PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Brandon Benjamin, Canyon, So.
It was a willpower basket.
In the final seconds of a tie game in the CIF Southern Section boys basketball quarterfinals, Brandon Benjamin got a one-handed rebound of his own miss and banked the ball off the glass and through the hoop as the buzzer sounded to give Canyon a 58-56 win over JSerra. The victory sent his team to the Division 2AA semifinals and clinched a berth in the CIF State tournament.
That moment exemplified Benjamin’s play all season, and he has been chosen by the Register as the Orange County player of the year.
Using his quick and powerful moves around the basket, the 6-foot-5 sophomore played like a 6-9 senior and averaged 23 points and nine rebounds a game.
He was the Crestview League player of the year, was named All-CIF for the second year in a row, and he surpassed 1,000 career points this season.
“The game-winner against JSerra was a big one,” Benjamin said. “Scoring 36 points against Villa Park, too, and my breakaway dunk against Brea Olinda for my 1,000th career point.”
Benjamin, who was first-team All-County as a freshman, scored 32 points in the win over JSerra and 48 points over Canyon’s two games against its top league competitor, Foothill. With Canyon missing two likely starters because of injuries, he faced constant double- and triple-teams.
He made 55% of his shots, and in the CIF-SS playoffs he scored 89 points over three games.
“Brandon wants to win everything,” said Canyon coach Nate Harrison. “He’s a matchup nightmare at the high school level. He’s so strong and physical, he’s able to score at will around the basket, and if a bigger guy is on him he can put the ball on the floor and go around him.”
This month he transferred to Mater Dei and attended his first classes there Tuesday.
COACH OF THE YEAR
Steve Garrett, Tesoro
Tesoro won a county-high 31 boys basketball games this season, won the South Coast League championship and won a CIF Southern…
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