No More Shipps Coming In at Fairfax

Coach Harvey Kitani of Los Angeles Fairfax has set sail with a Shipp on his boys’ basketball team in every season except one since the 1995-96 school year.

Brothers Joe, Josh and Jerren Shipp have been more than good players. They have set the standard for what it means to be good people.

“You meet the parents and the grandfather, and you understand why the kids are like they are,” Kitani said.

They were introduced to basketball by their grandfather, James Knight, who played at Kentucky State, taught them how to shoot and instilled a love for the sport. But it was their mother, Deborah, who passed along the family creed to never disrespect others.

“I want them to be good human beings with good hearts,” Deborah said. “Success is knowing how to treat people.”

So the boys go about their tasks, diving for loose balls and banging bodies with the best. But away from the court, they listen to their elders and try to make the right decisions.

“You enjoy being around them,” Kitani said. “They’re always pleasant. They bring so much consistency in all areas. You can count on them. They’re going to be good students, be on time. They’re going to work on their game on their own.”

Joe was an All-City guard at Fairfax, graduating in 1999 before leading the Pacific 10 Conference in scoring at 20.4 points for California in 2003. He’s in the NBA Development League. Josh was the City Section co-player of the year in 2004 when the Lions won the state Division I championship and is a sophomore at UCLA.

And now Jerren, the last of the Shipp boys, is a senior and will try to become the first Shipp to win a City Championship. Fairfax is seeded No. 1 in the playoffs, which began Friday for the Lions with a 98-51 victory over Granada Hills in which Shipp had a team-high 22 points.

Deborah and her husband, Joe, have always made themselves available to their four children, including daughter Brittney, who graduated from UCLA last year but chose not to play basketball.

“I couldn’t find earrings to match the jersey,” she said.

Jerren, a 6-foot-5 forward, has faced the greatest challenge, being compared to his two highly successful older brothers.

“My mom keeps telling me I don’t have to follow in their footsteps,” he said. “I have to be my own person.”

Like Joe and Josh, he has played his best in his final year of high school.

A year ago, he was inconsistent. He relied too much on his three-point shot and failed to protect the basketball. This season, he has taken charge, using his strength to score inside.

His confidence is rising, as demonstrated by his team-high 18 points against defending City champion Westchester in a game that clinched the Western League championship for the Lions. He’s the team scoring leader, averaging 15.6 points.

“Now that he’s a senior, he’s the go-to guy,” Josh said.

The Lions like to turn to a Shipp in a time of need. The only season in the last 11 that a Shipp was missing from the Fairfax program was 1999-2000.

Deborah came up to Kitani after Joe had graduated and told him, “You’ve got to be here at least eight more years” until her other two boys made it through Fairfax.

“I said, ‘That’s a long time,’ ” Kitani recalled. “But you blink and it’s already gone by.”

The boys are united by family and basketball. They express pride in each other but don’t expect them to agree on who is the best player in the family.

“If you ask Jerren, he’ll say him,” Josh said. “If you ask Joe, he’ll say him. We all think we’re the best.”

Jerren, though, might lay claim to No. 1 in the toughness category because, being the youngest, he was often roughed up by his brothers.

“They used to pick on me, so it toughened me up,” Jerren said.

All the siblings would agree, however, that their mom has influenced them in profound ways. When she speaks, they listen.

“She’s the best mom there is,” Josh said. “She’s always preaching, ‘You have to do the right thing.’ She always has a story to help us out.”

Kitani understands it might be a little lonely next season without any Shipps around, though their cousin, Michael Knight, will be on the team.

“Maybe Rod Singleton will switch his name to ‘Rod Shipp,’ ” Kitani said of his junior guard.

The Shipp era at Fairfax is coming to an end, but those who have met the boys will always appreciate how they performed -- on and off the court.

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Eric Sondheimer can be reached at eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.