North County boys hoops

 Closing in on a fifth consecutive season of improvement in the win column, the Condors are raising  expectations on the Castroville-based campus.
 Ignore the outdated gym floor, which isn't hardwood.
 Forget for a moment that North County has a new coach with a different approach.
 This is a team that has become a threat in the Pacific Division.
 If you didn't see this in December, you weren't alone.
 So what changed?
 Well, the Condors inserted 6-foot-4 sophomore Jeremy Heitzman into the lineup to fill a void in the paint.
 Since his arrival, North County is 6-1 -- 3-0 in the Pacific -- with Heitzman averaging 11 points and  11 rebounds a game, producing four double-doubles.
 All of a sudden, opponents can't focus their attention on stopping three-year starting junior guard Jordan Graves, who is dropping in nearly 18 points a game.
 It's conceivable that Friday's battle with Alvarez could be the biggest game at North County in 11 years, the one and only time the program won a title in 2004.