Boys’ basketball: Reggie Morris Jr. is the ‘Wizard of the South Bay’

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Anyone following high school basketball in Los Angeles knows that Reggie Morris was a good coach. He had success at Manual Arts during the glory days of City Section basketball when the Toilers were competing with Crenshaw for elite status.

But his son, Reggie Morris Jr., has become the ‘Wizard of the South Bay.’

Morris directed Leuzinger and St. Bernard to Southern Section championships, and now in his first year as coach at Redondo, he has his team one win away from competing for the 2A title. The Sea Kings host Arroyo Grande on Tuesday night and a victory would send them into the 2 p.m. championship game on Saturday at the Anaheim Convention Center against the winner of Tesoro-Westlake.

There was talent when Morris arrived, with returnees Derek Biale and Ian Fox. Then sophomore point guard Cameron High received a hardship waiver to gain immediate eligibility after transferring from St. Bernard.

On Jan. 5, it became apparent that Redondo (21-8) was on the rise when the Sea Kings almost upset unbeaten Bishop Montgomery, 60-58. They’ve won 14 consecutive games since that defeat.

Westlake (25-4) is seeded No. 1 and could be difficult to beat behind the hot shooting of Larry Bush and Marcos Soto.

-- Eric Sondheimer