Gauchos open as title favorite

Narbonne leads way with top City Section Open Division playoff seed

There’s a changing of the guard taking place in City Section boys’ basketball, with the No. 1 seed for the eight-team Open Division playoffs awarded on Saturday to Harbor City Narbonne (17-8), which has a first-year coach.

Narbonne coach Kumase Demesma was an assistant to Anthony Hilliard before taking over this season. The arrival of 6-foot-8 Marcus Adams Jr. for his senior year has made the Gauchos the favorite to win the Open Division title. Lake Balboa Birmingham is seeded No. 2

First-round games are set for Friday. The semifinals and finals will be at Pasadena City College on Feb. 18 and 25. The openers will be: No. 8 Westchester at No. 1 Narbonne; No. 5 L.A. King/ Drew at No. 4 Woodland Hills Taft; No. 7 San Pedro at No. 2 Birmingham; No. 6 Crenshaw at No. 3 Fairfax.

Demesma is facing a host of veteran coaches. Taft’s Derrick Taylor just won his 500th game and is a fourtime City champion. Birmingham’s Nick Halic has won two City titles. King/Drew’s Lloyd Webster lost to Fairfax in last year’s final. Ed Waters of Crenshaw has two Division I titles. Fairfax, the defending champion, also has a first-year coach in Jamal Hartwell.

The Open Division was weakened by the decision of Washington Prep to opt out of participating in any playoffs. The school did not give a reason to the City Section and coach Jovante King said Saturday he was not informed of the reason.

There are also issues involving Westchester, which is seeded No. 2 in Open Division girls and No. 8 in boys. Both coaches are under suspension. Boys’ coach Dewitt Cotton was suspended for pulling his team off the court with 1.3 seconds left in a game against Crenshaw. He will return after the first round of the playoffs. Dominic Grimes’ suspension from the girls’ team is unrelated to Cotton’s and when he will return is uncertain. The reason for his suspension has not been revealed.

Granada Hills received the No. 1 seed for Open Division girls, who begin games Thursday, and will face No. 8 San Fernando. The other opening matchups: No. 5 Birmingham at No. 4 King/ Drew; No. 7 Taft at No. 2 Westchester; No. 6 Palisades at No. 3 Crenshaw.

Venice was seeded No. 1 for Division I boys and Hamilton is No. 1 for Division I girls.

Craig Weston For The Times MARCUS ADAMS JR., dunking against San Pedro, is a 6-foot-8 senior standout who leads No. 1-seeded Narbonne into the City Section Open Division playoffs.