Above: Ryan Hall, left, and Alex Imhof are two of the top players for La Habra High School this season. The Highlanders are the preseason No. 1 pick by the Daily News. (Keith Durflinger / Staff Photographer)

For the La Habra High School boys basketball team, it’s not how the Highlanders start but how they finish.
It was like that last season for La Habra, which started slow and closed like a freight train in going 9-1 in the Freeway League and advancing to the CIF-Southern Section Division 3AA quarterfinals.
The same is expected in 2011-12. The Highlanders, like last year, are not expected to be super until they incorporate football players, including stars Aaron Porter and Brett Bartolone, who are expected to be busy during the football playoffs through the middle of December.
“We want to keep our head above water in December,” La Habra coach Mark Stewart said. “When we get the football players back and get them up to speed, we should be really good.”

The big keys for La Habra are seniors Ryan Hall and Alex Imhof. Hall, the only returning all-area first team player, averaged 19 points and nearly seven rebounds per game from his center position. Imhof, who was All-Freeway League, scored at an eight-point clip.
“Both are all-league players and Alex is a really good combo guard,” Stewart said. “Plus, Alex was our third-leading scorer. It’s a pretty good feeling to have your No. 1 and 3 scorers back.
“After that, we’re pretty young to start the season.”
La Habra also looks to senior guard Marcus Mellado and sophomore guards David Desatoff and Justin Jainez.
“It’s going to be a lot like last year,” Stewart said.”The group we have now is good enough to be competitive in December, then as we get more bodies, more athletes, we can see where we are in January. Right now, we’ll start the season with seven players and five from the (junior varsity). When football season is over, we’ll replace them with the football players, which will make a big difference.”
Here’s a brief look at the rest of the area top five:
No. 2 La Serna (20-8)
The Lancers, coached by Mike Lowe, traditionally are one of the better teams in the area, and that’s not expected to change this season.
La Serna is expected to battle California for supremacy in the Del Rio League and the Lancers will place their chances with center Jared Wight, who earned all-league as a junior.
La Serna also looks to guards Kimble Monge and C.J. White, who will be at the point.
“I like our team,” said Lowe, whose Lancers went 8-2 to share the league title with Whittier last season. “They are working very hard, coming together.
“It always takes a while, but I like the direction this team is going.”
No. 3 Montebello (27-4)
The Oilers lost most members the squad that dominated the Almont League advanced to the Division 1AA quarterfinal. But they’re still expected to be one of the better teams in the area as they reload for another run.
Montebello, which is 55-6 the past two seasons and 92-27 since 2007-08, features guard Hector Martinez and forward Adolfo Valadez.
No. 4 Whittier Christian (22-8)
The Heralds were one of three area teams last season to advance to the CIF-SS divisional quarterfinals, but to back that up might be a stretch after losing their top two scorers and moving into Division 4AA, which is expected to be one of the top playoff groupings in the section.
Whittier Christian, which will be the favorite in the Olympic League, is led by senior swing player Graydon Witt, senior forward Jack Basalone and junior forward Blake Coleman.
No. 5 California (11-14)
The Condors are expected to battle La Serna in the Del Rio League.
California returns eight players, including seniors Anthony Marks, Michael Garcia and Chris Ortiz.