Santiago Is Used to Coming Up Short

GARDEN GROVE — In basketball, height isn’t everything. But in the case of the Santiago boys’ team, it’s nothing.

Talk about grabbing the short straw; the Cavaliers have a fistful. Not one of Santiago’s 10 players is six feet tall. Not even in platform sneakers. The only way Santiago can overwhelm opponents is by speed, guile and desire. Even at the high school level, that’s a tall order.

It’s a dilemma Coach Paul Anderson has lived with for eight years now.

“I’ve never had a guy over 6-2,” Anderson said. “Wait . . . I did have a 6-3 kid once, but he was a non-starter. We’ve had some big kids, but they haven’t been able to play, so I’ve always gone with smaller guys.

“My offense gears around nothing but the small man,” he said. “We’ve always played a three-guard offense, always (full-court) pressed, always played man-to-man. We don’t teach posting up, but facing the basket. I’m no great coach by any means; I just have a bunch of kids who go real hard and other teams that take us for granted. I think a lot of our wins come that way; teams always come in overconfident against us.”

So how do they ever win a game? It’s not impossible. Last season, the Cavaliers were 10-16. So far this season with seven seniors--four of whom start--they had won five of 13 as they began Garden Grove League play on Friday. Santiago has averaged 50.8 points in those 13 games, opponents 57.6, a pretty decent point differential considering the height differential the Cavaliers often face.

“One of the best things you can say about a program is the kids play hard,” Rancho Alamitos Coach Eric Hamamoto said. “Paul’s teams are always overachievers who leave their guts on the court. It’s always a war with them no matter what the talent level. The final score might not indicate it, but you’re know you’ve played a game against them.”

The players say they have come to understand the necessity for the all-out approach Anderson demands--even if it takes awhile to understand.

“When teams first play us, they think they’re going to beat us like nothing,” said senior forward Kevin Nelson, who is averaging 11.9 points. “They think we’re no good. But we take the charge; we press. We can wear down teams mentally. As long as we play good defense, that’s our offense and we can win.”

And discipline remains present. Senior guard Rafael Robledo, who is averaging 17.8 points in a system that has never had a player produce more than 14 a game, is doing far better than he or anyone else expected, especially since Robledo was dismissed from the team last season for what he termed “an attitude adjustment.”

“I just get real intense, and last year I let my attitude get the best of me,” Robledo said. “But I like basketball, I came back and it’s paying off. I’m having a good year although I want to make my defense better.”

Heart and hustle can only stretch so far, however. The Cavaliers still get more than their fair share of lopsided losses; Rancho Alamitos and Foothill have each hung 40-point defeats on Santiago this season. They probably won’t be the only teams to do so. And that can grind on the most dedicated player.

“The hardest thing to do at Santiago is keep your team up and be prepared for the next game,” Anderson said. “We can go into a game and just get smashed--lose by 20-30 points--because we’re just not prepared mentally. But if we are prepared, there’s no way we’re going to get beat that badly.”

Anderson has no illusions about ever getting that 6-10 athlete that seems to consistently show up at the Mater Deis, Katellas and other big-time county programs. “That’s not going to happen, especially since the (open enrollment in the) districts,” he said. “The 6-10 kid--even the 6-4 kid--is going to go to the school where he knows he can win.”

Santiago has had one winning season in Anderson’s eight-year tenure, going 17-8 in 1990-91. During those years, he has sent two players to junior college teams. Not that there haven’t been stirring moments, like beating San Clemente in the playoffs a couple years back. Or the 70-69 upset victory against Trabuco Hills last season. At the time the Mustangs were ranked fourth in the county.

“It was the fifth or sixth game, but for us it was like winning the Southern Section,” Anderson said. “That propelled us to a better season than we probably should have had.”

The question remains whether Anderson can or will wait for a Cavalier dream team. Or at least one that can reach the rim without a ladder.

“You always hope for that 6-10 kid; some players who bring you some ink and/or gratification, I guess. But you keep pushing at it. I got a hand dealt to me that’s not four aces but a couple of pairs. I don’t know how much longer I’m going to be here, but if I’m here long enough I’ll eventually get that real good team.”