Gorman basketball will have an edge on the inside, opens season Saturday

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Wednesday, Nov. 26, 2014 | 2 a.m.

This is how talented this Bishop Gorman High basketball team will be this season:

Zach Collins, a 6-foot-11 junior post player who is considered a four-star recruit and who has scholarship offers from heavyweights such as Arizona and UCLA, will be the three-time defending state champion Gaels’ sixth man.

The starters in the post are seniors Chase Jeter (6-11) and Stephen Zimmerman (7-foot), a pair of five-star prospects who are ranked in the nation’s top 15 players for the class of 2015.

On sheer size alone, Gorman will be at an advantage.

“It is something we have had to adjust to the last couple of years,” Gorman coach Grant Rice said. “It is not normal in high school basketball, let alone college basketball. It has been an adjustment. We will take that adjustment. We enjoy it. It is definitely something you have to work on every day to get the big guys involved and take advantage of that strength and that size.”

While Gorman’s strength is in the post, it’s backcourt is unproven.

At point guard, senior Richie Thornton and junior Julian Payton replace four-year contributor Noah Robotham, last year’s state player of the year. Chase Nomaaea, a junior guard, returns after missing last year with a knee injury.

“We have a long ways to go, but we are moving in the right direction,” Rice said. “We definitely have some work to do.”

The inexperience could make Gorman vulnerable. Centennial High, who has been Gorman’s stiffest competition the past two years, has two Division I players in its backcourt in UC Irvine commit Darrian Traylor and 2017 top recruit Troy Brown Jr. And each team Gorman takes the floor against, especially locally, has players looking to prove themselves against the Gaels’ roster of college recruits.

“We have a bull’s-eye on our chest. We have to take out whoever is in front of us,” said senior wing Nick Blair, a three-year varsity performer and Gorman’s most seasoned nonpost player.

Gorman, who is ranked in the top 10 by multiple national polls, will be tested early.

It opens the season Saturday against Bishop O’Dowd of Oakland, another nationally ranked team, in the NorCal Tipoff. Last year, Bishop O’Dowd beat Gorman by 14 points, and its best player, Ivan Rabb, dominated on the inside in scoring 24 points.

It’s one of six out-of-state events Gorman will play in, facing a who’s who of top-tier programs. The goal, like it is every season, is to be ready to defend their state championship.

“Our ultimate goal is always local play and the playoff and the state championship in Nevada,” Rice said. “We have the motto where we want to schedule as tough as we can. We aren’t going to try to sugarcoat it and back down from anybody.”

With its trio of post players, backing down won’t be required. Jeter and Zimmerman each averaged about 15 points and 10 rebounds per game last season, giving Gorman a great edge.

“It helps us because none of the competition is that size,” Jeter said. “We take advantage of it by punishing the smaller teams we play.”

Ray Brewer can be reached at 702-990-2662 or [email protected]. Follow Ray on Twitter at twitter.com/raybrewer21