Despite not getting the desired result in the championship game of its own Lions Club Wildcat Shootout on Dec. 8, the Los Gatos High boys basketball team has plenty of valid reasons for optimism and an opportunity to have a truly special season.
The narrow 59-56 loss to Branham High in the title contest dropped the Wildcats to 5-2 and snapped a five-game win streak. Los Gatos has gotten off to an impressive start even though it hasn’t been at full strength through the first seven games, as five players from the football team had yet to join the squad.
That’s because the football team advanced all the way to the CIF State Championship Division 2-A Bowl Game on Dec. 9.
“For six weeks we’ve been talking, ‘OK, when we get some football guys out here, we’re going to be a whole team and we can [really] start working,” Wildcats coach Nick Ward said after the Branham game. “You never know how long that season is going to go, and it went as far as it can possibly go. We started games obviously never knowing, but for the last 2 ½ weeks, the 11 guys we’ve had have come together. They’ve played extremely hard and they’ve grown by leaps and bounds, more than I think I would’ve ever imagined. I told them that after the game, I’m so proud with how far we’ve come in 2 ½ weeks, to be sitting at 5-2 and not be a complete team yet [is impressive].”
Ward was particularly proud of the players for their mental toughness against Branham, which bolted out to a 13-3 lead midway through the first quarter.
“We kept grinding to get back into it, you can’t be more proud of the fight,” Ward said. “Guys are tired, it’s a battle and those guys just played their tails off. Super happy with how they played.”
The Bruins have plenty of tall and skillful wing players who made things tough on the Wildcats throughout.
Despite the early deficit, the Wildcats scratched and clawed their way back to level things at 56-56 with 1 minute, 20 seconds remaining on a Ronan Chinmulgund driving layup.
After a couple of possessions with no score, Branham drained a jump shot from the free throw line to take the lead for good with 22 seconds left. Los Gatos had a couple of opportunities to get things into overtime to no avail.
However, competitive games like this should only toughen the Wildcats for the road ahead. Prior to Chinmulgund’s layup, Anthony Martin had an open look from beyond the arc that hit the back rim with the team trailing 52-50.
Martin was sensational on the night, scoring all 12 of his ponts via the 3-pointer. The junior guard missed just two shots and has been a breakout player after earning MVP honors on the junior varsity team last year.
“Anthony stepped up [huge],” Ward said. “It just felt like every shot he made was in a big moment, big time.”
The team’s foundation, senior post Nolan Koch, had a game-high 18 points, continuing a season-long trend. Tough, physical and displaying finer footwork and movement which allows him to get to his spot near the basket for close-range shots, Koch has been rock-solid as expected.
Koch is also potent from 3-point range which makes him a dangerous inside-outside threat. However, Ward knows getting the ball inside to Koch as often as possible will prove most beneficial.
“Nolan inside, we couldn’t get the ball inside enough [to him],” Ward said. “He’s just solid. We just can’t take him off the floor. He changes everything we do. … We’ve got a guy that nobody can guard. Nobody we’ve played can guard that guy inside, and once we started getting it inside, you start to see it go in. Now the defense collapses, and one area Nolan has gotten better at is passing from the post. Whereas in previous years the ball goes in [to the post], it’s not coming out. He was going up with it, foul or no foul. But he’s making some passes out of the post to some premium shooters on the outside, which helps.”
Ward has also been excited that Koch took on the leadership role head-on from the moment last season ended.
“Starting last spring in open gym, Nolan kind of took it on, ‘Hey, this is my third year on varsity, I’m kind of the biggest scoring contributor returning,’” Ward said. “Him and Ronan both kind of took on that leadership role.”
The third returning starter, Scotty Brennan, has yet to see game time because of football season. A versatile 6-foot-4, 175-pound junior wing, Brennan possesses length and tremendous playmaking ability. He can get to the basket off dribble penetration, has a nice mid-range jumper and is a strong rebounder.
Of course, not even an athlete of Brennan’s caliber will be up to full speed on the hardwood and Ward knows it will take time for the football players to get their basketball legs and conditioning under them. That includes Brennan and 6-5, 250-pound post Leo Cocchiglia and 6-3 Zach Otoupal.
Of course, it will take time for all the players to mesh once again, but it’s nothing new for Los Gatos or Ward as the basketball team typically has a couple of talented athletes coming over from the gridiron every year.
“There’s a bunch of [football] guys, they all text me,” Ward said. “We basically have to start tryouts [again] on Monday [the 11th]. Leo moves great and Zach is long, can shoot, drive, defend, has good instincts. Just a bunch of athletes, and the more athletes you get, the better your team gets.”
Coming off a season in which it advanced to the Central Coast Section Division I championship game, the ’Cats could be in line for another special season. They have plenty of talent and depth, including returning guard Osha Moloney, who has knock-down 3-point range capability.
Chinmulgund can drive it to the basket and hit shots from the outside, Max Brin and Joey Rabitz provide strong ball handling against press defenses, and Andre Scott-Waikar is a senior having a breakout season, highlighted by his game-winning 3-point shot to beat tournament host Jefferson High 52-49 on Dec. 2.
Once again, Los Gatos will hang its hat on defense. The best teams in the section not only can score it, but they have to be ferocious on the defensive end. The Wildcats went 21-7 overall and 11-1 last season to capture the Santa Clara Valley Athletic League De Anza Division championship. They gave mighty Bellarmine all it could handle in the CCS D-I title game before falling, 63-55, before bowing out in the opening round of the CIF State NorCal D-III tournament.
“You can’t beat tough teams unless you play defense,” Ward said. “At the end of the day, you’ve got to get stops.”
Los Gatos has a game against Santa Cruz on Dec. 16, then goes 11 days before its next game vs. North Monterey County on the 27th.
