Torribio busy as coach and player

Sure Bob Torribio said he only started a couple of basketball games here and there during his time at Newport Harbor High.

How times have changed for the 1995 graduate.

The playing time is up for Torribio and he can thank the annual Newport Harbor alumni summer tournament for that.

Torribio’s been a regular since the event sprung up in 2001. The seventh-year showcase will be today and Torribio said it brings back graduates as old as Jaime Holmes, Class of 1973.

No wonder Torribio, 30, gets to play more.

“Let’s just say he’s in his 50s,” said Torribio, retracting what he really wanted to say. “He’s a crafty old man.”

Get there early, too.

“I know it’s a Saturday, but we’re starting at 8 a.m.,” said an eager Torribio, sounding as if he wouldn’t be late if it began four hours earlier.

That’s what minutes can do to a player finally coming off that bench.

Aside from preparing for the alumni tournament, Torribio’s been busy with the high school program, assisting Coach Larry Hirst during the summer season and trying to find out if Hirst, 45, will go on sabbatical after this upcoming season.

Hirst, going into his 13th year, said he plans to because he wants to spend more time with his son, Tanner, and watch him play basketball at Edison. He said he doesn’t want to coach against him.

Torribio said he understands why. He and his wife, Jamie, are expecting their first child, a boy, in September.

He couldn’t see himself going against his son.

If Hirst, who’s guided the Sailors to 11 straight playoffs appearances, takes a break, Torribio said he’s interested in the job.

Newport Harbor recently finished second in its own tournament, the George Yardley Summer Cage Classic. Torribio talked about the future, as if he was still a player.

When asked about his playing days, three years on varsity, Torribio reverts back to the alumni event, though. What did you expect? There’s more impressive material to boast about.

“I’ve won it a couple of times,” he said of the tournament, adding that there will be at least eight teams competing this year, but more importantly they’ll be raising money for the basketball program.

Torribio expects some former standouts like point guard Matt Jameson (Class of 1999), a former Miami University of Ohio guard, to play.

Torribio, a former guard, is excited about playing with Jameson, or whoever shows up, as long as they don’t take away his minutes.

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at david.carrillo@latimes.com.