Column: Camarillo boys’ basketball team’s hot | College News

Jaime Jaquez Jr., with no facial hair and searching each bit like {the teenager} he was, took time out after a basketball recreation at Camarillo High to take a photograph in 2018 with 5 smiling members of the native youth basketball workforce made up of 11-year-olds. They attended the sport and acquired a probability to fulfill the neighborhood star, who was a junior averaging 30 factors a recreation.

Jaquez would develop into a hometown hero, displaying you may grow up in Ventura County, get a scholarship to UCLA and make it to the NBA as a first-round draft choose for the Miami Heat.

Now these 5 gamers within the photograph — Shane Frank, Brendan Widerburg, Josh Castaniero, Evan Dela Paz and Jackson Yeates — are seniors at Camarillo and following in Jaquez’s foosteps as best mates attempting to steer the Scorpions to basketball success. The workforce is 17-1 and to say chemistry performs a massive half can be an understatement.

They’ve identified each other since third grade. They nonetheless hang around collectively on the native park on Friday nights, go for a swim in the neighborhood pool, play video video games, scream and snicker whereas using the rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and compete for highest grade-point average. They get excited when somebody takes a charge, as a result of which means a free milk shake is the reward.

Their solely loss this season was to Rolling Hills Prep, and its legendary coach, Harvey Kitani, acknowledged the sort of workforce he was going through. “The kids all know their role,” he mentioned. “They’re a unit. They’re not going to beat themselves.”

It’s a parent-driven origin story of how they met. Fathers got here collectively to type a youth basketball workforce. The gamers acquired to know each other, turned mates and joined in enjoying soccer, baseball and different sports activities. Nothing has modified via the years. They get pleasure from their company. They just lately took a journey collectively to Yosemite National Park, staying in a cabin, going for hikes and speaking basketball. When driving to video games within the college vans, there are singing competitions.

Other Camarillo gamers have joined the group, together with senior Cajun Mike-Price, the son of former Sylmar High and UCLA soccer standout Durell Price, and senior Ty Chisholm, who arrived as a freshman when his father, within the Navy, moved to the world. “They welcomed me with open arms,” Chisholm mentioned.

What makes Camarillo so profitable are the numerous contributors for coach Brendan Garrett. During any given recreation, there may very well be a totally different main scorer or main rebounder. Yeates, a guard, leads the workforce in scoring at 13 factors per recreation. He additionally has the very best grade-point average at 4.6. Widerburg was the varsity’s quarterback and solely needs he may have recruited some of his mates to be receivers.

To see the interplay of these gamers is inspiring. They’re enjoying for enjoyable and friendship. There’s unselfishness, togetherness and an understanding of enjoying for one another. Whatever helps the workforce succeed, that’s what issues most.

“We’ve played in so many championship games together, gone to so many places, won so many tournaments together,” Paz mentioned.

Said Yeates: “I feel the reason we’re so good is we play as a team. No one plays for themselves. We know if someone has a bad game, they’ll bounce back the next time. We trust everyone.”

On Jan. 14, the varsity will probably be honoring Jaquez by retiring his No. 24 jersey earlier than a recreation in opposition to Simi Valley. He’s on the town as a result of the Miami Heat are enjoying the Clippers and Lakers that week. Jaquez is a massive fan of this system. After all, his youthful brother Marco performed for the Scorpions and his sister, Gabby, was a McDonald’s All-American who now performs for the No. 1-ranked UCLA’s ladies’s workforce. Jaquez offered each participant with black sweatsuits, together with the teaching employees and custodial employees at Camarillo.

Camarillo is a high college that embraces sports activities participation. The principal, Matt La Belle, is a former Simi Valley baseball coach who understands how sports activities can match into a college’s tradition. The college’s athletic director, Mary Perez, is the daughter of the legendary soccer coach from Moorpark College, the late Jim Bittner.

La Belle has seen the gamers round campus and says, “It’s absolutely true” of how good they’re as youngsters on and off the courtroom.

“They’re fantastic students. They’re a great group,” he mentioned.

When neighborhood children are doing effectively, it makes it straightforward for an whole group to have enjoyable rooting for them to succeed. With the new Southern Section playoff seeding course of beginning this season counting on pc rankings, it stays unknown the place Camarillo may finish up. The early rankings didn’t precisely encourage confidence and may need some re-tooling. For now, Camarillo is No. 33, which could make it troublesome to compete for a championship amongst Division 1 powerhouses.

Just don’t ever rely out this Camarillo workforce that may overcome lots with the help of chemistry and trust. And when the video games finish, don’t fear about these gamers.

“We’ll be friends for life,” Yeates mentioned.