Irvine Valley’s Porter Adjusting to Role

Josh Porter has had several roles as a basketball player at Mater Dei High and at Irvine Valley College.

But there’s no doubt his current position at Irvine Valley is his favorite.

Porter, a 6-foot-4 sophomore swing-player, leads the team in scoring at 14 points per game and is also a captain.

Porter’s assignment has changed considerably from last season when he was one of four players on the court for the purpose of passing the ball to center Keon Clark, who then-Irvine Valley Coach Bill Mulligan said had a chance to be a lottery pick in the NBA draft.

Clark has since transferred to Dixie College in Utah. He hoped to transfer to Nevada Las Vegas in mid-December, but is currently academically ineligible.

After last season, Porter faced a decision when Mulligan announced he was retiring.

The college took until mid-summer to select Jerry Hernandez to replace Mulligan, and by then Porter was the only player still with the program.

He had considered transferring but it would have meant he would have to sit out a season.

“I didn’t want to redshirt,” Porter said. “I was afraid I would loose touch with basketball and not come back.”

Plus, Porter knew and liked Hernandez. They met when Hernandez was an assistant at Cal Poly Pomona and recruited Porter out of high school. Unfortunately for both, the entire Pomona staff was released after the head coach was fired.

Hernandez returned to Cerritos College as an assistant for a season before getting the Irvine Valley job.

“He’s really poised,” Hernandez said of Porter. “He’s been a joy to coach. He’s such a big part of things. For us to beat people, he has to make an impact.”

Once Hernandez took over, he quickly assembled a team and the Lasers are a surprising 11-10 overall and 2-2 in conference.

“I’ve had to made a lot of new friends in a hurry,” Porter said. “I’m not used to being a leader, but it has really made me mature.”

The start of Porter’s basketball career was far more humbling than for most kids.

He was among more than 100 players going out for freshman basketball at Mater Dei High six years ago and said he felt lucky to make the team.

He continued to progress and made the varsity as a junior but spent most of the time on the bench.

Finally, as a senior he had earned a starting spot for the Monarchs, one of the most successful boys’ programs in Orange County history.

Porter’s glee didn’t last long though. Early in the season, he found out that freshman Schea Cotton was transferring to the school, banishing Porter to the bench. Cotton, who helped Mater Dei to two Southern Section championships and one state title, has since transferred back to Bellflower St. John Bosco High.

“At first I was a little upset,” Porter said. “But I played against him everyday in practice and I knew how good he was. In games, he was dunking on everyone and scoring 30, so I couldn’t be too upset.”

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This week: The wrecking ball that is the Saddleback women’s basketball team continues to demolish opponents. The Gauchos (17-0, 4-0) have beaten their first four conference opponents by an average of 30 points.

Saddleback, ranked second in the state, is at Cypress (5-14, 0-4) Wednesday then hosts Golden West (13-9, 3-1) Friday. Both games are at 7:30 p.m.

Golden West, which has won six consecutive conference titles, started poorly this season but has won 10 of its last 13 games.

In men’s games: Rancho Santiago (13-8, 1-3) will try to break an uncharacteristic three-game losing streak at Fullerton (7-13, 0-4) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Saddleback (16-3) and Riverside (21-3) are tied for first at 4-0 and don’t meet until the final game of the first round, Jan. 24 at Riverside.

Saddleback is at Cypress (9-12, 1-3) Wednesday and hosts Golden West (12-12, 2-2) Friday. Riverside is at Golden West Wednesday and at Fullerton Friday. All games are at 5:30 p.m.

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All-American: Wendy Polnaszek, a sophomore defender from the Cypress women’s soccer team, was selected first-team All-American by the National Soccer Coaches Assn. of America.

Polnaszek, who led all Orange County players with eight assists last season, also was a first-team All-Orange Empire Conference pick.