Dynamic Duo Powers Bell-Jeff
BURBANK — Coaches around the Santa Fe League point to two reasons why Bell-Jeff High is the favorite to win this season’s league championship: Ruben Douglas and Kent Dennis.
They are the Guards’ guards. Douglas and Dennis. D and D.
Last season Douglas averaged 20.2 points, 4.1 assists and seven rebounds. He was a sophomore.
Dennis? He averaged 15 points, 3.9 assists and 2.3 steals. He was a freshman.
Both were all-league and All-Southern Section Division IV selections. They led Bell-Jeff to a 20-6 overall record, 11-1 in league, good enough for the school’s first league title in four years.
They make the Guards the league favorites for the next two seasons.
“They are the best two players in the league,†Murphy Coach Andrew Hunter said. “If you are going to win this league, you are going to have to beat Bell-Jeff.â€
Douglas, 6 feet 4, is listed as a top-10 junior in one national publication. Dennis, 6-2, is a top-40 sophomore.
Last summer at the Five Star national basketball camp, Douglas earned the “Most Promising Prospect†award. Dennis made it to the final of the camp-wide, one-on-one competition before losing to a 6-7 senior from Texas.
This season, Douglas is playing shooting guard and small forward and averaging 25 points. Dennis is playing both guard positions and averaging 15.6 points. He has even filled in at power forward.
“I tell coach I’ll do whatever he wants me to do,†Dennis said. “I prefer playing the [shooting] guard but if it’s necessary, I’ll do whatever. If he wants me to play the big man, that’s fine with me.â€
Equally lethal from inside and out they form one of the top backcourt tandems in the region. But after a 6-6 start this season, Bell-Jeff Coach Eli Essa is hesitant to put the weight of the team on their backs.
“If we’re expecting two guys to carry us, then we are a very limited team,†Essa said. “We know and everybody else knows what Ruben and Kent can do. As far as I’m concerned, the X-factor is if our other three guys can step it up.â€
One of the key players is 6-6 center Mike West, a transfer from North Hollywood.
West must fill the void left by Elihu Cobb, a 6-6 center dismissed from Bell-Jeff for breeching school policy. Cobb averaged 14.6 points and 8.8 rebounds as a sophomore last season.
“We miss him a lot,†said Douglas, who grew up just a couple of blocks from Cobb. “The thing we miss the most is that he knew the system. The other guys are still learning.â€
West has shown signs that he will be a force for the Guards, averaging 17 points in four games in the Bell-Jeff tournament.
Dominic Domingo, the leading scorer from last year’s junior varsity squad, is also expected to play an important role. Domingo has been sidelined for the past six games with strep throat.
Coming off the bench will be Kenny Esteves, a 6-6 sophomore center, and Gaither Powell, a 5-10 junior guard who has shown the ability to score from the outside.
Other teams expected to contend for the league title are La Salle, led by All-Division IV center Graham Northrop, and Murphy, which returns David Murphy, who is averaging 16 points and six assists.
The surprise team of the league could be Cathedral, which lost four starters from last season’s second-place team, but returns Danny Lopez, who has twice been named to all-tournament teams this season.
But when it comes down to it, Douglas and Dennis seem to have put Bell-Jeff in a class by itself.
“They are not overrated,†Essa said. “They are very gifted and if they play up to their potential, then the sky is the limit. They could finish their careers as the best to ever don a Bell-Jeff uniform.â€
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AT A GLANCE
* THE PROVEN: Bell-Jeff junior guard Ruben Douglas was the league’s most valuable player last season. Forward Memo Hernandez is Cathedral’s leading rebounder. La Salle returns all-league guard Aki Aquino. Forward Travis Lewis led Murphy to the Division IV-A quarterfinals. Mark Padilla (14.7 points per game) returns for St. Genevieve.
* THE PROMISING: Cathedral’s Noel Felix, a 6-foot-5 sophomore center, adds size to a quick team. Forward Joe Williams figures to play a lot for La Salle. Sean Littleton is Murphy’s biggest player at 6-5, 230 pounds.
* FAST FACT: Cathedral entered league last year with a 3-8 mark before making a run at the title. The Phantoms are 4-7 entering league this season.
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