For years and years it’s been Dominguez this and Dominguez that. It’s been the stories of Tayshaun Prince and Tyson Chandler, but one begs to ask the question after watching their play in non-conference games, is it time for Dominguez to step aside?

If Gahr has anything to do with it, the answer is yes, and while Downey and Warren will be waiting in the shadows to gobble up a possible playoff berth, it will be the Gladiators that take the SGVL this year.

Last year, Gahr finished 6-4 in league but was loud about it. Normally a very fast and athletic team, Gahr had three players average 12 or more points per game. Devin Golston led the way scoring 24.4 points per game and a young Davon Potts was starting to really develop scoring 13 points per game, but only because Golston did the majority of the scoring.

This year, Potts has taken over averaging an eerie 24.4 points per game like Golston. Potts has help though, more than Golston had last year with three other players averaging 10 or more points per game. Anthony Martinez is chipping in 10 points per game and Ervin Ware is scoring 18 points per game while Chales Nebo Jr. is tossing in 15 per game.

Gahr’s offense is going to run teams out of gyms and it’s quite possible that they won’t even be touched in the SGVL and go 10-0 after league play is all said and done. After all, they are ranked No. 17 in the state.

Lynwood has a stud of their own in Raymond Alexander III who is scoring 24 points per game. Now while Alexander doesn’t have the support around him that Potts has, it shouldn’t be surprising for Lynwood to finish second in league play and wrap up a playoff spot earlier than expected.

The only way Gahr might slip up is against a team that has a big scorer and out of all the teams in the league, Lynwood is the only one with a legitimate scoring threat. In basketball, there is the threat that one player can take over a game and put a team on his back and win. Lynwood is the only one that has that big punch threat.

Paramount will surprise a lot of teams this year and could possibly be the sleeper in the league. Always known as a down and gritty type team, Paramount is having one of their better non-conference appearances in quite some time. While they don’t have that big bopper on offense, they do spread the ball around enough to keep teams off balance.

The Pirates have shown that they can run with the big boys, and if necessary grind it out as well. They might not be as skilled as Lynwood or as talented as Gahr, but they are an overall better team than Warren, Downey, and Dominguez at this point. A third place finish and a playoff spot should be in reach for the Pirates.

Warren will get the boost that they need this year with new head coach Ryan Hart. A fresh start for the Bears’ program will be good for their health after the messy and somewhat mysterious firing of last year’s head coach Brent Willis. So far, the Bears are having a pretty good non-conference run and with the fall of Downey and the mighty fall of Dominguez, there might be an outside shot of sneaking into the playoffs like Downey has the last couple seasons. But any improvement from the past two years in league play will be great for the Bears.

It will be fun to watch this team as they finally get off the mat and grab their first league win in over a year and a half. While a fourth place finish might still taste bitter to the Bears, lets not forget how bad they’ve been in league play for the past couple years. Finishing fourth should feel like finishing first right now.

Downey’s playoff Cinderella story may finally be over. After sneaking in the last two years with at-large bids, they finally may have run out of players to pull up into the spotlight. They lost Matt Black and Matt Taylor, both players who were massive parts to the Vikings getting into the playoffs. The Vikings now lack size in the middle of the court and will force their jump shooters to be on target every night.

It will be a tall task for the Vikings to overcome, but if head coach Larry Shelton has taught us anything, it’s all about execution and heart on the court that grabs wins. While a playoff berth and higher than a fifth place finish looks grim, don’t be surprised if the Vikings have some success anyway.

Talk about a fall from grace. From king of the mountain to cellar rat, Dominguez is possibly having one of the worst falls in recent memory. Only 2-6 on the season, Dominguez’s talent pool has finally run dry. They barely beat Downey in one of their wins, but even then they probably shouldn’t have won that game. Finally we’re starting to see the change of guard in the SGVL starting with the all mighty Dominguez staring at a last place finish in league play for the first time in over a decade.

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Published: January 8, 2010 - Volume 8 - Issue 38