Findlay finds room for improvement after one-loss season

Thursday, Aug. 21, 2008 | 5:47 p.m.

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Findlay College Prep nearly went undefeated last season, but Clarence Trent’s follow-up of DeAndre Liggins’ intentional miss at the free-throw line got blocked.

By dropping the title game of the Prep National Championship in the Bronx, N.Y., by a point, the Pilots finished their second season at 32-1.

Almost all of that team has departed to Kentucky, California, New Mexico and Florida State, but coach Mike Peck likes the foundation of his 2008-09 squad.

That’s senior center Carlos Lopez, and forwards Clarence Trent and Godwin Okonji. Peck will expect a lot from Lopez, on and off the court.

“I’m hoping to have my best season,” Lopez said. “I’m trying to explode, trying to play at the next level. When you’re a senior, you need to play hard or you’ll be on the bench.

“I don’t want to be a senior on the bench. I expect a lot of things this season.”

Illinois-bound D.J. Richardson, Los Angeles native Willie Hankins and Rasham Suarez, who, like Lopez, hails from Puerto Rico, will stock the backcourt for the Pilots.

Peck is finalizing the schedule, but he said locals will be happy to know that Findlay will play seven Las Vegas-area schools this season.

It will play in three tournaments in Kentucky and one in Ohio, and Mt. Zion and Montverde academies are on the list. Findlay will play host to its own tournament, the Rock Holiday Classic, in December.

After last season, Peck discontinued taking post-graduate prep prospects. That will enable Findlay to play more top-flight and well-known high schools, which will enhance its sponsorship deal with Nike.

That non-post-graduate status also will allow Findlay to crack some prestigious Top 25 rankings this season, like ESPN and USA Today.

If the team can finish with an ESPN ranking, Findlay will be invited to the national high school championship in Washington, D.C.

“It was hard losing that last game,” Lopez said. “Stuff happens. We still had a great season. Clarence, Godwin and I have passed that page, though. We’ll write a new one this season.

“But it makes you work harder to get back to the top.”