VALENCIA REMAINS TEAM TO BEAT IN FOOTHILL.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Daily News Staff Writer

The high school basketball season began last month with Foothill League coaches paying homage to Valencia's size, speed and athleticism and coach Gary Spindt doing little to quiet them.

Now, with one nonleague game before Friday's league openers, everyone is still talking up Valencia. And Spindt isn't disagreeing. His Vikings are a league-best 12-3 heading into tonight's game with Littlerock.

It appears the Vikings remain in contention to win the school's first league title in any sport, but they will have to beat back the vastly improved Burroughs and Hart teams and a Burbank team that's better than its record shows.

A look at the league, in order of best nonleague record:

Valencia (12-3): The athleticism, size and speed have shown themselves numerous times, most recently in winning the Hart tournament's consolation championship. Jerrohn Jordan, a 6-8 center, leads a trio of double-figure scoring with a 17.9 average and a 9.9 rebound average.

``(The attitude) is evident on and off the court,'' Spindt said, ``from our pregame preparation and practice attitude and our on-court confidence. Basketball's a game of runs, and if another team makes a run, we've learned to answer with solid defense.''

The Vikings are healthy, too.

They played their first 13 games without a point guard, alternating Jason Richardson and Mark Sison in the spot. Sophomore Royce Minor has returned, and Spindt says he's not playing like a sophomore.

``It's nice to have a point guard whose true position is point guard,'' Spindt said. ``He sees the court and he gets the ball to the open player.''

The Vikings have depth as well. Matt Pawlak and Manuel White fill in nicely for starters Eskias McDaniels (averaging 11.4 points per game) and Jordan. Richardson and Jeremy Goodman do nicely when Minor or Sison rest.

Burroughs (10-5): Check out the Jan. 13 Valencia at Burroughs game to see if coach Art Sullivan's claims of being able to beat Valencia stand up.

The Indians have impressed many with their depth and balance, which helped them rout Santa Barbara by 21 points on the Dons floor.

Jeremy Cartee is averaging 18.6 points, including several 25-point games, and has become the darling of small colleges such as Occidental and Westmont.

Kevin Krose is getting 13.9 points and Preston Tucker, a 6-8 senior, is getting 7.9 rebounds in his first varsity season, and Mario Fernandez is proving to be a capable point guard, averaging five assists each night.

``I saw Burroughs play and Burroughs is going to be awfully good,'' Spindt said. ``They play real good defense, they hustle, and I'm impressed by their balance. They have a number of people they can go to.''

Hart (9-6): The team is together, and the football players have settled into a basketball mode and are contributing heavily.

J.T. Stotts (20.9 ppg) continues to score, but Jerry Owens (9 ppg) has come on and has been the second-leading scorer in two of the last three games.

Still, the team isn't playing as up-tempo as coach Davie Montgomery would like because everyone still isn't in tip-top shape.

One thing to watch for: Kelly Weldon and Scott Hunt's fouls. Both have fouled out of the last two games, but Montgomery likes their aggressiveness.

Canyon (7-8): This road-weary team (one home game) is tested, having faced area powers Simi Valley, Bell-Jeff, Valencia and San Fernando. All resulted in losses, but it showed the players what that level is like.

The Cowboys also could do some damage, having made up 16 of an 18-point deficit against Valencia.

The key will be how consistent they play. Dave Humphreys said they haven't played a complete game yet. Still, Mike Reardon is averaging 12.8 points a game.

Saugus (6-8): Time's up. League is here. And the Centurion's defense isn't up to coach Jeff Hallman's satisfaction.

``The guys seem to want to take shortcuts on that side of the ball,'' Hallman said.

If the Centurions can follow the example of Nic Echivestre, their defense will improve significantly and quickly. Echivestre is doing more of the little things - positioning, seeing his man with and without the ball, staying low, helping out - Hallman wants to see.

Scoring hasn't been a problem, with Matt Bradley averaging 16.7 points and shooting better than 50 percent from the field. Nick Boone also is stepping up offensively.

Burbank (3-10): Besides Burroughs, this team's record is the largest surprise in the nonleague. Yet coach Ron Quarterman isn't shocked. There are so many new players, and the nonleague schedule included games against some of Bakersfield's best (Garces, Ridgeview) as well as Lakewood and San Pedro.

``It's up and down with them,'' Quarterman said. ``We're waiting for somebody to step up and stay consistent.''

Juni Williams has been consistent, averaging 17 points, but he averaged 30.5 points in the recent Best of the West tournament.

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Photo

Photo: Mark Sison is one of several Valencia Vikings to play point guard.

John Lazar/Special to the Daily News