HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL ‘93-’94 : <i> Valley Pac-8 Conference</i> : MID-VALLEY LEAGUE : Birmingham

‘92-93 RECORD OVERALL: 16-8 LEAGUE: 9-3 COACH: Al Bennett YEAR: 5th

TOP RETURNEES YR POS HT Tony Silberfeld Sr. F 6-1 Scott Le Winter Jr. G 5-9 Marc Fernando Jr. G 5-4 Rudolfo Quilang Sr. F 5-10 Scott James Jr. G 5-10

TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS HT Mark Ellis Jr. F 6-0 Jason Joseph Sr. G 6-0 Ilya Kurinets Jr. G 5-9 Jamal Marks Jr. G 5-10 Jotham Ramirez Sr. G 5-10

OUTLOOK The Braves finished two games behind league champion Monroe last season. Three returning starters should once again give Birmingham a shot at the league title. “I’m excited about these kids. We’re real small, but very tenacious, very hard-working,” Bennett said. “They have the potential to be better than last year’s team.” The Braves’ ball-control offense will be run by Fernando at point guard and Le Winter, both returning starters. “I think we’ll play everybody really tough,” Bennett said. Canoga Park ‘92-93 RECORD OVERALL: 10-11 LEAGUE: 5-7 COACH: Nate Schleifer YEAR: 1st

TOP RETURNEES YR POS HT Jody Edington Sr. G 5-7 Sobeck Banuelos Sr. F 6-2 Michael Criss Jr. G 6-0 Omar Campbell Jr. G 5-7

TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS HT Aaron Lasley So. C 6-3 Craig Osstadt Sr. C 6-6 Lucien Josephy Sr. G 6-1 Kevin Fishman Jr. G 5-11 Andrew Speller Sr. G 5-10 Carell Downs Sr. G 5-9 Jeff Marmor Jr. F 6-2 Ryan Silva Jr. F 6-2 Javier Garcia Sr. G 6-0

OUTLOOK Edington, one of the best playmakers in the league, is the Hunters’ only returning starter. He averaged 4.8 assists and 3.9 steals last season and will work with Criss and Campbell in the backcourt. “We have speed in the back court,” Schleifer said. “And Craig and Aaron will help me against strong, powerful teams down low.” Schleifer is expecting a balanced scoring attack and hoping the young Hunters win more than they lose. Monroe ‘92-93 RECORD OVERALL: 23-4 LEAGUE: 11-1 COACH: Paul Graber YEAR: 3rd

TOP RETURNEES YR POS HT Kenyatta Niles Sr. G 6-4 Dante Cain Sr. G 6-4 Kashon Griffin Sr. C 6-2

TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS HT Dante Holly Sr. C 6-4 Shaka Stiner Jr. G 5-10 Wallace Carter Jr. G 5-10 Jacques Slade Sr. G 5-11 Quincy Brooks Jr. G 5-10 Wayne Nix Jr. C 6-6 Tim Johnson Jr. C 6-5 Shedrick Brown Sr. G 6-3 Derrick Rose Sr. G 5-11

OUTLOOK Graber turned a 7-11 team into a City Section 3-A finalist last year. Only a one-point loss to Banning kept Graber and the Vikings from the title game. Three returning starters could make it happen this time. Niles, a Times’ All-Valley selection who has switched to point guard this season, averaged 17.3 points, 11.7 rebounds and 7.6 assists. He is surrounded by an abundance of talent. “Our greatest weakness is that we haven’t played together enough,” Graber said. ‘92-93 RECORD OVERALL: 5-14 LEAGUE: 3-9 COACH: Jay Werner YEAR: 6th

TOP RETURNEES YR POS HT Darrin Drew Sr. G 6-2 Bryant Adarme Sr. F 6-2

TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS HT Polo Gonzalez Jr. G 5-11 Steve Peralta Sr. G 5-11 Cory Garrett Jr. F 6-1 Chackick Agazarian Sr. F 5-11 Jaime Cerna Jr. C 6-3 Kareem Hoover Sr. PG 5-7

OUTLOOK Poly’s biggest problem the past few seasons has been a lack of height. It’s still a problem, but Werner hopes to combat that disadvantage with a better offense. “We’ll probably struggle from the boards side, but we’ll have a lot more offense,” he said. “I’ve got a lot more offensive weapons.” Werner is expecting much of that offense to come from Garrett and Drew. On paper, Poly looks stronger than last season, despite the fact that the Parrots have no returning starters. Sylmar ‘92-93 RECORD OVERALL: 4-13 LEAGUE: 2-10 COACH: Jose Fernandez YEAR: 2nd

TOP RETURNEES YR POS HT Michael Farmer Sr. G 5-11 Hector Ibarra Jr. G 5-10

TOP NEWCOMERS YR POS HT Ed Terry Jr. F 6-2 Lamar Thompson Sr. C 6-6 Joe Guerra Jr. G 5-9 Robert Epperson Sr. C 6-6 Carlos Martinez Sr. G 5-8 Mark Reynosa Sr. G 5-10

OUTLOOK The Spartans showed during spring and summer leagues that Sylmar may no longer will be the league doormat. Fernandez, who took over a 2-13 team a year ago, doubled that victory total in his first season. He expected to do better, however, which is why he will not boast about his team until it proves itself on the court. “At least this year we’ll be competitive. We’ll be in the game most of the time,” he said. “They know what it is to lose and they hated it.”