Kakoyan is quietly making a name for himself at Mesrobian

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Albert Kakoyan doesn’t receive much, if any, recognition playing basketball at Mesrobian, a tiny private school in Pico Rivera with an enrollment of no more than 60 students. Perhaps he deserves a mention or two -- at least an acknowledgment once in a while, considering the mind-boggling numbers he put up this past week.

The senior guard had 38 points Thursday against Southwestern Academy, which was nothing compared to what he did Monday. Kakoyan scored 40 points in the first half against Le Lycee and finished with 50 for the Bulldogs in an International League game. That’s not a typo, he had 40 points in the first 16 minutes.

‘Honestly, on Saturday, I had this feeling, I knew I was going to have a good week,’’ Kakoyan said. ‘I felt like I couldn’t miss. I was in the zone. I owe a lot to my teammates; they kept feeding me the ball. At one point during the Le Lycee game, my coach told me to settle down. Thinking back, the past couple of days have been crazy, like nothing I’ve ever experienced. ‘’

Apparently, lighting up the scoreboard runs in the family. His cousin, Tigran Grigorian, finished with a CIF record 100 points against Pacific Christian back in the 2002-03 season. Can’t imagine that feat being duplicated anytime soon. But if anyone is capable of coming close to the total, it might be Kakoyan, who thrives despite the lack of publicity.

‘Albert called me right after Monday’s game and we had a long conversation about things,’’ Grigorian said. ‘Basically, he knows that 50 isn’t 100. He’s only half as good as me. Bet you he’ll laugh after hearing that one. Honestly though, if you leave Albert alone, he’s going to knock down shots. His game has really improved over the years. I should know, when we play H-O-R-S-E, the games are always close.’’

--Sean Ceglinsky