The basketball seasons for the boys’ and girls’ teams at San Marino High is underway, and both squads are looking for a successful run through the nonleague schedule and into Rio Hondo League play, with their sights set on a deep postseason journey. Here’s a closer look at this season’s teams.
Boys
The Titans boys have a roster overflowing with players ready to get after it on the court. It’s an experienced group with eight returning players and seven seniors.
“This is probably the largest collection of talented boys that I’ve coached in my 24 years,” San Marino coach Mihail Papadopulos said. “It’s not just in their abilities that I love in this team, it’s just that they love to compete. This varsity group is very competitive. They play hard for each other.”
It’s a nice problem to have, but with so much talent a new challenge surfaces.
“In terms of our season theme, because we have so many players that can contribute at the varsity level, we are kind of circling around sacrifice,” Papadopulos said. “Everyone is going to have to sacrifice a little bit, because we have a lot of players and we’re just going to have to give a little bit. It can’t really be about how many points you score or how much time [you play]. It really has to become about whatever it takes for the team to be successful. So sacrifice is a word we are really going to use quite a bit this season.”
Along with the theme of sacrifice, the program will continue to be based in the concept of “earned, not given.”
“Everything here at San Marino that we have tried to do over 14 years has been to just earn our way,” Papadopulos said. “To do it with our local boys here and to earn everything that we do, so that is really what we stand for.”
Among those returning are three all-league seniors: Adrian Huang, Bobby Reyes and Jayden Tse.
“[Huang’s] ability to score from the inside and the outside, whether it is shooting or driving, is pretty unique,” Papadopulos said. “I don’t think I’ve coached a kid like Bob in terms of his vision and ability to make plays for his teammates.”
Papadopulos will turn to Tse and senior Jack Fuerst as reliable offensive threats. Along with Huang, Reyes, Tse and Fuerst are seniors Eli Chin, Michael Najarian and Dean Ryan.
“It’s a nice senior class. They all really love each other. They play for each other. They have a wonderful voice in the locker room that guides us,” Papadopulos said. “They have a great chemistry that everyone else feeds off of.”
The defensive prowess of Titans junior Casey Chan will also be counted on, and junior Mitch Mooney will give the team “a strong presence inside,” as he takes to the court following a successful football season. Sophomores Nicholas Chen and Marco Rangel also promise to make a big impact.
The Titans begin Rio Hondo League play on the road at South Pasadena on Dec. 13, and the league slate promises to be challenging.
“Every season we want to win league,” Papadopulos said. “We’re in one of the most competitive leagues in this area with the Rio Hondo. La Cañada is always very good year-to-year. Now South Pas has kind of moved into that level. Blair had a wonderful year last year. Monrovia, Temple City, all those teams, it’s just going to be a very competitive league.”
When it comes down to it, the overarching goals for the season are straightforward.
“Our goal is to win [the Rio Hondo] league, to make it to the playoffs, get to CIF,” Papadopulos said. “Now we are in Division III-A. Our goal is to win CIF. We haven’t won CIF since 1959, so that is the next goal.”
Whatever happens, it should be exciting to watch.
“We’re going to play fast and we’re trying to score a lot of points,” Papadopulos said.
Girls
The season may have just begun, but the hard work for the girls on the Titan squad has been in play much longer.
“Our work really started in offseason, in spring and in summer,” San Marino coach Elizabeth Reuter said. “This summer, we actually played 31 games in about 5 1/2 weeks. The girls come to practice every day ready to work hard, and I really think they are starting to see things translate on the court, and that gets them excited to keep working and trying to get better every day.”
A stated goal this season is to finish in the upper echelon of the Rio Hondo League, after finishing in fourth last season.
“We’ve talked a lot about trying to get a better finish in league,” Reuter said. “We want to finish top three because that gives us a guarantee to get in the playoffs. I think that is definitely one of our goals. It’s going to be tough. South Pas is definitely the team to beat, but I think with our dedication and our talent there is no reason we aren’t fighting for the second/third-place spot with Temple City and La Cañada.”
Attitude, energy and effort are focal points for this campaign because they are things they can control.
“If we have those three things, we are giving ourselves a chance every single game, regardless of the opponent or circumstances.”
Leading the way will be a trio of seniors in Chloe Lin, Sophia Papadopulos and Malia Yu, all of whom are four-year varsity players.
“They are my first senior class since coming to San Marino, so I think that they have a really good grasp on what kind of culture we want,” Reuter said. “They are great leaders.”
Reuter thinks the team will be particularly strong defensively.
“We have some really smart defenders. We have a lot of length as well. A couple players like Malia Yu [and] Joleen Tanihaha are long and are quick. Then we have players like Sophia Papadopulos, who just doesn’t care, she doesn’t care who she is guarding, the height difference, she is going to bother and annoy people. So I think defense is a real strength for us.”
Keying the offense will be junior Kailey Woo.
“She is hard to stop. She can shoot. She can drive. She’s learning how to be a great passer as well. She kind of drives our offense.”
The roster will also feature two freshmen, Giuliana Reitzell and Madeleine Tanihaha.
“We have a lot of offensive weapons and we have quite a few players that can play both a guard and a post role for us: Malia, Kailey [and] Liliana Mata, she’s a sophomore returner. They can fill a lot of different roles for us.”
Reuter sees the program on the rise.
“Hopefully we get some buzz around girls’ basketball. It’s always more fun to play with more people in the gym, but it’s a great time and I hope San Marino High School and the community can rally around and come be a part of a lot of our games and see what our girls have been working so hard for so long.”
First published in the Nov. 23 issue of the San Marino Tribune
