O.C. Insider: The scoop on Sonora's Bearden

The Scoop On: Sonora’s Chris Bearden

The Basics: 6-foot-1, 180 pounds, Senior

More Basics: He's got a mouth full of braces, fastened with a black wire. It’s black for now. “I’ve had Sonora blue a couple of times,” he said.

More Braces: “I’m kind of a dork. I used to think, ‘That’s cool. I wish I had braces.’ Now that I have them, I’m ready to have them off.

“Every time I go (to the dentist), they say two more months.”

Protecting the Braces: A Bearden signature the past two seasons has been his big black mouth guard, which flops haphazardly during warm-ups, but usually stays in place for competition. Sometimes, he subconsciously pops it out during games, because it can be difficult to breathe. It’s there to protect the braces.

How he did Friday against Sunny Hills: In a rare off-night offensively, Bearden shot 2 of 10 from the field and 4 of 8 from the foul line. He finished with eight points, three assists and two steals. (He entered the game averaging 16.7 points and nearly 4 rebounds per game.)

However, there was still a wow factor. He led all players with 12 rebounds, although only one of the other six Raiders who took the court is shorter than Bearden.

After Sunny Hills had cut a 13-point deficit to 3, Bearden turned the ball over. But he sprinted down the court, stole it back, took the ball the length of the court, laid it in and pounded his chest. After Sunny Hills missed a three, Bearden assisted Nathan Kuester under the basket, as Sonora went up 45-38 and began to pull away. The Raiders (16-1) won the Freeway League opener, 55-43.

Next up: La Habra. Sonora’s city rival and the No. 3 Raiders’ toughest league competition.

Hollywood Stylings: Bearden did not follow or play sports before starting basketball at age 10. He was an actor. Or, rather, he was an auditioner. After seeing a friend appear in the movies Space Jam and Soul Food, little Chris decided that he was ready to be the next Macaulay Culkin. (If you don’t get the reference, and you’re under the age of 10, tell Mommy and Daddy to go rent Home Alone).

Chris “Brando” Bearden tried out for numerous commercials but landed his first pilot for a cop show called Badlands, when he 8 or 9. He played an 8 or 9 year old who frolicked in a park, while some cops talked in the foreground.

“All I had to do was run around and play all day,” Bearden said.

OK, so he was an extra. And the pilot never got picked up. But let’s not forget the elementary school musicals, even if today his singing “sounds disgusting, after my voice got deep.”

Euphemism of the decade: Too energetic.

Between the big screen and the basketball court, Bearden tried tee ball.

“That didn’t work,” he said. “My dad said the parents were too energetic.”

More on that chest pounding: “He’s the heart of this team,” coach Mike Murphy said. Bearden pounded his chest and fist pumped a few times throughout the game. At one point in the second half, he sprinted down the court to keep sophomore point guard Raffi Chalian revved up, after Chalian turned the ball over but managed to block the ensuing shot (never mind that it seemed to be a foul).

“He shares his heart with the other four guys,” Murphy said. “It’s not that he wants attention. That’s just him.

“He’s the only guy I’ve ever coached where I’ve said, ‘Chris, you need to slow down a little bit.’

“He only has one speed. That’s a skill. It can be developed. He’s developed it. He just never gives up.”

From the source: “My energy, I feel, is contagious,” Bearden said. “Maybe if I show it to them (the other Raiders), they may step in the lanes a little more, they might get higher.

“That’s for my teammates.”

Quick Evaluation: A quick, athletic 1 or 2 guard, Bearden is a tenacious defender and rebounder. On offense, he’ll sink an outside shot or drive to draw a foul.

Looking toward college, he’s focused on ball handling.

“Wanting to play at the next level, at my size, I’m definitely going to be a point guard,” Bearden said.

He has no offers, but prior to this week, he had heard from Holy Cross, San Diego, Riverside and Lehigh. In the past few days, Harvard called, because Bearden’s an …

Overachiever: On a team trip to San Diego, Bearden and a couple of teammates headed to Starbucks with their calculus books, between tournament games.

“I’ve never seen a kid do that,” Murphy said. “He’s an overachiever in academics too. …

“I said, ‘Chris, nothing you ever do is going to surprise me. If you end up President of the United States, I won’t be surprised.”

How long did it take Murphy to see this quality in Bearden?

“The fifth or sixth practice.”

He’s talking about Bearden’s freshman year.

More on those calculus books: “It’s basically trying to make sure I have the hard part under control,” Bearden said. “Basketball’s the easy part. I love it. I do it in my free time.

“I know a lot of people who have talent in one area, but their grades aren’t good, so they can’t go (to college). I just wanted to make sure I wasn’t one of those people that wasted a good opportunity.”

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com