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Canyon Coach Nate Harrison with Comanche players (from left) Stef Yilmazturk, Noah Kim and Brandon Benjamin. (PHOTOS: Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone).
(First in a series of articles from the inaugural 2024 Orange County Boys Basketball Media Day at Crean Lutheran High School).
Going into the 2024-25 season, there is plenty of excitement around Canyon High School as the Comanches welcome former player Brandon Benjamin back to the boys basketball program.
Benjamin, a standout at Mater Dei last season, transferred to Canyon, where he started his career. The 6-6 senior, who has signed with University of San Diego, was county player of the year at Canyon in his sophomore year at Canyon before going to Mater Dei for his junior year.
“We’re really excited about this season,” Coach Nate Harrison said. “Any time you get the former player of the year coming back home it’s a big thing for our program. We love Brandon and we certainly love him in our uniform better than in a different uniform. He’s such a gifted player and such a great teammate that it’s really made everybody’s life easier, including mine and it just made our team that much better.
“We think we have two of the best guards in Orange County in Staf (Yilmazturk) and Noah (Kim) and the three of them have played together the whole way through with one little hiccup in between and the chemistry there is just incredible so we’re excited about this season, we think we’re going to be one of the best teams in Southern California and we think we have the best player in Orange County on our team and we think he compliments what we have really well.”
“It’s great to be back, the goals are always to win at least one tournament and win league and then win CIF, so I’m just trying to complete all three of those this year,” Benjamin said. “Coach Nate and my teammates support me a lot and I think it’s going to be a great year. We have a lot of respectable opponents this year so that’s going to be interesting. But if feels great not only on the court, but off the court.”
Yilmazturk is a 6-2 senior guard and Kim is a 6-3 senior guard.
Canyon was 22-8 overall last year and finished second in the Crestview League behind Foothill with a 4-2 record. Canyon lost to Los Alamitos in the second round of the CIF playoffs.
The Comanches face some battles this season with the addition of Crean Lutheran, Cypress and La Habra into the league.
“We were already one of the stronger leagues in the county but with the addition of Crean (Lutheran), Cypress and La Habra, not only is it maybe the top two leagues in the county all-around but you have some of the best coaches,” Harrison said.
Roster
The roster also includes 6-6 junior Pierce Haugen, 6-2 sophomore Jordan Garcia, 6-5 senior Zach Cutler, 5-11 junior Rami Awad, 5-9 freshman Jonah Kim, 5-8 junior Mo El baba, 6-3 junior Carter Smith, 6-6 sophomore Zach Lachman, 6-3 sophomore Luke Watanabe and 6-6 junior Soloman Gatewood.
Schedule
Canyon is opening play this week in the Rumble on the Hill Tournament. The Comanches then compete in the Sonora Tournament Dec. 9-14. The Comanches first league game is Tuesday, Jan. 7 at Cypress.
For full view, click on the photo:
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—Tim Burt, OC Sports Zone; timburt@ocsportszone.com
