In the Shadows : They’ve Got the Skills, They’ve Got the Stats, but These Players Don’t Get the Attention the Stars Do
They aren’t on the preseason recruiting lists and are rarely the subjects of feature stories or profiles.
Yet, they can be stars on poor teams or secondary players in the shadows of greatness. The general public may not know their names, but their coaches do.
They are underrated players, the ones who are appreciated by their teammates if not by anyone else.
Who are Orange County’s best unknowns, the ones deserving of a few moments in the spotlight?
Oscar Monticinos San Clemente Boys’ Basketball
His name popped out of nowhere, but its implications for San Clemente in a tough 64-58 South Coast league loss to Capistrano Valley recently were obvious with one look at the scorebook.
Despite the loss, unheralded Triton point guard Oscar Monticinos had scored a career-high 17 points before fouling out, making seven of 11 field-goal attempts, including a three-pointer that led to a brief San Clemente rally. There were several assists and steals, making it a career day all around for the heady 5-7, 150-pound junior in his first season on the varsity.
Monticinos is the type of player all coaches want. His intangible contributions--defense, ballhandling, court smarts--are immeasurable.
“He’s a tough, hard-nosed kid. He hates to lose,” Triton Coach Ed Coyle said. “When the game is on the line, he is there for you.”
San Clemente has its big guns. It’s Monticinos’ role to get them the ball. Jan Tatala ranks among county leaders in scoring at 17.6 points and rebounding at 8.6 a game. Semaj Johnson is averaging 15.7 points). In the last few weeks Monticinos has raised his assist average to 4.35.
“Right now my role is to be a leader out there and have someone score so we can win,” Monticinos said. “I want our school to get as much respect as possible for our sports. We haven’t been getting that much.”
The rise of Monticinos has been a pleasant surprise for eighth-ranked San Clemente. However, Coyle said he had an inkling Monticinos would turn out OK. After all, Monticinos plays three sports. He was a wide receiver for the football team and is a utility infielder/outfielder in baseball.
“I knew he was a great competitor,” Coyle said. “He doesn’t shoot the ball as much as the other players do; his job is to get it to other players, but his shooting ability has improved as the year has gone on.
“He is a heady player. One thing about Oscar, when he makes a mistake, he usually recovers quickly from it. If he loses the ball, he usually can force them into a mistake to make up for it.”
Tatala says Monticinos has become an important performer for the Tritons because of his work ethic.
“He’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Tatala said. “He’s always getting after it in practice and he has a huge heart. For a guy who didn’t even play varsity last year to step up and be the starting point guard. . . . he just has a huge heart.”