Torrey Pines this week ranks second in one California poll, third in another, and a unanimous No. 1 in San Diego.
John Olive , who became head coach at Torrey Pines before the 1997-98 season and whose teams have averaged 23 victories a season, commands a Falcons squad that has reached this juncture of the season with a 22-0 record.
Olive has an overall won-loss standing of 551-182 (.752), but his teams and no other in San Diego have been ranked as high as they are (3, behind Chatsworth Sierra Canyon and Santa Ana Mater Dei) by the respected Cal-Hi Sports. The Falcons are second in the computer-generated Max Preps standings.
A basketball lifer, the jovial Olive, played at Bishop Eustace High in South New Jersey and at Villanova before joining the San Diego Clippers of the NBA for two seasons as a 6-foot, 7-inch small forward..
Olive played one season with the Alberta Dusters of the Continental Basketball Association and then went into coaching. He was an assistant at Villanova and for five seasons was head coach at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles.
Olive also coordinates the Torrey Pines Holiday tournament which annually attracts some of the top teams in the nation, is involved with USA basketball as a coach and executive, and runs a basketball camp in Encinitas.
The Falcons now are five wins away from a perfect regular season, a feat matched only by the 1959-60 Hoover Cardinals, 1967-68 Mount Miguel Matadors, 1969-70 Helix Highlanders, and 1973-74 Kearny Komets.
Torrey Pines won three last week, 82-53 over Temecula Rancho Christian, and 83-64 and 62-55 over Carlsbad.
The Falcons have Friday-Saturday games against Avocado League rival Vista this week and close with two the following week versus La Costa Canyon. A nonleague game against Anaheim Fairmont apparently has been pulled from the schedule.
This week’s The San Diego Union-Tribune poll:
| RANK | TEAM | RECORD | POINTS | LAST WEEK |
| 1. | Torrey Pines | 22-0 (13) | 130 | 1 |
| 2. | San Marcos | 19-0 | 114 | 2 |
| 3. | Cathedral | 11-1 | 107 | 3 |
| 4. | St. Augustine | 10-4 | 82 | 4 |
| 5. | El Camino | 19-4 | 75 | 6 |
| 6. | Santa Fe Christian | 13-3 | 58 | 5 |
| 7. | Mission Hills | 14-4 | 48 | 8 |
| 8. | Carlsbad | 12-6 | 43 | 7 |
| 9. | Orange Glen | 19-3 | 41 | 9 |
| 10. | Corionado | 13-4 | 10 | NR |
Others receiving votes: Mission Bay (12-6, 4 points), Bonita Vista (8-4, 4), San Ysidro (14-5, 2), West Hills (14-4, 1).
First-place votes in parenthesis.. Points awarded on scale of 10 down to 1.
Poll voters:13 sportswriters, sportscasters from around San Diego County.
- John Maffei, San Diego Union-Tribune.
- Aaron Burgin, fulltimehoopos.com.
- Terry Monahan, Steve Brand, Union-Tribune correspondents.
- John Kentera, Braden Suprenant, 97.3 FM The Fan.
- Bodie DeSilva, scorebooklive.com.
- Ramon Scott, EastCountySports.com.
- Adam Paul, ECPreps.com
- Steve Dolan Mountain Country 107.9 FM.
- Christian Pedersen, San Diego Sports Association.
- Rick Smith, partletonsports.com
- Brad Enright, L.A. Court Report.
How others see San Diego Section’s top 10 in their California ratings*.
| TEAM | RANK | CAL-HI SPORTS | MAX PREPS |
| Torrey Pines | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| San Marcos | 2 | 23 | 11 |
| Cathedral | 3 | 15 | 8 |
| St. Augustine | 4 | NR | 24 |
| El Camino | 5 | NR | 47 |
| Santa Fe Christian | 6 | NR | 12 |
| Mission Hills | 7 | NR | 35 |
| Carlsbad | 8 | NR | 46 |
| Orabnge Glen | 9 | NR | 51 |
| Coronado | 10 | NR | NR |
*Cal-Hi Sports‘ ranks a Top 25.
