ORANGE – Legend Demps throws his arm around Isaiah Grover’s shoulder, and frankly, it’s everything that’s right with high school basketball.
The 6-foot-4 Demps is El Modena’s silky point guard and the fulcrum of Coach Jeff Berokoff’s fluid offense.
The Vanguards, for better or worse, go as their homegrown star goes.
The senior, a varsity starter since his freshman year, is one of Orange County’s top scorers, averaging 23 points per game – 13 more than he averaged as a junior. On consecutive nights last month, he scored 30, 31 and 34 points. In a tournament game against Pacific Hills of Los Angeles, he scored a career-best 36, adding 13 rebounds and five assists.
“Our offense is based around Legend,” said Berokoff, in his sixth year at El Modena. “We want defenses to have to guard him at different spots on the floor: the corner, the wing, inside. We move the ball, but in the end it’s Legend’s call.
“I’ve chewed him out plenty of times, and in the past I had more confidence in him than he had in himself. Now, he has that same confidence in what he’s capable of.”
Grover, meanwhile, is a 6-1 sharpshooting wing who leads the county in 3-pointers made with 61. He entered this week sixth in the nation in 3-pointers, trailing kids from Texas, Maryland and Kentucky who have played far more games than his 14.
Grover is well on his way to shattering the school record for 3-pointers made in a single season. Perhaps most impressive, he is shooting 44percent from distance, extraordinary accuracy for a high-volume shooter.
Twice this winter Grover made seven threes in a game. Five other times he made at least five.
The senior is the true definition of a shooting guard.
“Isaiah has surprised everybody,” Berokoff said of the varsity newcomer. “He’s so talented and has so much upside, and it’s the work he’s put in on his own, outside of practice. He’s earning every shot he’s making. He works hard for four to five threes a game. It’s his confidence in the work he’s put in. He’s got a quick release – really quick. He’s got the green light from deep.”
Demps and Grover met when they were in eighth grade when they began playing together at Grijalva Park, which is down the street from El Modena. It was Demps who persuaded Grover, a longtime football player, to go out for the basketball team in high school.
On a recent night, as the players swapped stories and jokes, it was clear they have formed a strong bond over the past six years. On and off the court, they have been through a lot together.
Two years ago, Grover’s mother died of Hodgkin lymphoma. She was 32.
Shortly after his mother’s death, Grover became a father.
The basketball court became Grover’s sanctuary, his haven. He was angry, stressed. He was a sophomore with the life experiences and responsibilities of someone twice his age. He wanted to be a kid again. Most underclassmen stress about homework, about tests. Grover was doing all that while helping raise his daughter.
“I’ve always been that type of person to follow dreams, to do what I want to do,” he said. “I liked basketball, so I stuck with it. I wanted to show my daughter that growing up, times are hard, but you can do what you want as long as you put your time into it.”
That year, Grover began playing basketball for Berokoff. He became increasingly coachable, spending two years playing for the program’s lower levels. He ascended to varsity this summer, and Berokoff said he has never seen a kid work as hard.
“Isaiah’s a ball of untapped potential,” Demps said. “He hasn’t even broken the beginning of how good he can be. The sky is the limit for him. He’s athletic, he can shoot and he’s dedicated, more than anyone I know.”
El Modena finished 0-12 in the Century League last season. The Vanguards are off to a 5-9 start this year and have high expectations for league play, which starts next week. Demps and Grover want to win the program’s first league championship in years.
“That’s been the goal since my freshman year,” Demps said.
Contact the writer: bwhitehead@ocregister.com
