Dec 15, 2006

Hornets will be banking on athleticism

By Mike McGreehan / Medianews

A visit to Alameda High School's boosters Web site tells the story.

Click on the football pages, and one can receive a detailed report of Hornets history, complete with year-by-year records and accounts of the school's championship seasons. Move over to the baseball page, and the Hornets ooze an equally glowing pride, not only of their North Coast Section 3A title earlier this year, but of the team's rich history, replete with photos and capsules of Hornets who reached the major leagues.

Swimming, track and cross country all have sizable historical references, too.

Then there's boys basketball. Compared to the other sports on campus, its Web pages are a desert, listing just two single-game records.

Alamedans - residents of the city, that is - arguably have been more outdoors-oriented through the years, as basketball seems to have a similar position in the sports hierarchy at cross-town Encinal. And though the sport receives huge emphasis just a few blocks away at St. Joseph Notre Dame, the Pilots long have had their fortunes bolstered by out-of-town student-athletes.

For Alameda High, a 7-4 football season ended last month and baseball has yet to start. Soccer is an option for those who like outdoor high school sports - if the season doesn't get washed away with the winter rains, that is.

Indoors, meanwhile, the Hornets boys basketball team looks to improve on the court and generate some excitement on campus. Through Monday - when the Hornets came from behind to earn a 49-44 overtime win over Concord at the Hornets Nest - the team's record was 1-3, as it prepared for the Otis Spunkmeyer Invitational that opened Thursday and runs through Saturday at Piedmont High School.

Alameda competed in a tournament last week, as well - the Lake Shasta Tournament, Dec. 7-9, to be exact - and faced the type of competition it must to prepare for a tough Alameda Contra Costa Athletic League season that opens Jan. 9 at Berkeley High.

For the record, the Hornets did not fare well last week, falling 32-29 to Ponderosa-Shingle Springs and 62-50 to West Valley-Cottonwood.

"That was our first exposure to really tough basketball," Hornets coach Ed Ruiz says.

Entering that tournament, the Hornets had lost 56-54 in a nonleague game at Albany High on Dec. 5. A 64-61 win in a Foundation Game at Miramonte on Nov. 28 might have raised hopes, but does not count in a team's overall record.

Except for the game against Ponderosa, Alameda's losses have been close. And Monday's win over Concord gives greater reason for optimism.

"They're coming together," Ruiz says of his players. "(Against Concord), we had to play without a couple key players (due to a combination of illnesses and injuries). We just wanted to get through it. Guys stepped up and played."

Despite a favorable ending, the Hornets' outlook did not appear good against the visiting Minutemen, who led by nine points before a late Hornets surge closed the gap to 25-20 by halftime.

Though Concord extended its lead to 37-29 by the end of three quarters, the Hornets never quit. Perseverance ultimately paid off when Brandon Chang nailed a 3-pointer for a 39-38 Hornets lead with 4:12 left in regulation.

A late basket by Concord sent the teams into overtime, tied 42-42. But Alameda asserted its dominance in the extra four minutes. A pair of Chang baskets gave the Hornets an advantage they never relinquished, and a Kenny Arnerich jumper with 34.1 seconds left sealed the deal.

Ruiz saw plenty of positive developments that could bode well for the Hornets down the road.

"I think they're going to be even better a month from now," Ruiz says. "Kenny Arnerich is rusty and hasn't played in a few years, but he's stepping up. Adrian Perricone got some key rebounds for us, and he's stepping up, too."

Alas, the win over Concord was just one game, leaving Hornets followers still a tad skeptical. Alameda's ACCAL records of 6-6 in 2001 and 7-7 in 2002 are its best in recent seasons. The Hornets were 3-11 in ACCAL play in 2006. At last look, the league has not gotten any weaker.

On the plus side, this year's Hornets - as fans are wont to say - have some "athletes."

Start with Arnerich, this year's Alameda Journal boys co-athlete of the year for his prowess on the baseball field, where he was a first-team All-ACCAL catcher as a junior. Oh - and he wasn't bad on the mound or at bat, either.

As for basketball, Arnerich might have been away from the court awhile, but he isn't exactly new to the game. As mentioned in these pages Nov. 21, he reached the nationals of the Elks Club Hoop Shoot as a 9-year-old in 1998. He also has good basketball pedigree. His father, Ken - now Alameda High's baseball coach - holds the single-game scoring record with 47 points against now-defunct Harry Ells High School in 1980. Two uncles, Mel Arnerich and the late Ron Arnerich, had played for the Hornets previously.

In addition to Arnerich, Chang and Perricone showed themselves as potential impact players. Unavailable because of injury or illness were Paul Wada, Aaron Boykin and Peter Kortmann, who holds the team's single-game record for successful 3-pointers. Kortmann had eight 3-pointers in a game two years ago.

Moving around the court, Brian Peterson plays forward or center. Steve Nakata saw extensive time at guard against Concord, and forward-center James Parker also enjoyed significant minutes on the floor.

Tarin Ford gives the Hornets another option at forward. Jordan Jew and Ryan Sullivan provide help at forward and guard, respectively.

"I think they're going to come together as a unit, and they'll know what's expected of each individual player," Ruiz says, looking ahead. "Our league is tough. El Cerrito's going to be tough. Pinole (Valley)'s picked to be near the top of the league. We're predicted to be at the bottom, but we're going to fight to show we belong. I think we'll compete."

If that happens, Hornets fans might well discover the great indoors this winter.