Chatterbox Nature Pays Off for Banks

Alex Banks talked a lot as a kid. Too much, most people would have said.

He’d yap on the school bus, during classes, in the middle of assemblies, whenever and wherever he wasn’t supposed to.

It led to a lot of phone calls from frustrated middle-school principals. And in turn, a lot of punishment at home.

His mother, Alice, would ground him for weeks, preventing him from leaving the house. For no other reason than to fight boredom, Banks became a basketball junkie, working on his outside shot for hours at a time in less-than-desirable conditions.

The court in the backyard of Banks’ childhood home had broken, tilted concrete slabs that created an unlevel surface. The hoop was 11 feet high. Banks didn’t complain. It was basketball or nothing.

“When she’d put me on punishment, I’d grab my ball,” he said.

Banks perfected his shooting, which has worked well for him. Now a senior shooting guard at Los Angeles Cathedral, Banks leads the Southland at 34.0 points a game. He has made 60 of 123 three-point shots.

An assist should be given to the backyard basket.

“I used to just sit back there for hours,” Banks said. “Sometimes my mom wasn’t going to let me back in the house until I dunked or until I made five straight three-pointers. Once I got off punishment and started being able to get outside, I was beating everybody.”

With the 6-foot-2 Banks, the Phantoms are now beating everybody.

He has led Cathedral to a 17-4 record, 7-1 in Camino Real League play.

Banks spent his first three years at L.A. Verbum Dei, but transferred to Cathedral for his senior season.

He wanted to be the focus of a team, which wouldn’t have been possible at tradition-rich Verbum Dei.

It hasn’t been an entirely seamless transition.

Some Cathedral fans are upset that Banks has become the immediate centerpiece of the offense. In fact, some fans questioned the number of shots taken by Banks.

Two weeks ago, Banks was headed into a class he takes on television production. Some classmates had taken a camera to a recent Cathedral game and interviewed fans afterward.

Banks saw some of the interviews as they were being played back.

A teammate’s brother said he disapproved of Banks’ shot selection.

“Are you a Banks hater?” the interviewer asked.

“I think half the crowd is,” the teammate’s brother answered.

Banks didn’t know what to do. He wanted to laugh it off, but couldn’t quite do it.

“It was amusing, but it was a matter of keeping my head. If I’m mad, my mom won’t come to the game,” Banks said. “This type of thing happens everywhere. I’m sure it even happens with LeBron James.”

Banks does have an important person on his side -- his coach.

“I’m not going to suppress his talent to appease someone else,” Rolando Young said. “He’s got a chance to play at the next level. The kid’s got NBA range.

“He’s done a real good job of adjusting to everything here. Above everything else, that impresses me.”

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Westchester, a City Section power for years, isn’t used to losing by 26 points.

But after James scored a career-high 52 points and Akron (Ohio) St. Vincent-St. Mary dispatched the Comets, 78-52, Saturday in Trenton, N.J., Westchester Coach Ed Azzam reminded his players there are worse things than regular-season blowout losses.

Two years ago, top-seeded Westchester suffered a stunning loss to Corona Centennial in the first round of the state playoffs.

“What’s the worst feeling? To lose the last game of the season,” Azzam said. “They’ll get over this loss by Monday.”

Westchester didn’t experience any lopsided setbacks last season when it won the state Division I title. And despite losing to St. Vincent-St. Mary -- the top-ranked team in the nation -- the Comets (22-3) are among the favorites to win the state championship, with senior forwards Trevor Ariza and Scott Cutley leading the way.

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Nick Young of Reseda Cleveland, one of the top juniors in the City Section, will petition the City Section rules committee for a fifth year of athletic eligibility.

Young, a 6-foot-6 swingman averaging 20 points and 9.3 rebounds, will seek a hardship waiver based on family problems that forced him to miss school, Cleveland Coach Andre Chevalier said.

Young attended Hamilton as a freshman, then transferred to Dorsey for his sophomore season. He is in his second year at Cleveland -- his fourth year of school and athletics.

“After talking to a couple of people who have been through the process, I think he has a good chance,” Chevalier said. “I’m hoping it will go through.”

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Think Gonzaga Coach Mark Few is interested in junior guard Jordan Farmar of Woodland Hills Taft?

Few brought several Gonzaga players to Taft’s home game Friday against Cleveland.

Farmar didn’t disappoint, scoring 30 points in Taft’s 86-77 victory.

Gonzaga was in town for West Coast Conference games against Pepperdine and Loyola Marymount. Gonzaga also used the Taft gym for a workout Thursday morning.

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Times staff writers Ben Bolch and Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.