High School

Notre Dame’s Lino Mark learning speed is his superpower

Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant says Lino Mark is the fastest player he’s ever coached

Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports

SHERMAN OAKS, CALIFORNIA — Notre Dame junior Lino Mark likes to play fast.

“It’s the best part of my game, and it’s an advantage so I try and use it as much as possible,” he said.

In one play, Mark skied for a defensive rebound, threw it 70 feet ahead to teammate Zach White and sprinted down the floor. White had barely come down with the ball before he turned and returned the ball to Mark for layup.

Mark had notched a rebound, hockey assist and basket within seconds.

“He’s the fastest player I’ve ever coached,” Notre Dame coach Matt Sargeant said. “He’s a generational athlete. You can go ask our football coach and our strength and conditioning coach. They’ll tell you.”

The speedy, dynamic guard set the pace for Notre Dame’s 81-60 non-league victory over Campbell Hall at home Wednesday night finishing with 17 points, nine rebounds and three assists.

Houston commit Mercy Miller added 23 points, eight assists and eight rebounds. Zach White had 14 points for the Knights (6-0). Campbell Hall (2-3) was led by Isaiah Johnson’s 16 points and Aaron Powell’s 17.

Mark is only a junior and is still learning how and when to use that speed.

“Controlling pace is important. Limit turnovers,” Mark said. 

Mark shared he has offers to Washington State, TCU and Cal, among others. But he’s not thinking about his recruitment much these days.

“I want to win another state championship,” Mark said. “I’ll worry about the recruiting more next year.”

The Knights seem to be doing just fine without Dusty Stromer and Caleb Foster, two players that are now playing for Gonzaga and Duke, respectively. Notre Dame won the CIF State Division I title last season.

The new three of Miller, Mark and White make for a core that is contending for the CIF Southern Section Open Division playoffs. The addition of 6-foot-9 Bronson Schmidt-Uili creates a dynamic the Knights didn’t even have last season. The Australian native had just two points, but had 10 rebounds and two blocks.

Notre Dame begins Mission League play on Jan. 5 against Loyola.

Harvard-Westlake 72, St. Pius 71: The Wolverines escaped a scare at home. Trent Perry led the way with 20 points to keep Harvard-Westlake unbeaten. David Mack led St. Pius with 18.

Windward 60, Rancho Cucamonga 56: Jeremiah Hampton led the Wildcats with 21 points and Gavin Hightower added 14. Aaron Glass continues to play well for the Cougars, he had 25 points in the loss.

Etiwanda 75, Los Alamitos 56: Stanley Thomas led Etiwanda with 17 points and nine rebounds.

Heritage Christian 79, Sage Hill 42: Tae Simmons scored 16 points and Dillan Shaw had 15 in the win. Freshman Josiah Nance pitched in 13.

Agoura 56, Simi Valley 55: Ethan Klopp led the Chargers with 16 points in a quality victory. Simi Valley’s Ryder Mjoen scored 27 points which helped him reach 1,002 career points.

Burbank 74, Maywood Academy 30: The Bulldogs got a win at Crypto.com Arena thanks to 20 points from Kevin Dehbashian.

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Tarek Fattal, SBLive Sports
TAREK FATTAL, SBLIVE SPORTS

Tarek Fattal has been covering high school sports since 2015 in Southern California and primarily in Los Angeles, covering notable athletes such as Bronny James, Kayvon Thibodeaux and Alyssa Thompson. He was with the LA Daily News for eight years, which included being the beat reporter for the UCLA men's basketball team. Tarek can be seen on TV regularly on CBS/KCAL as a sports analyst with Jim Hill.

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