TORRANCE TRIBUNE May 12, 2016 Page 5 Luke Walton Set to Turn Things Around By Adam Serrao The Los Angeles Lakers have finally found something to celebrate about. After the firing of Byron Scott on April 24, the Lakers wasted little time in finding their next head coach. The hiring of Luke Walton was announced almost two weeks ago now, and with it came an overabundance of joy from both the Lakers fan base and their players. Despite a long list of potential head coaching candidates that included experienced NBA and college coaches, the Lakers made their choice. Last Thursday night, Walton officially signed his five-year contract with the Lakers to become a first year head coach in his own right and the 26th coach in franchise history. If the name Luke Walton may sound familiar and you don’t follow basketball much, you might recognize him from the Lakers’ 2009- 2010 championship teams. Walton played as a steady contributor for the Lakers for nine years and has since moved on to become an assistant coach of the Golden State Warriors, where he is currently attempting to capture his second championship ring in as many years with that team. Once Walton’s run with the Warriors runs out in this postseason, he will assume full duties as head coach of the Lakers. Walton does have some head coaching experience, too, though, filling in for Warriors head coach Steve Kerr while he was forced from the sidelines to start the year with complications from two offseason back surgeries. In his stead, Walton started the year with a 24-0 record and went a combined 39-4. “I’m incredibly happy for Luke,” Kerr explained. “As we witnessed earlier this season, he has all of the intangibles necessary to be an outstanding head coach in this league, including a terrific understanding of the game [and] the ability to communicate with a wide range of people.” One of the biggest criticism’s of the Walton hiring is his lack of any type of long-term head coaching experience. Sure, he went 24-0 and 39-4 with the Golden State roster, but my grandpa could have stepped in as head coach and would have taken that team of players to a similar record, right? The Lakers clearly don’t have the same team of players as the Warriors, therefore the head coaching job is going to be a much more challenging one. “Believe it or not, the fact that he really doesn’t have a lot of head-coaching experience is a positive” Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak explained. “We get to work with somebody who’s working on the fly. We’ve had experience with coaches like that in our past. In fact, I think Pat Riley was our last 36-year-old coach. [Riley] did pretty good. But we’re happy to have Luke for a lot of different reasons.” While Luke may not turn out to be the next Pat Riley (who would?), the hottest coaching commodity in the league has also turned out to be the youngest active head coach in the league and should gel nicely with a roster full of young players who are already excited about his arrival. “I’m excited about it,” said Julius Randle when asked about Walton’s new hiring. “It’s a fresh start for us all. I think Luke is going to be great for us.” Jordan Clarkson echoed those sentiments. “I’m really excited about him being the new head coach and really seeing how things are put together,” Clarkson said. “I want to be in L.A. and be a part of this whole process. I think it’s an exciting time for Laker Nation.” Walton may not have a ton of real head coaching experience, but what he lacks there, he makes up for with the ability to relate to youngsters. “Obviously him being so young, he’s going to be easy to relate to,” Randle continued. “He’s going to demand a lot of us and it’s not going to be an easy process, but we’re all looking forward to the challenge.” There’s no questioning Walton’s decision to join the Lakers as a head coach. Sure, he’s leaving the Warriors, which might be one of the greatest teams this league has ever seen. But who wouldn’t jump at the chance to live in Los Angeles, get paid tons of money, and rejoin (and possibly resurrect) a team that you are already familiar with and have won multiple championships with. While his decision seems sound, the decision of the Lakers to tab him as a head coach so hastily is what remains to be seen. One of the Lakers main challenges before the season starts is going to be in upgrading the roster. Something that Walton should certainly set his sights on should he wish to have any success in L.A. A roster of a year ago that included Roy Hibbert and Nick “Swaggy P” Young, should certainly look to rid itself of useless veterans like the such and further a nucleus of young, energized players that will have the ability to reinvent themselves on and off the court. While Walton attained his nearly spotless 39-4 record with a roster that was a given to him and a roster that might be one of the best this league has ever seen, his challenge will now be compiling one of his own. The problem last year was as much a roster problem as it also was a philosophical problem with Byron Scott and a “get Kobe Bryant the ball, problem”. With all of that Burkley & Brandlin LLP A T T O R N E Y S A T L AW Douglass M O R T U A R Y “Our Family Serving Yours Since 1954” B U R I A L - C R E M A T I O N - W O R L D W I D E T R A N S F E R P E T M E M O R I A L P R O D U C T S 500 EAST IMPERIAL AVENUE EL SEGUNDO, CALIFORNIA 90245 Telephone (310) 640-9325 • Fax (310) 640-0778 • FD658 See Luke Walton, page 12 Up and Adam North Girls Get Most of Rematch, Upset Rival Tartars By Adam Serrao The North High Saxons softball team has been looking forward to their rematch with the Torrance Tartars for a long time now. After finishing in second place to their bitter cross-town rivals one year ago and taking a 4-3 loss in their first matchup of the season this year, head coach Howard Miller and his girls have been licking their chops for revenge. Well, they finally got it. Last Friday afternoon at North High, the Lady Saxons took on the Lady Tartars and beat them by a final score of 3-2. The victory was not only redemption for North High, but it also forced a tie atop the Pioneer League standings with only one game remaining in the season. North High wasted no time in jumping out to an early lead in this one, getting their offense going as soon as possible to beat the Tartars. After Desiree Moreno walked to lead off the game, Abbi Alexander reached base as well to put Torrance starting pitcher Marissa Moreno in an early bind. Shonnie Baker made it all pay off for the Saxons. With two RBI’s in the first inning, Baker not only drove in her teammates, but also gave North an early 2-0 lead in just the first inning of play. “We knew we had to get out there and jump on them this time because in the first game we didn’t start scoring until later.”, Baker explained. “We went up to bat with more confidence and energy this time around.” That confidence and energy was apparent from the very start of the game. The Saxons didn’t let up off of the gas pedal, either. In the bottom of the third inning, Isabella Gonzalez continued the Saxons early onslaught of the Tartars by doubling home Lauren Sabihon. North led 3-0 in the third inning. It wasn’t only a stout offense that won the game for the Saxons. Starting pitcher, Kyndra Marzorini kept the hot and powerful Torrance High bats quiet until the top of the sixth inning. The sophomore starter pitched a no-hitter going into the fourth inning of play, frustrating the Tartars bats one by one as they came to the plate. CeCe DaCosta eventually broke up Marzorini’s string of perfect pitching with a double to center field in the fourth. It was also DaCosta who finally got a run on the board for her team. In the sixth inning, she and teammate Brittany Jumalon each scored to make it a one run game at 3-2 with one inning left to play. Marzorini buckled down, however, and was able to get out of the late-game jam in order to bring her team to victory. “It was pretty nerve-racking but I just had to calm myself down and hit my spots,” the pitcher explained. Marzorini would only give up two runs on the day while her adversary, Moreno, actually pitched a threehitter with four strikeouts. Unfortunately for the Tartars, those three hits resulted in three runs, which was enough for the Saxons to seal the win. North (23-6-1, 8-1) and Torrance (20-9, 8-1) remain tied atop the Pioneer League standings and will battle it out for first place this week against different league opponents. North will welcome South to their home field this Tuesday afternoon, while Torrance will travel to West High. Keep your eyes locked right here as both cross-town, division rivalry games will decide the final standings in the Pioneer League this season. West High The West High Warriors are in a battle of their own with the South High Spartans for third place in this year’s division standings. Fortunately for West, they had no problem notching another win in the standings as they took on the winless Centennial Apache’s last Friday at West High. The 7-0 victory for the Warriors wound up being a forfeit for Centennial; the third forfeit that the team has had in the past three weeks. Centennials (0-12, 0-9) baseball program is suffering, but the Warriors had no problem playing the team that was on their schedule and bringing home another victory. The 7-0 final score was a blowout from the beginning. West High’s (16-10, 5-4) real test will be this week when they take on the Torrance Tartars, who are tied for first place. The Warriors’ fate is in their own hands. A win will secure a third place standing and a run in this year’s CIF playoffs. South High The South High Spartans softball team enters their final week of regular season action on a roll. Winners of two straight, the Spartans and head coach Tony Flores have to be feeling good after taking care of business with a 7-0 win at home against Centennial and a 16-1 victory at home against Leuzinger. Two straight blowouts have given Flores and his team a significant amount of momentum heading into their final game of this season this week against North High (tied for first place). If both the Spartans (12-11, 5-4) and the West High Warriors lose in their final game of the season, they will tie for third place in the Pioneer League standings. Should the Spartans come away with a victory, however, and the Warriors lose to Torrance, South will sit alone in third. • Living Trusts/Wills, Probate, Employment Law, Personal Injury Trust and Estates Litigation, Business Litigation, Civil Litigation 310-540-6000 *AV Rated (Highest) Martindale - Hubbell / **Certified Specialist Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law, State Bar of California, Board of Legal Specialization
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