A close-in snapshot of La Jolla’s basketball season: Guard Nick Sebro, 6-feet tall, lightning-quick, shadows his Madison counterpart late in the first quarter, then sticks a hand up to block his shot. Forty-seven seconds later, Sebro, whose other persona is a wide receiver on the Viking football team, steals a ball at midcourt and drives it home for a basket to punctuate an 11-2 La Jolla lead at the outset of an eventual 62-49 win. The victory put the black-and-red at 17-9 for the season, 4-2 in the Central League.
Within those 50 or so seconds of a recent non-league game on the Vikings’ home wood, one of coach Paul Baranowski’s four backcourtmen (the coach in his 45th year on the sidelines, 12th at the seaside school) illustrated what has become so good about the Vikes’ 2024 campaign. The team can score in bunches; they can pile up a lot of points; it’s “powered from the back,” generated by the guards.
Just like they did three nights earlier against a helpless Crawford squad on Senior Night before an animated but ultimately disappointed home crowd. In the Colts’ gym, Michael Contreras (leading the team at 20.1 points per game), point guard Eli Vaz, Sebro (the trio all seniors), and off-the-bench Brody Sessa, a sophomore, led La Jolla on a tear, from a 30-30 tie to a 56-31 lead over the latter part of the third quarter — seemingly, in the blink of an eye.
“Getting to the basket is something I can do to put points on the board,” said “Contre,” who has started for three years on the varsity.
Baranowski has tried different lineups, but one that has worked effectively since the football players came over from their elongated championship fall season and got acclimated puts 6 feet 3 inches tall senior Jackson Diehl and 6 feet 5 inches tall junior Lance Braga in the front court alongside his guards. No center, nobody lumbering up and down court to slow down the attack. Diehl is mobile and a leaper who blocks shots; Braga, likewise, as he develops further. Jaime Guzman, a 6 feet 2 inches tall guard, is the missing piece and completes the Vikings’ rotation of seven players.
They stayed in the thick of a Central League race that saw Point Loma, finishing 6-2, slow down a little after a key starter suffered a leg injury on Jan. 23 during a game at home against Coronado. Canyon Hills, like La Jolla, finished the league schedule at 5-3 Feb. 9.
Diehl explains his rebounding and shot-blocking techniques: “I just try to judge where the ball is going and get in the right position right before it hits the rim (for a rebound). I feel like I have good anticipation (for blocking shots), and I use my vertical to my advantage.”
Vaz talks about his role: “I think if I pass the ball and relocate to the corner, I can hit those. I can drive, drive, drive. Defensively, I’m trying to pick up my man at half-court and get a couple of steals. Anything to help my team.”
