Boys’ Basketball Preview: Harding leads Sailors

The transition from the football field to the basketball court isn’t easy to make for a two-sport athlete. Nate Harding is one senior at Newport Harbor High who has handled the changing of the sports quite well.

Right after his football season ended on Nov. 6, Harding jumped right into the boys’ basketball season. His first day of practice with the basketball team was a day after Harding played his final football game.

Football is taxing on the body, but after 10 games, Harding said he felt different going into basketball.

“This was my first year playing organized football since third grade, when I moved to Costa Mesa, and I feel stronger than ever,” Harding said. “I’m in better shape than I was going into last basketball season.”

Football got Harding ready for basketball, and he is performing at a higher level than a year ago.

He’s more physical. He’s more aggressive. He’s more of an offensive threat. Best of all, Harding has the Sailors off to their best start since the 2005-06 season.

Harding led Newport Harbor (8-2) to the Oxford Academy tournament title on Saturday. The Sailors topped Whittier Christian, 59-57, and going into the finale, Harding was averaging 10.8 points per game.

The scoring average is only second on the team to shooting guard Charlie Stassel, who is averaging 12.9 points per game. Harding’s production early on is remarkable, considering he was making tackles as a free safety five weeks ago.

“We’ve had a number of guys play both football and basketball at Newport Harbor, going all the way back to [when] Larry Hirst [was the coach of the Sailors for 16 seasons], but it usually takes until league for those guys to get going in basketball,” said Newport Harbor Coach Bob Torribio, who permanently replaced Hirst before the 2012-13 season. “Nate is a coach’s dream. When he went out for football, the football coaches said they loved him. We knew they would because he’s a hard worker. Nate is always all in.”

Harding, a left-handed shooter, quickly bought into what Torribio preached before the season. Coach told him gone were the days where one or two players took the majority of the team’s shots.

Torribio said this season that the five players he sends out on the court would all be threats.

While Harding, a small forward, and junior point guard Collin Pipkin, are the only returning starters from last season’s team that placed third in the Sunset League for the second straight time, the Sailors have talent. The other three starters are Stassel, senior forward Brandon Phillips and senior guard Andrew Laidlaw.

Off the bench, there are two capable outside shooters in sophomore guard Zack Sweis and junior guard Zach Blaine, and an enforcer in the paint in Elliott Frye, a 6-1, 200-pound senior. Torribio is currently going with an eight-man rotation, and the strategy is working.

“The Sunset League has been a two-headed monster,” said Harding, referring to Edison and Los Alamitos sharing the league title last season, “but we want to make run at first this year.”

Another goal for Harding is helping the host Sailors defeat rival Corona del Mar in the Battle of the Bay game on Jan. 5. Newport Harbor last beat the Sea Kings 10 years ago.

“That’s going to change,” Harding said of the Sailors’ seven-game losing streak to the Sea Kings. “They have a lot of kids who [graduated off last season’s team that made a CIF Southern Section Division 3A finals appearance].”

Harding was unable to knock off CdM on the football field. He likes his chances against the Sea Kings on the basketball court.

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Here’s a look at the five Newport-Mesa boys’ varsity basketball programs:

Corona del Mar Sea Kings

Coach: Ryan Schachter (10th year)

2014-15 season: 25-8, 10-0 in the Pacific Coast League (first place); lost to Beverly Hills in the finals of the CIF Southern Section Division 3A playoffs; lost at La Verne Damien in the semifinals of the CIF State Southern California Regional Division III playoffs

Players to watch: PG Sam Kobrine (Sr.); F Matt Ctvrtlik (Sr.); G Taeveon Le (Soph.); G D.J. Rodman (Fr.)

You should know: The Sea Kings return Ctvrtlik, Kobrine and Le, three key players off last season’s team that led CdM to its first CIF Southern Section championship appearance since the 2006-07 season. Ctvrtlik, an All-CIF Southern Section Division 3A pick, is a starter now, after averaging 9.5 points and 3.8 rebounds while playing the sixth-man role last season. Le, who also came off the bench last season, is in the starting lineup as well, along with Kobrine, the team’s lone returning starter. The Sea Kings opened the season with a convincing 57-38 win at Tustin, a Division 1AA semifinalist in 2014-15. Schachter likes his team’s length, as Ctvrtlik and Le are both 6-foot-4, Kobrine is 6-3, along with Rodman and Chase Garbers, two players CdM plans to use off the bench. The two-time defending Pacific Coast League champion Sea Kings expect to make another deep run the postseason.

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Costa Mesa Mustangs

Coach: Phil Weber (first year)

2014-15 season: 9-18, 2-8 in the Orange Coast League (fifth place); lost at Westlake Village Oaks Christian in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs

Players to watch: C Mason Tufuga (Sr.), F Nabeel Salameh (Sr.); G Chris Calderon (Sr.); G Calvin Ko (Sr.); G Nico Dasca (Fr.)

You should know: Weber is an interim walk-on coach and the fourth coach since 2011-12 to lead the Mustangs, but the 26-year-old is quite familiar with the program. Weber played four seasons at Costa Mesa and he has coached at his alma mater for the past seven seasons, the last three on varsity. Helping Weber’s transition into his first job as a varsity head coach is Costa Mesa’s experience. Four starters return in Tufuga, a first-team All-Orange Coast League selection, Salameh, Calderon and Ko, and 12 of the 16 players are seniors. Weber expects Costa Mesa, which shared last place with archrival Estancia last season, to compete for an Orange Coast League title. The Mustangs last won league in 2005-06, when Weber was a junior at the school. It would be quite the turnaround if Costa Mesa can go from last to first with a new coach in charge.

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Estancia Eagles

Coach: Xavier Castellano (second year)

2014-15 season: 9-18, 2-8 in the Orange Coast League (fifth place); lost at Pomona in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 4AA playoffs

Players to watch: SG Evan Pettingill (Jr.); F Kailey Alama (Sr.); F Connor Brown (Sr.)

You should know: The Eagles are novices when it comes to varsity basketball as there are 11 new faces. Castellano’s second season at the helm of his alma mater features only two seniors with varsity experience, Brown and Tyler Van Dyke. Brown, a 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, gives the team size down low, while Van Dyke is a three-point shooter. Estancia’s top outside threat is Pettingill, one of four returners from last season’s team that split last place in the Orange Coast League with Costa Mesa. Castellano said the Eagles are looking to improve on last season’s nine-win total, which marked the second time they didn’t reach double-digit wins in three seasons. The Eagles have a promising sophomore point guard in Cameron Jones, one of two underclassmen on the team. Jones and Alama are the most athletic players on a roster full with inexperience.

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Newport Harbor Sailors

Coach: Bob Torribio (fourth year)

2014-15 season: 11-18, 4-6 in the Sunset League (third place); lost at Redlands in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 2AA playoffs

Players to watch: G Nate Harding (Sr.); G Charlie Stassel (Sr.); G Collin Pipkin (Jr.)

You should know: For the first time since the 2005-06 season, Newport Harbor might boast the best team in the Back Bay. The Sailors return two starters in Harding and Pipkin, who last season contributed to the program’s second straight third-place finish in the Sunset League. Newport Harbor plays host to Corona del Mar in the Battle of the Bay rivalry game on Jan. 5. The Sailors have dropped the past seven meetings with the Sea Kings, last beating CdM 10 years ago. Los Alamitos and Edison, which shared the league title last season, are the favorites again, but Newport Harbor could challenge both. The Sailors, who have qualified for the CIF Southern Section playoffs in each of Torribio’s first three seasons as the head coach, have a new edition in Brandon Phillips. The 6-foot-4 senior was ineligible last season, and he could prove to be the difference against CdM.

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Sage Hill Lightning

Coach: Jeff Beeler (ninth year)

2014-15 season: 18-7, 9-3 in the Academy League (third place); lost at Loma Linda Academy in the first round of the CIF Southern Section Division 5AA playoffs

Players to watch: PG Dominic Sadeghi (Jr.); F Chance Kuehnel (Sr.); G Alfonso Corona (Sr.)

You should know: Sage Hill got off to a tough start to the season, losing three of its first four games, two of those by a combined five points. Kuehnel is the lone returning starter back from last season, when the Lightning set single-season program records for overall wins (18) and Academy League wins (nine). Sage Hill welcomes many players off a junior varsity team that went 12-0 in league last season. The team is young, but Beeler likes his team’s size, calling it the biggest during his nine seasons at the school. Beeler is going to count on two freshmen, 6-foot-6 John King and 6-3 Brandon Liu, as well as Sadeghi, who missed last season with a knee problem. Greg Park, whom Beeler expects to start at shooting guard, has been sidelined because of a knee injury he suffered during a scrimmage against Saddleback Valley Christian in November.