Jaime Jaquez Jr., with no facial hair and looking out each bit like {the teenager} he was, took day out after a basketball recreation at Camarillo Excessive to take a photograph in 2018 with 5 smiling members of the native youth basketball staff made up of 11-year-olds. They attended the sport and bought an opportunity to satisfy the neighborhood star, who was a junior averaging 30 factors a recreation.
Jaquez would develop into a hometown hero, exhibiting you’ll be able to develop up in Ventura County, get a scholarship to UCLA and make it to the NBA as a first-round draft choose for the Miami Warmth.
In 2018, members of this 12 months’s Camarillo basketball staff took a photograph with Jaime Jaquez Jr. They’re Shane Frank, left, Brendan Widerburg, Josh Castaniero, Evan Dela Paz and Jackson Yeates.
(Ross Widerburg)
Now these 5 gamers within the photograph — Shane Frank, Brendan Widerburg, Josh Castaniero, Evan Dela Paz and Jackson Yeates — are seniors at Camarillo and following in Jaquez’s foosteps as greatest pals making an attempt to guide the Scorpions to basketball success. The staff is 17-1 and to say chemistry performs an enormous half could be an understatement.
They’ve recognized each other since third grade. They nonetheless hang around collectively on the native park on Friday nights, go for a swim in the neighborhood pool, play video video games, scream and chuckle whereas using the rides at Six Flags Magic Mountain, and compete for highest grade-point common. They get excited when somebody takes a cost, as a result of meaning a free milk shake is the reward.
— Camarillo Excessive Faculty Boys’ Basketball (@ACHS_BoysHoops) January 2, 2025
Their solely loss this season was to Rolling Hills Prep, and its legendary coach, Harvey Kitani, acknowledged the type of staff he was dealing with. “The kids all know their role,” he stated. “They’re a unit. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
It’s a parent-driven origin story of how they met. Fathers got here collectively to type a youth basketball staff. The gamers bought to know each other, grew to become pals and joined in enjoying soccer, baseball and different sports activities. Nothing has modified via the years. They take pleasure in their firm. They just lately took a visit collectively to Yosemite Nationwide Park, staying in a cabin, going for hikes and speaking basketball. When driving to video games within the college vans, there are singing competitions.
Different Camarillo gamers have joined the group, together with senior Cajun Mike-Value, the son of former Sylmar Excessive and UCLA soccer standout Durell Value, and senior Ty Chisholm, who arrived as a freshman when his father, within the Navy, moved to the world. “They welcomed me with open arms,” Chisholm stated.
What makes Camarillo so profitable are the various contributors for coach Brendan Garrett. Throughout any given recreation, there could possibly be a unique main scorer or main rebounder. Yeates, a guard, leads the staff in scoring at 13 factors per recreation. He additionally has the very best grade-point common at 4.6. Widerburg was the college’s quarterback and solely needs he may have recruited a few of his pals to be receivers.
To see the interplay of those gamers is inspiring. They’re enjoying for enjoyable and friendship. There’s unselfishness, togetherness and an understanding of enjoying for one another. No matter helps the staff succeed, that’s what issues most.
“We’ve played in so many championship games together, gone to so many places, won so many tournaments together,” Paz stated.
Mentioned Yeates: “I feel the reason we’re so good is we play as a team. No one plays for themselves. We know if someone has a bad game, they’ll bounce back the next time. We trust everyone.”
On Jan. 14, the college shall be honoring Jaquez by retiring his No. 24 jersey earlier than a recreation towards Simi Valley. He’s on the town as a result of the Miami Warmth are enjoying the Clippers and Lakers that week. Jaquez is an enormous fan of this system. In spite of everything, his youthful brother Marco performed for the Scorpions and his sister, Gabby, was a McDonald’s All-American who now performs for the No. 1-ranked UCLA’s girls’s staff. Jaquez offered each participant with black sweatsuits, together with the teaching workers and custodial workers at Camarillo.
Camarillo is a highschool that embraces sports activities participation. The principal, Matt La Belle, is a former Simi Valley baseball coach who understands how sports activities can match into a college’s tradition. The college’s athletic director, Mary Perez, is the daughter of the legendary soccer coach from Moorpark Faculty, the late Jim Bittner.
La Belle has seen the gamers round campus and says, “It’s absolutely true” of how good they’re as youngsters on and off the courtroom.
“They’re fantastic students. They’re a great group,” he stated.
When neighborhood youngsters are doing effectively, it makes it straightforward for a complete neighborhood to have enjoyable rooting for them to succeed. With the brand new Southern Part playoff seeding course of beginning this season counting on laptop rankings, it stays unknown the place Camarillo may find yourself. The early rankings didn’t precisely encourage confidence and may want some re-tooling. For now, Camarillo is No. 33, which could make it troublesome to compete for a championship amongst Division 1 powerhouses.
Simply don’t ever rely out this Camarillo staff that may overcome loads with the assistance of chemistry and belief. And when the video games finish, don’t fear about these gamers.
“We’ll be friends for life,” Yeates stated.
