SoCalHoops High School News

High School Team Preview:
Corona Centennial--(Oct. 4, 1999)

"I believe defensive pressure is the key to the game, and that with good defensive pressure, good things will
happen on offense."--Val Popov, head coach, Corona Centennial.

We last featured a team preview  of Centennial just about this time last year (actually on October 24, 1998), and the quote above was so good, we thought we'd use it again this year.  At that time we wrote that "not a lot of people would pick Centennial as a favorite in Division I-A last year, or even this year." But even if a lot of people didn't pick them, they won their league and made it as far as the CIF SS Semifinals, where they lost to Long Beach Poly 83-62.

And like last year, when they moved up to Division I-AA due to enrollment figures released in December (which determined their playoff division) quite a few of their players have continued getting individual attention on some traveling squads, and they will again be playing at the Oceanview Tournament of Champions from December 6-11 at Oceanview against schools like Crenshaw, Compton, Redondo, Mater Dei, Long Beach Poly, Serra, Pasadena, LA Fremont, Ayala,  and other traditionally strong programs. Somebody obviously thought they were good enough to play with players of the caliber of players from these schools, and last year we previewed the team pretty much because no one really knew a lot about them.  This year they are pretty well regarded, and we also had the added benefit that their coaching staff supplied us with some great information (by e-mail, we might add. . . so all you other coaches out there, don't be shy, start writing and we'll do the rest).

Val Popov is the head coach at Corona Centennial, a school with an enrollment of about 2,800 kids, located in Riverside County. Centennial played in Division I-AA last year after moving up from I-A in 97-98.  Val has been the head coach since 1991, and he's been coaching at Centennial since 1989. He graduated from La Quinta High in Westminster where he played under coach Bill Reynolds. Val then attended college at Redlands University where he played as a guard for two years, from 1974-76. Upon graduating, he got his start coaching as an assistant at Claremont Men's College which was then affiliated with both NAIA and NCAA Division III (it's now only D-III we're told), from 1976-78. In 1978 he moved over to Villa Park where he did two stints, from 1978-79 and then again from '82-86. In between he was an assistant at Newport Harbor High with Jerry DeBusk (who is now at State Division II Champion Santa Margarita) from '80-'82; from 1986 until 1989, he was the head coach at Foothill High in Tustin. In 1989, he finally moved over to Corona Centennial. He's married with two children, and for the immediate future, has no plans to leave Centennial, although if the right college job opened itself up, he'd consider a move. 

Centennial plays in the Mountain View League, which features such teams as Corona High, Jurupa Valley, La Sierra, Murrieta Valley and Norco. For most high school basketball programs, the graduation of two All-League starters (point guard Demetreus Ross & center Steve Adams) would mean, at best, a "rebuilding year" ahead.  But for the Corona Centennial Huskies, which captured the 1999 Mountain View League title, and advanced to the semi-finals of the Southern Section C.I.F. I-AA playoffs, doing it with only two seniors on the squad, and four sophomores and a freshman among their top eight players means that the bulk of the team will return to contend again for another trip to the CIF SS tournament and possibly a trip to the State Championship.  It will be very difficult, because along the way, they'll probably run into Artesia, Long Beach Poly or Long Beach Jordan, Fontana, and even if they advance beyond the I-AA final game, they'll still probably also run into either Mater Dei, Simi Valley, or maybe even Compton Dominguez which is considering a jump up to I-AA from II-AA (it should be noted that schools can only "move up" to the highest division from their otherwise "normal" division which is determined in December based on enrollment figures, called the "CBED's", but we're getting way too technical).  The point is that there will be a ton of really good competition.

Last year's appearance in the Southern Section semifinal was the school's best playoff showing to date, but Head Coach Val Popov feels that this year's team is, by far, his best, with eight lettermen returning, and a combined 23-1 record in spring and summer play producing a high level of anticipation for the upcoming season. We don't have a complete roster because it's a little early for Popov to actually announce his decision on who will be moving up to the varsity to fill out the remaining slots, but here's who the roster will definitely include:

Josh Barnes (5'-9" Sr. PG)
Ira Peppers (5'-8" Sr. PG/SG)
Stephon Seales (6'-0" Sr. SG)
Bryan Gonzales (6'-4" Jr. SG/SF)
David Sybesma (6'-5" Jr. SG/SF)
Bryan Williams (6'-1" Jr. SG/SF)
Jamaal Williams (6'-6" Jr. F)
J.R. Reese (6'-3" So. SG/SF)

Jamaal Williams (6'-6" Jr. F) was selected last year as a first-team All-C.I.F. player. Arguably among the best players in Riverside & San Bernardino Counties, and rated by many as one of the top juniors in the West, he will undoubtedly draw the interest of a lot of colleges in the next two seasons, and we'd expect that he'll probably be a hot commodity by the end of next summer.  Jamaal has two year varsity averages of 22.5 ppg, 11 rpg, and has shot 57% overall, which is really remarkable considering the opponents Centennial has faced over that two year period.   He is a consistent scorer despite being double-teamed most of last year, and has excellent skills and great foot speed, with a very good handle, especially on the break.   Jamaal is a very strong player with excellent leaping ability, good hands and a soft shooting touch both inside and outside, together with a strong first step.  In short, there's not much he doesn't do, which explains why he was league MVP as a sophomore last season.