Suddenly, Canoga Park Not in League of Its Own

If the nonconference schedule has provided any information on the Valley Pac-8 Conference, it’s that Canoga Park is not unbeatable.

That’s a fact that should help encourage other Pac-8 teams as they prepare for the talented Hunters (8-7), who have lost four of five games.

“I guarantee we lose at least one [conference game],” Canoga Park Coach Ralph Turner said. “[Sylmar Coach Bort] Escoto said he’s gonna beat us and I believe it. He’ll have his guys believing they can and they will.”

The Hunters, ranked No. 6 and considered one of the area’s top three teams in the preseason, have become the hunted. Still, none of their losses have come against an area team and they beat Cleveland, Taft and Chatsworth, the top 4-A teams from the Northwest Valley Conference.

Canoga Park, elevated to the City 4-A Division this season after finishing 3-A runner-up to Van Nuys last year, is the team to beat in the East Valley League.

Carloes Harper, a 6-foot-4 senior swingman who has signed with Cal State Northridge, is the lone returning starter.

David Redmond, a 6-7 senior center, transferred from Birmingham and has been putting up big numbers.

Harper is scoring a region-high 26.2 points and getting 10.1 rebounds a game.

Redmond, who is averaging 20.5 points, 14.2 rebounds and 6.2 blocks, gets help in the frontcourt from Jeff Turner, a 6-4 senior who transferred back to Canoga Park after a 2 1/2-year stint in Atlanta.

North Hollywood (6-7) should provide the Hunters with their toughest competition. The Huskies are “better than expected,” according to Coach Rob Bloom.

The Huskies have gotten leadership from guards Keron Wilkerson, a 6-2 transfer from Culver City, and Steve Stindt, a 6-3 part-time starter last season.

Monroe (3-9) and Grant (2-9) suffered their worst nonconference seasons in the 1990s.

Monroe has two returning starters, senior Lorenzo Macon and junior Mark Cumbess.

No starters return for Grant, but Coach Howie Levine has found the future--15-year-old sophomore guard Gilbert Arenas, who is averaging 20.7 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.5 steals a game.

MID-VALLEY LEAGUE

When it comes to talking a good game, Sylmar is the front-runner.

“To be honest with you, if we stay healthy and play hard, I don’t know if there is a team that can beat us,” Escoto said.

Sylmar (6-7) has five returning starters, but a history of losing. The Spartans, 7-34 in the previous two seasons, haven’t been as sharp as expected.

Daron Wilson is averaging 17.2 points and 14.9 rebounds. Robert Valentine is averaging 14.2 points, sophomore Jeremiah Turner is at 12.0 and Brandon Jacobs averages 11.1.

Poly, despite last year’s 6-18 finish, should be a factor with all five starters back. The Parrots picked up Ellis Richardson, a transfer from Birmingham who averaged 18 points last season.

Richardson works with two solid post players, 6-4 Jonny Lopez and 6-5 Eric Owens.

Van Nuys (5-7), which has lost four of five games, won’t repeat a 3-A champions. Only senior Jorge Gurrola returns.

Reseda (0-10) lost its best player, Jamaal Washington, two weeks into the season when he quit the team and will have a tough go of it.

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AT A GLANCE

* THE PROVEN: Swingman Carloes Harper (6-foot-4) of Canoga Park, who has signed with Cal State Northridge, is averaging a region-high 26.2 points. . . . Teammate David Redmond (6-7), a senior transfer from Birmingham, is averaging 20.5 points and 14.2 rebounds. . . . Poly senior forwards Eric Owens (6-5), Jonny Lopez (6-4) and Ellis Richardson (6-3), a transfer from Birmingham, make up one of the 3-A’s finest frontcourt combinations. . . . Van Nuys senior forward Jorge Gurrola (6-7) is all that’s left from the Wolves’ 3-A championship team.

* THE PROMISING: Canoga Park should get a boost from Jeff Turner (6-4), a senior transfer from Atlanta. . . . North Hollywood senior guard Steve Stindt (6-3) was a part-time starter last season.