PREP BASKETBALL PREVIEW: CITY SECTION : BOYS : A Big Test of Crenshaw Reign in City : Cougars Expected to Play Tough Fairfax on Friday

The beginning of the end of Crenshaw High School’s three-year reign as king of City 4-A basketball could come Friday night in Santa Monica where St. Monica plays host to one of the season’s best tournaments. It’s not the City final, just a good indicator, and that will more than suffice for the first week of December.

Fairfax and Crenshaw, the No. 1 and 2 teams in The Times’ preseason City poll, are expected to meet in the semifinals of the St. Monica tournament. It should put Fairfax, the most talented team, against Crenshaw, the traditional power with five new starters after winning the state Division I title last season.

What more could you want from an early season matchup?

Is Crenshaw as down as Coach Willie West is trying to lead people to believe? Is Fairfax as good, or are the Lions in for another disappointing finish after being knocked out in the quarterfinals in 1985-86? Better yet, can a team that has Sean Higgins (bound for UCLA), J.D. Green (SMU) and Chris Mills (one of the top juniors in the country) not win it all?

“March is a long ways off and a lot of things can happen between now and then,” Coach Harvey Kitani said. “We’re just going to work real hard and hopefully play up to everyone’s expectations.

“The only pressure I feel is that I hope our players are going to be ready each game because every team is going to be coming after us. We’re going to have to be mentally ready for everyone. I’m sure if they do well against us or they beat us, it’s going to mean a lot to that particular team.”

The Times’ preseason top 10, with last season’s record in parenthesis:

1. Fairfax (19-5)--The Lions’ strength, of course, is in the front line, with Chris Mills, J.D. Green and Sean Higgins. David Henderson and Eric McDaniels are the guards, giving Coach Harvey Kitani four seniors in the starting lineup. “We’re an experienced club in that seven or eight are back from last year’s team, and experience means so much in high school basketball,” he said. “I think our guys still remember how the season ended last year for us. We all had an empty feeling in us after that Carson loss. Because of the things we have gone through as a team, I’m hoping we’re going to meet the challenge.” Cardell Walker, a 6-foot 6-inch senior, will be the first big man off the bench, Andre Durity and Clarence McDuffie in the backcourt. A boost will come in January with the return of 6-6 junior Ilan Levy-Mayer, a fine outside shooter from Israel. He has been out for about a month with a badly sprained ankle.

2. Crenshaw (22-2)--The Cougars were supposed to start the season without their top six players from last year, and then the best one back, 6-6 forward-center Douglas Meekins, was lost because of grade problems. The earliest he could play is February. “We’re not going to fall apart, I don’t think,” Coach Willie West said. “We’re going to be very constructive and find out this week how good we are going to be.” Judgment will be passed after today’s season opener at Pasadena Muir, the fifth-ranked team in the Southern Section, and the St. Monica Tournament. Deon Myricks, at 6-5 1/2, will start at center, with John Staggers and Cornelius Holden at the forwards and Marcus Williams and DeShawn Pullard in the backcourt. “We won’t be as flamboyant as last year,” West said. “We don’t have Dion (Brown) jumping all over the place. We don’t have the stability of a Steve Thompson. But we are going to be competitive, and I think we’re going to be enjoyable to watch. We’re young. We don’t have any returning starters, just a couple guys who got a lot of playing time last season, and one of them is ineligible. Marcus Williams is the only other one with any considerable playing time.”

3. Reseda Cleveland (16-8)--When the Cavaliers were forced to play without injured star Trevor Wilson last season, they won all five games, including an overtime victory against Fairfax. Now that Wilson is at UCLA, they’re on their own all season but in good hands. Forward Albert Fann and guard Damon Greer were both all-league last season, and Coach Bob Braswell’s team has gained from the off-season improvement of forward Richard Branham, another starter of the team that made it to the 4-A title game. The three-forward offense will also include Adrian King, with Andre Anderson and Michael Gray vying for the available guard spot.

4. Westchester (15-8)--”Talent-wise we could play with anybody,” Coach Ed Azzam said. “That’s not the problem.” Youth is for Coach Ed Azzam, who will start two sophomores (forward Zan Mason and guard Sam Crawford), two juniors (forward Michael Brown and guard David Hollaway) and a senior (forward Jemal Ross). “This is the most talent we’ve ever had,” Azzam said. “We’ve been good before. Last year, we had some good players, but didn’t have the size to complement Michael Courtney. This year, we’re deeper. We have six bona fide Division I prospects, maybe seven. That’s as deep as most teams get. It just so happens they’re all very young.” They could age together just fine during the season. Mason was impressive as a freshman last season at Verbum Dei before transferring, as did another sophomore, Renaud Gordon. However, Gordon is academically ineligible until at least February.

5. L.A. Manual Arts (15-7)--The Toilers received plenty of attention from the other City coaches despite starting four juniors and a senior. Maybe that’s because three of the 11th graders started last season, too, and made it to the 4-A quarterfinals before losing to Crenshaw. “We are comfortable with each other now,” Coach Reggie Morris said. “There shouldn’t be a lot of hassles this year. With four 10th graders screaming and yelling and telling them how to tie their shoelaces, there were a lot of problems. Now everyone knows where they belong in the system.” Wayne Williams, Chris Small and Jemarl Baker will start in the three-guard attack, Baker being the only senior. Thurman Watson is a 6-2 forward and 6-6 Andre Bouvay is the center, making lack of size another concern. “We tend to be similar to Louisville,” Morris said. “My teams usually start slowly. It’s not a pretty start early on. But as time goes on, we peak, hopefully at the right time.”

6. Woodland Hills Taft (13-9)--The Toreadors feature two three-year starters, guard Kevin Franklin and forward Darren Kolinsky, and junior forward Quincy Watts, who will be moved from center to the wing and expected to run more. And there aren’t many people who can run like Watts--the state 200-meter track champion. Franklin averaged 20.2 points a game last season, Watts 15 points and 8 rebounds. Senior Jason Bromberg will be one of the guards, and Taft won all five games he started last season. Dedan Thomas is at the other guard, with 6-4 Sean Roberts and 6-6 Brian Smith splitting time at center.

7. Palisades (14-8)--Coach Jerry Marvin returns to the double-post offense for the first time in four years with Paul Garrett and Darryl Henderson, but his enthusiasm may dwindle fast if the shooting doesn’t come around. The Dolphins hit just 35% of the field-goal attempts in a 48-45 loss last week to Fairfax, which played the entire scrimmage without Higgins, who was held out after missing a practice. Still, Palisades did have a very good chance for the upset, missing a nine-footer with three seconds to go and down by one. “This team is real smart, quick, handles the ball well and there seems to be good chemistry,” Marvin said. “We thought we’d be a good shooting team, but I guess we aren’t yet. I still think we’ll come around.” Jaime Dudley (5-7) will start as the lone guard and Jeff Bronner and Kenny Woods are the forwards.

8. Granada Hills (18-4)--In 6-9 senior Gary Gray, the Highlanders have one of the top players in the City and a 6-8 forward, Brett Wendorf, and a 6-5 senior who averaged 11.8 points and 4.6 assists last season, Sam Puathasnanon, to go with him on the front line. Terrell Smith returns at point guard, where he averaged 10 points and 5.5 assists, and Coach Bob Johnson has not decided on a second guard.

9. L.A. Jefferson (11-11)--Coach Wendell Greer hopes to offset his team’s lack of size by fast breaking, with 5-9 Efrem Richardson and 5-10 backup Francisco Cardenas at the point. The Democrats will use a double-post formation with John Stevenson and Ron Howard and have Larry Alexander and Raymond Smith as the forwards. “Quickness and defense is our key,” Greer said. “We play a lot of half-court traps and full-court presses to try to mix up the other team’s offense.” They also have depth with 10 players to choose from, postman Mark Crawford and forward David Huggins being the first two off the bench.

10. L.A. Dorsey (11-12)--The Dons’ front line goes 6-4, 6-4, 6-5, with forwards Rudy Hagood and Von Shuler and Chris Brooks, respectively. Marcus Nash, a returning starter, and Anthony Thomas are the guards for what Coach Dave Gordon calls “the best talent I’ve had in seven or eight years.”

Preseason Top 10

CITY No. School, League ‘85-86 Record

1. Fairfax, Valley 19-5

2. Crenshaw, Central 22-2

3. Cleveland, Valley 16-8

4. Westchester, Central 15-8

5. Manual Arts, Marine 15-7

6. Taft, Valley 13-9

7. Palisades, Central 14-8

8. Granada Hills, Nrthwst Valley 18-4

9. Jefferson, Pac-6 11-11

10. Dorsey, Central 11-12