Prospect Spotlight: David Atencio (2018)
Edison High point guard David Atencio has been a three-year varsity player in both baseball and basketball, and now that his high school career is just a few months from being complete, he’s eyeing another solid year on the hardwood.
“We have to make our free throws and limit our turnovers,” he told Prep Hoops So-Cal of what Edison needs to clean up this season. “If we do that we can compete in every game.”
The Chargers are 9-5 on the year, with a lot of those losses coming by just a few possessions which, if they went differently, could have Edison’s record looking much more impressive.
Edison High point guard David Atencio is one of few two-sport stars in Southern California.“We’ve lost four close games this season, so it’s nice to win a close one,” Atencio said after a 61-59 win over Aliso Niguel at the North/South OC Challenge. “We actually finished in the fourth quarter for once, so that was good.”
The 6-foot-1 floor general embodies everything those true to the position represent. He plays with a high basketball IQ, poise under pressure and makes sure to get his teammates good looks.
“My biggest strengths are getting to the basket, getting my guys open and getting assists,” Atencio said. “I do all of the little things.”
Atencio hasn’t been shooting the ball as well from the perimeter as he would like this year and he knows he has to do that for his team to be successful.
“I just have to stay in the gym,” Atencio said. “I have to keep making shots and making free throws.
Atencio finished the football season with 58 catches for 1,077 yards and 15 touchdowns, while also picking up 33 tackles and five interceptions on the defensive side of the ball.
“Northern Arizona is talking to me the most, so we’ll see where that goes,” he said of his football recruitment. “I’m hearing from a lot of Big Sky schools. If I could play both somewhere that would be legendary.”