Coming into the season, the Cabrillo Conquistadores men’s basketball team could have easily been doubted. A young roster and a first-year head coach could have been the recipe for a transition year. But after the 2016-2017 season is all said and done, those doubts can be put to rest.
Cabrillo finished the year with an overall record of 25-4 and a spotless 14-0 record in Los Padres League play. Led by leading point scorers LeAndrew Knight, Trevaughn Ross, and Jordan Tyler, the Conquistadores cemented themselves as a Central Coast powerhouse with their stellar campaign this season.
As for first-year head coach and Cabrillo alumnus C.J. Simmons, the young play caller received a coach of the year distinction for his contribution. Even after making some tweaks to the team’s signature style of play, Simmons was able to lead a roster of only three seniors through a dominant regular season run.
“In years previous we were a run-and-gun type team that pressed all throughout the game,” Simmons said. “We still played a little press on defense but it wasn’t a ‘trap you all over the court’ press. Instead of a full 90 feet press, we tried to force the other teams to make mistakes by using more delayed pressing and trapping.”
Cabrillo had a rare moment of weakness midway through the season when the team traveled to Palm Springs for the Rancho Mirage Holiday Classic in December. After finishing 2-2 down in the desert, the Conquistadores came back home with a determined mindset. The team went on to rattle off 14 straight victories, with nine of those games won by 20 points or more by Cabrillo.
It was during this stretch of play that the Conquistadores became comfortable with their new defensive system, Simmons explained. Complementing an offense that never seemed to have any problems scoring was a defense that dominated opposing teams in the second half of the season.
Simmons credits the commitment of his players as the reason for the team’s steady improvement.
“Our half-court defense was awesome this year,” he said. “When we had teams on the other side of the court, the team did a really good job of talking to one another on defense. There were several games where we held teams to under 50 points, and that is hard to do in high school. … As the season went on, our defense got better every game.”
While the defense locked other teams down, the three-pronged attack of guard Knight and forwards Ross and Tyler led the offense. The high-flying Knight was virtually a 20-point threat any time he stepped on the court.
With a versatile big man in the 6-foot-7 Tyler, the Conquistadores had the flexibility to run more sophisticated sets on offense. The pick-and-roll was Cabrillo’s best friend, and they played it to perfection on many occasions this season. It was an element of the Conquistador game plan that Simmons purposefully had his team practice.
“Offensively, we used a lot of screen-and-rolls,” he said. “Not too many high schools practice how to defend the pick-and-roll so we tried to exploit that. With a couple stellar guards in LeAndrew and Trevaughn, and a talented big in Jordan, it was dangerous and it worked out really well for us.”
While Cabrillo’s roster was young this season, their overall athleticism gave them a leg up on the competition. The Conquistadores dominated the Los Padres League by overpowering teams on both ends of the floor. A one-point defeat in the quarterfinals of the CIF Southern Section playoffs to St. Paul was the only reason the talented team couldn’t pull off a deeper playoff run.
The loss still stings those close to the Cabrillo program, but there is plenty optimism for what is to come next season. With nearly the whole squad returning and a more experienced MVP in Knight ready to lead the team, the Conquistadores will have a target on their back during the 2017-2018 campaign. It’s a target that Simmons and company are ready to bear.
“We have a lot of experience coming back next year,” Simmons said. “We lost a nail-biter to St. Paul in our final game and that is still kind of stinging with the guys. I have 10 guys coming back, and most of them are going to be seniors. We have tasted what it’s like to get past the second round, and we are ready to get after it. I am excited.”
Contact Sports contributor Keenan Donath through Managing Editor Joe Payne at jpayne@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Apr 6-13, 2017.