O.C. Insider: Garden Grove's Johnny Umanzor

The Scoop on ... Garden Grove's Johnny Umanzor

The Basics: 5-foot-9, 145 pounds, senior, point guard

He was the first: In Coach Ken Frank’s 12 years of coaching, Umanzor is the only four-year starter for the Argonauts.

The beginning: “He could not shoot when he came to us as a freshman,” Frank said. His shot was “chucked from the waist.”

But Umanzor worked on it. “I’d have to run him out of the gym, ‘Johnny, it’s dinner time,’ ” Frank said. “Now he’s one of the better shooters, I feel, in North Orange County.”

He shoots 76 percent from the foul line and leads the league-stomping Argonauts with 16.7 points per game.

“You can show a kid, but if they’re not going to put the time in and take 100 shots a day, they’re not going to develop,” Frank said. “He just did each little facet so diligently.”

Canine Fodder: Umanzor’s freshman year, “We were completely without point guards, and we had to throw him to the wolves,” Frank said.

His great quickness stood out, but at the time he could only employ it to his left. He would scurry around people for layups, but had to develop a pull-up game, as defenders learned to sag off.

He was only 13 years old at the start.

“He struggled his freshman year,” Frank said. “I just didn’t have anything else. I felt I’d rather go with him, because it will pay off by the time he’s a junior, than go with a kid who has no upside.”

Still, “When you’re telling a parent, who’s watching his freshman kid struggle against men, that this will pay off, you’re taking a leap of faith,” Frank said.

Said Johnny: “It just made me tougher. … I got used to playing with those older guys and not being scared to attack the rack.”

Garden Grove won eight games that first year. His sophomore year, they finished third. “Offensively, his shot still wasn’t there, but you couldn’t deny his quickness,” Frank said. “Teams would sag off him and dare him to shoot. … As his junior year progressed, they really couldn’t do that anymore.”

The Argos split the Garden Grove League title with Bolsa Grande last season, and this year they have won it outright. They’re 9-0 in league and 22-3 overall going into their final regular season game.

It’s no coincidence that the team’s rise has coincided with Umanzor’s.

How he did it: Since his freshman season, Johnny’s little brother has videotaped Garden Grove’s varsity games. Afterward, Johnny and his father, Alonso, watch and dissect.

“My dad wanted always to get me better, always to push me to the limits,” Johnny said. “He’d tell me what to do, and then we’d go out and practice. He played soccer (growing up in El Salvador). He was always known for his work ethic, and I think that’s where I get it from.”

Some of the freshman tapes were tough to watch. “When I do something bad, I take it real serious,” he said. “Just the expectation I put on myself, that was the hardest part. Knowing there were things I could do and not doing them.”

Alonso taught Johnny that failures in the game result from failures in practice.

“So I’ve always had a ball in my hands, whether it’s in the grocery store, crossing the street.”

That stopped after his sophomore year, but Umanzor continued to work. He learned to dribble to his right side and improved his shot.

“Mentally, I tell myself, ‘I can hit that shot,’ ” he said. “I worked so hard for it, to be the shooter that I am now. Mentally, I’m more confident than ever.”

Said Frank: “Everything he has accomplished, he’s earned. … I’ve never seen him cut a corner, where most kids, if you give them some latitude, they will.”

Top performances: Two games from this season that stand out to Frank and demonstrate his point guard’s progress: Dec. 15 vs. Cal Academy of Math & Science and Jan. 26 vs. Rancho Alamitos.

Against the Academy, the Argos held a slim late lead. In the final minute, they fouled Umanzor five times. He made all 10 free throws to seal a 76-72 victory.

Against Rancho, Umanzor sank five 3-pointers (“mostly from NBA range,” Frank said) to lead Garden Grove to a 62-50 win.

The future: “Hopefully play at a school (college) at the next level,” Umanzor said.

The problem: He’s 5-9.

Possible solutions: “He’ll look at different opportunities that would take a 5-foot-9 kid with the heart of a giant and will take 500 shots a day to stay on the team,” Frank said. “We’re hoping for a D-III school, at the least a JC.”

Frank is contacting coaches, but Umanzor does not yet have an offer.

Classroom standout:Umanzor’s work ethic and performance don’t end with basketball. He is in four AP classes and one honors class.

“Basketball’s not going to be there forever, so I need to put even greater effort into school,” he said, crediting his mother with instilling this attitude. “I’d like to be an attorney. Either criminal justice or civil cases.”

Garden Grove sent Johnny as one of its five representatives to Southern California’s Chicano Youth Leadership Conference. Presenters encouraged students to attend college, so they could continue to improve themselves and their communities. Students brainstormed strategies for helping fellow Chicanos who might be struggling.

“Our school has used him as an example of what students should be,” Frank said. “When basketball’s over, he’ll take it to the private sector. I have no doubt he’ll be very successful.”

Contact the writer: jkay@ocregister.com