Byline: Kevin Connelly
Special to the Daily News
Lanky Shane Jones looked
across the court during pregame warmups and saw whom he wouldd be guarding that
night.
The senior center from tiny
Renaissance Academy of La Canada-Flintridge figured he'd have his hands full
with Pierre Prince, a 6-foot-9, 255-pound junior for Granada Hills High.
Oh no, thought Jones, who
stands 6-6 but only 185 pounds. I have to guard this guy?
In many ways, it was similar
to the difference in size between the schools. Granada Hills has 3,787
students, Renaissance just 55.
The only numbers that
mattered at the end of their Dec. 8 matchup at the Montclair Prep of Panorama
City/Slam Jam Tournament was Renaissance's 69-52 upset of Granada Hills, ranked
No. 20 by the Daily News.
Jones held Prince to two
points. Texas transfer Ryan White, averaging 27 points in 11 games this season,
scored 18 for Granada Hills (8-3).
``They just kicked our butts,''
first-year Granada Hills coach Don Loperena said. ``I didn't know much about
them at the time, so I didn't know what to expect.''
Four players scored in
double figures for the Wildcats, led by 6-foot senior Archie Robb (20 points)
and 6-2 Justin Cook (18). Cook, a sophomore, is considered a Division I college
prospect.
Renaissance Academy, a
non-religious private school east of Tujunga and just west of the Angeles Crest
Highway, wasn't surprised by any of this. It won a school-record 23 games last
year, finishing 7-0 in the American League with a whopping 61.6-point average
margin of victory.
The Wildcats were 10-0 at
home, had a 12-game winning streak that spanned more than a month, and went to
its first Div. V-A final.
``We've just outgrown (the
American League),'' sixth-year Renaissance Academy coach Sid Cooke said. ``We
take basketball a bit more seriously than some of the other schools in our
league. Winning league games by 60 points is not really helping us at this
point.''
With just 110 students
enrolled in the K-12 school, only half of them at the high school level,
Renaissance Academy has a pool of just 30 boys from which to field a basketball
team.
Cooke, a point guard on
professional teams in Europe 15 years ago who played high school basketball at
South Pasadena, has his Wildcats playing a tougher schedule this year. He
successfully campaigned the Southern Section this year to remove his team from
American League.
Renaissance Academy, which
has not yet been assigned to a league or a division for next season, played
well in Montclair Prep's tournament, beating Granada Hills and playing with a
tough Montclair Prep team, the Daily News' No. 16 team and 2004 Div. IV-A
champion.
Renaissance Academy (5-3)
lost to Montclair Prep (6-2) 64-54 on Dec. 9. It played well early in a loss to
perennial City Section power Crenshaw of Los Angeles.
``You don't want to overlook
Renaissance Academy anymore,'' said Montclair Prep assistant coach Jack Pollon,
the tournament director. ``You do that now and you lose. They played us tough
last year, and they're continuing to get better. Sid Cooke is a very good
coach, and I really think (his program) is a mainstay.''
Although Renaissance Academy
lost 6-5, 230-pound senior Lief Williams (20 points and nine rebounds per game)
to graduation, it has had a recent influx of talent that bodes well for the
future.
But with a young, improving
program such as Renaissance Academy's, real validation will come only with
victories over top basketball programs. In Div. V-A, the best is defending
seven-time champion Price of Los Angeles. Renaissance lost to Price 67-27 in
last year's V-A final.
``I was shocked with how
(Price) beat us last year,'' Robb said. ``I think we are a more talented team
this year, and I can't wait to play them again.''
Does Renaissance Academy
have a real chance to knock off the best team in its division? Did anyone
believe it would defeat Granada Hills?
``Those guys (at Price) are
monsters,`` Jones said. ``They always seem to have a couple (potential NCAA
Division I) players, but we're an improving program, so I don't think it's a
long shot for us to beat them anymore.''