CIF Round 3 (Elite 8): OV vs. La Habra

After last week’s road trip, OV is carrying plenty of momentum into this elite 8 matchup, it will be tough to knock them off this week. However, La Habra is a worthy (finally) opponent of Ocean View. The Highlanders are 17-12, and the Seahawks are an outstanding 25-3.

Surprising for an Elite 8 team, La Habra averages 56.5 PPG, while Ocean View has the upper hand easily with 76 PPG. On the boards, Ocean View also has the advantage with 36.3 RPG to La Habra’s 28.7 RPG. As for spreading the ball around, Ocean View averages 19.3 assists per game, while La Habra has 13.7 per game. The closest categories are on defense; Ocean View averages 11.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while La Habra is in a close trail with 10.6 steals per game, and 3.0 blocks per game.

Just taking a look at the stat rundown, Ocean View has every advantage possible, but La Habra is above the national average  in every category as well. All that means is that we are finally into the “tough teams,” in other words, the competition will be through 4 quarters from here on out.

Let’s break it down position by position:

Guards:

Ocean View is lead by superstars Anthony Brown and Avery Johnson, Brown leading the team with 17.2 PPG, and Johnson is leading the team with 4.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG. Billy Keller is still an integral part of the starting unit; if he isn’t 100 percent, it will be hard for Ocean View to separate from the Highlanders early in the game. Aaron Delgado is one of the most underrated parts of the offense, especially because of his team-mates, something tells me he’ll have a good game and that will be an important part of Ocean View’s offensive, and defensive arsenal. First off the bench is Steven Yoon, a huge part of the depth for Ocean View, and I have a felling that he’ll have a good game as well.

La Habra has a trio of important guards on their team: #3 Trent McShane, #23 Burresch Joshua, and #25 Ben Hall. The most important is Burresch Joshua- he averages 13.2 PPG and 2.2 Steals per game. He’s 6’0″, and is the most dynamic scorer for La Habra. Next is Ben Hall, Hall averages 8.4 PPG, but has practically no range for a guard, but being 6’0″ gives him a small excuse. Trent McShane averages 6.4 PPG, and is a pretty good rebounder with good size at 6’2″.

Forwards:

Ocean View has quite a few different combinations at forwards- the starters have the most traditional lineup though. Anthony Brown might be 6’5″, but he is really a guard. The only true post player is Ryan Okwudibonye, who has really impressed me in the past two rounds. Expect a good competition in the paint between Ryan and La Habra’s big man.

La Habra’s big man Marcus Wimberly is listed as a forward, but is extremely physical at 6’6″. He averages 5.4 RPG, but is a legitimate post threat on defense only, with a relatively small low post offensive arsenal. Much like Keauyon Fields from Apple Valley, the athletic type player should be a real challenge for Ocean View.

Predictions

Quite honestly, if Ocean View isn’t in the game mentally, they can easily fall to the Highlanders, but if they buckle down and separate early, they should be able to outrun the Highlanders in the fourth quarter. Notice how I didn’t say the second half, but the fourth quarter- this will be a competitive game, but Ocean View is just the better team.

Ocean View 71

La Habra 54

The game is at 7:00 pm, and don’t forget to wear white! We are going for a packed house!

CIF Round 2 (Sweet 16): OV @ Apple Valley

Well the first round jitters were in full force yesterday, so the Seahawks will look to inch closer to their 9 game “crusade” through Division 3. I spoke with Coach Tim Walsh about the Coin Flip to decide where this game would be played:

I messed up, it wasn’t a coin either, it was a computer with a button

While I really like going on these far road trips, which Ocean View is 2-0 on long road trips in the past two years during the post season, what happened to top seed advantage? First, Ocean View topped Paso Robles in 2008, then San Louis Obispo in 2009. Now, traveling up to Apple Valley almost seems like a routine for fans like me. In 2010, their opponent will be considerably less threatening than their last two though.

Louis Lopez - Max Preps

The Apple Valley Sun Devils (15-13) also inched their way into the playoffs, but still posted a 9-4 record in league. They are ranked 521st in the State. Ocean View (24-3) has not lost a game for a month and a half, and has yet to lose a home or away game. The Seahawks are currently ranked 17th in state.

Apple Valley is led by star senior 6’3″ forward (I’ll call him a forward because that is how he is listed) Keauyon Fields who is averaging 17.6 PPG. Fields is backed up by Daryon Mosley, a 5’10” Senior guard who averages 16 PPG. After that, the next best player averages 7.6 PPG, then it goes down to 4 PPG.

The first thing that jumps out at you for Apple Valley is their free throw shooting. At 60%, this game can easily slip away from the Devils if they are given the opportunity in lazy play from Ocean View.

If that’s not enough, their tallest impact player is three inches shorter than Avery, who is a 3. Ryan Okwudibonye will be a towering menace over their guys, most likely being able to rack up some high rebounding numbers en-route to a potential double-double. The better he performs, the better the chance Ocean View will have at advancing.

Predictions:

Ocean View will have to fail miserably on the offensive end to make this game close. Apple Valley might just set out that 2-3 Zone that has been effective in the past against the Hawks, but ultimately, it will be a matter of Ocean View’s length and athleticism that will propel Ocean View into the Elite 8.

Ocean View: 79

Apple Valley: 42