CHINO HILLS >> The Chino Hills boys basketball team had just polished off favored Corona Centennial in the Southern California Regional and coach Steve Baik sat at a podium in the front of a small press gathering.
Asked about this season, he summed it up in one word, “Exhausting.”
It has indeed been a ride filled with more ups and downs than a roller coaster at Disneyland.
The fact that the Huskies (15-16) have persevered and earned a spot opposite Northern Region champion San Ramon Valley (26-6) in the Division I state championship game at UC Berkeley’s Haas Pavilion is a testament to the team’s resolve.
“Everything we have been through has just brought us closer together,” said junior guard Lonzo Ball. “And it has just motivated us even more. We’re not going to let anything stop us.”
Obstacles. There have been no shortage of those – a player that transferred out unexpectedly, two who came in that Baik thought would be eligible and never were, a key injury, the forfeit of nine games and the removal of a player just two weeks ago among them.
Tragedy. There has been that too.
Perhaps the biggest blow was the one that came first. Nnamdi Okongwu, who would have been a senior and had Division I scholarship offers, died in mid July from a head injury sustained in a skateboarding accident.
He still has a presence with the closely-knit team. Every game Baik takes his former player’s jersey out of a back pack and drapes it over a chair at the end of the bench. His players wear T-shirts with No. 21 on it during their warm up. That was his number.
“No one can prepare you for something like that,” Baik said. “We’re still dealing with it. He has a brother that will be playing for us next year.”
The Huskies graduated three seniors from a team that went 29-6 last year with the tournament running in the SoCal Regional final, the same hurdle it just cleared.
With the exception of Ball and sophomore brother LiAngelo, the Huskies have a largely inexperienced group on the floor. Baik will start two freshman, the Ball’s cousin Andre and Cameron Shelton. Rounding out the starting lineup is Jared Nyivih, a senior who is in his first year at the school after transferring from Riverside Christian.
It wasn’t supposed to be that way.
Milan Acquaah, a newcomer to the school last year, transferred out to Los Angeles Cathedral.
Meanwhile two players that transferred in were declared ineligible for this year, an issue that still gets Baik worked up when it is mentioned. The coach singles out other athletes from various schools whose situations were similar that were allowed to play for their respective schools right away.
Baik said the turning point for his team came while playing in the Bass Tournament of Champions in Missouri. The Huskies led Oak Hill Academy (Va.), one of the nation’s premier programs, for most of the game before faltering in the end 86-77. All took that as a sign the personnel they had should be good enough to contend for a championship.
“We should have won that game,” LiAngelo Ball said. “That gave us a lot of confidence and let us know we could still play with anyone.”
Then shortly after the team returned from that event came another bombshell. This time it was the forfeiture of 11 games, nine wins, due to an ineligible player. The paperwork error derailed any hopes the Huskies had of winning a league title but the team’s body of work and its run in the Open division the previous year were enough for the team to be given another berth in the Open Division.
Just as the team got its swagger back and had settled into a groove, LiAngelo Ball went down with a severely sprained ankle. He missed four games but was able to come back just in time for the playoffs.
The Huskies were impressive in a win over Long Beach Poly but faltered against Mater Dei and lost 73-62 in an Open quarterfinal. That game proved to be a second turning point according to Baik.
Many teams find it hard to gear up for a run in the state portion of the playoffs after having to get up for the Southern Section run. But for the Huskies it was a chance at redemption. They have taken advantage of the opportunity.
“That loss against Mater Dei didn’t sit well with us,” Baik said. “They knew they were better than that and didn’t even come close to sticking to our game plan. They wanted a second chance.”
But wait, yet more adversity lied ahead. After the first playoff game of the second run Baik had to dismiss a starter for “violation of team rules.” He didn’t have a lot of depth to begin with. Now he had even less.
The win against Centennial proved the Huskies had come full circle since that was the same team that eliminated them last year. They got behind by 12, but fought back and earned a trip to Berkeley. Baik continues to be impressed with his team’s determination.
“I don’t know if there is anything we haven’t deal with this season,” he said. “We have really had to earn this one but it will make it that much more rewarding if we can finish the job.”
