simi best of, worst of

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SoCalHoops High School News

It Was The Best Of Simi. . .
It Was The Worst Of Simi. . . --(Feb. 11, 2000)

As we head into the final day of regular league play, the melodrama that is Simi Valley boys basketball continues. This Dickensian "best of times, worst of times" is a tale of two teams, one that features a player in Branduinn Fullove (6'-5" Sr. SG/SF) who has signed with UCSB, a player for whom Vincent Bonsignore of the Daily News must have just signed on as his personal press agent. . . . This morning's Daily News featured a huge article on the "Player of the Year" voting and selection process, the infighting among coaches in the Marmonte League in year's past, and a flat-out plug for Fullove to be selected as the Player of the Year in the Valley Region. The article was entitled "No Policticking Necessary--Simi's Fullove is the One." Here are some excerpts:

No politicking necessary -- Simi's Fullove is the one

By Vincent Bonsignore, Staff Writer

With the presidential election looming, politics return to the front burner. It's always interesting to see how candidates spin things and spar with one another, and the reaction they get from the media and public. But if you think egos and politics as usual run rampant at election time, how about at league meetings to decide all-league selections and player-of-the-year awards. Now that's politics. You want ego battles? How about the coach who gets his brains beat in year after year exacting revenge by dissing the best team's best player? Or that long-standing feud between coaches getting in the way of good judgment. It's happened before, and it will continue to happen.

In the Marmonte League, some peculiar choices have marked the boys' basketball selections over the years, mainly because some coaches aren't fans of the Pioneers program. This year's odds-on player of the year is Simi Valley's Branduinn Fullove, who is averaging 25 points. Fullove is headed to UCSB, and he is clearly the best player in the league playing on the best team. Of course, that best team just happens to be Simi Valley.

With that in mind, anything can happen. But if Fullove isn't the choice, something is really wrong.

Royal of Simi Valley coach Larry Wiksell concedes that Fullove is physically the top player in the Marmonte League, but said the coaches' criteria differs from year to year. Wiksell does not think politics is a problem. "The coaches always get together before the meeting and make a decision on what exactly we are voting for when it comes to the MVP," Wiksell said. "Sometimes we decide it's the best player in the league, other times we say it's going to be the guy who was the most valuable to his team." Former Simi Valley coach Dean Bradshaw, whom some coaches disliked, thinks it's a case of adults acting like children. Last season, Bradshaw nominated Simi Valley's Fullove, Brett Michel and Rafael Berumen as tri-players of the year. They got the necessary votes, although one coach conspicuously voted for a different player, according to Bradshaw. "(One coach) said he'd never vote for a Simi Valley player," Bradshaw said. "So when our kids were nominated, he didn't vote for them. That tells you right there what a joke it is sometimes."

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"I would just hope that as educators and as adults, we can put all the pettiness to the side and vote on how it was earned," Bradshaw said. "It's as simple as that, unless some people are holding a grudge." Regardless, Fullove should be the choice. He's the best team's best player, and the Pioneers would be lost without him. . . .

One thing we can say for certain though, regardless of politics, is that Coach Christian Aurand won't be likely to nominate three players this season from Simi. At least he won't be nominating Shaun Michel anytime soon. While the Daily News was busy propping Branduinn (rightfully so, in our humble opinion), the LA Times Valley Edition was busy reporting the other side of the coin, and if Fullove is indicative of what's gone well for Simi this season, the Times' story is simply one more brick in the pile of the "other" side of Simi Valley's program this year, and once again, it involves Shaun Michel (6'-2" Jr. PG), a talented player who is leading the region in assists, but who is having a hard time getting and staying on the court. Here's what John Ortega wrote this morning in the Valley Edition of the LA Times:

Michel's Status in Jeopardy After Halftime Exit at Game

JOHN ORTEGA, Times Staff Writer

Point guard Shaun Michel of Simi Valley High faces an uncertain future with the team after he left at halftime during the Pioneers' Marmonte League game at Westlake on Wednesday night.

Michel, a 6-foot-2 junior who leads the region in assists, figures to draw a suspension for his action, which followed an argument with Coach Christian Aurand in the second quarter of Simi Valley's 86-56 victory.

Michel, who has been suspended twice previously this season by Aurand, said he did not expect to play tonight in the Pioneers' regular-season finale against Royal at Simi Valley. Aurand declined comment.

Michel and his mother, Julie, met with Simi Valley administrators Thursday night to discuss the situation, which is expected to be resolved today. Michel said he left in the middle of Wednesday's game after Aurand told him he would not play in the second half, after they exchanged words while Michel was on the bench in the second quarter.

Michel's older brother Brett, a senior forward and the Pioneers' second-leading scorer, said he was uncertain if he would play tonight because of the situation involving his brother.

Simi Valley (23-2, 11-0 in league play) is the No. 1-ranked team in the region by The Times and ranked No. 3 in Southern Section Division I-A.

Whatever the problems are, Simi better hope they get them ironed out quickly, because unless they do, they'll be looking forward to an early exit from the crowded and tough Division I-A playoff bracket that we'll expect to see this Sunday. Right now, Simi, Mater Dei, Santa Barbara and Corona Centennial are the top teams in the Division, but without the Michels, the question is how far the team can go. . . We don't know the details of what transpired on Wednesday at the Westlake game, and thus don't want to speculate, but if the facts are as reported, the question will be how much resolve Simi's new coaching staff will have, and how much the Simi administration will let him exercise that resolve. Not to be too trite about it, but only time will tell what Simi's fate will be. . .