STUDIO CITY — The reigning Mission League boys basketball champions, Harvard-Westlake, hosted its league counterparts for Mission League media day Wednesday, Oct. 23.
Having all eyes on them is nothing new for the Wolverines. They’ve won the league crown six years in a row and are the back-to-back defending CIF State Open Division champions.
They’re used to having a target on their back.
What is new, however, is the contingent of players who will be called upon to take on more important roles this season.
Seven seniors graduated from last year’s team, including three starters, creating the demand for younger players to step into more prominent roles.
According to head coach David Rebibo, the biggest question mark heading into the upcoming season is how those younger players will evolve and take on leadership roles.
It’s a matter of time, he said, that will help uncover that foremost pressing question.
“Time. It’s a new group with some new players, but a lot of guys in new roles and getting them to understand and take ownership of things,” Rebibo said. “So as we continue to get some time together and advance here I think we will have a better understanding.”
Juniors Dominique Bentho and Amir Jones, as well as senior Isaiah Carroll, are three players who have significant experience under their belts. Bentho was a starter last season and Jones and Carroll were key contributors off the bench.
But now they will be tasked with not only more minutes on the floor, but guiding the new members of the team.
“Leadership. Being able to take that extra step,” Bentho said. “Taking a bigger role and being a leader toward the younger guys and people that didn’t have the role they did last year.”
“I think we’re learning that we got to take a lot of big steps,” Jones said. “I think the biggest thing is probably leadership. We’re both learning how to be leaders on and off the floor.”
Jones and Carroll were named starters along with Bentho, Duke commit Nikolas Khamenia and Joe Sterling, a junior transfer from Crespi.
While one of the new players on the team, Sterling is used to being a leader. As a sophomore last year, Sterling led Crespi in scoring and steals, averaging 20.9 points per game and 1.6 steals per game.
His game-winning 3-pointer in overtime against Sierra Canyon sent Crespi to the Mission League Tournament final.
Sterling’s recent performance at the Border League in Las Vegas solidified an offer from USC.
“I think I’ve grown since the spring and summer after the high school season so much and even just the short time I’ve been here since June,” Sterling said. “I’ve shown what I can do against some of the best players in the country, so it’s been great.”
“He’s handled it really well. I know the school isn’t easy as well as the basketball program in itself. He’s even shown leadership coming in as the new guy,” Khamenia said about Sterling. “He works hard, shows up every day, giving it 110 percent. He’s doing his job and he’s getting better every single day.”
With the start of the 2024-25 campaign less than a month away, Harvard-Westlake will have to work quickly in practice and in the early stretch of the season to figure out how the team is developing with players undertaking new responsibilities.
And like they do every year, the Wolverines will play a challenging nonleague schedule, including games against several out-of-state opponents.
“Your concern every year is how you manage those new roles in new situations,” Rebibo said. “Guys are going to be asked to do things in situational basketball that they haven’t been asked to do prior to this season that’ll come with time and experience. That’s why we try and schedule the games we do as early as possible and get as many competitive games heading into league play so we can identify and fix.”
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