SoCalHoops High School News

High School Team Preview:
Cathedral City High School--(Nov. 19, 2000)

	Cathedral City Lions Division II-AA City: Cathedral City (Palm Springs Unified School District) Head Coach: Rob Hanmer Assistant Coaches: Sy Lenes, David Johnson, Neil McElroy, Dan Murtha,Tim Brown, & Hank Sprinkle Principal: John Mendoza Athletic Director: Mick Morrison	CIF Southern Section Desert Valley League 1999-2000 Season Final Standings Team League Overall Cathedral City 8-2 20-6 LaQuinta/LQ 7-3 13-12 Indio 6-4 14-10 Palm Springs 6-4 13-11 Coachella Valley 2-8 8-17 Palm Desert 1-9 7-13
1997 C.I.F.  Southern Section IIIAA Champions 1997, 1998, 1999 & 2000 Desert Valley League Champions Overall Record 20-6; League Record: 8-2 (first place)

Rob Hanmer is the the head coach of the Cathedral City Lions, a D-II-AA team last season which won it's fourth straight Desert Valley League title last season. Unfortunately for the Lions, their first playoff game was not what many had hoped for and the team was knocked out in the first round with a loss to county rival Ramona, 94-82. Most of last year's team returns, and this year, the Lions are again the favorite to take home a fifth straight title, and perhaps with a little more experience and depth, as well as the added maturity that a year will have given most of the players, they are hoping to make a more serious run in their division at playoff time. 

Coach Hanmer told us that “Drive for Five” is the theme for their 2000-2001 Varsity basketball team.  "Our team goals include: Five Shootout victories, our 5th straight Desert Valley League Championship, Five C.I.F. playoff games and a twenty-five win total, which would be a school record for most wins in a season. Obviously, our goals are lofty but we have an exciting mix of talented young men with a lot of varsity experience."  Cathedral City will be led by returning 1999 and 2000  Desert Valley League champions: Gerald DeVance, a quick, crafty point guard, who has an excellent handle and can shoot the lights out from three point range.   Joining him will be returnees Jeff Lambert, Paul Heredia, and Thomas Shewmake.   Heredia is a strong, tough-nosed forward, while Shewmake seems to have finally figured out that he's 6'-10" and doesn't need to float on the perimeter, although his ball handling and shooting skills are good enough that he can step out to the short corner and bang in a jumper when required.  In addition to being a smart, capable point, DeVance is also the first player in school history to be First Team All Riverside County as a junior as well as Cathedral City's fifth D.V.L. Most Valuable Player award winner, and he was also selected First Team All C.I.F. in Division II-AA last season, so he brings with him some accolades and experience to go along with his skills. DeVance played briefly this past spring with the Double Pump California All-Stars before opting to rejoin his high school team for the summer, while Paul Heredia played with several club teams, and Thomas Shewmake chose to concentrate his efforts mostly with the Rockfish, where he played with Heredia in the Rockfish Spring League.

About Heredia and Shewmake, Coach Hanmer told us, "Our team returns two very tall first team D.V.L. selections as well as Riverside County honorable mention performers in 6’6 Senior Paul Heredia and 6’10 Junior Thomas Shewmake."  Coach Hanmer believes that "both Paul and Thomas are expected to have huge seasons."   Other returning letter winners from last season’s fourth consecutive 20 win season include grid-hoop players seniors Jeff Lambert and Blake Moorman and junior Brandon Gray. "All three players are expected to have a major impact on the success of our team," Coach Hanmer told us. "This group of players has had an incredible amount of  success on the basketball floor and looks forward to adding to their legacy."

New seniors on the team this season include the MVP from last season’s JV team Matt Parris,  in addition to Jose Flores, Matt Hansen, Horacio Villela and John Sloan. "These seniors are expected to provide leadership, enthusiasm" said Hanmer, "and we expect them to provide us with the needed offensive and defensive spark when coming off our incredibly deep bench."    New underclassmen this year include juniors Nathan Lewis and Mitch Matthews, in addition to sophomore shooters Brandon Brown and Jared Otteson, each of whom will compete for serious playing time. 

And these guys have also put in the time needed to get to know each other which is required to get them working as a team.  They worked hard over the summer,  Hanmer told us,  playing 45 games and winning one of Cathedral Citys' own summer tournaments (always very competitive). "If the team continues to listen, learn and work hard together, they should have a season to be proud of," Hanmer said  "The key for success will be to play hard together as a team for all 32 minutes of each and every game. As a team we must stay positive, healthy and if we share the basketball, success will be the result. We look forward to another exciting season, and hope to hang our fifth straight league championship banner in the Lions’ Den," Hanmer said.

The Cathedral Cities Desert Classic Tournament is always one of the more competitive tournaments, and while we don't yet have the brackets or the schedule for that tournament, we do know that it will feature host Cathedral City, Redlands East Valley, Beaumont, Barstow, league rival Palm Desert, Serrano, and Temescal Canyon among others.  The Lions will then play in the always competitive Murrieta Valley Nighthawk Classic Tournament, which this year will feature teams such as Arlington, Chaparral, Fontana, Marina,
Martin Luther King/Riverside, Murrieta Valley, Ontario, Temescal Canyon and Yucaipa.  

From there, it will be on to the massive West Valley tournament.  While we're not quite sure of the format of the West Valley Tournament, it looks like just about every team in Riverside and San Bernardino will be participating in this humongous 10-day tournament.  The teams scheduled to participate include: Banning,  Beaumont, Bloomington, Cathedral City, Elsinore, Hemet, Indio, Moreno Valley, Palm Desert, Palm Springs, Ramona, Rancho Verde, Riverside Poly, Rubidoux, San Jacinto, Santiago/Corona, Serrano, Temecula Valley, Temescal Canyon, Twentynine Palms, Valley View, West Valley, and Yucca Valley.

With as many experienced players returning and some good young guys coming up, this season should be a good one for Cathedral City and they are certainly one of the more talented teams in the league.  Last season, the league standings were spread out pretty much between four teams at the top who all seemed to be in the race for the title, and two others (Palm Desert and Coachella Valley) who struggled and didn't make the playoff.  We don't expect any major shakeups in the league this season, but each team, including even Palm Desert, has at least one and some with many others, who can be dangerous, and you just never know what will happen.  Which of course is why the season is actually played. . . We'll be watching.

 
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