Some high school athletes set examples for teammates with their play. Some do so with their work ethic or their willingness to do whatever their coach asks.  Canyon High boys’ basketball head coach Ali Monfared said he has a player in senior Eric Kubel who fits all three of those molds — and then some.  “A lot of times, you have guys that produce at a very high level that — one small example is Eric’s usually the guy who’s willing to clean the floors before practice, and not that that’s any one guy’s specific job,” Monfared said in a recent phone interview. “We don’t have a manager or anything like that. It just speaks to, Eric’s willing to do anything for the team. And I think when you have a star player that, especially in today’s age of basketball where scoring is so valued and sometimes it can get to someone’s head, Eric is one of the most humble, hard-working superstars I’ve ever been around.”  Monfared recently saw his senior leader become the seventh Cowboy in the history of the Canyon boys’ basketball program to reach 1,000 career points – a testament, Monfared said, to Kubel constantly finding ways to improve.  Canyon guard Eric Kubel (21) dribbles the ball against Valencia during the second quarter of Friday’s game at Canyon High School. Habeba Mostafa/ The Signal/File “It represents just all the work that he’s put in,” Monfared said. “You hear about big-time scorers and all the work they put in, and when you get a chance to see it firsthand, I think that’s, at least from my perspective, what makes the milestone so special. All he’s ever done since I’ve known him is work.”  Kubel reached the mark in a 64-39 win over Littlerock in tournament action on Dec. 19, a game that just happened to be at Canyon High before the tournament shifted to Grant High for the latter-round games.   “It was awesome because my family was there, my teammates, obviously, the home crowd,” Kubel said. “It was special.”  Scoring has become more prominent in today’s era, Monfared acknowledged, but he said that shouldn’t diminish what Kubel accomplished.  “Eric’s not doing this at a school where he’s taking 75 shots a game and we’re not winning,” Monfared said. “He’s doing this in a winning program where we have 11 kids from Canyon Country who go to our school, and he’s doing it leading and rebounding and defending.”  Needing 22 points prior to the game against Littlerock, Kubel only needed one half to get there. Monfared had all of the Cowboys sign the game ball for Kubel to keep as a memento.  Canyon’s Eric Kubel drives past Saugus’ Peter Burton during the SCV All-Star Game at Canyon High School on Saturday, March 23, 2024. Habeba Mostafa/The Signal A starter since his sophomore year at Canyon, Kubel has upped his scoring average every year. He averaged 22.4 points per game as a junior before increasing that to 24 points per game this year.  And that number looks like it will only be getting bigger as Kubel continues to raise his own standards.  Along with hitting 1,000 career points against Littlerock, Kubel also set the program record for made threes in a game with eight.  About a week later, he broke his own record with nine triples in a 109-41 win over Duarte in the Duarte-Temple City tournament held the days following Christmas, scoring 38 points in just three quarters.  A day later, Kubel was at it again with 10 3-pointers and 38 points in a 108-45 win over Hawthorne in tournament play. That was also completed in just three quarters.  “It never gets old to see anybody make shots, but it never really gets old seeing a guy who works so hard have that production on the court as well,” Monfared said. “You know, every time he shoots one, you just always believe it’s going in, and it never gets old seeing Eric swish a three, or seeing any of our players swish a three.”  The Canyon High boys’ basketball team after recently winning the Duarte-Temple City tournament. Courtesy photo. Hoping to play at the next level, Kubel said some low-major schools like Southern Indiana have expressed interest in him.  “They’re starting to call,” he said.  The Cowboys eventually won that tournament with a 94-80 win over Los Altos in the championship game. Kubel was named MVP of the tournament while fellow senior Chigo Osuji was named to the all-tournament team.  Starring for the Cowboys in the first two games of that tournament was junior Alex Lazo. He scored 19 points against Duarte and 23 against Hawthorne, drilling seven 3-pointers in the latter game.  Not given a ton of playing time in the first half of the season, Monfared said Lazo is a sharpshooter who, were it not for Kubel’s proficiency from beyond the arc, could be the team’s top shooter.  “He has a lot of seniors in front of him,” Monfared said, “but he’s been working hard all year long and he’s gonna have, in my opinion, some huge moments the last month of league and this season. He can shoot literally with the best of the players in this valley.”  The Cowboys have plans to keep this season going as long as possible. The first task is to win their first league title since 2012 — when this year’s seniors were just starting out in elementary school — before embarking on what they hope will be a long postseason run.  Canyon took down Valencia on Tuesday, 75-66, to move to 15-4 overall and 3-1 in Foothill League play. The Cowboys are set to host Castaic on Friday.  The post Canyon’s Eric Kubel keeps improving — to his benefit and his team’s  appeared first on Santa Clarita Valley Signal.