March 13, 2009
So-so? Not Sosa
He’s been heralded since his freshman season, receiving numerous awards and followed up with a sophomore season that merited All-Area honors. He plays in a gymnasium nicknamed “The House of Thrills” but Alisal (Salinas) High’s Jonathan Sosa remains unknown to many. Make that too to many.
Watch for Sosa to make some recruiting waves
As a high school newcomer, Sosa was named to the All-State Freshman Team as well as the Tri-County Athletic League (TCAL) Freshman of the Year and the San Jose Mercury News Central Coast Section Boys Basketball Freshman of the Year.
He followed up with a sophomore season that merited another TCAL All-League squad selection as well as being picked to the All Monterey County Boys Basketball Team by the Monterey County Herald.
2008-2009 was no different -- another TCAL All-League honor -- actually the Most Valuable Player based on his 19.1 points per game and 8.9 rebounds a contest -- as well as being named to the All-County and All-CCS teams and capturing most valuable player honors at the Coach Wilson Memorial and Steinbach Classic tournaments.
So why is Sosa not well known outside of the Salinas Valley area? After all, previous Trojans have included 6-foot-9 Oliver Caballero (now playing basketball at San Jose State) and 6-foot-7 Jorge Camacho (finishing his freshman year on the Eastern Kentucky men’s basketball team).
Part of it is because the area is not seen as anything close to a basketball mecca. Another element is limited spring and summer exposure. But at 6-foot-4 and a solid 220 pounds, Sosa certainly has the makings of a college 3.
Here’s Sosa describing his best skills: "My post moves, my drop step and my mid-range jumper."
Alisal Coach Jose Gil has this to say about his protégé: "His best skill is his versatility on offense. He’s solid with his back-to-the-basket but he can also face up and take people off the dribble or hit the 15-footer. He can even shoot the 3."
Gil elaborated, "He is so strong and is able to finish with contact. His stamina is good, he takes a lot of punishment with people hanging on him and the wear and tear doesn’t slow him down."
Sosa has some idea about what he wants to improve in his game this summer. "I want to improve my speed, my driving in and eluding defenders."
Gil has some of his own ideas. "Physically, we’re going to get him a little leaner, more cut, so he’ll be quicker and have Jonathan work on his pullup jumper from the side."
Gil coached both Caballero and Camacho and has this to say in comparison with his current player: "They were taller but skill-wise he’s there with them."
Sosa earned a 2.5 grade point average last semester and will be tackling the SAT soon.