20 Jewels Add Sparkle to Standout South Bay Teams

In boys basketball it was the year of the small forward in the South Bay, as illustrated by the Times 1986 All-South Bay team: one center and nine small forwards.

In girls basketball, “back to the future” might be the theme. Only three of the 10 girls on the All-South Bay team are seniors, so there’s a good chance many will be back on the team next year.

The 20 South Bay all-stars, and all-star teams from nine other Times circulation areas, will be honored Saturday at the Disneyland hotel in Anaheim. All-stars will receive certificates and plaques, and a South Bay player and coach of the year will be announced. Pepperdine Coach Jim Harrick will be the featured speaker.

Players were selected by a ballot of South Bay coaches, as well as the observations of scouts and sportswriters.

Boys All-Stars

The boys team is composed of Morningside center Elden Campbell and forwards Michael Courtney of Westchester, Steve Florentine of Redondo, Anthony January of Carson, James Johnson of Chadwick, Eric Jordan of Inglewood, Zlatko Josic of San Pedro, Keith Malone of Serra, Jeff Pelton of Palos Verdes and David Whitmore of St. Bernard. Whitmore, a junior, is the only underclassman.

The girls team has seniors Karyn Bolger of San Pedro, Jennifer Rosen of South Torrance and Kelli Knox and Rosiland Moore of Inglewood; juniors Tiffany Carresi of Mary Star of the Sea, Andrea Kabwasa of Hawthorne, Tia Thomas of Morningside and Areatha Vees of Redondo and sophomores Tammy Booker of St. Mary’s and Shaunda Greene of Morningside.

Campbell, the Pioneer League most valuable player, had the statistics coaches look for in a 6-10 center--20 points, 13 rebounds and 9 blocked shots per game. In several games he reached double figures in blocks. In two seasons as Morningside’s center he led the Monarchs to two league titles and a CIF 3-A championship.

Courtney, 6-5, impressed college coaches with his ability to work effectively under the basket and outside as well and make it look easy against tough competition. He averaged 22.3 points and was MVP of the Torrance Tournament.

Florentine, the tallest forward on the team at 6-7, is a fine shooter who averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds and was virtually the entire attack for Redondo. He shot 52% and had a high game of 36 points.

January, 6-6, a repeat selection and the leading vote-getter in the coaches poll, was in hot water with Coach Richard Masson several times for his free-spirited behavior, but on the court he created the type of problems Masson admired--22.3 points and 10.2 rebounds per game while shooting 54%. January’s whirling moves in the key and sharp baseline jumper were reminiscent of another Carson southpaw star, Eldridge Hudson. “A. J.” signed early with the University of Texas-El Paso.

Johnson, 6-5, who played the pivot for Chadwick, ranked among CIF leaders in scoring (24.8 points per game) and rebounds (12.4) to earn CIF 1-A player of the year honors. He was also Prep League most valuable player. The latest in a long line of Chadwick stars was called by Coach Tom Maier “the best dominant player Chadwick has ever had.” He had an area high game of 43 points against Los Alamitos.

Jordan, a 6-3 swing man, shared Ocean League player of the year honors with Culver City’s Marvin Nelson by averaging 15.9 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists. He teamed with guard Stacy Anderson for one of the South Bay’s best combos during the last two years.

Josic, a muscular 6-4 forward, led San Pedro to a surprising tie with Carson for the Marine League title and shared league MVP honors with January. The two-year starter began the season slowly but heated up once league play began. He averaged 17 points, 11 rebounds, 6 assists and 3.5 steals as San Pedro made a successful return to 4-A competition after three years in 3-A.

Malone, Serra’s man-in-motion, teamed with sophomore James Moses to form the highest-scoring combo in the CIF and lead the Cavaliers to the Camino Real League title and an appearance in the CIF 5-A championship where they lost to Mater Dei. The Camino Real’s MVP averaged 26.4 points and led the Cavs to a 14-0 record in what may be the CIF’s toughest league. He had a career-high 39 against St. Bernard. More than his stats, Malone’s relentless drive and offensive board work made him a dominant inside player at 6-3 1/2.

Pelton, a solid all-around player and clutch shooter, averaged 15 points and 7 rebounds for Palos Verdes. He is headed to the University of Montana where he’ll probably play guard at 6-5.

Whitmore, one of the most exciting players in the Southland, figures to be one of the most heavily recruited small forwards in the nation next season. The high-flying 6-4 junior averaged 23 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists and thrilled spectators with his explosive jumping ability and dunks.

Honorable mention: Stacy Anderson, Inglewood; Robert Barksdale, Hawthorne; Doug Gehr, Rolling Hills; Kirkland Howling, St. Bernard; Chris Jeffrey, South Torrance; James Moses, Serra; James Sawyer, Gardena; Scott Talanoa, El Segundo; Shelvie Washington, Leuzinger; Damon Whitsitt, San Pedro; Tarron Wiley, Morningside.

Whitmore leads a strong cast of players who point to a promising 1986-87 season. After Whitmore the top juniors are guard Tarron Wiley of Morningside, forwards Doug Gehr and Cameron Terry of Rolling Hills, center Mike Sestich of San Pedro, guard Eddie Shannon of Gardena, guard Darvin Jackson of Serra and forward Scott Talanoa of El Segundo.

Serra’s James Moses is the top sophomore. The top freshman? Westchester has a nifty one in point guard Sam Crawford.

Bolger, the only six-footer, leads off the precocious girls team. A two-time All-South Bay choice, she led San Pedro to the City 3-A girls title, averaging 18 points and 14 rebounds and grabbed 19 rebounds in the City championship game against Hamilton. It was San Pedro’s first City title in 14 years.

Moore and Knox teamed at guard to give Inglewood the top 1-2 punch in the South Bay. Moore was one of the CIF’s dominant players, averaging 20.2 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 steals to earn Ocean League co-MVP honors. Knox, the sister of former All-South Bay players Billy and Eric Knox, carved her own niche with 19 points, 9 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 steals per game. She had a high of 31 points against Louisville.

Rosen, a repeater from last season, is one of the CIF’s top point guards at 5-9. She averaged 12 points and 4.8 assists.

Kabwasa leads the junior class, appearing on the All-South Bay team for the second time. A dominating inside player who can also bring the ball up against a press, she averaged 17.9 points and 13.7 rebounds to share Ocean League MVP honors with Moore. Coach John Wheeler said, “The only problem she creates for me is not being able to play her at all five positions. Very few taller girls out-rebound her and very few smaller girls handle the ball better.”

Thomas, a two-year star, is another junior, averaging 20.6 points for another strong Morningside team to rank among CIF leaders.

Vees and Carresi, two other juniors, were their teams’ best players without such imposing scoring statistics. Carresi led Mary Star with an 11.5 scoring average, was the focus of most defenses and was a unanimous All-Camino Real League selection. Vees averaged 12 points in a team-oriented Redondo offense and showed an outstanding jump shot. Vees also was her team’s best defensive player.

Greene and Booker, the two sophomores on the team, are already dominant players. Morningside’s 5-11 Greene was second in the CIF in rebounding, averaging 16.1 to go with 16 points and 4 blocks per game. Booker was the player of the year in the Camino Real League, leading St. Mary’s to its perennial league title by averaging 22 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 4 steals at guard. She had a high game of 35 points, best among South Bay girls. “I wasn’t sure they’d pick her (as MVP) because she’s a sophomore,” said Coach Jackie Arony. “But she deserved it. She played rings around everyone.”

Honorable mention: Tamara Abernathy, Inglewood; Felecia Dixon, St. Bernard; Romi Fontno, St. Mary’s; Carla Gladden, Morningside; Rochelle Lightner, South Torrance; Barbara Maybon, Hawthorne; Connie McKenny, Torrance; Tracey Young, Banning.

BOYS ALL-STAR PREP TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL YEAR HT. AVG. ELDEN CAMPBELL, Morningside Senior 6-10 20.0 MICHAEL COURTNEY, Westchester Senior 6-5 22.3 STEVE FLORENTINE, Redondo Senior 6-7 20.0 ANTHONY JANUARY, Carson Senior 6-6 22.3 JAMES JOHNSON, Chadwick Senior 6-5 24.8 ERIC JORDAN, Inglewood Senior 6-3 15.9 ZLATKO JOSIC, San Pedro Senior 6-4 17.0 KEITH MALONE, Serra Senior 6-3 21.6 JEFF PELTON, Palos Verdes Senior 6-5 15.0 DAVID WHITMORE, St. Bernard Junior 6-4 23.0

GIRLS ALL-STAR PREP TEAM

NAME, SCHOOL YEAR HT. AVG. KARYN BOLGER, San Pedro Senior 6-0 18.0 TAMMY BOOKER, St. Mary’s Sophomore 5-4 22.0 TIFFANY CARRESI, Mary Star Junior 5-5 11.5 SHAUNDA GREENE, Morningside Sophomore 5-11 16.0 ANDREA KABWASA, Hawthorne Junior 5-9 17.9 KELLI KNOX, Inglrwood Senior 5-7 19.0 ROSILAND MOORE, Inglewood Senior 5-8 20.2 JENNIFER ROSEN, So. Torrance Senior 5-9 12.0 TIA THOMAS, Morningside Junior 5-5 20.6 AREATHA VEES, Redondo Junior 5-10 12.5