San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
LEAGUE FACES A TALL ORDER WITH WEST HILLS BOYS HOOPS TEAM
The Wolf Pack is a big squad, and it’s off to an 11-2 start
It seems an almost-perfect storm is coming together for the West Hills boys basketball team.
For starters, the tallerthan-usual Wolf Pack team is off to an 11-2 start, the best anyone, including coach Tim Barry, can remember since the school opened in 1987.
Then there’s a move this year into the Grossmont Valley League. Not to mention playing in Division III instead of Division II since 2019-20.
But mostly, it’s a special group of players regardless of league or division.
“This is a prime example of a total team effort,” said Barry, who has been at West Hills since 2017-18 after uberrespected head coach Jeff Armstrong passed away unexpectedly.
“We have an eight-person rotation, and it seems like someone different comes up big every game. This is actually a big high school team.”
Certainly by West Hills standards.
It includes 6-6 senior Zeid Salem (16.5 points a game), 6-5 junior Vince Hillman, 6-2 Caden Akins and 6-3 junior shutdown defender Loni Mesina, all veterans, along with 6-2 freshman Shawne Owens.
That doesn’t include Luke Gibson, a four-year starter who averages 11 points a game and is one of the section’s better defensive players who at 6-foot, 185-pounds, doesn’t mind mixing it up inside.
“Those were their heights at the start of the season and I swear some of them, like Zeid, have grown,” said Barry. “He plays like he’s 6-7.”
Actually, the entire team might seem taller because they have that ingredient San Diego State is always looking for — length and athleticism.
The proof is in the numbers. “Through 13 games, we have 15 slam dunks,” Barry said. “I don’t think we’ve had 15 slam dunks in all of the years I’ve been here combined — heck, maybe even in my 21 years as a head coach. We’ve had slams off fast breaks this year, but recently Hillman grabbed a rebound and went right back up to slam it through.
“You don’t coach that. The Grossmont Conference really hasn’t been a big-man league over the years, and our guys play tall. You expect a player like (San Ysidro’s) Mikey Williams to slam over everyone, but not West Hills.”
Not only that, the taller players are solid — in the 180-plus weight class — so they can muscle with anyone.
West Hills isn’t one-dimensional, either. Salem, Hillman, Owens and 6-foot guard Theron Humphries are deadly 3-point shooters. Gibson and Akins have taken their role as captains to heart.
“This was a group that had to battle COVID and the chaos around renovating the gym and finally, after last year, we got what I consider a normal spring, summer and fall,” said Barry. “They have a deep commitment to each other and the coaching staff and want to get better every day.”
The Wolf Pack took the last week off and will resume the season at the annual Santana Tournament, facing Hills League teams like Granite Hills and Grossmont, so West Hills should get a good idea where they stand by this time next week.
West Hills could easily have just one loss — a 70-51 hiccup to Coronado after a gut-wrenching 49-48 setback to Canyon Hills, where the Wolf Pack went cold at the free throw line at just the wrong time. Victories include an 84-73 win over Division I Orange Glen, a narrow 53-52 triumph over La Jolla and most recently a confidence-building 65-49 win over Granite Hills.
“The thing about the Grossmont Valley League is it’s really balanced,” said Barry, himself an All-section first team player at Santana on a 25-2 Division I championship team in 198788. “Enrollment-wise we’re about in the middle of that league compared to being the smallest in the Hills. It’s going to be who is willing to bring it every night.
“We know we can play with anyone, even in Division III, and these guys know what we want. We’ll focus on winning games and getting better going into league. This should be fun.”