Boys basketball: Yardley Classic tips off Friday

Barry Faulkner

As it was more than a half century ago, Bird is the word at Newport

Harbor High, where, arguably, the Sailors’ most famous athletic alumnus,

George “Bird” Yardley, has lent his Hall of Fame name and effervescent

presence to the George Yardley Summer Cage Classic.

The boys basketball tournament, which begins Friday and continues

through Sunday, features 32 high school teams playing at Newport Harbor,

Ensign Intermediate and Vanguard University.

Included in the field is Newport Harbor, Corona del Mar and Estancia,

as well as perennial powerhouse Mater Dei.

Newport Harbor has a history of success in the former Surf City

Classic, which was renamed last summer for Yardley, who, after graduating

from Harbor in 1946, starred at Stanford as well as the NBA en route to a

spot in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Coach Larry Hirst’s Sailors lost to Mater Dei in last year’s

championship game and avenged a ’97 title-game loss to La Costa Canyon by

beating the San Diego County power in overtime for the 1998 crown.

The Tars, led by returning second-team All-CIF Southern Section

Division I performer Tony Melum, are once again expected to fare well,

having already won the Rancho Verde Tournament this summer.

Point guard Greg Perrine, who will be a senior three-year starter next

season, also keys the Harbor attack.

“Greg has elevated every aspect of his game,” Hirst said of the

second-team All-Sea View League performer. “He’s playing the way you hope

your seniors will play.”

Estancia, a regular at the Surf City tournament, makes it debut in the

Yardley classic. The Eagles, guided by second-year head man Chris Sorce,

are way ahead of last year at this time, when Sorce, the program’s

longtime sophomore coach, was hired hastily to replace Rick Cook, who

resigned mere days after being named to succeed Rich Boyce.

Both Boyce, now at Edison High, and Cook, hired recently at Chino

High, will guide teams in the tournament, which also includes notable

programs Villa Park and Murrieta Valley.

Estancia had built a 9-5 record through Monday and Sorce reports Micah

Young, All-Pacific Coast League and All-Newport-Mesa District as a

junior, has been leading the way. The 6-foot-2 Young, who flourishes

inside despite often giving away several inches to his opponents, made

the all-tournament team at a 24-school event in Palm Springs earlier this

summer.

Sorce also said 6-7 Joey Lindquist, and backcourt returner Matt

Cachola, who both will be juniors, as well as seniors-to-be Fernando

Maldonado and George Prado, are playing well. He also praised the early

performances of Micah’s brothers, Germaine and Trent Young. Germaine will

be a junior and Trent will be a sophomore.

CdM, under newly hired coach Ryan Curry, will continue to play

catch-up with other programs, having played only three games and having

had less than a handful of practice sessions in which to learn Curry’s

system.

“Right now, it’s going to be tough going against a team that has been

practicing all spring and is close to midseason form,” said Curry, who is

also learning the Southern California ropes after having relocated from

Grass Valley. “We’ve had teams zone us and we don’t have our zone offense

in yet.”

Curry, who is coaching all 40 players in the program by himself until

he’s able to hire a staff in September or October, said returners Kevin

Mancillas and Eric Glass have been leading the way for the Sea Kings thus

Far. Mancillas will be a junior and Glass will be a senior.

Hirst said quality competition may not be the only benefit for this

year’s players.

“The feeling for me, personally, is that it’s an honor to have Mr.

Yardley come back and give back to his alma mater,” Hirst said. “To have

a man of his stature in the community and the business world come back

and show the high school kids what it means about giving back, is

hopefully a lesson our kids will learn.”

In Friday’s opening round, Corona del Mar faces Katella at 12:30 p.m.

at Ensign. Estancia meets Rancho Verde at 3 p.m. at Ensign and Newport

Harbor hosts Morro Bay at 4:30 p.m.

Should Estancia and CdM both win, they would square off in the second

round at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Vanguard. If they both lose, they would meet

in the consolation bracket at 11:30 a.m. Saturday at Newport Harbor.

The semifinals are Saturday night (7 at Vanguard and 7:30 at Newport

Harbor) and the championship final is set for Sunday at 6 p.m. at Newport

Harbor.

Single-day admission -- $5 for adults and $3 for students and those

12-and-under -- will be charged only for games at Newport Harbor.

George Yardley Summer Cage ClassicFriday’s first round

(At Newport Harbor -- both gyms)

La Quinta (LQ) vs. Irvine, 11 a.m.

La Quinta (West.) vs. El Toro, 11:30 a.m.

Huntington Beach vs. La Costa Canyon, 12:30 p.m.

Northwood vs. Dana Hills, 1 p.m.

Trabuco Hills vs. Elsinore 2 p.m.

Stockdale vs. Mater Dei, 2:30 p.m.

Santa Ana Valley vs. Mission Viejo, 3 p.m.

Morro Bay vs. Newport Harbor, 4:30 p.m.

(At Ensign Intermediate)

Fountain Valley vs. San Clemente, 11 a.m.

Corona del Mar vs. Katella, 12:30 p.m.

Foothill vs. Fallbrook, 2 p.m.

Estancia vs. Rancho Verde, 3 p.m.

(At Vanguard University)

Aliso Niguel vs. Villa Park 11:30 a.m.

Chino vs. Chaparral, 1 p.m.

Murrieta Valley vs. Bolsa Grande, 2:30 p.m.

Calabasas vs. Edison, 4:30 p.m.