Chino Hills boys basketball coach Steve Baik says he got a glimpse of things to come back in December when his team was competing in a prestigious tournament in Torrey Pines. The Huskies notched wins over quality foes in San Diego St. Augustine and Wesleyan Christian Academy (N.C.) and lost two games, one of those by two points to talented Corona Centennial.
If his squad could hold its own against those opponents, Baik figured, they could pretty much do so against anyone.
That has indeed been the case. The Huskies (26-4) cruised to a Sierra League title and now they have surged past the cream of the crop in the CIF-Southern Section’s new Open Division. They have one more juggernaut to knock off, but it may be the toughest yet in top-seeded Mater Dei (30-0). The two will square off at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Honda Center.
“We definitely have a nothing-to-lose mind-set,” Baik said. “We take a lot of pride in the way we have played against some pretty good teams.”
Baik admits he had mixed feeling about the Open Division. His team lost in the second round of Division 1-AA play last year to Rancho Verde on a last-second shot. That showing hardly makes it seem like the Huskies were ready for bigger challenges, but those who make those decisions apparently were not wrong.
Leading the charge has been sophomore Lonzo Ball, a starter last year as a freshman. Younger brother LiAngelo starts this year as freshman. Rounding out the starting lineup are seniors K.C. Cyprian, Bishop Mency and Mark Williams, with junior big man Nnamdi Okongwu seeing significant minutes off the bench.
Baik says sharing the ball hasn’t been as big a problem as one might think and credits Ball, who has already committed to UCLA
“It really all starts with him,” said Baik, rounding out his fourth year as head coach after several as an assistant. “He is such a good scorer he could really be a shoot-first point guard, but he isn’t. He looks to get everyone involved and the other guys feed off that. He sets the tone.”
All are capable of a 20-point game on any given night. In Tuesday night’s win over No. 6 Redondo Union, it was Cyprian with the hot hand. He scored 23 points, including six 3-pointers.
Mater Dei, ranked first in the state and second nationally, has plenty of firepower. The Monarchs are led by Arizona-signee Stanley Johnson, a 6-foot-7, 220-pounder who is averaging 24.9 points and 7.9 rebounds.
There are also three others averaging double figures, another being 6-10 sophomore center M.J. Cage (15.3 ppg, 10.8 rpg).
Baik said he might call more upon senior guard Dean Lewis, who hasn’t played much lately but is regarded as the Huskies’ best on-ball defender.
Despite his team’s success, which includes wins over other powers such as No. 2 Etiwanda, Baik still sees tonight’s game as a case of David vs. Goliath.
“We’re just a team with a bunch of our guys from our neighborhood going against a team with the best guys from all over,” he said. “We’re going to give it our best shot. We’re not intimidated, though.”
