Sentinels lost a lot in the backcourt in terms of seniors who led the team last year, but they return a some talented backcourt players including Jason McKinney (5'-11" Sr. PG) and Rayshawn Reed (6'-2" Jr. G).  Others we would expect to see return are Ronald Ligon (6'-3" Jr. F), and Martel Longon (5'-10" Sr. G), who didn't play much last season, but were on the roster.  We have no idea who else will be on Pat Roy's Sentinels at this moment, but the serious competition for the league title will be between Redondo and Inglewood again this year. 

Redondo

The Redondo Union Seahawks are the defending II-A Section Champions, but they have a new coach, Tom Maier,  who is once again a head coach after spending last season as an assistant at Redondo after leaving his long-time position as the head coach at Chadwick.   He replaces Jim Nielsen, who is now an assistant men's coach at Pepperdine.   The Seahawks finished last year at 21-5, and 13-1, tied for the league title with Inglewood.  While they return some talented players, including Adam Zahn (6'-8" Sr. F),  a very athletic and strong forward, steady point guard Keith Ellison (6'-1" Sr. PG)--who is also the quarterback of the Seahawk football team-- athletic wing Wendell White (6'-3" Jr. G/F)--who was rumored to be transferring to Montclair Prep to play for his cousin, head coach Tryone Fuller (White decided against the transfer and is now enrolled at Redondo), and big man Paul Meynen (6'-9" Sr. F), who is also receiving a lot of D-I attention from schools up and down the west and east coasts.  Others we'd expect to see returning are Edward Topps (5'-9" Sr. G) and Brendan Behan (5'-10" Sr. G).  Redondo won't be nearly as deep as last year, not without a player like UCLA freshman Dijon Thompson, but they will still have a lot of talent and good coaching too. They will also catch a break if their enrollment stays as it was last year because they'll be in the newly configured III-AA division (which will have teams like Artesia, Mayfair, Muir, Ocean View, and others), which looks a lot like last year's Division II-A.....

Mira Costa

Mira Costa finished 16-10 overall, 8-6 in league last season, and made it to the second round of the Division I-A playoffs, losing to Temescal Canyon, which itself lost to section finalist Corona Centennial. Head Coach Glen Marx' Mustangs should be in II-AA this season if the changes are made to playoff divisions which we expect to see.  The Mustangs lost a lot to graduation, including All-CIF and NCAA Division-I signee Dewayne Morris (6'-4" G) who signed with USF, and other top players like Jacob Insler, Chase Wixom, and others.   As far as we know right now, there will only be two or three returning varsity players from last season, who should include Rocky Ciasulti (6'-1" Jr. G ) and Greg Geier (6'-4" Sr. G/F), so this will be a young team, but they've played together all summer, and in the fall in various tournaments and leagues as the "Junior Lakers".   We know that Geier had a fairly successful summer, attracting some college attention at the adidas Double Pump West Coast All-Stars camp. But who else Marx will have to help out remains very much a mystery at this point.

Peninsula

Rolling Hills Estates Peninsula HS, finished last year at 16-10 overall, 6-8 in league, but had the misfortune of being matched against quarterfinalist Fontana in the first round of the playoffs, and were eliminated.   Head coach Mike Boyd is hoping for a slightly better showing this season, where, with the return of the two-division system (I-AA and I-A) they will still be placed in the highest enrollment bracket.  The Panthers return All-CIF player Kevin Gardner (6'-8" Sr. F), as well as players like Zach Freeman (6'-1" Sr. G), Andre Ciceran (6'-3" Sr. G), Ryan Johnson (6'-4" Sr. F), Phil Baxter (6'-5" Sr. F), and one of the more talented rising juniors, Shawn Weinstein (6'-0" Jr. G), as well as David Pederson
6'-0" Fr. G, a talented freshman.  Gardner averaged 19.3 ppg and 8.4 rpg, and should be the featured player again as the Panthers try to unseat traditional favorites Inglewood and Redondo for the league title.

Morningside

Last season, Inglewood Morningside finished 12-12 overall and 6-8 in league, in 4th place, and they  The Monarchs lost their only All-CIF player, Khail Young, to graduation, and he was responsible for 19 ppg in offensive production, but they will also likely return high scoring junior Alan Goodwin (6'-2" Sr. F) who averaged 17.5 ppg and 12.2 boards.  Coach Carl Franklin will have to try to replace 11 seniors who graduated, but he should have the services of a few returnees in addition to Goodwin, like Albert Hutchison (5'-9" Sr. G), Michael Sanders (5'-9" Jr. G), and Marlon Brisco (6'-5" Sr. F) who is regarded as a potential college prospect.   Morningside will largely be a new team, but they are always athletic, and in playoffs, they move down to the new III-AA division with the reconfiguration of the playoff alignments.

Leuzinger

Coach Travis Showalter's Olympians didn't really perform in league or outside of league as well as he'd hoped last season, finishing 13-13 overall and 5-9 in league, and getting knocked out of the Division I-AAA playoffs last season in the first round, by Los Alamitos. They will return Derrick Clark (6'-0" Sr. PG), who is one of the better point guards among SoCal senior prospects, but who else will join him is largely a mystery.  Clark had intended to transfer to Las Vegas for his senior season, but due to restrictions under their State rules, transfers from out of state must sit out a year before being eligible, so the transfer never took place.   Whoever they have this year, the Olympians will likely remain in the highest enrollment division, I-AA if they make the playoffs this season. Update 10/30/01: It seems that the Olympians have gotten some really BIG help for Derrick Clark this season, and will have Dorrell Wright (6'-6" Jr.  SG/SF),  Donnell Wright (6'-8" Jr. SF/PF) who is no relation to Dorrell, and Darrell Street (6'-9" Jr. PF)....[c'mon, someone is making these names up, right].  Actually coach Showalter e-mailed us and gave us these names, so we know it's not someone's idea of a joke.  Can't wait to see these guys.

Santa Monica

Santa Monica is another of those teams that will be sort of a mystery until the rosters are announced later next month.  The Vikings were coached by James Hecht last season to a record of 13-13 overall and 4-10 in league, and even with a poor league showing, still managed to make the playoffs as an at-large team. They were matched in the first round against Arroyo Grande, and were eliminated.   This season, if their enrollment stays the same, we'd expect to see them eligible for the Division I-AA as it will be reconfigured.  Their lead player is expected to be Pablo Dresie (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF), a very athletic wing guard with a D-I body who can slash to the basket, run the break and finish. We wouldn't expect the Vikings to knock off the top teams in the league, but they always manage to come up with some talent each season.

North Torrance

North Torrance finished just 1-13 in league, and didn't report their overall standings to the CIF-SS office, so we actually have no idea how they finally finished overall, or whether they won other games outside of league (if you're really curious, you can check through the Daily Articles for game reports from last season). We also have no idea who they will have this year to help get the Saxons out of the doldrums and into the II-A playoffs where they'll be slotted if they can make it.

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