Sports

San Marin's Wesonga: Big Man on Even Bigger Stage

On his way to Cal State Northridge, the MCAL's Player of the Year makes one last stop at Drake High on Saturday night for Marin's annual showcase of senior basketball talent.

Redwood High’s Kai Drewry became one of the Marin County Athletic League’s top ball distributors this past season, and Saturday night he’ll be surrounded by a cast of high-scoring all-stars.

So there’s no doubt in Drewry’s mind what he’s going to be doing a lot in the Jerry McIntosh Marin All-Star Classic at Drake.

Shooting.

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Why? Well, two words: .

“I’m looking forward to playing with him,” Drewry said of the 6-foot-7 San Marin star. “He makes things so much easier.

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“You can play so much more aggressively on defense because he’s there to protect you. And then there are a lot of shots you might not ordinarily take, but you take them because you know he’ll get the rebound if you miss.

“Yeah, that’s the game plan.”

Indeed, Wesonga, the MCAL Player of the Year in 2010-11, figures to be quite busy in the annual showcase of Marin’s senior basketball talent.

That’s nothing new, and he’s ready for more.

“I’m just going to play like I know I can,” he assured on the eve of the game. “This will be the last time I can be coached by my same coach (San Marin’s ). And I want to see how much I’ve improved on the things I’ve been working on now that I’m well rested.”

Ah, rest. Wesonga admitted he needed it in the aftermath of a grueling postseason schedule, one that included taking the SAT on the same day as San Marin’s loss to Bishop O’Dowd in the Northern California finals.

But with the season-ending defeat in mind and a much higher level of competition at Cal State Northridge in his very near-future, Wesonga has been working harder than ever the past six weeks.

“I already know what I need to work on. Some guys talk to me, but they don’t need to tell me,” he claimed.

“After that last game we lost, I wanted to work on my shooting. I’ve been in the gym working on a lot of things – different stuff I need to learn.”

As San Marin kept winning and Wesonga continued to put up monster numbers, the senior marched up the recruiting lists.

He wound up earning Northern California Player of the Year honors for Division III and third-team all-state recognition, a lofty status often reserved for national recruits. But Wesonga stayed loyal to the relatively small-time Northridge program.

“At the end of the day, Northridge was the team that put their trust in me. They never gave up on me,” he said. “I took advantage of the opportunity. I said, ‘Why not? You might not find a better fit.’”

Make no mistake about it: Wesonga doesn’t see Northridge as the end of his basketball trail.

“I’m not going to limit myself. I want to become very versatile,” he said. “As long as I keep working as hard as I have been, I think it will take me far.

“I want to keep learning from the coaches. There are a lot of big guys in college. I want to be a nightmare for those guys.

“My ultimate goal is just to be a great player and not settle for anything less.”

So Wesonga has a message for Drewry and all his other teammates – including San Marin’s , and – on the North team Saturday night:

Go ahead and shoot. Go ahead and take chances defensively. He’s ready to be as dominant as usual.

And maybe even more.

Jerry McIntosh Marin All-Star Classic

Saturday at Drake High

Girls game, 3:30 p.m.

Boys game, 5 p.m.


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