Spartans powered by two Div. I commits

De La Salle High School in Concord (Calif.) is one of the top-ranked teams in the country, tallying a record of 31-1 on the season. With an air-tight attack on both offense and defense, some of the players can be overshadowed by the team as a whole. However, there are still a few players who stand out in the midst of the Spartans' dominance.

The Spartans are led by their point guard, Justin Joyner, who was plagued by early foul trouble in the NorCa regional final against Tokay. Still, Joyner put his imprint on the game by providing a steady hand on the point of attack, while displaying his willingness to take the big shot.

Joyner, who is the ninth ranked college prospect in the region by NorCalPreps.com, is headed to UC Santa Barbara, where he will look to contribute right away.

"I'm going to come in and play a lot," said Joyner. "They said that they don't have a true point guard."

Joyner also said one of the drawing cards for Santa Barbara was the comfort level he and his family felt with the coaching staff. Joyner, who will be breaking away from the De La Salle style of play, as the Gauchos play more up-tempo, chose UCSB over St. Mary's, Portland State, and Loyola Marymount.

"They like to run a little more at Santa Barbara," said Joyner, who likes to get out and run, which makes Santa Barbara a nice fit for him.

Joyner's running mate, senior Lincoln Gunn, led the team with 16 points in the Spartans' NorCal championship win. Back in August, Gunn committed to Princeton, which runs the same offense as De La Salle .

"I like running this style of offense," said Gunn. "It's a good offense for me as a player."

Gunn, who picked Princeton over other Ivy League schools such as Cornell and Yale, as well as St. Mary's, liked the academic and basketball opportunities the Tigers offered. As an Ivy League school, Princeton offers a top-notch academic environment, which was important to Gunn. The Tigers also offer quality competition in the non-conference, as well as a realistic chance to compete in the NCAA tournament.

As was evident in his performance against Tokay, Gunn is a solid all-around player who fits in very well within the De La Salle system. He makes great cuts to the basket and is pretty aggressive with the ball.

While the Princeton coaches haven't said anything definite about his playing time next season, it is almost certain that Gunn will play as a true freshman. However, the coaches have cautioned him to be more active with his arms on defense, become physically stronger by hitting the weight room, and work on his ball-handling.

Despite Division I basketball calling their names, Gunn and Joyner, as well as the rest of the Spartans will focus on winning the state title against Clovis West on Saturday night. Both Joyner and Gunn said it should be a competitive game, as both teams play similar styles and as Gunn said, "the schools have some familiarity with each other through other sports."