Coyotes' Filling In Some Very Large Holes

The summer is an important period for every Southern California boys' basketball team. Coaches get an opportunity to take a look at new prospects once the seniors move on. As for the players, they get a chance to make a lasting impression with the hopes of earning a roster spot.   

And with several new faces in new places on Monday, Calabasas High received a much-needed sign of good things to come despite losing, 58-49, to Oaks Christian in a War on the Floor Tournament game at Pierce College.  

"We're treating this next month, or so, like a season within a season, and honestly, that's out of necessity,'' Calabasas coach Jon Palarz said. "Good thing is, we've got some kids that are getting better and better by the day.''  

Therein lies the key: Improvement. It is paramount for Calabasas, considering the team was decimated with losses to graduation. Four starters and seven players overall moved on to college, or something else. Jordan Coleman will be missed the most.  The 6-foot-4 guard, who signed a national letter of intent with Hawaii, averaged 19.8 points per game to go along with 5.5 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 2.4 assists a night.

For his efforts, Coleman was named the Marmonte League's co-most valuable player.  

"It was great having Jordan around,'' Palarz said. "He was the type of player that would score points by accident. We relied on him quite a bit. It's hard not to when you have player that pulls a rabbit out of his hat all the time.''  

Dominique Campbell is also gone. The same can be said about Zach Schotz, Jay Saul, Jordan Ungar, Josh Langer and Victor Jube.  

"It's next to impossible to replace the guys we lost,'' Palarz said. "At some point, you have to adjust to the talent that's still left here. ''  

The cupboard is far from bare at Calabasas, and Palarz will be the first to admit as much. Callum Dewar scored a team-high 13 points for the Coyotes on Monday against Oaks Christian. Holden Israel and Josh Cohan added 12 and seven points, respectively.  

Dewar, along with Lenard Gorokhov and Nick Justman have experience at the varsity level and figure to assume more of a leadership role once the regular season begins. Daniel Regan returns as well and appears poised to help.  

Developing other players to provide depth on the bench is the next step. "We have some pieces to the puzzle in place but we're going to be cautiously optimistic moving forward,'' Palarz said. "Once we get all these guys on the same page, we'll be fine and ready to compete against just about everyone.''