The St. Francis boys basketball team is one of the hottest teams in Southern California this season. Not just because of their 19-5 record, but because of the team’s newest addition: 7-foot-4 Cherif Millogo, who is averaging 24.7 points, 13.6 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 5.3 blocks per game.
The standout junior has been all the rage, especially after his dominating performance against Sierra Canyon a couple weeks ago. The Golden Knights almost downed California’s No. 1 team in Chatsworth.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s the No. 1 prospect in California next year, and a Top 10 prospect nationally,” Sierra Canyon coach Andre Chevalier said of Millogo.
Millogo is leading St. Francis’ rise in so many facets: wins, exposure, buzz. But the player who is going to keep St. Francis atop of the proverbial mountain is sophomore point guard Luke Paulus.
Paulus might not be the most gifted player on St. Francis’ roster, but he’s without a doubt the most valuable.
“Cherif isn’t producing like he is without Luke,” St. Francis coach Todd Wolfson said. “From getting Cherif and his other teammates the ball to leading the locker room. He does everything.”
The St. Francis floor general is strong, skilled, confident and composed.
He has shown he can morph into whatever the team needs on any given night, and more importantly — as a point guard — he can facilitate what the team needs every night.
In the team’s narrow loss to Sierra Canyon, Paulus handled the Trailblazers’ relentless full-court pressure like a veteran. He even drove by 5-star guard Brandon McCoy Jr. for an and-1.
“As a freshman, things were overwhelming sometimes, but now I’m much more confident,” Paulus said. “I put on 15 pounds over the summer. I’m up to 165, 170.”
“How he deals with the physicality has been huge,” Wolfson added.
The following week, Paulus rebounded his own miss for a game-winning putback with no time left to down Crespi 66-64.
If the team needs more scoring, he can do that, too.
In a recent win over Brentwood, Paulus had a team-high 24 points in St. Francis’ 61-56 win with Millogo sidelined due to sickness. He’s averaging 16.6 points, 4.4 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.3 steals per game.
“He’s selfless,” Wolfson said of Paulus, who is the nephew of former Duke guard Greg Paulus.
Sure, playing with a 7-foot-4 talent like Millogo can make basketball games easier. But maximizing that talent is a point guard’s responsibility. Paulus is already doing that.
“It’s my job to make sure [Millogo] is touching the ball on every possession if I can help it,” he said. “It’s been fun playing with a special player like that. I can just throw it anywhere near the rim and he’ll dunk it. That’s fun.”
Wolfson says he talks with Paulus during games about what the defenses are throwing at them, especially after the first quarter
“He’s learning the game a ton right now, and when he comes back to me with something, it’s great feedback for me as a coach,” Wolfson said. “The more cerebral he can get, the better he’ll be able to prepare and play.”
St. Francis has two games left. The Golden Knights will play at Loyola on Friday night before taking on Harvard-Westlake on the road Tuesday. Then there’s the end-of-year Mission League tournament that will determine playoff placement. That starts Jan. 29.
The Golden Knights are on the fringe of being an Open Division team as of now. If they mess around and make more noise in the final two weeks, Paulus will be leading his team into America’s toughest high school basketball playoff bracket on Feb. 13.
St. Francis has never competed in the Open Division.