Renaissance thrust into spotlight

By Fred J. Robledo Staff Writer

Article Launched: 01/15/2007 11:40:39 PM PST

Arizona's Lute Olson, Washington's Lorenzo Romar, North Carolina's Roy Williams and UCLA coach Ben Howland were at Saturday's San Fernando Showcase at Pierce College, all awaiting the late boys basketball game between Campbell Hall and Taft high schools.

But with the one day tournament running late, Renaissance Academy's scheduled 5 p.m. contest against defending CIF-Southern Section Division II-A champion Colony was pushed back and shoving the little known Wildcats into the spotlight.

And did they ever deliver by defeating the defending champions, 61-54, as junior sensation Justin Cook scored a team-high 20 points, followed by 18 points from sophomore Josh Thomas and 13 from Hector Harold. The Wildcats improved to 15-1.

"I saw Roy Williams watching, and Lute Olson was there, too," Wildcats coach Sid Cooke said. "It was a packed house and they were just filling in when our game started, so it was great exposure for our kids.

"Colony (11-6) has a great team and a lot of great players, but honestly, we didn't even know they were defending CIF champions. It goes to show how far our school has come since beginning a boys basketball program seven years ago."

Renaissance Academy, a small private school in La Ca�ada with only 52 high school students, has turned into a monster.

The Wildcats recently advanced to back-to-back CIF-SS Division V-A championship games. They lost both title games to Price, one of the section's powerhouses.

The Wildcats, still without a senior, are 60-14 since the 2004-05 season, but this might be their most talented cast yet.

Cook, a 6-foot-2 shooting guard, is averaging 25 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game. Thomas, a junior, is averaging 18 points and Harold, only a sophomore, is averaging 10.

As if they need it, the Wildcats will add size this week when 6-foot-8 sophomore Anthony Stover becomes eligible.

"(Stover's) got size 20 shoes, so he'll probably be close to seven feet by the time he's a senior," Cooke said. "We were 27-3 in the summer with Anthony on our team, so he obviously adds a huge dimension under the basket."

The Wildcats already have won the Burbank Tip-Off and Cornerstone Christian classics. Their only loss came against powerful Simi Valley (15-3) in the Winter Slam Jam tournament at Taft High, 91-83.

A huge difference between this year and the past two is the Wildcats no longer are in the weak American League, which has been dissolved and forced Renaissance Academy to become an independent team without a CIF-SS division.

The Wildcats will learn this week what division they will be placed into by CIF.

"We're real curious, because we know we're moving up," Cooke said. "CIF has told us it will come down to our strength of schedule, how we've done and what we've done in the past. I'm thinking we can go anywhere from III-AA on down. Wherever we go, we feel like we'll be ready for it. That's why we've scheduled so many tough games."

On Saturday, Renaissance will face St. Bonaventure (5-6) in the War on the Floor Classic at Taft High, and the Wildcats have two other dandies scheduled later this month.

Renaissance Academy will play Inglewood (10-6) on Jan. 29, followed by San Luis Obispo power Mission Prep (13-3) on Jan. 31.

"We just want to get better, and playing these teams helps us get better," Cooke said. "Mission Prep is like a Price. They've beaten some very good teams, so that will be a huge test for us."

Locally, the Wildcats own a couple victories over Keppel. Area fans would love the Wildcats to enter local tournaments next season or perhaps schedule Pasadena or La Ca ada.