Article 68: University of undersized overachievers

October 20, 2010

School: University High School (UHS), San Francisco, CA
Mascot: Red Devils
League: North Coast Section, Bay Counties League West
Division: D5
Head Coach: Randy Bessolo, entering 6th year, 112 - 42
Assistant Coaches: Matt Harris and Bob Liss
2009 Record: 28-8
2009 Playoff Results: Lost NorCal Championship game
Division/Section Playoff results: Lost in NCS semi-finals, BCL-W Champions
State CIF results: NorCal Championship Runner-up. Defeated Valley Christian, St Francis CCC, St. Joseph Notre Dame and lost to Branson
Final NCP 2009 Ranking: No. 2 in D5

Player to Watch: Senior Noah Springwater (6-foot-2 guard) averaged 16 ppg last year and had the following accolades: San Francisco Chronicle player of the year, All-NorCalpreps.com D5, 1st team All League, and a 1,223 career point scorer.

Sleepers: Senior Zio Enriquez (5-foot-11 guard) averaged 15 ppg, was 1st team All League. Because of Noah, Zio is often overlooked and thus a "sleeper."

Team Offensive Strengths: They are known as the Runnin' Red Devils and are one of the highest scoring teams in the State of California as they averaged 68 ppg last year in up-tempo attack.
Team Defensive Strengths - UHS also employs a full-court pressure defense.

Game(s) to Watch In Division: St. Joseph's Notre Dame in the Island Classic at St. Joseph's on December 10th - UHS beat St. Joseph's twice last year when they were the favorite to win NorCal D5. Branson is not on UHS regular season schedule but would like a payback game.

Game(s) to Watch Out of Division: Oakland High on January 6th at UHS, which will be a match-up of the City vs. Oaktown, Public vs. Private, and Big School (D1) vs. Small School (D5). Big intra-City games on December 14th vs. Mission (SF Public League Champion) and on December 22nd vs. Riordan (WCAL).

If these 3 things go well, the season will be a success: 1. Springwater continues to improve, which is tough given he is already performing at a high level. 2. The supporting Varsity players including five sophomores up from JV to contribute significantly. 3. The team commits to rebounding given UHS is undersized with no player taller than 6-foot-2

Summary: Noah Springwater is a fundamental freak with the right intangibles to lead UHS. If the JV upgrades and the team can play big on the inside, UHS can match or exceed last year's results. UHS could really be a San Francisco treat this upcoming season.