Mike Sciacca
In the past four years, Kyle Hogan and his game of basketball have
found a home at three different high schools.
Circumstances dictated his moves from school to school, gym to
gym, but in each of those instances, it is safe to say, those schools
have been the better for having him in the lineup.
In this 2002-03 boys' prep basketball season, Kyle Hogan has made
his final stop, playing for the Laguna Beach Breakers.
He played at Servite and Villa Park before making his way to south
county, where he will play out his senior year.
No matter where Kyle Hogan has played basketball, he has made his
mark.
He certainly has already at Laguna Beach High.
"Kyle was the missing piece we needed to bring our team and
program together," Laguna Beach coach Rob Cullinan said. "Kyle is a
pure scorer who gets his points from all over.
"He is a complete player -- he can shoot the three or go inside
and post up, and he's an 80% free throw shooter," Cullinan said.
"He's a great rebounder and has a knack for the ball and loves to get
after the boards."
Hogan's prep basketball journey began at Servite High in Anaheim,
following in the footsteps of two older brothers who played in the
Friar program.
He made the junior varsity squad as a freshman. That would be the
only year he'd wear a Servite uniform.
"[Servite] had just fired their [varsity] coach and brought in a
coach without a lot of experience," Hogan said. "In a power league
that includes the likes of Mater Dei and Santa Margarita, a team
needs to be well prepared.
"I had a feeling I'd never know what my potential was if I stayed
there, so I transferred out," he said.
Hogan, who lived within the attendance boundary of Villa Park
High, transferred there and played with the Spartans his sophomore
and junior years.
In those years, he was a player to be reckoned with and earned
All-Century League honors.
"I loved it there -- I had a really good coach and great
teammates," he said.
Yet, Villa Park wasn't the final destination during his prep
basketball career.
His family had put their home on the market, and at the start of
last summer, the Hogans had sold their home and moved to Crystal
Cove.
At 18, Kyle Hogan was starting over again.
But the transition from Villa Park to enrolling at Laguna Beach
High went smoothly due to the warm welcome he received from the
Breakers' boys' basketball program, the 6-foot-6, 195-pound center said.
"The team and coach Cullinan overly embraced me and that really
