Despite having an overall losing record of 14-17 last season, the Coronado boys’ basketball team made it all the way to semis in the San Diego CIF tournament for Division 3, losing to Maranatha Christian.
On the bright side, the team of last season was young, meaning this year’s rendition is returning a few familiar faces.
“We went pretty far into the playoffs last year and I think they got a taste of what it would be like to win a CIF championship,” head coach Anthony Ott said. “They all came back extremely motivated and very much on the same page, probably more so than any team I’ve coached at Coronado so far.”
The path to the CIF championship will likely be more difficult this season, as the Islanders got the bump up from Division 3 to Division 2. Division placements are based on calculations of record and strength of schedule the past two seasons – 70% based on last year, 30% the year before. The Islanders have had a strong enough record and strength of schedule the past two seasons to get bumped up. According to a San Diego Section bylaw, schools can only move up or down one division each year.
Among the returners to this season’s team is the starting point guard from last year’s group, junior Austin Brown. Brown averaged 12.6 points per game, 4 rebounds and 3.8 assists. Ott anticipates Brown will make another jump this season.
“He’s the leader of our team, our program right now,” Ott said. “He’s matured. He’s gotten stronger. He’s gotten more intelligent with the way that he plays.”
A few other notable returners are sophomore guard Ah’man Oliver, who was second in scoring for the 2024 group as a freshman, and senior forward Derick Ritter, who led the team in rebounds.
Ott said the play style this year will be fast, getting the ball up and down the floor quickly and using the team’s speed as an advantage. But the Islanders also hit the weight room all summer, and Ott expects the team to make up for a lack in height with its increased strength.
“We’re going to speed things up, but we do have the core strength to kind of outmuscle teams as well,” he added.
In terms of newcomers, Ott expects to have an impact, one player in particular came to mind, freshman guard Roberto Soberanis.
“He’s played some heavy competition,” Ott said. “He actually just got back from Spain; he was playing a tournament in Spain. It almost feels like he’s a seasoned veteran, but he’s 15 years old … He’ll contribute well.”
Coming out of tryouts, one of the things Ott was most encouraged about was the large turn out. About 50 boys showed up for tryouts, a major increase since Ott took over at Coronado in 2021. In his first two years at the helm, Ott said there were about 22 players total who tried out. Now, CHS can comfortably hold frosh, JV and varsity teams.
Because of the quantity of players, Ott said some will float between JV and varsity. Henry Allman, a freshman military transfer, 6’5 sophomore Jeremiah Albrektsen and sophomore guard and sharpshooter Calvin Shapland will all float.
Because last years’ squad got so close to the CIF Championship, Ott said the team’s attention to detail has gotten much better, and he thinks that, despite the heartbreak of coming so close, it will ultimately be a positive for this group.
“As a coach, you preach a lot of things like rebounding and rotating on defense on time, you know, not being late to your rotations and making the extra pass,” Ott said. “I think they’ve become a bit more analytical and (are) kind of understanding that I’m not just saying those things because it’s a cliche coach’s terms. Those things win big games, so they’re motivated.”
Ott has been preaching to the team that championships are won in games of four, and that’s shaped the mentality of the team going into the season. Their upcoming Thanksgiving tournament is four games. The goal? Win all of them and take the tournament trophy. The Islanders will also be playing in the Holiday Classic at Torrey Pines, which is four games. Once teams get to CIF, it’s another four games to win the championship.
