– The offense is predicated off the defense.
– Do your “reads” while in the offense. Either take your shot from the perimeter or drive and kick (pass).
– Three things we do: everyone defends; sprint through our offense; win the 50-50 game.
These are some of the cardinal rules D.J. Gay, the second-year coach at La Jolla Country Day, preaches to his boys basketball team.
Tate Smith, the Torreys’ senior shooting guard and three-year starter, is buying. “The relationships we’ve built — the guys are so connected,” he cites as something he’ll carry away from this year.
Showing he’s a prime pupil of “Coach D.J.,” Smith says, “Points come out of the defense, in transition. We also take better shots as a result.”
Bito Bass-Sulpizio, a 6 feet 5 inches tall pounder underneath the basket, says: “The coaches tell us the right stuff. We don’t always do it the first time, but we’re playing as a team.” Bass-Sulpizio, who was sidelined earlier this season for two weeks with COVID, says LJCDS “was on a roll” early in the season — winning nine straight.
Then, after COVID interruptions that sidelined three starters, the Torreys regained momentum to win five of six, six of eight games overall. Bass-Sulpizio is dedicating the rest of his season to Smith, his injured teammate, who tore his right meniscus on Feb. 1, ending his high school career. LJCDS finished behind league champ Santa Fe Christian in Coastal Conference play leading into the CIF playoffs.
In a 53-46 home victory over Bishop’s on Feb. 4 — “Our biggest crowd at home this year,” says Gay, the former SDSU Hall of Famer — Country Day gave up a 12-0 lead, then fought back to gain the win, a sweep of the rival Knights this season.
“We ended up sticking together,” says the upbeat Bass-Sulpizio.
“With four guards and a big man, we have to play differently,” says Gay, known in his Aztec playing days as a hard-nosed defender who could also be depended on to take the key shot at the end of the game. “We don’t have a guy averaging 18 points a game, so we have four guys in double figures.”
Anthony Aruffo, a junior point guard, is the squad’s leading scorer at 14.4 points a game. Bass-Sulpizio, another junior, averages 10 points and eight rebounds. Junior Jake Altman leads in assists with 3.2 per game.
“I’m not surprised Santa Fe Christian is league champs,” says Gay. “They have the culture and buy-in from their players.” Where, in his estimation, are the Torreys in the second year of his plan? “We’re definitely in the building phase.”
A story related to Kawhi Leonard, the SDSU star and NBA champ on two different teams, the Spurs and Raptors? “My sophomore year (at SDSU), we were the best team (of my four years there). My senior year, we were all bought-in — the mission.” Which reinforces Gay’s goal for a successful program at LJCDS: player buy-in, along with team culture.
