Whenever 6-foot-5-inch Righetti forward Randy Hunter was involved in a play, Warriors fans surmised, something good would happen for them.

They were usually right.

He scored and rebounded plenty. Hunter could break a press. The senior's defense? He was no joy for an opposing ball-handler or shooter to encounter, with his quick feet and his long wing span.

Hunter led the Warriors to their second consecutive PAC-7 League title, at 11-1. He also led them to a second consecutive CIF Southern Section Division II-A quarterfinal playoff berth.

His accomplishments earned Hunter the Santa Maria TImes' All-Area Basketball MVP award for the second straight time. He is the first repeat winner in at least the past several years.

Hunter said, “It's been a great time here for me. It's gone fast. I was at Bishop Diego down in Santa Barbara my freshman year and at St. Joseph my sophomore year. I made a good decision to come here, with the guys and the style of play.”

Hunter was a virtual varsity unknown when he put on a Righetti uniform last season. It didn't take long for opposing players to figure out who he was afterward. He picked up where he'd left off from last year.

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Righetti coach Kevin Barbarick said, “We'll miss Randy's leadership.” He chuckled. “Obviously, we'll also miss his 20 points and 12 rebounds a game.”

He turned serious and said, “He's been a great kid to coach, easy to coach, fun to coach. Obviously, (his departure) will be a big void.”

Barbarick was the Times' Boys All-Area Coach of the Year last season. Ed Torres of St. Joseph is the squad's Coach of the Year this season.

Torres guided the Knights to the Los Padres League championship for the third time in the last four years. Torres' 2003-4 team won the CIF Southern Section Division IV-AA championship and advanced to the Southern California Regional final of the CIF State Tournament.

St. Joseph was 11-1 in league games this year. The Knights played the top-ranked team in the CIF Southern Section's Division III-AA, North Hollywood-based Campbell Hall, tough before losing 84-68 in the quarterfinals.

“I believe that was the closest playoff game they've had so far,” said Torres. He spoke just before Campbell Hall won the III-AA title game in a rout.

St. Joseph finished 23-9. “I thought it was a great season,” Torres said. “It was an honor to be selected.”

Torres edged Barbarick and Lompoc coach Jeff Jones, who guided the Braves to second place in the LPL despite having only six players the last part of the season. The Knights swept their two-game series from the Braves.

Teammates Richard Easton and Joey Araujo join Hunter on the All-Area Team. So do Jeff Blake and Dominic Brunello of St. Joseph; Joe Alerta and Trae Vernon of Lompoc; Pioneer Valley's Omar Madrigal; Kenny Taylor of Cabrillo; Matt DeMarcus of Santa Ynez; and Santa Maria's Andrew Colorado.

Hunter's outside shot improved this year. So did his ball-handling.

He said, “I think a lot of that was because of playing ball this summer, for the 805s out of Santa Barbara. I also played some for Bob Gottlieb's team.”

His senior season, “I'd just tried to score, get the rebound, make the good pass, whatever I had to do to help the team win.”

Hunter has turned his attention toward picking a college, though Barbarick said he will be deliberate about it.

“Randy's going to take his time, do the right thing for him” said Barbarick. “Their family has really studied the situation, too. They want to pick what's the best academic situation for him.”

Barbarick said Southeastern Conference member Auburn has shown interest in Hunter.

“Let's face it, Auburn's still a long shot,” for Hunter, said Barbarick. However, “They've continued to show interest, and we appreciate that. They're going to have to make a decision soon,” because of the recruiting timetable. “The smaller schools can take a little more time.

“He's talked to UC Santa Barbara. He's talked to Cal Sate Northridge, visited Biola. He'll visit Concordia in Oregon. He'll visit Metro State University, a Division II school in Denver.

Barbarick's brother Brad coaches Concordia's team.

“SMU's showed interest. Pepperdine showed interest before the coaching change. We haven't really heard much from them since. A lot of schools have shown interest.”

“When he's in college, they'll probably play him at a (shooting guard or wing) in college. “That's where he's been effective for us.

Barbarick said, “He's good from wing to basket and playing facing the basket. He can dunk. He's the best offensive rebounder I've ever coached.”

That's quite a compliment. Barbarick has coached in a lot of places. He just finished his 10th season at Righetti.

“It's a good place to settle,” Barbarick said. “I was a bit of a basketball vagabond before I came here. I coached in several places, San Diego and Oregon.”

Hunter said, “We would have liked to win the (CIF divisional) championship, of course, but we got almost everything we wanted out of this season.”

Torres felt the same way about his team's season.

“We won four of five in the San Diego Tournament, our last before league games started. I thought that really helped us get rolling for the league season.

“You have to have some talent on the court and senior leadership to have a good season, and we had both,” Torres said. “Our senior leadership, in particular our three senior captains, Jeff Blake, Sam Schur and Vincent Brunello, gave us that.”

St. Joseph rebounded after not winning a game in the rugged Mission Prep Holiday Tournament last December.

Torres said, “Offensively, we were very hard to defend. We had several players who averaged between eight and 12 points a game. They understood the value of a team playing as a team. That's one reason we played in the quarterfinals of the sectional playoffs.”

Torres loses nine players to graduation.

“I don't think that's ever happened before in my 12 years here,” he said.

“I really believe we were the second-best team in our section,” said Torres. “We just happened to draw number one in the quarterfinals.”

Hunter is “The best offensive rebounder I've seen in a long time,” said Barbarick. “He just goes and finds the ball.”

Besides, “He can start from the three-point line and then dunk on you after just one dribble. I like him facing the basket, setting up in the high post. That's where he does the most damage.

“He's a quiet leader who's popular with his teammates. Everyone looked up to him with his work ethic on the court.”

March 16, 2008