SGV/Whittier Prep Sports Zone: BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW - Damien, Bosco Tech
Both teams looking for more success after a terrific 2022-23 season.
Xavier Clinton of Damien in action against Rancho Dominguez (Photo: Damien HS Athletics)
Damien HS
Head Coach: Mike LeDuc
Assistant Coaches: Darin Zabel, Eric Johnson, David Ng
Projected Guards Returning
Xavier Clinton, Senior, 6'4, All League
Elijah Smith, Sophomore, 5'10
Lucas Arrieta, Junior, 6'1
Jacob Allen, Junior, 5'11
Projected Fowards Returning
Eli Garner, Sophomore, 6'5, All League
Jayden Avina, Junior, 6'6Â
Projected Centers Returning
Nate Garcia, Junior, 7'0, SGV and Baseline League MVP, All CIF 1st team  22ppg 15rpg in 2023
Top Newcomers
Jedidiah Wilfred, Senior, 6'7 Transfer from Etiwanda. 30 day sitout
Zaire Rasshan, Freshmen, 6'1 Guard
Coach Leduc’s Comments: Thoughts on your team (strengths and weaknesses) and League. We have a 7'0 Center, 2 very good point guards, 4 shooters, and two power forwards in our rotation. That balance should help us with 4 returning starters, and 10 returning varsity players from a team that won 26 games last year.
CRYSTAL BALL: The standard is the standard and that is the current status of Damien basketball. They are the gold standard when it comes to boys basketball in the area and that will not change in 2023-24. They start the year as a top-10 team in Southern California according to basketball guru Frank Burlison. This team is loaded! It starts with senior guard Xavier Clinton, who is a five-tool player on the court. Elijah Smith is one of the best sophomore guards in Southern California and Eli Garner is not a low-post threat, but he can also hit the three-point shot when the moment calls for it. Nate Garcia is a perfect example why the Damien coaching staff is can be called elite. The work they put in with this player before last year was exhausting, but it all paid off as he became a scoring machine in the low post. His progress has been nothing short of sensational. The Spartans add reinforcements in the low post with the arrival of Jedidiah Wilfred from Etiwanda. If you know anything about this program, if a freshmen is being listed on a questionnaire, then you know he’s good - so we’ll be watching freshmen Zaire Russian closely. All in all, this team will start the year as the top ranked team in the area - and richly deserved.
Bosco Tech’s Ryan Osborne. (Escarcega)
BOSCO TECH
Coach: Michael Romo (27-7, CIF-SS Champions)
Assistant Coaches: Damian Reyes, Rob Godinez, Aaron De Anda, Hector Hernandez, David Osborne, Stanford Tucker, Mario Romero
PROJECTED GUARDS
Darius Bentiez 11 5'10 140 PG/G
Andrew Hernandez 12 6'0 140 PG/G
Dominic Gallardo 10 6'0 150 G
Siyph El Mais 11 5'8 155 G
PROJECTED FORWARDS
Jaden Erami 11 6'2 175 F
Conan Vasquez 12 6'2 170 F
Caleb Cisneros 11 6'0 F/G
Aston Wu 12 6'0 170 F/G
PROJECTED CENTERS
Ryan Osborne 12 6'2 160 C
David Estrada 10 6'0 195 C
TOP NEWCOMERS
Kenneth Martinez 9 6'1 G/F
David Tadian 11 6'3 180 F
Coach Romo’s Comments: We return 10 of 12 players from last year's team. We are a team that can score in a variety of ways. Defending bigger teams will be our challenge. We return to the Santa Fe League in which we were Co-league champs. We have moved up from 5 AA to 3A. Deepest team we have ever been. Kenneth Martinez is an under the radar freshmen who will make an impact for us. Jaden Erami, Ryan Osborne, and Darius Benitez give us one best trios in the area.
CRYSTAL BALL: What a year it was for Romo and Company as they took all the candy in Div. 5-AA and won the title. There was nothing flucky about the championship, they earned every bit of that title. That was then and this is now and the now is that Bosco Tech made a huge jump to Div. 3A and that will make it very difficult for them to repeat as sectional champions. However, they will be in the mix and, as we all know, once you make the playoffs, anything can happen. The trio of Erami, Osborne and Benitez are back and that is a major plus for this team. Osborne can score from anywhere on the court and Erami is one of the best pure shooters in the area and don’t forget about Benitez, he’s solid as well. As coach Romo noted, if they play a team (like Damien) that has size in the low post, that will be a problem. But we see a 20-win season for the Tigers. If you plan on going to a home game, you better get their early, seating could be an issue at Bosco games. Another top-5 area team — for sure.