They played there. Now they are coaching there. And they want to win CIF-SS championships there.
Eddie Courtemarche and Marc Popovich are among several Orange County high school boys basketball coaches who are coaching at their alma mater.
Courtemarche is in his fifth season coaching Los Alamitos, where he was a standout player. He graduated in 2001.
Popovich is in his eighth season coaching at San Clemente, from where he graduated in 1998. He is the longest-tenured coach in the school’s boys basketball history
Courtemarche, who teaches economics and government at Los Alamitos, said it can be awkward being on the teaching staff with people who were his teachers.
“I still call them ‘Mr. this’ or “Mrs. that,’” he said. “Sometimes they don’t like that.”
Los Alamitos and San Clemente are in Division 1AA in these playoffs. The teams that were ranked 1-8 in Division 1AA were selected to play in the elite Open Division, but that doesn’t mean 1AA is a weak division. There are 11 league champions in the 32-team bracket.
Courtermarche coached the Griffins this season to a co-championship of the Sunset League, of which they were solo champions last year. San Clemente won the Sea View League championship this season after winning it last year for the Tritons’ first title since 1975.
Popovich and Courtemarche are working toward CIF-Southern Section championships now.
“That would be the most fun,” Popovich said. “That’s the dream.”
Every coach and team has that dream. Here is a division-by-division prediction of which teams will make the dream come true in the playoffs that begin Wednesday.
(Note: Fryer went 7-5 with his predictions for the 2014 boys basketball playoffs.)
OPEN DIVISION
2014 champion: Mater Dei
Top seeds: 1. Bishop Montgomery of Torrance; 2. Mater Dei; 3. Sierra Canyon of Chatsworth; 4. Centennial of Corona
Outook: This is the most challenging division in California. Bishop Montgomery is 26-1 and is led by one of the state’s top players, senior guard Stevie Thompson Jr., who signed with Oregon State. Mater Dei misses Stanley Johnson – who wouldn’t, right? – but has players such as Rex Pflueger and MJ Cage and a team-first attitude that can win this division. And don’t think Orange Lutheran is in over its head, because the well-coached Lancers have athletes – C.J. Hankins, Rogers Printup and Keisan Lucier-South – who can play with anyone.
Final 4: Bishop Montgomery; Orange Lutheran; Sierra Canyon; Mater Dei
Champion: Bishop Montgomery
DIVISION 1AA
2014 champion: Long Beach Poly
Top seeds: 1. Great Oak of Temecula; 2. Village Christian of Sun Valley; 3. Tustin; 4. Santa Margarita
Outlook: If junior point guard Noah Rasheed is healthy enough to make the large contributions he is capable of making, Santa Margarita will go deep in this division. Elusive point guard T.J. Shorts and shooting guard George Wilson are proven winners at Tustin, which also plays defense as well as any team around. When its big three of Jack Kaub, Ryan Kusch and Eyassu Worku are clicking, Los Alamitos is difficult to beat.
Final 4: Great Oak; Los Alamitos; Tustin; Village Christian
Champion: Village Christian
DIVISION 1A
2014 champion: Martin Luther King of Riverside
Top seeds: 1. Loyola of Los Angeles; 2. Foothill; 3. Westlake of Westlake Village; 4. Edison
Outlook: Loyola, led by UC Irvine-signee and point guard Max Hazzard, tied for second with Crespi of Encino in the Mission League, which is one of the better leagues in California. A fine first-round matchup: Villa Park, which can be better than its 0-6 record in the Crestview League would indicate, at Westminster, which stars the county’s leading scorer, Tyler Burch. Edison’s corps of guards that includes A.J. Garrity, Brae Ivey and Jake Haar is tremendous. Foothill gets great play from a large number of players, including forward Eric Patton and guards Reed Nakakihara and Riley O’Hern.
Final 4: Loyola; Edison; Westlake; Foothill
Champion: Foothill
DIVISION 2AA
2014 champion: Canyon
Top seeds: 1. Thousand Oaks; 2. Glendora; 3. Ayala; 4. Lawndale
Outlook: Thousand Oaks (24-3) won the championship of a good league, the Marmonte League. Garden Grove, with Colin O’Farrell, Paul Singh and Felix Ramirez leading the way, is very good but likely will have to play Thousand Oaks in the second round. Tesoro, for which Nick Pallas has been a steady scorer, rebounder and shot blocker, also is in Thousand Oaks’ corner of the bracket. Nick Anderson and Canyon play a first-round away game at Oak Hills of Hesperia, but could go deep if the Comanches survive that one.
Final 4: Thousand Oaks; Canyon; Glendora; Lawndale
Champion: Thousand Oaks
DIVISION 2A
2014 champion: Calabasas
Top seeds: 1. La Mirada; 2. Santa Barbara; 3. Colony of Ontario; 4. Compton
Outlook: La Mirada has beaten some excellent teams such as Sonora and Orange Lutheran and has a familiar name on the roster – Kendall Lauderdale, who transferred from Orange Lutheran. Perhaps the best first-round matchup of county teams is El Modena at Savanna on Friday. El Mo’s Legend Demps and Savanna’s Michael Enis are among the county scoring leaders. Compton has wins over Santa Margarita, Tesoro and Lawndale.
Final 4: La Mirada; Compton; Colony; Santa Barbara
Champion: La Mirada
DIVISION 3AA
2014 champion: Santa Margarita
Top seeds: 1. Sonora; 2. Gahr of Cerritos; 3. Bonita of La Verne; 4. San Marcos of Santa Barbara
Outlook: Damien was No. 1 in this division’s rankings, but Damien was selected to the Open Division. That makes Sonora, 2A runnerup last season, the favorites. The Raiders have the players required to win it, including point guard Josh Rodriguez, shooting guard Ben Rico and Christian Rhodes who, style- and skill-wise, is almost Rodriguez’s twin. This division has two of the county’s better juniors, Yorba Linda’s Isaac Douglass (18 ppg) and El Dorado’s Elijah Mosham (20 ppg).
Final 4: Sonora; Palm Springs; Bonita; Gahr.
Champion: Sonora
DIVISION 3A
2014 champion: Oak Park
Top seeds: 1. Beverly Hills; 2. Corona del Mar; 3. Tahquitz of Hemet; 4. Esperanza
Outlook: Beverly Hills is 21-4, with those losses coming to top teams El Camino Real of Woodland Hills, Compton, Westchester and St. John Bosco in December. Corona del Mar is a well-rounded team that gets scoring from a number of players, including Sam Kobrine, Matt Ctvrlik, Bo St. Geme and Kevin Fults. If good competition makes you better, than watch out for Servite and the Friars’ outstanding guard, Trevor Treinen. That can be said, too, of Crestview League representative Esperanza and Jarrett Brodbeck who is a candidate for All-County first team. It could be Esperanza and Servite in the quarterfinals – and the student-sections action alone would be worth the price of admission.
Final 4: Beverly Hills; Servite; Tahquitz; Corona del Mar
Champion: Beverly Hills
DIVISION 4AA
2014 champion: JSerra
Top seeds: 1. Crespi; 2. Mission Prep of San Luis Obispo; 3. Chaminade of West Hills; 4. Oaks Christian of Westlake Village
Outlook: JSerra lost four starters from last year’s team, went 0-10 in the Trinity League but still is seeded No. 8. With junior Alec Hickman leading the charge, the Lions could be a factor now that the Trinity League travails are over. Laguna Beach is youngish, too, with freshman Blake Burzell a name to remember. So don’t expect a county team to go far here.
Final 4: Crespi; Oaks Christian; Morningside of Inglewood; Mission Prep
Champion: Crespi
DIVISION 4A
2014 champion: Village Christian
Top seeds: 1. Maranatha of Pasadena; 2. Campbell Hall of North Hollywood: 3. Buckley of Sherman Oaks; 4. Trinity Classical Academy of Valencia
Outlook: Only two county teams are in this division, Calvary Chapel and Whittier Christian. Calvary Chapel guard Cobi Foster has had some strong games, including a 22-point night last month against Godinez. Whittier Christian’s Herald’s, whose top scorers are junior Christian Alvis-Labadie and sophomore Justin Osborn, is in a tough quadrant of the bracket. The most important slice of information about this division is: Maranatha 6-5 senior guard Tyler Dorsey, who signed with Oregon, is averaging 34 points and 11 rebounds.
Final 4: Maranatha; Valley Christian of Cerritos; Buckley; Campbell Hall
Champion: Maranatha
DIVISION 5AA
2014 champion: San Gabriel Academy
Top seeds: 1. Windward of Los Angeles; 2. Brentwood; 3. Viewpoint of Calabasas; 4. Saddleback Valley Christian
Outlook: Saddleback Valley Christian, when seen in a loss to Edison in late December, looked like a team of talented but out-of-sync individuals. If the Warriors’ Eric Rwahwire, Phil Edwards and Irshad Hunte have it together, they will go deep in this bracket. St. Margaret’s could go far, too, now that Brent Cahill (21 ppg) seems recovered from mononeucleosis.
Final 4: Windward; Saddleback Valley Christian; Chadwick of Palos Verdes Peninsula; Brentwood
Champion: Windward
DIVISION 5A
2014 champion: Renaissance Academy of Altadena
Top seeds: 1. Bellarmine-Jefferson of Burbank; 2. Capistrano Valley Christian; 3. Rancho Christian of Temecula; 4. Santa Clarita Christian.
Outlook: Capistrano Valley Christian finished second in the San Joaquin League, which was very good this year and might be very good for years to come. Simon Okule and Peter Abramsky give the Eagles a good inside-outside combination. There could be second-round game of Tarbut V’Torah, which fields good basketball teams almost annually, and CVC.
Final 4: Bell-Jeff; Santa Clarita Christian; Rancho Christian; Capistrano Valley Christian
Champion: Bell-Jeff
DIVISION 6
2014 champion: Trinity Classical
Top seeds: 1. Orangewood Academy; 2. Hesperia Christian; 3. Rio Hondo Prep of Arcadia; 4. Joshua Springs of Yucca Valley
Outlook: Orangewood finished third in the San Joaquin League and qualified as an at-large team. Price had been on top of this division’s rankings all season but got pulled into the Open Division. It is rare for an at-large team to be seeded No. 1 in a playoff division, but that’s happening here. One outstanding player can be a difference-maker in a division like this one, and 6-4 senior Marcus Berkley of Orangewood is that type of player. A versatile scorer, Berkley is averaging 22 points a game.
Final 4: Orangewood Academy; Upland Christian; Rio Hondo Prep; Hesperia Christian
Champion: Orangewood Academy
Contact the writer: sfryer@ocregister.com
