Corona del Mar, Mission Bay clash tonight

CORONA DEL MAR — Routinely for two years, Stefan Kaluz’s good friends bashed his sport of choice.

The 6-foot-9 junior center took up basketball at Corona del Mar High as a freshman. His friends played volleyball.

“A waste,” said Kaluz of what his friends called basketball, making him think back then that he probably gaffed in not pursuing volleyball.

Kaluz’s basketball team didn’t make the playoffs his freshman year. At the end of that year, he watched his friends celebrate the school’s fifth CIF Southern Section volleyball championship.

They returned the following year to the title match, and friends again harassed Kaluz.

“They’re like, ‘You better play volleyball because you’re never going to get anywhere in basketball. It’s too competitive, you’re never going to win, you guys suck!’” Kaluz said. “That’s what they said every day. It’s so funny to look back.”

Kaluz can laugh about it now. His volleyball friends can’t do anything now but root for Kaluz and his basketball team.

The big man finally got a taste of a CIF crown Saturday. He lifted the Sea Kings past Renaissance Academy of La Cañada, 67-59, in the Southern Section Division III-A title at the Honda Center.

Five section basketball titles is what CdM has now, the same number in boys’ volleyball.

But now Kaluz has the school in the CIF State Division III tournament.

The sixth-seeded Sea Kings (22-7) open the Southern California Regional tonight at 7 at third-seeded Mission Bay (23-6), the San Diego Section champ.

For the first time, Kaluz has outdone his volleyball buddies.

“They can’t say anything now,” said Kaluz, whose friends have never earned a trip to state because CIF doesn’t offer it in boys’ volleyball.

Kaluz said his friends might consider taking up his sport next year. A CdM run at the state final at Arco Arena in Sacramento on March 24 could only help. Getting there will be grueling.

“We’ve been together now since Nov. 11. At the high school level it’s the longest I’ve ever been with a team,” said Coach Ryan Schachter, who coached two years at Costa Mesa before coming to CdM in the summer. “It’s hard to keep their focus and keep them motivated, but these guys, they’ve had a taste of it, and they know what success is like now, and they expect it.”

One thing the Sea Kings didn’t foresee was opening the state tournament on the road in San Diego.

But Schachter’s accepted the challenge of possibly not playing a home game during the tournament.

It’s not so bad because if CdM advances to the Southern California Regional final at UCLA’s Pauley Pavilion, it will bypass top-seeded Artesia (29-2) of Lakewood to reach the game.

“That’s the good thing being on the opposite side of the [eight-team] bracket,” said Schachter of avoiding nationally ranked Artesia, which beat Mater Dei, 77-68, for the Southern Section Division I-AA title. “That’s a consolation, but I was pretty shocked that we got a sixth seed. [CIF] had our record wrong. They had us for 19 wins. We have 22 wins. They had [the Buccaneers] for one less loss than what they had. I don’t know how [the CIF selection committee members] determined what they were doing.

“Mission Bay is going to be tough. I don’t know how good they are. I don’t know if they’re that deep.”

Three things Schachter’s sure about the Buccaneers is that they’re quick and athletic, but not as big as CdM.

Like it has most of the year, CdM’s towered over the opposition. Kaluz’s size has been instrumental in wearing down opponents, as has the bodies of 6-7 senior forward John Joyce, 6-5 junior guard Joe Eberhard and 6-2 senior guard Eddie Lane.

Kaluz is averaging 20.9 points, 12 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game, and is shooting 64% from the floor.

Mission Bay’s two biggest post starters are 6-5 senior James Hancock and 6-2 senior Demsas Tsegai. Hancock is more agile and athletic, and averages 22.3 points per game, compared to Tsegai, who at 215 pounds is physical.

“That guy is very good,” said Schachter after watching film of Hancock, including the San Diego Section Division III championship in which Hancock scored 21 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Mission Bay to its first section title as it beat St. Augustine, 78-65.

The section title gave Coach Dennis Kane his first after four runner-up finishes during his 17 years as a coach in San Diego.

A long wait for the coach, but Kaluz knows all about waiting for a section crown, especially when his volleyball friends told him it would never come in basketball.

Now that he’s won one, Kaluz has his eyes set on claiming CdM’s first boys’ basketball state crown.