Hutchings prepping for final go-around

Santa Cruz High finished the season 19-10 overall and a sterling 11-1 in Santa Cruz County Athletic League (SCCAL) play, with junior backcourter Kiree Hutchings having his season topped off by being named CCS Junior Player of the Year by the Prep2Prep site.

In  2013-14, the 5-foot-10 Hutchings almost doubled his points per game average with 15.5 points a contest versus 8.6 a year ago. In a December 12 rout of Watsonville High, he came thisclose to a quadruple double with a 24 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds and seven steals night's work. On January 28, he poured in 34 points in a double overtime victory over Aptos High.

All in all, his play earned him a spot on the All-SCCAL First Team as voted by the league's coaches.

Asked what were his goals were prior to the start of play, Hutchings offered, "before the season, each player wrote down two or three goals. Mine were to win league and get to CCS."

Call that accomplished and accomplished as the Cardinals eventually bowed out in a 59-55 loss to Riverbank High in the initial round of the NorCal Regional Division IV basketball playoffs.

With one more season to go and his last spring/summer exposure opportunity fast approaching, Hutchings has quite the litany of workouts lined up. He is a member of the Hand Down Man Down AAU team run by local Harbor High Coach Robert Shipstead and will be participating in various tournaments, including two Double Pump events in Los Angeles and one in Las Vegas.

Here's Shipstead on his senior-to-be: "Kiree makes everyone around him better and he is someone who can't play any harder than he does. We're working on him adding a change of speeds at times, going from fourth gear all the time to second gear and a solid pullup jumper."

Academically, Hutchings is current in meeting all the requirements necessary to accept a scholarship. Shipstead again: "Kiree's grades are really good."

Hutchings is working out with both Raymond Farris, who has trained football Hall of Famers Jerry Rice and Barry Sanders, newly elected NBA Hall of Famer Mitch Richmond and others, and Kelvin Potts of the KP Project for both greater physical and basketball skill development.

Coming from a family of basketball players -- his father took to the court for Santa Cruz High while his mother did the same for crosstown Soquel High -- it's not a surprise that he ended up focusing on roundball. But he also participated earlier in baseball  -- "I liked it a lot, it was one of my favorite sports -- and is pondering taking to the gridiron as a senior.

So what will Santa Cruz High hoops look like next season?

"We will have four returning starters in Oscar [Mahoney, a 6-foot-6 senior], Kaijae [Yee-Stephens, a 6-foot-2 junior], Keonon [Williams, a 5-foot-9 junior] and me."

That's a solid quartet from which to launch a season.