Fryer on boys basketball: Banks steps up
Orange Lutheran has deposited its trust in Banks.
When All-County senior guard Gabe York underwent an emergency appendectomy Dec. 31, somebody had to accept an additional scoring burden. Sure, few players would reject the opportunity to shoot more, but given the level of Lutheran's competition, Payton Banks was accepting a formidable challenge.
Banks, a 6-foot-6 junior guard, was averaging 11 points a game before the departure of York, who was scoring at a county-leading clip of 25 points a game. Over four games post-York, Banks is averaging 28 points a game. He has scored exactly 30 points in each of Lutheran's last three games entering Monday.
"Payton has been very impressive the way he's take on this burden," Lutheran coach Chris Nordstrom said. "I'm not sure if I've been more proud of a player, given what Payton has done the past couple of weeks.
York's availability is day to day, Nordstrom said.
"We play (Monday) and Wednesday this week, then we're off a week," said Nordstrom, hinting that the Lancers' relatively light upcoming schedule of one league game over a 10-day period could create more recovery time for York, who signed with Arizona. "We've got to be very careful with Gabe, because we want to make sure he stays healthy."
COACHING CHANGES
A couple of mid-season switches have occurred: Larry Hirst resigned at Newport Harbor, where he has been replaced by assistant Bob Torribio; and Clay McKnight resigned at Fairmont Prep, where he has been replaced by assistant Erbie Phillips.
Hirst is taking a personal leave of absence. Last season, he took a hiatus because of dehydration and exhaustion. Newport took records of 4-12 overall and 0-3 in the Sunset League into this week.
McKnight resigned to pursue coaching opportunities in professional basketball. He coached Fairmont for 2 1/2 seasons, compiling a 49-21 record. Fairmont is 13-3 overall and 0-1 in the San Joaquin League, and has college coaching experience. McKnight was an All-County guard at Mater Dei where his father Gary McKnight has coached since the early 1980s.
THE TOP 10-25
How Steve Fryer voted in this week's county media poll: 1. Mater Dei (15-2 record); 2. Mission Viejo (18-1); 3. JSerra (12-4); 4. Capistrano Valley (17-2); 5. Orange Lutheran (12-4); 6. Ocean View (14-3); 7. El Toro (15-5); 8. Aliso Niguel (14-6); 9. Canyon (15-4); 10. Tustin (13-6).
If the county media poll were a top 25 poll, here is how this voter would have ranked teams 11-25 (based upon the county media poll results): 11. Aliso Niguel; 12. Tustin; 13. Cypress (16-3); 14. Sunny Hills (16-5); 15. Villa Park (11-8); 16. Fountain Valley (12-5); 17. Trabuco Hills (11-8); 18. Santa Margarita (12-9); 19. Dana Hills (9-10); 20. Los Alamitos (9-10); 21. Huntington Beach (10-9); 22. Woodbridge (13-6); 23. Tesoro (11-8); 24. La Habra (13-7); 25. Esperanza (11-7).
NOTES
County statistical leaders (minimum 15 games played): Scoring, Ryan Hall (La Habra), 24.95 ppg (York averaged 25.27 over 11 games); rebounding, Rashad Davis (Estancia) 15.2 rpg; assists, Branden Bryson (Brethren Christian), 5.5 apg. ... Mater Dei 6-7 sophomore Stanley Johnson won the dunk contest at this past weekend's HoopHall Classic in Springfield, Mass. ... Top games this week: Wednesday, Mission Viejo at Capistrano Valley, and Los Alamitos at Fountain Valley; Friday, Edison at Los Alamitos, Mater Dei at JSerra, Tustin at Western, and Villa Park at Canyon. ... Important statistic in Mission Viejo 76, El Toro 72 last week – Mission Viejo made 27 free throws and El Toro made nine free throws. ... Villa Park's Isaiah Bradford scored 52 points over three Spartans victories last week. ... Devon Pflueger of JSerra had 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists when JSerra beat Santa Margarita, and 19 points, five rebounds and four assists in a victory over Orange Lutheran. ... Tickets ($12-$22) for the Nike Extravaganza, Feb. 3 and 4, are on sale at the Mater Dei athletics ticket window (go to materdei.org for details). Top matchups, for Feb. 4 (Saturday): Ocean View vs. Mission Viejo, 11:40 a.m.; Westchester vs. Capistrano Valley, 3 p.m.; Long Beach Poly vs. Orange Lutheran, 6 p.m.; Mater Dei vs. La Verne Lutheran, 7:30 p.m.; and Bishop Gorman of Las Vegas, featuring top national prospect Shabazz Muhammad, vs. Whitney Young of Illinois, 9 p.m.
