Basketball has not seen too many phenoms the likes of Chase Budinger.
Think of a cross between Napoleon Dynamite and Michael Jordan.
The 6-foot-8 senior at La Costa Canyon High School with the mop of reddish-blond curls is arguably the most dynamic figure to appear on the San Diego County basketball scene since another noted mop-top, Bill Walton, patrolled the court for Helix High more than 35 years ago.
And while the Jordan comparison might sound overblown at the least and reckless hyperbole at the worst, the fact is that Budinger possesses both a high-flying, rim-rocking aerial game and a smooth, deadeye perimeter game that made Jordan an icon of the game.
But comparisons with the greats of the game have become commonplace for Budinger in a season in which he became the county's all-time leading scorer, led La Costa Canyon to the school's first San Diego Section championship, and was selected to play in the McDonald's High School All-American Game. He was also named California's Gatorade State Player of the Year.
Longtime San Diego Union-Tribune sportswriter Steve Brand recently suggested that Budinger might be the greatest basketball player ever produced in the county. And the comparisons between Budinger, a wing player, and Walton, a traditional post player, have grown more insistent over the past year.
"First, it is an honor to have people comparing me to him," Budinger said. "But I try not to take that in or make that comparison myself yet, because he has done so much more than I have ..."
Full Name :
