SoCal High School & Prep Report

High School Preview: Baseline League
Glendora High--(December 3,1997)

Glendora High plays in the Baseline League which they won last year, compiling a 26-3 record. Their Head Coach, Mike Le Duc has compiled an impressive 268-40 record in 12 years, almost comparable to Gary McKnight's record at Mater Dei; McKnight's got 4 more years on him though, and a couple less losses in 16 years. But LeDuc has everything to be proud of. The team last year went to the Southern Section Semifinals in Dvision I-A play, losing to Etiwanda 66-64. The team has won it's league 10 times in the 12 years Le Duc's been coaching, and Glendora has had some famous alums, mostly named "Murray", including Tracy and Cameron. Le Duc himself went to Ramona High School in Riverside, then attended UC Riverside. After graduation, he began coaching at Riverside and Saddleback Colleges, moving to Damien High School in La Verne where he coached JV, then coached the Damien varsity, a job he held for seven years. He's been at Glendora since 1987.

The team this year has a lot of promise, and returns virtually all it's starters from last year. So the 26-3 team is back. And with a vengance.

The roster includes:

Michael Ahmad (6'-8" Jr C)
Johnny Anderson (5'-9" Sr PG)
Jeremy Brown (6'-2" Sr PF)
Chad Clark (6'-6" Jr SF)
Chris Clark (6'-6" Jr PF)
Tim Cremins (6'-2" Sr SF)
Dominic Degrassi (6'-9" Sr C)
Scott Giles (6'-0" Sr SG)
Bruce Hatch (6'-2" So SG)
Casey Jacobsen (6'-6" Jr SG)
Ronnie Lee (6'-2" Sr SG)
Graham Miller (6'-3" So SF)
Earl Sanchez (6'-2" Sr PG)
G. J. Stowell (6'-4" Sr PF)

The core of this team's offensive strike force is Casey Jacobsen. He's one of the best players in the state, can play multiple spots on the floor, and like Tayshaun Prince has a very pure touch with the ball. He averaged 26 ppg last season, and he can dish, drive, or shoot from outside or inside. Hopefully seeing him play in the Wooden Classic will convince some Pac-10 school to pick him up, and maybe UCLA will go for him now that Tayshaun has rubbed the collective Bruin noses in it. It would be a shame to lose this one to the eastern schools too. He has been All-CIF in each of his two previous seasons, and Le Duc told the LA Times recently that "Casy is a complete player. He plays solid offense and intelligent defense and doesn't have a weakness." And we believe him. Because he's right.

Twins. . . Again. . . Why is it that all the good teams have twins. Look at Harvard-Westlake for the last three years and look at Stanford now. Glendora's got the Clark twins. Like the Collins twins, they've got the inside-outside thing locked up. Chris, the inside guy, averaged 13 ppg last season, and he's trying to imitate his brother, developing a good outside shot too. Chris has good inside footwork. Whether they'll do the "Collins" thang and both go to the same college remains to be seen, but Oregon, San Francisco and some others have been said to be expressing interest.

Glendora will probably also start Earl Sanchez at the point. He was All-League last year, and plays very solidly. He's not the kind of guy who will kill you on his own, and he really plays to distribute the ball and make others look better. Just the kind of point you'd want with a team like Glendora this year. Dominic Degrassi plays the center spot. He's got a very nice touch around the basket, can take the drop step and establish position down low, although he'll need to work on playing more with his back to the hoop and developing a good hook shot. He's a good defender as well, and a nice addition at center.

The rest of the team is really a whole lot of unknowns, and there isn't a lot of experience there, since the five above also started last year. Jeremy could come in for one of the Clarks, and you could see just about anybody else come in if the team gets into trouble.

Glendora will be at the Wooden Classic on December 4, matching up against Ayala, a team we profiled last month. Look for this to be a great game.

Glendora will also be in a couple of other tournaments, including the MLK Challenge and the Nike Extravaganza. They shouldn't have too much trouble in Baseline League play against teams such as Chino, Claremont, Damien, Don Lugo,
St. Lucy's, and Upland, and no doubt they'll take their league again, making it 11 in 13 years. Whether they've got enough depth beyond the starters though to make it to the 1-A Southern Section Finals and beyond remains to be seen.

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