2009 City Section Championship Preview
Jack Pollon
March 5, 2009
The Taft of Woodland Hills boys' basketball team is making its fourth championship game appearance in the past six years when it faces 10-time City champion Westchester of Los Angeles tonight in the Division I title game at USC's Galen Center at 8 p.m.
Although Taft has always had talented underclassmen throughout and this year is no different, coach Derrick Taylor has and will be counting on a core of seniors to get the job done one final time.
Justin Hawkins, headed to UNLV; Terran Carter, headed to CSUN; undecided Michael Williams and De'Sean Johnson form the core of a Toreador team on the brink of its third championship this decade.
Hawkins and Williams stepped to the front last Saturday with 23 and 20 points repectively while Carter pulled down 10 rebounds and executed the sagging defense strategy on 6'10 McDonald's All-American and USC-bound Renardo Sidney to perfection.
"The seniors have been the key the whole year," Taylor said. "They have all grown up around and in the program since their freshman years. They have watched and learned from the best. They are teaching and leading our younger guys now too."
The best Taylor would be referring to are Jordan Farmar (now with the Los Angeles Lakers), Steve Smith (NFL's New York Giants), Calvin Haynes (Oregon St.), Larry Drew (North Carolina), Eugene Phelps (Long Beach St.) and Bryce Smith (San Diego St.).
Against Westchester's talented guards and more than capable front-line led by junior Dwayne Polee and Deshun McCoy, Taft will have to come through one more time before the state playoffs begin next week.
"It should be a terrific game," Taylor said. "We have to slow down the guard play and execute on our end. They play so hard all the time, never quit and try and wear you down."
For the third time this season, top-seed Chatsworth and Taft will square off in the City Section Division I championship at 6 p.m. at the Galen Center.
A lot more is obviously on the line after the teams split two West Valley League games.
Taft upset the Chancellors in January on a Haley Newell 3-pointer with two seconds remaining but Chatsworth returned the favor two weeks later.
Chatsworth is no mystery as McDonald's All-American and Cal-bound forward Gennifer Brandon and lightning-quick junior guard Monica Jackson are basically the whole team.
Taft, on the other hand, can sub deliberately and you never know who will have the hot hand and step up on any given day.
"We have to use our depth to our advantage," Taft coach Mark Drucker said. "We have to get out to a good start and not play from behind either."
As for stopping Chatsworth's two stars, Drucker said, "We need to make them take tough shots out of their comfort zone and really box out. Gennifer is such a load underneath."
Drucker is gong for his second City championship after leading the Toreadors to the tile in 2006.
Michell Chevalier, Chatsworth's coach, has come up short in two trips to the finals. She led Sylmar against Narbonne of Harbor City in 2003 and just missed last year with Chatsworth against Narbonne again.
"I feel it is time," Chevalier said. "This is a solid team, we have really come together the past month and I guess it is good Narbonne isn't there."