Santa Margarita boys basketball player Zack Zaragoza signed a letter of intent with Northern Arizona, his father Tino reported via email. Zaragoza, a 6-foot-5 guard, averaged 14 points for the Eagles. He scored 19 when the Eagles beat Bishop Montgomery of Torrance in the CIF Southern California Regionals Division III final, and scored 13 in their victory over Sacramento in the CIF State Division III championship game. Zaragoza, a very good outside shooter, was All-Orange County third team this past season.

– Steve Fryer

CIF-SS assistant commission Paul Castillo, who has overseen boys basketball among other things, has decided to retire at the end of the school year. He has been an assistant commissioner for 8 1/2 years.

From the CIF state office:

ALAMEDA - Sara Churchill, of Paradise High School, and Ryan Cress, from
Sonora High School in La Habra, have been selected as the Spring 2008
recipients of the prestigious CIF Spirit of Sport Award, CIF Executive
Director Marie M. Ishida announced.
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Here’s the deal on the Capital Classic and Klay …

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As an outsider, I don’t know the entire situation, i.e. did he have indications he was so deep in Coach K’s doghouse that he could never get out? I am the father of a college athlete, and a basketball guy, too, and my advice would have been to stick it out for one more year. It’s Duke. Even a McDonald’s All-American might not play a lot as a freshman. Work on your deficiencies, get better, and then compete like heck your sophomore year. King was not a good defensive player at Mater Dei — he just didn’t have the footwork for it. He probably did not feel the need to work on that aspect of basketball. Too many travel-ball/AAU type coaches are not good teachers of the game, and really don’t push kids that don’t want to be pushed. I think King got fine skills coaching at Mater Dei, but a student has to be receptive to the teacher.

Where does he go from here? Well, he is going to survey the landscape, and find the place that needs a guy with King’s offensive skills. USC, maybe??

– Steve Fryer

The worst part of this job is selecting All-County teams, no matter the sport. There are always players I wish I could squeeze in there. I am always second-guessing myself during the process, and evern afterward. Some players I second-guess myself on …

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Los Alamitos center Corbin Moore (6-10) committed to Pepperdine on Saturday, his father confirmed.

Moore averaged 15.8 points a game and a county-best 12.7 rebounds for the Sunset League champions.

Moore cannot sign a letter of intent until April 16, the beginning of the ”regular period” for basketball signees. Most players signed during 2007’s “early period,” between Nov. 14-21.

My Santa Margarita-Sacramento High boys Division III state title blog in its entirety…

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Klay has gone most the game without defending Tapley. I’m thinking this is because of the Demar DeRozan fiasco from a month ago. When Santa Margarita played Compton in the CIF-SS quarterfinals, Klay picked up three fouls on DeRozan before the end of the first quarter. He sat out the entire second quarter and came back to lead SM to victory in the second half. This week, Klay told me he would be guarding Tapley. He only has one foul, so you wonder if SM coach Jerry DeBusk will make a change in the second half. Tapley’s effort has single-handedly kept Sacramento in this one.

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Jaime Serna receives a great look from Klay for a layup, then tips in a missed layup by Trayce. Serna had a quiet first quarter, but he can always be counted on to contribute.

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