The local scholastic boys basketball scene figures to produce some runs for both league and CIF gold. At La Jolla High, the Vikings under head coach Kamal Assaf were 24-9 a season ago, going 10-2 in the Western League. The Vikings captured both the league and Division III CIF crowns. La Jolla went on to win its first-round state playoff game, before losing in the quarterfinals to eventual state champ Santa Margarita. The key to this season’s La Jolla team will be replacing much of last year’s talent. La Jolla graduated eight seniors and four starters from the 2007-’08 team. The lone returning starter is junior guard Taylor Davis. Two key seniors, forward Tyler Heap and guard Spankey Nawahine, who played on last year’s championship team, will help lead La Jolla. “We are very excited about this year’s team,” Assaf said. “Our players have worked their way onto this year’s varsity team. We have four returning players from our championship team that will lead the way this year. Seven players have moved up from a talented junior varsity team last year and two players are new to our program.” Assaf added that this is the tallest Vikings team in his five years as coach and the deepest team he has fielded. “Each of the 13 players we are carrying on our varsity roster has a different skill set to contribute to the overall strength of our team,” Assaf added. “We expect to compete in a very tough league and a strong Division III field.” La Jolla was to open up play Wednesday evening, Dec. 3, at Mt. Carmel, with its first home game this Friday night at 7 p.m. versus Hoover. At La Jolla Country Day (LJCD) School, head coach Ryan Meier and the Torreys went 7-17 a season ago, losing in the CIF Division IV quarterfinals. LJCD returns Coastal All-League selection Dennis Roth (junior), sophomore Ryan Watt, junior JT Kelley and newcomer Mitch Amelio. “We expect a big rebound from last year’s experiences,” Meier stated. “I like our boys’ work ethic so far in practices. We know we have some tough challenges in our division, with the likes of Army/Navy, Bishop’s and Santa Fe Christian, but I think our guys will compete night in and night out.” LJCD was to open play Wednesday, Dec. 3, versus San Marcos in the Canyon Crest Raven Tip-Off. At The Bishop’s School, the Knights under head coach Tom Tarantino went 21-9 last winter and reached the CIF semifinals. Leading the Knights this season will be senior David Stotelmyre and junior Malik Love, regarded as two of the premier players in San Diego.   Rounding out the starting line-up will be seniors Trevor Sinclair and Dominique Kimbrough and sophomore Stephen Kaiser.   “The strengths of the team will be athleticism and unity,” Tarantino commented. “The greatest challenge will be team depth, as the reserves are talented but very young, comprised of freshmen and sophomores.” The Knights will open in the Eagle-Vaquero Tournament Dec. 3-4 at home and in the Kiwanis Tournament prior to traveling to Las Vegas for a Christmas tourney. Finally, University City High went 17-13 a season ago. Head coach Tony Stonebreaker will look to seniors to carry the load this winter, including Mark Hills, Skyler Dougherty, Federico Giacomelli, Peter Beale-Wirsing and David Washington, along with junior Reynard Rice.