ATHLETE OF THE WEEK : Lofton Provides Right Answers as the Big Man at El Camino Real

El Camino Real was preparing for its Valley League game against Cleveland last week when Coach Mike McNulty approached Conquistadore forward Brent Lofton about a position change.

“Hey, Lofton,” McNulty said. “I want you to bring the ball up against Cleveland’s press.”

Most forwards would have stutter-stepped at the idea of trying to dribble against one of the area’s toughest defenses but not Lofton.

“Right coach,” he said.

Just before the game started, McNulty and Lofton had another talk. “Hey, Lofton,” McNulty said. “We need you to grab 20 rebounds.”

Most point guards would have passed at the idea of trying to manage 20 rebounds.

“Right, coach,” he said again.

Add to that the 20 points Lofton was expected to score and it would have been understandable if Lofton came up with some mysterious ailment that would have kept him out of the game. Instead, he did everything McNulty asked and more.

“I was nervous,” Lofton said. “But I wasn’t going to let them intimidate me.”

Lofton scored 27 points, grabbed 21 rebounds and had only 1 turnover in El Camino Real’s 88-66 loss to Cleveland. “He handled the ball like he’s been playing point guard all his life,” El Camino assistant Jeff Davis said.

The 6-4 junior was El Camino’s point guard in their playoff victory over San Pedro last year, but has only played forward this season. Last year, it looked as though Lofton was destined to be a small guard--he was only 5-11 at the end of the season. Lofton, however, sprouted five inches over the off-season.

“Kids grow like weeds,” Davis said. “Who knows in September how big he’s going to be?”

No matter what the size, Lofton is already the Conquistadores’ big man. He is averaging 21.9 points and 11.9 rebounds a game. “He’s the best junior that I’ve ever seen here,” McNulty said. “I knew he’d be good but I didn’t know he’d be so good so soon.”

Lofton slowed Cleveland’s half-court offense by grabbing 15 defensive rebounds. And although El Camino lost, Lofton felt the team played well against Cleveland, ranked No. 4 in the state. Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell, upset at the way his team played, sent them to the showers afterward instead of letting them shake the hands of the El Camino players.

“That showed that we played really well,” Lofton said. “They didn’t shake our hands so I guess we did something right.”

Right, Lofton.