Locals loaded with talent

For most high school boys’ basketball teams, league play started last week.

Brethren Christian and Ocean View are looking to defend league titles. And, with those two teams, plus Huntington Beach and Marina High, advancing at least to the CIF quarterfinals a year ago, plenty of talent remains in the area.

Here is a look at the area teams as league play commences.

Brethren Christian

Coach: Jon Bahnsen

Key returners: Austin Wenger (Sr.); Austin Loeb (Sr.); Daniel Healy (Jr.).

Key newcomers: Riley Thomas (Jr.); Jack Killelea (Sr.).

Outlook: The Warriors (12-4, 2-0), ranked No. 3 in the CIF Southern Section Division V-A poll, are looking to defend their Academy League title and already have a crucial win over St. Margaret’s last week.

They won the Orangewood Academy tournament, with Loeb and Wenger named most valuable players. They took eighth at the Irvine World News tournament, including a big win over Woodbridge, and third in the Desert Heat Invitational tournament in Palm Springs (Loeb and Wenger were all-tournament).

Wenger (6-foot-4) and Loeb (6-foot-8) are returning first-team All-League players. They average about 18 points a game, with Loeb also getting 13 rebounds. With four players at 6-foot-4 or taller, the dangerous Warriors have a lot of size. They want to make it past the CIF quarterfinals, where their season ended a year ago.

“On paper, we should be the team to beat [in league],” Bahsen said. “But league play is always tough, especially on the road. There are a lot of good coaches in the Academy League. St. Margaret’s, Whitney and Sage Hill will be the toughest challenges in league.”

Edison

Coach: Rich Boyce (10th year)

Key returners: Dylan Garrity (Jr.); Ryan Walker (Jr.); Max Prendergast (Sr.); Ryan Smith (Sr.); Matt Viles (Sr.); Jeff Trojan (Sr.)

Outlook: The loss of UC Santa Barbara-bound senior Kyle Boswell, who owns both the Chargers single-season and career scoring records, was obviously a big blow.

But behind a scoring attack led largely by Garrity and Prendergast, Edison can still be effective.

The Chargers showed it Friday night at defending league champion Los Alamitos, holding an early lead and staying in the game throughout a 43-34 loss.

Edison, ranked No. 2 in the CIF Southern Section Division II-AA poll, won its first 14 games and won three tournaments in December.

“We feel sorry about Kyle, but these 10 guys are the ones who are playing,” Boyce said. “We have to work on that.”

Fountain Valley

Coach: Chris Gray (seventh year)

Key returners: Brandon Moss (Jr.); Nam Pham (Sr.); Robbie Daquilla (Sr.)

Key newcomers: Daulton Daniels (Sr.); Adam Renth (Sr.); Ardelan Ghassemi (Sr.)

Outlook: Gray knows the Sunset League will be tough. A big test may be Friday against Marina, as both teams could battle for a playoff spot.

“The Barons will be very competitive and hope to make a push for the playoffs,” Gray said. “Hopefully, our tough preseason tournaments will help us in league.”

Huntington Beach

Coach: Fabian Luna (fourth year)

Key returners: Jordan Castaneda (Jr.); Jordan Reise (Jr.)

Key newcomers: DaVontay Hennix (Jr.); Andrew Tenbrink (Fr.)

Outlook: The Oilers have gone 46-11 over the past two years. This year, they’re young, with just one senior on the roster. But they have already been battle-tested in the preseason, playing in the Ocean View Tournament of Champions, as well as the Maxpreps tournament in San Diego.

Castaneda, a point guard, has verbally committed to Montana State. He was a sixth man on last year’s team, which lost a heartbreaker to Marina in the CIF quarterfinals. Luna looks to next year — when the team should be strong and return nearly everyone — as a good time to return to the Sunset League.

For now, the Oilers are 2-0 in a very competitive Sea View League after edging Trabuco Hills on Tuesday night. Hennix, a transfer from Villa Park, has had some good scoring games.

“We’ve had a lot of close, tight losses,” Luna said. “We’re kind of struggling to finish in games right now. Talent-wise, we have a lot of potential, but we’re kind of young still, and top to bottom the league’s pretty tough. You don’t have too many nights off.”

Marina

Coach: Roger Holmes (16th year)

Key returners: Brendan Holmes (Sr.); Tyler James (Sr.); J.J. James (So.)

Key newcomers: Dane Okuda (Sr.)

Outlook: The Vikings will continue to look to push the tempo again this year. Last year, they fell in the CIF semifinals but key returners include Brendan Holmes, who is averaging 20.9 points per game and has already made 58 three-pointers in 16 games. J.J. James (13.1) and Okuda (12.8) also average double-digit points. Marina topped Esperanza, 68-54, in its league opener and Roger Holmes was happy with the win.

“Our most balanced game of the year, as far as playing well on both ends of the floor,” he said. “It was a good way to open league, that’s for sure.”

Despite Boswell’s injury, Los Alamitos and Edison are considered front-runners for the Sunset League crown.

“In our league, you’ve got to play every night or you have a chance to lose,” Holmes said. “You can’t take a night off, or you’re in trouble.”

Ocean View

Coach: Jim Harris (32nd year) and Jimmy Harris (13th year)

Key returners: Anthony Brown (Sr.); Avery Johnson (Sr.); Ryan Okwudibonye (Sr.); Aaron Delgado (Sr.); Steven Yoon (Sr.); Billy Keller (Jr.); Cristian Rivera (So.).

Outlook: The immense talent of Brown, a University of Arizona commit, and Johnson typically shines through for the Seahawks. They like to push the ball and those two can be seen dunking in games with regularity.

But the supporting pieces are also important for the Seahawks, who return four starters from the defending Golden West League and CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA championship team that who advanced to the CIF State Division III title game a year ago. Okwudibonye is effective inside at 6-foot-8, while Delgado, Yoon and Keller cause steals, dish the ball and help fuel Ocean View’s fast break. Jim Harris has called Delgado the glue that holds the team together.

With just one significant loss to graduation in point guard Mason Jones, expectations are again high for this year. In league, the Seahawks should be most challenged by Segerstrom, which hosted Ocean View Wednesday.

Ocean View has already finished second at its own prestigious Tournament of Champions and beat a good La Verne Lutheran team Saturday night at the Pangos Dream Classic. The Seahawks are ranked No. 1 in Division III-AA.

The Seahawks are going to score points but Jim Harris said defensively his team has been improving.

“I think we’re getting better,” Harris said. “I know we are, defensively. In December, we weren’t playing defense like we did last year. It wasn’t as if we weren’t working hard, but it wasn’t coordinated, the effort I just think we’ll keep getting better and better.”