Captains lead the way for Chargers

Framer and Friedman boost boys’ basketball team’s backcourt



SPLASH—Senior captain and shooting guard Kevin Framer is Agoura’s best 3-point shooter.

SPLASH—Senior captain and shooting guard Kevin Framer is Agoura’s best 3-point shooter.

Kevin Framer and Kyle Friedman go way back.

They started playing basketball together in the fourth grade with the Valley Thunder travel squad.

They are now senior cocaptains of the Agoura High boys’ basketball team.

Framer roams the perimeter for 3-point shots. Friedman distributes the ball at point guard.

It hasn’t always been sunny in Seattle for the Chargers, who are 6-13 overall and 1-5 in the Marmonte League.

Framer and Friedman helped Agoura pick up its first league win of the season by holding off Moorpark 66-62 on Jan. 17 at home. Framer led the Chargers with 16 points while Friedman dropped 15 points on the Musketeers.

“I think we’ll surprise people,” Framer said before the victory. “We’ve picked up the practice intensity and we implemented a new defense. We want to play more pressure defense.”

Agoura’s doing whatever it can to turn things around.

Players are spending time in the gym after practice, at lunch and before school to work on their games.

The team leaders, who were also co-captains as sophomores on the junior varsity team, have their own strengths on the court.

“Kevin is very intelligent. He recognizes things,” first-year head coach Michael Robbins said. “He’s a very good shooter, and he has a desire to put his body on the line.”

Friedman offered his own take on Framer.

“When his shot’s on,” Friedman said of his fellow captain, “you need to get him the ball.”

Framer is Agoura’s version of Miami Heat forward Shane Battier—Framer, like Battier, leads his team in charges taken. He takes pride in his defense and making good decisions.

Friedman uses his long arms to deflect passes and deny the ball. He’s calm under pressure.

“Kyle is very intense and laid back at the same time,” Robbins said. “He plays intense, but he’s not overly emotional.”

The longtime friends and teammates work well together.

“Kevin and I have the strongest chemistry,” Friedman said. “We’ve played together the longest. We’ve been friends the longest. We know how to read traps and find each other.”

Cody Franke, a junior shooting guard, said the captains lead in their own way.

“They really take control at practice,” Franke said. “Kevin says we have to be serious as a program. Kyle knows how to make people laugh.”

Framer, 17, said he relishes being a captain.

“I love being a leader on the court,” he said. “The most important thing is to be a leader off the court. . . . I have to be a role model for the team.”

The Chargers also coach seventh- and eighth-grade boys in the Game On! youth basketball league. Framer guides the Oklahoma Sooners, while Friedman’s Cal Bears started 6-0.

As a freshman, Framer said, older players welcomed him to the team. He now makes youngsters feel comfortable.

“That (experience) set the tone for how I treat younger players,” Framer said. “It’s such a great feeling to be accepted right off the bat.”

He’s active in the Kids Helping Kids club, which has a fundraiser scheduled for April 19 at the events center on campus. The captain also enjoys playing golf.

The son of Lynn and Jeff, Framer has an older brother, Conner, who played two years of hoops at AHS. Framer is an honors student with a 3.8 gradepoint average, and he’s considering studying business at Indiana University. He’s also considering attending USC or the University of Washington.

Friedman, 18, said the team is pretty close.

“ We’re all really good friends,” he said. “It’s a pretty tight group. It helps and it hurts us. It only hurts us because we sometimes we get too goofy and are slacking when we need to pick it up and be serious.”

Friedman participates in the high jump and 4×100-meter relay for the track and field team.

The Charger, who has a 3.5 GPA, is active in the Rock Life anti-bullying campaign. He plays the tenor saxophone and drums, and he enjoys taking naps before games.

Friedman hit a game-winning, half court shot at the buzzer in Agoura’s 59-56 victory against Hollywood in the Burbank tournament on Dec. 2. Friedman had 13 of his 21 points in the fourth quarter of the Chargers’ season opener.

The point guard has been coaching for four years.

“I love coaching,” Friedman said, “and pass on what I know to little kids.”

CHARGERS TRY TO

MAKE A MOVE

Agoura High’s boys’ basketball team wants to turn its season around during its final eight Marmonte League games.

The Chargers (6-13 overall, 1-5 in the Marmonte) play host to Thousand Oaks (15-6, 4-3) at 7:30 p.m. Friday.

“We’re looking forward to getting some wins,” junior shooting guard Cody Franke said. “We really got to put in more work. . . .

“Our main thing is consistency with shooting. We need to hit shots.”

When they’re clicking, the Chargers move the ball on offense and play a high-pressure, scrambling defense, according to senior shooting guard Kevin Framer.

Michael Robbins, a 1997 Agoura High graduate who played for Bill Sanchez and Kevin Pasky, is a first-year head coach. Robbins, an AHS science teacher, spent a handful of seasons assisting the Charger boys’ and girls’ teams.

“Our record doesn’t show it, but we’ve been competitive in every game,” the coach said before last weekend’s 66-62 home win against Moorpark. “We’re fighting. We’re trying to get over the hump. Even with our losing streak, they bounce back and have such a positive mentality.”

Framer and point guard Kyle Friedman are senior captains who fortify the backcourt.

Senior post Austin Reynolds cleans up the glass. Thomas Serna and Aidan Kastenberg, both seniors, are the most consistent Chargers, according to Robbins. Jarrod Feinstein has displayed flashes of greatness.

Nikolas Polynice, Nikolas Buha, Matt Taksen, Itay Teshuva, Aidan Menell and Kyle Kavanagh are Agoura seniors. Louis Van der Wal and Franke are the only juniors on the roster.

“We need to finish out games better,” Friedman said. “We’re in every game. We’re competing.

“We’re looking to finish the year strong.”


STAND TALL—Kyle Friedman, left, and Kevin Framer are captains for Agoura High’s boys’ basketball team.

STAND TALL—Kyle Friedman, left, and Kevin Framer are captains for Agoura High’s boys’ basketball team.

GOOD DEFENSE—Agoura’s Kyle Friedman, right, defends Moorpark’s Trevor Driscoll during the Chargers’ 66-62 win on Jan. 17.

GOOD DEFENSE—Agoura’s Kyle Friedman, right, defends Moorpark’s Trevor Driscoll during the Chargers’ 66-62 win on Jan. 17.

BAD DEFENSE—Agoura’s Aidan Kastenberg, front, gets fouled by Moorpark’s Lucas Quinn while attempting a layup.

BAD DEFENSE—Agoura’s Aidan Kastenberg, front, gets fouled by Moorpark’s Lucas Quinn while attempting a layup.

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