Video: Breaking down the High School Top 25Huskies under new management but still have a couple of Ball brothers in the lineup.15. Chino Hills (Calif.)
Head coach: Stephan Gilling (First year)
2015-16 record: 35-0, CIF Open Division state champions, No. 1 final national ranking
PLAYERS TO WATCHAndre Ball (6-7, Jr., G/F) … Injured during December last season
LaMelo Ball (6-2, So., G) … Committed to UCLA
LiAngelo Ball (6-5, Sr., G) … Committed to UCLA
Onyeka Okongwu (6-9, So., F/C) … One of the top young bigs on the West Coast
Elizjah Scott (6-4, Sr., G/F) … Committed to Loyola Marymount
LiAngelo Ball averaged over 27 points per game last season for the Huskies.
Photo by Dennis Lee
* The Huskies ran the table last year and were crowned MaxPreps national champs in early April. The 2015-16 Chino Hills team will go down as an all-timer. Gone are National Player of the Year Lonzo Ball and head coach Steve Baik. But Lonzo's younger brothers LiAngelo (27.4 points per game in 2015-16) and LaMelo (16.4) are scoring machines and should keep the entertainment value high. It would be insulting to call Scott and Okongwu just supporting players – they would be stars at most schools.
* What do we know about Gilling? The 30-year old is a native of Chino Hills but attended nearby Ayala High School (he's young enough to have had his own
MaxPreps player page). He played at Colorado State and Long Beach State before spending the last two seasons as an assistant under Baik. Don't expect the Chino Hills approach to change much, meaning a lot of trapping and gambling defensively and a bright green light for the Ball brothers to orchestrate their magical brand of offensive basketball.
KEY DATESDec. 9 – vs.
Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas) @ Hoophall West
Dec. 13 – vs.
Crespi (Encino, Calif.)Dec. 16-20 – Tarkanian Classic
Dec. 26-30 – Rancho Mirage Holiday Invitational
Jan. 28 – vs.
Wasatch Academy (Mt. Pleasant, Utah) @ Rolling Hills State Preview
Jan. 4 – vs.
Oak Hill Academy (Mouth of Wilson, Va.) @ Nike Extravanganza
