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Prep talk: Nick Welch Jr. of Rolling Hills Prep is rising big man

Nick Welch Jr., a 6-foot-9 sophomore at Rolling Hills Prep, scores over Oaks Christian's Stevie Amar.
(Craig Weston)

During 44 years of coaching high school basketball, including four decades at Fairfax, Harvey Kitani has coached the likes of Chris Mills, Sean Higgins, Solomon Hill, Craig Smith, JD Green and others with size and ability.

Now he has 6-foot-9 sophomore Nick Welch Jr. at Rolling Hills Prep.

“I think he can be just as good as a lot of those guys,” Kitani said.

Rolling Hills Prep is playing at Corona del Mar on Friday in a second-round game of the Southern Section Division 1 playoffs. Welch continues to make steady progress.

“You can’t coach height,” Kitani said of what separates players with size.

Reseda has had a breakthrough year with a 16-4 record and 10-2 mark in the Valley Mission League, putting the Regents in second place.

Welch’s father, Nick Sr., was a standout at Air Force, earning co-Mountain West Conference player of the year honors in 2004.

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Nick Jr. is 16 years old and still growing.

“He’s probably one of the best kids attitude wise I’ve ever coached,” Kitani said. ...

Here’s the link to Friday’s updated Southern Section basketball playoff games. ...

The City Section will announce its boys and girls basketball pairings on Sunday after 5 p.m.

This is a daily look at the positive happenings in high school sports. To submit any news, please email [email protected]

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