DAILY PILOT HIGH SCHOOL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK:

Every year, Newport Harbor High Coach Larry Hirst and his boys’ basketball team get away from Orange County.

Sometimes as far as they can. The destination, whether it’s Keene, N.H., or San Francisco, proves to benefit the team, on and off the court.

The trips unite the team and introduce players to what’s outside of their Newport Beach digs. It’s an exciting time, from riding the different mass transit systems such as BART and cable cars in the Bay Area, or touring colleges.

In recent years, a player has also emerged. This time it appears that player is senior forward Max Volz.

During a recent trip to the Bay Area, Volz showed signs that Hirst will able to count on the first-year starter.

Volz is unselfish, the staple of every Hirst-led team. So it was no surprise that with the game on the line and the Sailors’ trying to reach the championship game of the Don Bambauer Memorial Christmas Classic that he gave up the ball rather than try to be the hero.

With the defense collapsing on Volz in the lane, he passed the ball to a wide-open Michael Helfrich so he could finish off host Marin Catholic of Kentfield late. Newport Harbor went on to win 57-47 and meet Rocklin in the finals, where it lost, 71-46.

But to Volz the Sailors (10-6, 0-1 in league) gained more than losing a title game during a five-day trip.

Volz said he averaged 16 points per game during the four-day tournament in which Newport Harbor beat Napa, Natomas of Sacramento and Marin Catholic, all programs with winning records.

“We all stepped up as a team,” Volz said. “[Marin Catholic] had a big crowd. We were down and we came back. That was a big win for us because it’s different when you’re playing hundreds of miles away from home and in a tournament.”

The Sailors are getting used to being on the road and playing for tournament titles.

Last year they were able to claim the Keene State Classic championship at Keene State College in New Hampshire. One night, one player hit a school-record eight three-pointers. But more impressive was the coming-out party for then senior Weston Dunlap.

Dunlap, now at UCLA and on the volleyball team, found himself and his game in New Hampshire. He took more of an aggressive approach after trying to figure out how to play with highly-talented center Kyle Caldwell for the first 12 games of the season.

Two big men, Dunlap at 6-7 and Caldwell 6-8 at the time, not enough space on the floor, but the two Newport-Mesa Dream Team selections made it work. The Sailors went on to place second in the competitive Sunset League and reach the second round of the CIF Southern Section Division I-A playoffs.

Volz is trying to do the same this year with Caldwell, now a senior. It helps that Volz is 6-4 and he doesn’t need to be constantly around the paint. Neither does Caldwell, now a 6-9 senior. Caldwell can distribute the ball as well as score and rebound.

Volz understands he’s not the go-to guy, that tag belongs to Caldwell, who’s averaging around 22 points per game, 10 rebounds and a handful of assists per game.

But Hirst isn’t relying Volz to be a scoring machine.

“He kind of scores in spurts,” said Hirst, who received similar production from Dunlap last year, when he averaged 11.9 points and 9.1 rebounds per game.

If Volz can duplicate those numbers, the Sailors can be league contenders.

“There are a lot of good teams, Los Alamitos is always good and [it] has some big guys,” said Volz of the Griffins, who last year won league by going 10-0 last year en route to winning the Division I-A championship. “But we’re looking to win and claim the Sunset League title this year.”

DAVID CARRILLO PEÑALOZA may be reached at (714) 966-4612 or at [email protected].