Preps : Crenshaw Coach Willie West Expresses an Interest in Going to College

Cal State Long Beach wasn’t afraid to turn to the high school ranks in an attempt to rescue its foundering basketball program.

The 49ers recruited Ron Palmer, a highly successful coach at Long Beach Poly.

So it’s somewhat surprising that a struggling college program hasn’t turned to Crenshaw Coach Willie West, who won the State championship in 1983. With his excellent record, inner-city contacts and gracious personality, he would appear to be an ideal candidate.

“Oh, I’d be willing if the right situation presented itself,” West said, with a laugh. “I’m interested in the colleges. Let’s say that up to this point they haven’t been interested in me.”

West, whose team is ranked No. 1 in the Times’ City poll, watched Mater Dei, No. 1 in the Southern Section poll, earlier this season against Ocean View and was impressed to a point.

“They are very good at what they do,” West said. “They are very skilled in that deliberate style and show patience. It would be interesting to see how they would respond to an up-tempo game.

“But I can’t worry about teams I’m not going to play. They (Southern Section) decided to drop out of the State tournament. I don’t understand all the reasons that went into the decision. We’re in it. It’s as simple as that.”

Shawmanship: Crenshaw’s ‘Shaw Dolls’, the school’s cheerleaders, are featuring a slogan, which says in part: “You just got beat by the raw Shaw.”

It seems that the cheerleaders were looking for a word meaning No. 1, boss (something like fab or groovy to you oldsters), or the best and couldn’t come up with anything that rhymed.

If raw catches on people may wonder if sushi is No. 1 or merely uncooked.

Friday night’s Sunkist Invitational at the Sports Arena brings together some of the finest high school track talent in the nation.

One of the best is Chewaukii (Choo Choo) Knighten of Locke, the State 400-meter champion, who is favored in the 500-meter event. Her toughest competition was expected to be Leslie Maxie of Mills High in Millbrae, the State champion in the 300-meter hurdles. Maxie, however, is out with an injured ankle.

The boys’ 60 should be entertaining, with Henry Thomas of Hawthorne, the State champion in the 100 and 200, and Chip Rish of Marina, the State champion in the 400, regarded as the favorites.

In addition, Scott Fry of Sandusky, Ohio, the national cross-country champion, will battle Greg Hudson of of Eugene, Ore., in the two-mile.

Add Sunkist: The appearance of pole vaulter Brandon Richards should stir memories. Richards, who transferred from Texas to San Marcos High in Santa Barbara, led the nation as a junior, clearing 17-0.

Brandon’s father, the Rev. Bob Richards, was known as “The Vaulting Vicar” when he won gold medals in the pole vault in 1952 at Helsinki and at Melbourne in 1956. He was also a welcome guest at many American tables during the 1960s, when his picture frequently adorned packages of the breakfast cereal, Wheaties.

Subtract Sunkist: Fans won’t be treated to the expected showdown in the football 60 between Quartz Hills’ Aaron Emanuel and Manual Arts’ Steve Broussard, two outstanding running backs. However, the two highly recruited athletes might run into or past each other at LAX Friday morning.

Emanuel will be heading for Seattle and the University of Washington, while Broussard’s agenda calls for a touch down at Pullman and the campus of Washington State.

In 1981, Oak Park High installed a carpeted floor in its gymnasium, and according to Times’ staffer Jerry Crowe, the rug is still being called on the carpet.

Indeed, when former basketball coach Paul Robinson, now at Mount Carmel High in San Diego, was asked his opinion of the surface, he replied: “I don’t use that kind of language anymore.”

St. Bonaventure Coach Mark Groff said the surface presents a myriad of problems. Rug burns head the list, but a new pair of shoes can inadvertently lead to a more serious injury.

“Sometimes if the kids don’t pick up their feet,” Groff said, “they’ll topple right over. Even the best, most coordinated kids will fall right over because when you stop, you stop . . . . “

Prep Notes

Banners referring to the Promised Land are already flying at Alemany High in response to the play of freshman sensation James Moses, a 6-3 guard, who is averaging over 17 points a game on the varsity. Valley experts say his skills will eventually surpass those of former Kennedy star Darren Daye, now with the Washington Bullets. . . .Talk about tough spots. When his partner, Simon Peters, suffered a broken wrist in the first quarter of last Friday’s battle between arch-rivals Carson and Banning, referee Mel Patterson went the rest of the way himself, calling a solid game in a 60-58 thriller won by Carson. Banning’s Joe Johnson was the subject of a KNBC profile Sunday night. The 6-4 senior forward has a 45-inch vertical leap. In New York, he’d already have a nickname like Windex, Ozone, Nosebleed, or Elevator Man. How about Birdman of Banning? Or Sky Pilot? . . . When Crenshaw rolled over Palisades, 83-45, last week, UCLA Coach Walt Hazzard was an interested spectator. However, he’ll have to wait a year before he can land Crenshaw’s all-everything junior guard Stevie Thompson.

. . . Damien of La Verne has two quality guards in senior Efrem Leonard and junior Kevin Partington. Leonard, an All-Baseline League performer last season, is averaging 20 points per game and shooting 60% from the floor. Partington is averaging 19 points and hitting 55% of his shots. Damien is 11-4 overall, 3-0 in league. . . . Oxnard is off to a 12-0-1 start and is ranked No. 1 in the boys’ 4-A soccer poll. Culver City is ranked No. 2. . . . The City soccer playoffs move into the quarterfinals today with four games scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m. . . . Navy freshman Tom Temple, a graduate of Corona del Mar, scored 38 goals this season and earned all-tournament honors at the Eastern Championships to help the Middies’ water polo team to a 23-2 record and a first-ever trip to the NCAA tournament. . . . Masada beat Clearview, 71-18, in boys’ basketball despite playing the last four minutes with three players. Masada arrived with seven players, two of whom opted for street clothes after the game became a rout. When two other players fouled out, the Fighting Knights ended up short-handed.