Meet Daniel Vann Victorino

DVV sounds like the acronym of one of those secret government agencies but that interpretation couldn't be more incorrect. It's actually the initials of 6-foot-6 Daniel Vann Victorino, a North Salinas High graduating senior and two-time All-Tri County Athletic League honoree whose summer and possibly beyond plan is to get his name on tips of the tongues of as many coaches as possible.

Vann Victorino averaged 13.7 points and eight rebounds a game this past season in carrying the hopes of success for the Vikings and he's now playing for the West Valley Basketball Club (WBVC). If the right offer pops up, he'll be on it. Otherwise, he's headed to Coach Blake Spiering's Monterey Peninsula College program.

Asked about what makes him stand out on the court,  Vann Victorino offered "probably my energy. I have a motor and I'm a hustle player."

That subject deserves some emphasis for the 180 degree turn Vann Victorino engineered from his earlier days when he disdained such a style.

"I had a stuck-up personality," he explained. "My thinking was why should I go for a ball on the floor?"

Now, it's him buzzing around the court, leaping, diving and banging into opponents.

So why the change?

"I have no idea. I just started do it and it felt good."

Besides that turnaround, he also put a lot of effort in skill development.

"In my freshman year, I played but with no fundamentals," he recalled. "I wasn't that athletic, had no footwork, no basketball IQ and I couldn't dribble or shoot."

 Victorino (in blue)

His junior varsity coach suggested he play on a travel team and the greater competition spurred Vann Victorino to improve. He also got a shooting coach, Robbie Johnson (the brother of recent Indiana Pacers draftee Orlando Johnson), who worked with him on keeping his elbow in and releasing the ball off his fingertips.

It became a transformation between the 1.0 and 2.0 versions of Vann Victorino.

Playing the last couple of spring and summers and training with the WVBC coaches was also certainly part of his continual evolution.

Al Grigsby, the former Cal frontcourter, is Van Victorino's WVBC coach and has witnessed his development.

"He can now do so many things on the court, he believes in himself and his game and he's going to surprise some people," Grigsby offered.

"Daniel's enjoyed some personal growth and taken that to the court," Grigsby added. "He's a sensitive kid and he's still learning that you can't wear your emotions on your sleeve because when emotion show you can't function at the highest level."

Academically, Vann Victorino owns a 3.7 grade point average and he's looking to major in kinesiology.

Why Monterey Peninsula College?

After the requisite formal contact, "[MPC[ Coach [Blake] Spiering showed up to a practice and I met him," Vann Victorino explained. "We talked about what I would learn and what I would be doing on the court there."

Spiering just had a frontcourter -- Andrew Young -- head to Texas A&M after perusing quite a number of college options.

As for influences, Vann Victorino offered "my Mom, Grandma and sister, Coach Al [Grigsby] and Coach Bob [Bramlett], Jens Gordon (the news boys basketball coach at Salinas High) and my (North Salinas High] junior varsity Coach Mike Bouraes."