PREP WEDNESDAY: BOYS’ BASKETBALL 1992-93 : TOP PLAYERS : Monarchs at the Head of Class, but There Are Many Followers

The 1992-93 high school basketball season is upon us, which likely means another Southern Section championship for Mater Dei High School.

Here are the Monarchs . . .

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That championship season: Is there anyone out there who doesn’t believe Mater Dei will run away with another section championship?

Well, for those who may have been living in a cave the past decade, here’s a rundown of the team’s roster:

--Guard Miles Simon, a 6-foot-4 junior. He is an outstanding outside shooter who is already being recruited by major colleges. Coaches from North Carolina and Duke are scheduled to come watch him practice in the next two weeks.

--Guard David Drakeford, a 6-1 senior, has signed with Oregon State.

--Forward Marmet Williams, a 6-6 senior, has signed with San Jose State.

--Guard Kamran Sufi, a 5-10 senior, has signed with St. Mary’s.

--Guard Chris Jackson, a 6-3 senior, has signed with UC Riverside.

--Center Terence Wilborn, a 6-7 junior, is a solid inside player who is being wooed by several Division I schools.

--Then there’s DeVaughn Wright, a 6-7 center who played on the junior varsity last season. Still, he already has signed a letter of intent with Cal State Fullerton.

With all that talent, Coach Gary McKnight must be dusting off a spot in that already crowded trophy case, right?

“We’re still young,” McKnight said.

Right. Young and unbeatable.

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And, now, the competitive end of the Orange County high school basketball scene, where parity is all the rage.

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Growing pains: It must take Ernie Wilson some time to fit into his basketball uniform at El Modena.

Wilson is listed as a 5-10 running back on the Vanguard football roster. When he heads into basketball season, he becomes a 6-1 guard.

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To the point: Good point guards, the guys who run the show, are few and far between. But there are some around.

--Anthony Porter, a 5-8 senior at Santa Ana Valley. Steady and quick. He will not have to shoulder as much scoring burden this season.

--Chris St. Clair, a 6-0 senior at Sonora. Could be the best player north of Mater Dei.

--David Sedgwick, a 6-2 senior at Capistrano Valley. He was superb in the 1-AA playoffs last season and will probably lead the Cougars to a second-place finish in the South Coast League behind, of course, Mater Dei.

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Achtung, baby: Fabian Bohne, a 6-2 reserve forward at Corona del Mar, is worth watching, in practice, if nowhere else.

Bohne, an exchange student from Germany, is flashy, with no-look passes being his specialty. Of course, he now finds himself playing for Paul Orris, whose conservative nature is best described by the fact that the Sea Kings once lost a 3-A championship game, 39-38 . . . in overtime.

It’s not a personality clash, yet, but Bohne already has caused Orris to gnash his teeth a few times.

“We’ve been trying to break him of those bad habits,” Orris said. “I guess over there everyone is real big on Magic Johnson-style of basketball.”

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Next stop, Trabuco Hills: Rainer Wulf must live right.

Last season, he received Gavin Vanderputten, a 6-11 transfer from Australia and won the II-A title. This season, help came from a little closer to home.

Matt Moore, a 6-6 center, transferred from Capistrano Valley. Derek Uhl, a 6-5 forward, transferred from Mater Dei. Jerron White, a 6-1 guard, transferred from Cambridge, Md.

Enough, you say? Well, the forward-my-mail brigade also includes assistant coach Greg Haskell, who was the head coach at Savanna last season.

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A few that Rainer missed: There seem to be more transfers than on a bus ride to the valley.

Among them are:

--Amir Korangy, a 6-5 forward from Washington, D.C., and Mike Randall, a 6-0 guard from Los Angeles Palisades. Both are at Ocean View.

--Greg Foster, a 6-2 swingman from Colorado, is at Irvine.

--Jovan Robinson, a 6-2 forward from Mississippi, is at Santa Ana Valley.

Apparently, none of them had Trabuco Hills’ address.

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It’s personal: Mater Dei assistant coach Dave Taylor was the most valuable player on the San Clemente basketball team in 1974-75. But the banner that honored Triton MVPs has been removed from the gymnasium.

Mater Dei plays at San Clemente on Jan. 22 and school officials might do well to rummage for the banner.

“Dave’s a little bitter about that,” McKnight said. “It would probably be best for them to put the banner back up.”

Translation: Taylor is responsible for orchestrating the Monarchs’ pressure defense. San Clemente was 8-17 last season.

It could get ugly.

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Big men? But of course: What would a basketball preview be without those wing-span guys?

Eric Ambrozich, a 6-7 center at Irvine, is the early-season pick as the best. Wilborn and Chris Campbell, a 6-7 senior at Sonora, are right behind.

One to watch down the road is Craig Clark, a 6-10 sophomore at Sonora. He’ll be good as a senior. Right now, he merely looks good in uniform.

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That other sport: It’s tough to talk about anything other than football around Esperanza and Los Alamitos these days. But for a change of pace, consider this:

Mike Thimgan, a 6-3 guard at Esperanza, and Steve Carbone, a 6-2 guard at Los Alamitos, have their first showdown on Jan. 15.

It won’t be as monumental as the football clash between those schools, but it should be fun.

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Start (me) or my mom will shoot: Father and son combos will thrive this season.

Ocean View Coach Jim Harris starts son Jim Harris, a 6-0 senior guard.

McKnight has son Clay McKnight, a 6-2 sophomore guard, on the varsity.

Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton has son Todd Thornton, a 5-11 junior guard, on the varsity.

Also with the Cougars is Brian Scoggin, a 6-2 junior forward, whose father, Steve, is an assistant coach for the team.

The one coach who won’t sweat it, at least this season, is Golden West College Coach Jim Greenfield. He only has to watch his son, Greg Greenfield, who is a 6-0 sophomore forward at La Quinta.

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Entertainment tonight: Nothing fancy or unusual about these guys. They just play really well.

--Corey Kost, a 6-3 forward at Capistrano Valley. He’ll be responsible for most of the assists Sedgwick gets.

--Jeff Cummins, a 6-4 forward at Kennedy. If the Fighting Irish win the Garden Grove League--and many think they will--credit Cummins. He’s a one-man show.

--Jim Faulkner, a 6-4 forward at Estancia. Unlike Cummins, Faulkner won’t single-handedly lead his team to a league title. But he’s worth the price of admission.

--Dejuan Matthews, a 6-2 guard at Tustin. He transferred from McKnight’s stable at Mater Dei and should thrive on his own.

--Eric Vallely, a 6-1 guard at Newport Harbor. He’s a tremendous shooter, just like his dad, John Vallely, who was a standout at UCLA.

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The young and the relentless: Two freshmen playing varsity to keep tabs on: Olujimi Mann, a 6-4 guard at Mater Dei, and Bob Dreyer, a 6-4 forward at Saddleback.

More on them later, like next season.