Irvine Valley’s Esplin Keeps Getting Better With Age

Ben Esplin turned 23 last week and there was no party. None of his teammates on the Irvine Valley men’s basketball team knew it was his birthday.

Esplin, a sophomore forward whose playing career has been delayed by a Mormon mission and a redshirt year at Pacific, had a simple reason for keeping it a secret.

“I get teased enough about being 22,” Esplin said, “They don’t need to know any more than that.”

But there is a lot more to know about Esplin, a sophomore forward who is leading Irvine Valley in scoring (16 points per game) and rebounds (eight).

He was the first basketball player at Vacaville High to earn a Division I scholarship when he signed with Pacific in 1994.

He had led Vacaville to the Sac-Joaquin Section finals twice in Sacramento’s Arco Arena, winning once.

Pacific knew Esplin would be on a mission for two years after high school but wanted him anyway.

He spent those two years in the Buffalo, N.Y., area and twice SWAT teams broke into buildings where he was living, trying to track down criminals. “It was all part of the experience,” Esplin said.

He arrived at Pacific in 1996 and realized he was going to be asked to redshirt.

“Sometimes I find myself talking really negatively about my experience at UOP, basketball-wise,” Esplin said. “But that’s really not fair. I think I had a bad attitude about redshirting.

“I look at it now and as much of it was my immaturity and not being willing to do what was expected of me as it was me not getting a fair shake.”

In the spring of 1997, Esplin knew one of three players at his position, forward, was going to lose his scholarship. Not wanting to deal with that possibility, he looked for a community college.

Cerritos and Irvine Valley were recommended by a Pacific assistant. Esplin based his decision partly on which school was closer to the ocean.

He lives in a Newport Beach apartment that his parents help pay for.

Before last season, Esplin hadn’t played in an official game in three years, and early on it showed. But he improved with each game and, although he didn’t start, he was usually on the court at the end of games.

He averaged nine points but was bothered he wasn’t more of an impact player.

“He was frustrated and considered not coming back,” Irvine Valley Coach Jerry Hernandez said. “But I told him that coming back for a second year is like being a senior in a four-year program. He’s a more physical player this year and he just fits better.”

Esplin spent most of his summer doing his three favorite things--playing basketball, hanging out at the beach and watching television.

Esplin is also an honor-roll student who plans to major in physics.

He is one of three sophomores at Irvine Valley, which wasn’t expected to be much better than .500 this season but is 15-6. Esplin, also a talented defender, hasn’t received much interest from four-year colleges yet.

“That’s OK,” he said. “I didn’t play this year to get recruited. I’m playing to prove something to myself. I wanted to get back to having fun.

“That year at Pacific was really hard and I started to doubt myself basketball-wise. This year has been nice because I know I’m really a good basketball player and all that stuff in high school, that wasn’t a fluke.”