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CV boys strive to find identity on hardwood
Hawks AAU team struggles
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Gurshan Chahal and Central Valleys varsity boys basketball program will strive for improvement during the 2016-17 season. Chahal and the Hawks AAU team just finished playing more than 30 games in a two-month span. Central Valley placed second in a pair of tournaments. - photo by DALE BUTLER/The Courier

Central Valley High School's AAU boys basketball team played more than 30 games in a two-month span.

"We're not developing the way I'd like us to," head coach Darryl Dickson said. "We should be doing better, collectively, as a team. I have really high expectations for this group."

Central Valley competed in events in Fresno, Sacramento, Martinez, San Francisco and Reno.

"We might do one or two more tournaments in July," Dickson said.

The Hawks placed second in Sacramento and Martinez.

Central Valley dropped three of four games on its way to a sixth-place showing at the Reno Jam On It Memorial Day Tournament.

"We've had some good moments," Dickson said. "But we need to get better. We're making too many mistakes and giving games away. Our lack of size is hurting us big time. I thought we'd be further along. We need to do the little things to help win ball games."

Central Valley's AAU roster consists of Ralph Afortunado, Gurshan Chahal, Oso Fregoso, Erik Mejia, Harinder Sidhu, Jaspreet Singh, Alonzo Bustos, Phillip Jackson, Miguel Jimenez, Andres Rojo, Dakota Scroggins and David Serrano.

Afortunado, Chahal, Fregoso, Mejia, Sidhu and Singh contributed at the varsity level a year ago.

Bustos, Jackson, Jimenez, Rojo, Scroggins and Serrano were members of the JV Hawks' squad.

Central Valley's varsity boys basketball team posted a 15-12 overall record and placed fourth in the Western Athletic Conference (7-5) this past winter.

The Hawks had a program-best 22-5 mark, finished first overall in the WAC standings (12-0) for the first-time ever and secured their second consecutive Sac-Joaquin Section postseason berth during the 2014-15 school year.

"It's been a difficult transition," Dickson said. "I really thought the program was on an upswing. I can see this team earning a playoff spot if they stay motivated. The seniors are going to have to push the other kids. The thing we have to focus on is finding our identity as a group. We'll be competitive. We'll go as far as the guys want to go."