College men’s basketball: The future: Efevberha

BREN EVENTS CENTER - Mike Efevberha, a 6-foot-4 guard who averaged

25.1 points for Ganesha High last season, has signed a national letter of

intent with the UC Irvine men’s basketball program, Anteaters Coach Pat

Douglass said Wednesday.

“Mike is an electrifying scorer who gained recognition throughout his

senior season,” Douglass said in a statement released Wednesday. “He will

be an immediate contributor to our program beginning next season.”

Efevberha, who also averaged 9.3 rebounds per game, earned first-team

All-CIF III-A accolades, after a season that included a career-high

58-point performance in a win over Brea Olinda in December.

Efevberha, who led Ganesha to its first league title since 1987, was

named Most Valuable Player of the Valle Vista League under Coach Joe

Tremblay. Efevberha also earned recognition as the Inland Valley Times’

Player of the Year, and he was selected an all-state player by Cal-Hi

Sports.

Douglass also received the return of Greg Ethington, a 6-8 forward who

signed a scholarship agreement to return to the Anteaters program after

serving a two-year church mission in British Columbia.

Ethington played for UCI in 1999-2000, averaging 3.7 points and 3.4

rebounds en route to his selection on the All-Big West Conference

Freshman team. He started 22 games, scoring a season high of 10 points

twice and grabbing a season best of 11 rebounds in a game. Ethington,

from Gilbert High in Chandler, Ariz., will have three years of

eligibility remaining.