IT’SALLGOOD FORTHEGRANITEHILLS BASKETBALLBROTHERS

BY STEVEBRAND

EL CAJON

There is a word thatthe Edmond brothers, Tre and Derek,use a lot.

Fun.

Sincethe two are the leading scorersfortheGranite Hillsbasketball team, that’sa goodthing. Whetherit’s playing againsteach otherinthe backyard,in a bigplayoff contestor just a pickup game,theend resultisthe same.Theyhave a good time. Each has a highlight “fun” timethis year togo with the overall experience ofplayingona teamthat started the week 15-5 overall and4-2intheGrossmont HillsLeagueandanallbut certainDivisionIIIplayoff participant. Goinginto the weekthe Eagles were the No.5 team. But first,those highlights.

Tre’s was easyenough. PlayingagainstCastlePark, itdidn’ttake longforhim to realizesomething very special was going on By halftimethe6-1 guard hadalreadyscored 38 points.

“I couldhave shotwith myeyesclosedandit would have gonein,”saidTre ofthe school-record 54pointshe collected with previous record-holder Nick Taylor (53 in2006),inthestands watching.

“Byhalftime I realizedI was close to the record,so wewentforit. I got the54 pointsinless thanthree quarters,and I was havinga greattime.Coach (Dan Duffy) toldthe teamabout the record and even people inthestandsknew.

“Once I got the record, coach tookmeout,of course Now that was real fun.”

Ithelpedboosthis average to 21.1 points a game.

Derekhadhishighlight, too.

Inpractice,usuallyat home,heandTre would bouncetheballoffthebackboard withtheotherplayer slammingitin.

Earlier, DereksetupTre fortheslambutTre didn’t get free fromhis opponent quickly enough to convert it.

The roles were reversed againstElCapitan,andthis time,ona two-on-onebreakaway Derek, a 6-3smallforward, heard Tre yell“back- board”andknew thepass was coming Hetimed it perfectly forthecrowd-pleasing slam.

“That was oneofmybetter slams,”saidDerek,who averages 17.1 pointsa game.

“When he yelled ‘backboard,’ I knew what was coming.”

It’s justone example of how the two are sofamiliar with each other’s games theycansensewhatthe other isplanning to dobefore anyoneelse. Familiarity, in this respect,breedssuccess. They’re bothhopingthat the“fun” can continuebeyond the first roundofthe playoffs. They’ve beenthere before,withTre making two appearances Sophomore Derekparticipated last year.

You guessedit both agreedit was fun.

“That was an experience that I want toexperience again,”saidTre of theplayoff games the last two years. “Theatmosphere is electric; it’s high-energy We get good crowds, but for theplayoffs everybody comes.

“We had a bigcrowd for the Valhalla gamethis year. Bothsidesofthestands were packed,butit’s even more fortheplayoffs,and the goodthingis we travel well.

“We canhear(thefans), which makesitmore fun. Sometimes I eventalk to our fans.Theyalwayshave something to pointout to us thatthey thinkwillmake us better. It’s all good.”

Tre turnedanankle, slowinghimdown,before last year’s openingplayoff setback to Calexico,but the yearbefore hestarted ina loss to San Ysidro.

Inthestands, watching, was Derek.

“ForsureI went to that game—I went to allofhis games,”saidDerek. “This yearwillbe a lotmore funbe- causethismightbethelast chanceI have to play on the same team.“

Both are captains,but Derek usually leadsa different groupofplayersthan Tre.

“Tre takescare of the juniorsandseniorshe’s come upwith,whileDerekhasthe freshmen and sophomores,” saidDuffy, goingon to compare the two.

“Derek isthebetter rebounderandmore outgoing —more light-hearted.Tre is aquietleaderand very steady Tre is a natural guard,whileDerekhasa chance to be a forward ora guard ashe fillsout.Both have the green light to shoot whenever they want.”

Dereksaysthatwhilethe brothersare very competitive andhave beenknown to trashtalkeach other it never gets too serious.

“We’re competitive with each other, butwhen we’re onthe court together we turn that toward theother team,”Dereksaid.“Fight? No, we never fight.”

That wouldn’t bemuch fun. Brandisafreelancewriter.

BY TAMMYMURGA

NATIONALCITY NationalCity willstart acceptingapplications Monday fromcannabisbusinesseslooking to set up shop. Businesseswillhave 60 days, oruntil April 7, to submittheirapplicationsinperson to thecity’s Finance Department,saidAssistant City Manager Tony Winney.

TheSouthBaycity adoptedits cannabisordinance in Mayof last year allowingforup to six business licensesfor retailsales, cultivation,distribution manu- facturingandtransportationofcannabis and cannabis-relatedproductsinindustrial zones. Of the sixpermits,one will be reserved for a consumption lounge to operate withinthecity’s tourist commercialzone thatis west of Interstate 5. Two permits will be reserved forapplicantswho are localbusiness owners, which the city defines as someone who haslivedin NationalCity foratleast threeyearsprior toNov 9, 2021, and holds at least 51 percent ownership. To apply businesseswill have to payabout$11,000, which will covera deposit, background check andmultiple reviews of the applicant.

“Theseare necessary to recover the costsassociated withcreatingand administeringtheapplicationprocessfor cannabislicenses,” said MollyBrennan the city’s administrative servicesdirector.

NationalCity Council membersapprovedthepermit fee in December, which thecity saidfallswithinthe average costofbetween $7,000 to $10,000setbyother SanDiego County cities,