A fresh start

Barry Faulkner

NEWPORT BEACH - Newport Harbor High boys basketball coach Larry

Hirst learned last summer that starting over doesn’t necessarily mean

starting from scratch.

After losing six of his top eight players from a monumental 24-6

campaign, which tied a school record for victories and ended in the CIF

Southern Section Division II-AA quarterfinals, Hirst and his staff were

braced for humility.

But standout returners Dustin Illingworth and Aaron Yarnal, as well as a

determined cast of newcomers, didn’t have the same take and set about

winning all but three games in summer competition.

“To be honest, when the coaches sat down June 1 and talked about this

year, we shook our heads and said, ‘Geez, we’d be happy to be .500 in the

summer,’ ” Hirst said. “But then we lost three games to two teams and we

had to feel pretty good about that. I was very pleasantly surprised at

how well things gelled together. But I’m also realistic enough to know

that summer is summer.”

Graduated seniors and boyhood teammates Matt Jameson (Miami of Ohio),

Alan Limon, Gary Robinson and Adam Hearlson took nearly 40 points per

game and an unspoken cohesion with them to their respective college

campuses. What they left behind, however, was a legacy of respect for a

program Hirst seems to be slowly molding into one of Orange County’s

best.

“We talk about tradition, which is basically sports psychology 101,” said

Hirst, entering his fifth season at the school. “It’s a slow process and

it’s early. Baby steps lead to higher mountains and we’ve steadily

improved (6-20, 15-12 and 18-9 before last season). If we could be the

kind of program that was always around the 20-win mark, I guess that

would be a good tradition to start.”

The Sailors, absolved by releaguing of former Sea View League nemeses

Santa Margarita and El Toro (both ranked in preseason county top-10

polls) appear to have 20-win potential. And Hirst is excited to see so

many new faces.

“As a staff there’s just a freshness about this season,” Hirst said.

“We’re one week into practice and I still don’t know what our primary

defense will be. Last year, I knew who are starters were and what offense

and defense we’d be running in August. It was so status quo with the

group we had last year, it’s exciting to have something new.”

Illingworth, entering his fourth varsity season, is hardly part of that

novelty. But Hirst said the 6-foot-4 first-team All-Sea View and

All-Newport-Mesa District returner could show a few new wrinkles this

winter.

“We’ve made a concerted effort to get his outside game going,” said

Hirst, who watched the athletic veteran get the bulk of his 14.7 points

per game last season in the paint or in transition. “He still likes to

float back to the middle, but he’s going to have to play outside at the

next level and he’s worked hard to get his outside shot going. I think

he’ll surprise some people at how good a shooter he is.”

Yarnal, who averaged 2.8 points as a sophomore last season, has already

surprised his coach with his athleticism and skill.

“Playing behind all those guards last year, I’m not sure we realized how

good a player Aaron really is,” Hirst said.

Joining Yarnal in the backcourt will be sophomore Greg Perrine, who will

handle the point guard role Jameson owned for four seasons.

“We had him penciled in as our junior varsity point guard, but we played

him a little in the summer and he took advantage of his opportunity,”

Hirst said. “He was a big surprise.”

Sean Rorden, a 6-4 senior who has added about two inches and 20 pounds

from last season, also asserted himself during the summer, while Tony

Melum, a 6-6 sophomore, could become a formidable front-court player.

Melum, however, is recovering from a broken wrist and won’t be available

until at least mid-December.

“(Melum) is about twice as bulky as Hearlson and he’ll be a pretty good

player by the end of this year,” Hirst said. “He has some bad habits, but

he knows how to play. We didn’t bring him up because of his height.”

Justin Reynolds, a 5-11 senior, and Spigner Jordan, a 6-2 junior guard

who led the JV in scoring last year, will see time at a wing spot, as

will 6-1 senior Chris Martin and Ryan Cook, a 6-1 junior who transferred

from Mater Dei.

Senior forwards John Murray and Tom Redoutey will add depth, as will

seniors John Ready, Josh Knutti and Swiss foreign exchange student Marc

Staudenmann.

Billy Clayton, a Stanford-bound volleyball player currently starting for

the football team, has said he will sit out the basketball season. He

averaged 3.5 points as a junior reserve.

The Sailors open Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against Magnolia in the first round

of Coyote Classic at Buena Park High.

NEWPORT HARBOR ROSTER

5 Justin Reynolds Sr.

11 Greg Perrine So.

12 Chris Martin Sr.

14 Josh Knutti Sr.

15 Sean Rorden Sr.

21 Spigner Jordan Jr.

23 John Murray Sr.

24 John Ready Sr.

25 Aaron Yarnal Jr.

33 Marc Staudenmann Sr.

34 Tom Redoutey Sr.

35 Dustin Illingworth Sr.

42 Ryan Cook Jr.

50 Tony Melum So.

Coach: Larry Hirst