RHL and CIF ambitions rise for 2022 Boys Basketball

After a nail-biting end to their season in CIF last year, losing 54-50 against the Highland Bulldogs in their second game, boys basketball is looking to fulfill unsatisfied ambitions this season. In 2021-2022, the Tigers roared to a three way tie with Monrovia and La Cañada, qualifying for CIF. Now, the challenge is maintaining this streak of success.

The Tigers are without ten graduated seniors, including four starters. As a result, South Pas is required to re-create its core basketball fundamentals in order to duplicate last seasons’ success. The team lacks 6”8 star power forward Sage Wayans, who graduated last year. While this year’s roster may not have the advantage of bigger players like Wayans, Head Coach Ernest Baskerville believes that strong team chemistry will give the Tigers an edge in league.

“I’m not saying this to disrespect last year’s team, but I think we have really good guard play this year. There are a lot of guys that can handle [the ball] and shoot it and defend it compared to counting on just a few guys that can defend and a few guys that can shoot it,” Baskerville said. “I think we have a multitude of guys that can get it all done, and I’m really looking forward to putting that on display when [the] league [games] start.”

Small forward Joshua Ho, point guard Nicholas Chabot, guard Nolan Park, forward William Esnault, and center

Jules Trotoux are all returning to the team as seniors this upcoming season.

“Our ambitions for this year would be going farther in CIF. Especially because we’re in Division 3AA which is a step up from last year,” Ho said. “It’ll be more challenging, but we’re looking to make a deep playoff run.”

Increased off the bench contributions are anticipated from senior Oni Balogun, sophomore Sebastian Martinez, and junior Taj Ringer. This year, the roster is boosted by transfers: junior starting point guard Russel Williams and junior starting shooting guard Derek Peterson.

“As far as Russel and Derek go, they are both very talented individual players. I don’t think anyone in the Rio Hondo League can guard them, honestly,” Ho said. Williams and Peterson will round out the starting five with Ho, Chabot, and sophomore guard Jack Madison.

“I think the person [everyone’s] going to be shocked to see is Joshua Ho. I think he’s going to do some amazing things this season. Joshua is one of those guys that people better keep their eye on or he’s going to hurt them,” Baskerville said.

“Another [star] player would be sophomore Jack Madison. He was the MVP of our freshman league champion team last year, and his growth since then has been tremendous. The ceiling of his potential is ridiculous.”

Despite placing strong confidence in the team’s collective abilities, Baskerville has his eye on La Cañada, a major rival in the RHL. The Spartans matched the efforts of the Tigers last year, securing a shared win. Unlike last season where South Pas relied on size and physicality to overwhelm opponents, the team now depends on a strong defense to trap their rivals and aim to beat La Cañada.

“[The RHL] is a tough division. Our main rivals are La Cañada and San Marino, we’ve got Pasadena Poly down the street who won CIF two years ago, and Maranatha which has a very strong defensive team here in our division,” Baskerville said.

He is certain that, with the cumulative maturity and growth of returning players, especially seniors that he has coached since freshman year, the Tigers will come out on top of the RHL.

“Every year we’ve been in the RHL, we’ve moved up a halfdivision. [My] ambition as a coach is to win it all. The plan is to get back there this year. I know the guys are looking forward to possibly making a good CIF run in the playoffs,” Baskerville said. “I know I say this every single year, but I really think this team has the potential to be really special.”

The Tigers pre-season begins with multiple neutral games scheduled in November, beginning with Marshall on Nov. 14 and finishing with Palmdale on Nov. 29. Their first league game is currently scheduled for Dec. 6 against the Monrovia Wildcats and will be followed by La Cañada on Jan. 11.