Boys’ basketball: Mater Dei looks as strong as ever

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

There’s been much talk about Long Beach Poly, Bellflower St. John Bosco, Etiwanda and Los Angeles Loyola being elite basketball teams, but don’t forget about defending state Division I champion Santa Ana Mater Dei.

‘I like our team,’ Coach Gary McKnight said. ‘We have good chemistry and had a great summer.’

The Monarchs lost four games during the summer and didn’t have 6-foot-7 junior Stanley Johnson, who was busy with national team commitments.

‘Stanley is probably the best player in the Southland,’ McKnight said.

Kentucky is recruiting Johnson, along with Arizona and UCLA, among others.

‘He’s so strong,’ McKnight said. ‘He’s so versatile and so big.’ Two 6-9 freshmen, Jayce Johnson and M.J. Cage, figure to contribute on varsity.

McKnight will enter the season with a career record of 926-83 and a warning to opponents.

‘We’ll be all right,’ he said.

-- Eric Sondheimer