Pali Boys Hoops Off and Running

If you follow the Palisades High boys basketball program, the first question you might ask when you go to a game this season is ‘Who are these guys?’ The Dolphins lost nine varsity players and all five starters to graduation, including All-City forward D’Andre Bell (now at Georgia Tech) and point guard Cory Counts (now at Loyola Marymount). In fact, only six of the 15 players on Pali’s roster even played in a varsity game last season, so head coach James Paleno knows his team is a work in progress. ‘If we aren’t a lot better in February than we are right now, it could be a long season,’ Paleno said Monday after watching his team lose its season opener to Capistrano Valley, 67-40, in the first round of the Redondo Tournament. ‘Playing in a league with two of the best teams in the state (Fairfax and Westchester) is tough enough. Like always, our goal is to make the upper division playoffs.’ Palisades was overmatched at every position by the Cougars, who are currently ranked 16th in Southern California and boast a starting lineup with three players 6-7 or taller. ‘Our tallest man [Vertis Hayes III] is only 6-5. We’re going to be at a size disadvantage all year. We’ll be smaller than every team we play, so we have to move the ball around and rely more on jump shots.’ Junior Darrel Lewis led the Dolphins with eight points and fellow 11th-grader Ashton Roberts added seven but Paleno was most impressed with the all-around play of sophomore Brandon Greer. ‘He made some key steals and buckets that really kept us in the game early,’ Paleno. I like the energy he plays with and that’s what I’d like to see from the whole team.’ Juniors Paul Davis and Brian Barner each had five points for Pali, which was outscored in every quarter and was held to four points and no field goals in the fourth quarter. Palisades’ loss dropped it to the consolation bracket, where the Dolphins played the Brentwood-Price loser in the second round on Wednesday. Brenden Costa and Greer each had four points while Kris Mehdipour and Taylor Shipley each had two for Pali, which made 13 of 19 free throw attempts. The Dolphins will play in the Beverly Hills Tournament next week and travel to Birmingham for a nonleague game December 21.