Boys basketball: State of distinction

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - The newsprint is beige around the edges and

memories have been blurred by a decade of everyday bustle. Most of the

pictures, patches and plaques have been packed away by Mom and contact

with one another has become mostly a matter of random chance.

But today, 10 years to the day the Estancia High boys basketball team

won the CIF State Division III championship with an 82-72 triumph over

Washington High of Fremont at the Oakland Coliseum Arena, the

accomplishment echoes loudly through the rarefied air of Newport-Mesa

prep athletic lore.

Not before, nor since, has a Newport-Mesa school captured the ultimate

basketball prize. And the odds against another state crown grow longer in

the current landscape, in which talent pools filter annually to seemingly

the same high-profile programs, both public and private. Indeed, the

homespun wonder of one unit progressing from community playgrounds to the

grand CIF arena stage, has become as likely as a “Hoosiers” sequel.

“I’ve learned to appreciate them more with each passing year,” said

Tim O’Brien, whose five-year coaching tenure with the Eagles (1987-88

through 1991-92) included an astounding 27 postseason games. “It’s the

standard by which I measure all my teams.”

That team, those golden Eagles, were nothing if not standard. Without

a single future four-year college basketball player and lacking imposing

size -- a pair of spindly 6-foot-5 frontcourt players surrounded by a

rotation of 6-footers -- O’Brien’s squad gained no psychological quarter

in pregame layup drills.

But, maniacally competitive, artfully aligned and individually adept

and unselfish, the defending CIF Southern Section 3-AA champions went

29-5, won the Pacific Coast League, lost in the 3-AA section title game,

then beat three section champions in five days, all away from home, to

reign supreme among California’s Division III schools.

“It was definitely a lifetime moment,” said Torrey Hammond, a 6-5

senior starter in ‘91, who saved one of his four double-figure scoring

outputs for the 64-40 Southern California Regional final win over Pomona.

The victory propelled Estancia to Oakland and avenged a 48-45 loss in the

Southern Section final to the Red Devils, a week before at the same Los

Angeles Sports Arena venue.

“It’s become like a fish story,” said Jeff Hokanson, a senior super

sub in ‘91, who dropped a season-high nine points and 11 rebounds on

Fremont, then hosted the team party later that night, after the Estancia

contingent flew back to Orange County. “You know, we probably say we beat

teams by a lot more than we did and all the guys we played against have

grown much bigger.

“But, in the end, it’s something nice to have. I think we all

appreciate it more now than we did then. It’s still something we think

about and talk about, unlike pretty much everything else that happened

during high school.”

O’Brien, who went on to coach seven years at Orange Coast College,

before moving to Irvine-based Northwood High which will enter its second

varsity season with its first senior class next year, recalls much of

what happened between the whistles that special season. But the

reflections he savors most are a string of smaller moments that escaped

the spectators’ gaze.

“It was all the little things they did away from the court that made

the difference,” O’Brien said. “They hung together all the time.”

LINE DRAWN IN THE SAND

Among countless bonding experiences were weekly offseason beach

football games at Newport’s 42nd Street.

“If you thought we were competitive at basketball, you should have

seen the 1991 Estancia Eagles playing football,” said Paul McDaniels, a

senior point guard in ’91. “It was supposedly touch football, but you

could really bend the rules. There was a lot of tackling going on. The

competitiveness in those games was unbelievable. It would be the seniors

against Tim and the rest of the guys. We threw every once in a while, but

we usually ran right at Tim. He’d throw three guys to the ground, then

down the guy with the ball. Easing up wasn’t in his vocabulary.”

Recalled Hokanson, “We’d sit around during the day and draw up plays.

We’d be trying to run the option and everything. But, just like most of

the stuff we did together, it was so fun because we were all such good

friends.”

O’Brien said the football sessions were, at once, a conditioning tool,

a bonding exercise, and sheer, unadulterated fun.

“I had more fun watching the seniors bicker with one another in the

huddle before every play,” he said. “They were always so competitive.”

COMPETING AS ONE

Though consistently cutthroat and combative, O’Brien and his players

said there was never any unhealthy competition for the spotlight.

“Accomplishing what that team did isn’t always about putting the best

players on the court,” O’Brien said. “None of our guys went on to play at

four-year schools, but they were very steady players. (Starters) Mike

Haas and Son Ly later played a year for me at OCC, and guys played other

sports in college. But they grew up together and they really cared about

one another.”

McDaniels, who along with Haas started a multimedia Internet company

they now run in Aliso Niguel, said their strong friendships, and

O’Brien’s guidance, combined to create a unified front on the court.

“Most of us had been playing basketball together since we were 10

years old,” McDaniels said. “We knew where each other would be and we

knew our limitations. And Coach made sure everyone knew their roles.

“I didn’t jack up 20-foot jumpers, because that was Mike’s game, not

mine. And I didn’t try to make any flashy drives along the baseline,

because that was Sonny’s thing. Torrey and Matt knew we needed them to

score inside, rebound and block shots and everyone who came off the bench

knew what they needed to do to contribute.

“We were very well coached and we reacted very well to Tim’s coaching.

We had a synergy that went way beyond what normal high school teams have

and a lot of that should be attributed to Tim O’Brien. And we all got

along, which, I think, had a lot to do with why we succeeded.”

Hokanson, a Cardiff resident, agreed.

“We were the kind of team that didn’t look very good getting off the

bus,” Hokanson said. “We had some good athletes, but we were more of a

good unit. It was fun going against teams with guys who outsized us and

were even better athletes and beating them.

“I wonder, sometimes, how someone would feel about being on teams that

went 3-30 in high school. Luckily, we’ll never know.”

THE PERSONALITY PROFILES

Hokanson, largely recognized as the group’s social secretary, was

asked to relate some insights into the character of the teammates who

made up the primary playing rotation.

*On McDaniels, who averaged 8.8 points per game: “I think Paul was the

leader. He was quiet in the way he led, but everyone looked up to him. He

was another guy who went out of his way to make sure everyone would get

together and do things off the court.

“Basketball-wise, he was our best athlete. He had speed, strength, the

whole package. It was important to have that from our point guard.”

*On Haas, a 6-1 shooting guard who averaged 13.3 points, including

career-high 32 in the SoCal regional opener at San Diego Section champion

Ramona and 27 in the state title game: “He was our ego, the spice of our

team. He was never afraid to shoot with the pressure on. Love him or hate

him, he brought the kind of confidence every good team needs.”

*On Fuerbringer, a 6-5 junior center who averaged 16.2 points and went

on to earn All-CIF honors and become an Orange County All-Star: “I would

say he was our glue, because he was so consistent. I don’t ever remember

a time when he got disciplined for not showing up to play. When the

pressure was on, he never let off the gas. He also had a lot of athletic

ability.”

*On Ly, a slashing 5-11 forward who averaged 12.5 points and whose

quickness made him a valuable defender: “He was pure energy. He didn’t

speak up a lot, but he just never got tired. His skills came a long way

in high school and he matured late in his career. He’s the one guy who

probably still plays the most basketball and has the most game. He’s a

freak of nature who will probably be running circles around other guys

when he’s 60.”

*On Hammond, who averaged 5.0 points: “He had a big body and he always

played hard. He was physical inside and we needed that. He was never

concerned about how many points he scored, which is the kind of guy every

team needs. Coach O’Brien was really good about keeping guys like Torrey

going by giving them a lot of positive feedback. (O’Brien) was as happy

for a guy who took three charges, as he was for the guy who was filling

it up.”

*On himself, who led the bench brigade: “I took pride in D-ing up.

Whether I wanted to score or not, I knew concentrating on anything but

defense would not bode well for my playing time. I was usually the guy

guarding the biggest, tallest guy on the other team, stepping on his feet

or grabbing his shorts. But I was just glad to be a part of it.”

*On Tim Leonard, a 5-10 senior reserve guard: “He’s still a great

friend of mine and another big contributor. He came off the bench and

consistently handled the tempo. He could have been the starting point

guard at a lot of schools.”

*On Tim Pieper, a 5-10 senior reserve: “He was happy to come in and be

an offensive sniper, or just grind it out on defense.”

Hokanson said the remaining bench players all worked hard in practice,

but he singled out Albert Huang, a 6-0 senior, as being particularly

intense at virtually every workout.

SUCCESS BEYOND THE COURT

Though most of the team’s future basketball experiences involved

intramurals or pickup games, it did produce professional athletes in

three other sports.

McDaniels, who hit one of the biggest home runs in Estancia history as

a freshman to key a stunning CIF playoff upset of La Quinta, went on to

play baseball at OCC and the University of San Francisco.

He played two seasons professionally as an outfielder in the Boston

Red Sox organization, for the single-A Lowell (Mass.) Spinners and the

Battle Creek-based Michigan Battle Cats.

Fuerbringer went on to become a four-time volleyball All-American at

Stanford, where he won one national championships and wound up becoming

the all-time kills leader for the Cardinal.

He has played professionally on the beach, as well as indoors and

currently is playing indoors in Spain, after two seasons in Vienna,

Austria.

Leonard accepted a tennis scholarship to Texas Christian University

and later played professionally on the satellite tour.

Beyond athletics, Hammond is currently finishing dental school at Loma

Linda University.

McDaniels obtained a degree in finance from USF, while Haas graduated

from Arizona and Hokanson, a sales representative for a large

pharmaceutical company, earned a law degree from UCSB.

Ly is working with the disabled, according to Hokanson, who also said

Leonard has owned his own business since hanging up his racquet.

O’Brien said he still hears from his former players periodically and

has yet to hear anything but good news.

Whether another Newport-Mesa high school team makes similar news on

the court, remains to be seen. But, thanks to the 1990-91 Estancia Eagles, March 16 should always remain an anniversary date to remember.