Programming Note : Cavaco, Villa Park Hope to Erase Memories of Last Year

Point guard Isaiah Cavaco has viewed the videotape that Villa Park Coach Kevin Reynolds keeps in his office adjacent to the Spartan gymnasium.

The thought of watching that 47-39 loss to Trabuco Hills in the opening round of last year’s Southern Section boys’ basketball playoffs again makes Cavaco and his teammates shudder, but Reynolds threatens to bring it out during practices or before games, any time he feels the Spartans need a wake-up call.

Cavaco, 6 feet 1, can’t forget how the Spartans blew a nine-point lead in the third quarter against the Mustangs and were eliminated from the playoffs by an opponent with a .500 record.

Villa Park, 18-6 last season, was making its first playoff appearance in 20 years. Forward Mike Vogeding bluntly calls it a choke job. Cavaco, more or less, agrees. And together, the seven remaining seniors who suffered through that difficult experience want to make up for it by putting together the best season in school history.

The second-ranked Spartans are well on their way toward that goal. They’re 10-3 and the favorites heading into their Century League opener Friday against Foothill.

Cavaco, a transfer from Mater Dei who has committed to attend Yale next season, has been at the heart of the team’s success. He’s one of the county’s assist leaders--averaging 7.2 a game--but more importantly, he provides intangible qualities Reynolds admires.

“He gives us leadership,” Reynolds said. “He’s like a coach on the floor.”

Cavaco, who was born in Honolulu, came to the mainland in 1993 with his mother, after his parents separated, and they settled about a mile from Villa Park High. But he chose to enroll at Mater Dei and for more than two years tried to crack the Monarchs’ varsity lineup. It was a difficult road. Cavaco found himself in competition with, among other players, Kevin Augustine, The Times Orange County player of the year in 1996.

“Behind Kevin, I was not going to get a lot of playing time,” Cavaco said.

Three weeks into his junior year, Cavaco transferred to Villa Park.

He was warmly accepted by his teammates from Day 1.

“In one word, he gives us poise,” said Matt Poutsma, who gladly gave up his point guard position to Cavaco and returned to off-guard. “He’s never in a hurry. He’s always looking for the best option, and he is great under pressure.”

Said Vogeding: “Isaiah is exactly what we needed to become a great team. He can take control of the game and he knows how to break the press and bring the ball up. He has great court sense.”

Eric Chenowith, the Spartans’ 7-foot center who has committed to play at Kansas, has, perhaps, reaped the most benefits from Cavaco’s play. Without the worries of defending a true point guard, opponents constantly threw double- and triple-teams at Chenowith during his sophomore season. Not anymore.

“The main object is to get Eric one on one in the post,” Poutsma said. “If they double-team him, then that leaves the wing or Isaiah or me open.”

Chenowith is averaging 18.5 points and leads the county in rebounding, averaging 14.4. Reynolds, however, doesn’t hesitate when asked about Cavaco’s value to the team.

“Frankly, he will be harder to replace than Eric,” Reynoldssaid. “A lot of what Eric does comes right from things that Isaiah is doing.”

If Cavaco has a weakness this season, it’s that he isn’t looking to shoot as much.

Said Beardsley: “Maybe he’s a little too unselfish, there are times when he should shoot the ball more.”

Cavaco admits it’s true. He averaged 10 points last season but is well below that.

“I see my roll as the utilityman,” Cavaco said. “The first eight games I was not looking to shoot. I know I need to look to put the ball up more now that league is starting.”

Cavaco and his teammates say they want to win the Century League title outright this year to prove that last season was no fluke. Three forfeits by Santa Ana Valley at the end of the season a year ago handed Villa Park the Century title by default. Then came the stunning loss to Trabuco Hills in the playoffs.

“I don’t think a lot of people really respect us for last year because of all the forfeits,” Cavaco said. “That’s another challenge. We’re still the underdogs in everyone’s eyes. We may be the favorites in the eyes of outsiders [like reporters], but we believe we have something to prove.”