HIGH SCHOOL BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : Mills Makes Fairfax Threat by Himself

Harvey Kitani lived in the lap of luxury last season. Coaching? He threw out the ball at practice. Worries? All he had to do was keep players eligible. If Kitani ever left his chair during a game, it was probably to get something to drink.

A bit overstated, perhaps, but last season at Fairfax, winning just seemed to take care of itself.

“Last year we had the talent to play our game against anybody,” said Kitani, who is entering his seventh year. “We never really had to make an adjustment for our opponents.”

Adjustments? Fairfax finished 12-0 in the Valley League, 26-1 overall and defeated Cleveland for the City Section 4-A title, 86-58.

The Fairfax facts this season, however, are that the bench will be more active. This year’s list of Lions will have to make do where a talented few did last season. Gone is All-City forward Sean Higgins, who is now on scholarship at Michigan. Gone is point guard Eric McDaniels, who is a freshman at Chaminade of Hawaii. All-City forward J. D. Green is gone, too, opting for a ride at a school with even more initials--SMU.

“Any time you lose players like those three, you’re going to lose some firepower,” Kitani said. “But we do have three returning players.”

One in particular, 6-foot, 7-inch senior forward Chris Mills, is perhaps the best player in the state. Mills signed with Kentucky during the early signing period last month and hopes to improve on last year’s average of 26 points and 15 rebounds a game.

“In the City, there are a lot of players with the physical ability of Chris,” Kitani said. “But very few have the the mental toughness and court knowledge that he does. I think he’s the best player for his size in the nation.”

Senior forward Ilan Levy-Mayer (6-7) has recovered from a nagging ankle injury and should be healthy enough to have a successful season after averaging five points off the bench last season. Senior Andre Durity (6-2), who started the last 10 games last year, is at guard.

Kitani will have plenty of reserves to choose from--last year’s junior varsity was 18-1.

“We actually have a starting eight this year,” Kitani said. “We’ll have to make adjustments depending on what’s thrown at us.”

Cleveland Coach Bob Braswell said the graduation of Green, McDaniels and Higgins will help defenders focus their attention but admitted that Mills alone can cause plenty of trouble.

“Last year, if you shut down Sean, J. D. killed you, or if you shut down Chris, then Sean got you,” Braswell said. “But Mills can still beat you all by himself.”

Braswell speaks from experience--all four of Cleveland’s losses last season were at the hands of Fairfax. The Cavaliers finished second to Fairfax with a 10-2 mark in league.

Fairfax’s other projected starters include senior forward Chris Dane (6-7), who was ineligible last season. Junior forward Norman Francis (6-5) and senior guard Kelvin Johnson also might crack the lineup. Senior swingman James Marlborough, a 6-2 1/2 quarterback on the football team, will see action once the season concludes.

Cleveland

COACH: Bob Braswell, third year

LAST SEASON: 20-4, second in league, 10-2

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Cleveland’s hopes of knocking off Fairfax were dealt a blow when 6-0 senior guard Michael Gray (13 ppg) was declared academically eligible until February. Otherwise, Cleveland is loaded. Returning from last year’s 4-A finalist team are a number of first-rate players. Richard Branham (10.25 ppg, 9.2 rebounds), a 6-4 senior forward, has signed to play at Cal. Senior Damon Greer (8 ppg, 5.2 assists), a 6-0 point guard who missed part of last season because of a broken right wrist, is healthy and one of the slickest assist men in the area. Senior guard Joey Manliguis (5.3 assists) also returns. Senior forwards Damon Charlot (5.2 rebounds) and Chaka Milbey (6-5, 210) will provide the beef under the boards. Milbey is no stranger to contact--he was the starting tight end on the football team. Senior Earl Bodden, a guard-forward, also returns. Transfers Adonis Jordan, a 5-11 junior guard from New York, and Warren Herrel, a 6-6 junior forward from Inglewood, also will play. Braswell dismisses any notions of a Cleveland cakewalk. “It’s just plain and simple that we’re not big enough to walk on any court and expect that to be enough to win,” he said. “If we don’t play hard we can be beaten by Fairfax, Taft, ECR, anybody.”

Taft

COACH: Jim Woodard, seventh year

LAST SEASON: 15-7, tied for third in league, 7-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Woodard won’t be spending much time worrying about half-court offenses and the like--Taft plans to run as much as possible. “I think this is the biggest and fastest team I’ve ever had,” Woodard said. “We’re really going to emphasize the transition game.” Senior Quincy Watts (6-3, 197), a national-caliber sprinter who did not play basketball last season, has returned to lead Taft’s blazing break dance. As a sophomore, Watts was an all-league center, but he will play at off-guard this year. Tony Moten, a 6-5 senior forward, is the team’s best outside shooter. Moten can bang the boards, too. “He had 21 rebounds in one game last year,” Woodard said. Dedan Thomas (5-11), who played varsity last year as a sophomore, returns. Lamont Koonce, a 6-6 all-league player on the junior varsity, will contribute to the front line as well. Donte McFrazier (6-2) is one of the team’s best rebounders. Tony Middleton (6-5), whose brother Vernon started last season, will play at center and forward. Moten is Taft’s best three-point shooter, but Woodard isn’t really worrying about that. “If things go like I hope, we won’t have to worry about the three-point shot. We want to run all we can.” Taft could make a run at Fairfax and Cleveland for the league title, too.

Kennedy

COACH: Yutaka Shimizu, sixth year

LAST SEASON: 13-8, tied for third in league, 7-5

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Kennedy has one of the most experienced teams around--the Golden Cougars’ five projected starters are seniors with varsity experience. Clarence Williams (6-5, 12 ppg, 8.6 rebounds) was an all-league selection last year and is one of the best all-around players in the Valley. Leon Ware (6-4, 11 ppg) and Eugene Miller (6-2) also played extensively and will alternate with Williams at the forward-center position. Uba Satterfield (6-0) and Clint Trzaska (5-9) will start at the guards, but junior Cord Bailey, a 6-1 wide receiver on the football team who played as a varsity guard as a sophomore, will eventually work his way into the lineup. Junior Randy Brown was ineligible last season but figures in Kennedy’s plan at forward-center. Shimizu said having a veteran team is great--for now. “I’d like to see a junior or two out there. Then we might have somebody we could bring in behind them. Next year might not be too much fun.” Junior forward Dana Dotson and senior guard Mike Schlesinger should also contribute. Kennedy must be able to convert the three-point shot to have any shot at beating Taft, Cleveland and Fairfax, Shimizu said. “We have to have that in our offense to beat them,” he said. Unfortunately, he doesn’t yet know who his best outside shooter is. “We better find out soon,” he said.

El Camino Real

COACH: Mike McNulty, sixth year

LAST SEASON: 8-14, fifth in league, 3-9

PLAYERS TO WATCH: The Conquistadores no longer have forward Sean Davis (20 ppg, 13 rebounds) on the front line, but McNulty thinks they might have more variety. “We may be more balanced, but I don’t know if we’ll be any better. Last year we could go to Sean to bail us out. This year we don’t have anybody like that.” El Camino has three players returning who played extensively last season. Senior guard Damon Orlando (6-3, 9.5 ppg) and junior forward Brent Lofton (6-4, 9 ppg) were starters. Lofton was called up from the junior varsity midway through the season and responded with several big games. Forward Nick Warner (6-4) played sparingly last season. El Camino could receive a boost from Erik Nasarenko, a 6-1 forward who has transferred from L. A. Lincoln. Nasarenko is recovering from a nagging foot injury, however. McNulty’s project is junior center Jason Steele (6-6, 180), who is inexperienced but improving each week. “We need his height,” McNulty said. “We are very small this year. We don’t have anybody that hits the boards very well.” In a league as solid as this, El Camino will gun for a playoff spot. “That’s the goal,” McNulty said. “We just want to knock off as many teams as we can. We might surprise some people.”

Reseda

COACH: Tim Nakano, second year

LAST SEASON: 6-13, sixth in league, 2-10

PLAYERS TO WATCH: Nakano might have to wait until late December before he gets a chance to practice with his entire team--three projected starters still are playing with the football team. Sam Edwards, an All-City defensive back, probably will start as a swingman. James Swindell, a running back, will play at point guard. Coley Kyman, a 6-5 junior who quarterbacks the football team, will play at forward. “We figure to be at a real disadvantage from the start,” Nakano said. “If we can hang together at the beginning, I know we’ll get better once we have everybody out.” Senior forward Omar Wilson (6-4 1/2, 190) is probably the Regents’ best player, but Wilson did not play last season because of academic ineligibility. “He’s the main guy,” Nakano said. “We really need him to do well.” Wilson is Edwards’ cousin, and there are other relatives on the team. Robert Kyman, Coley’s twin, could play on the front line. “Coley and Omar give us pretty good size,” Nakano said. “Realistically, though, I think we’d have to be viewed as an underdog in most of our games. We will be the dark horse this year.” Reseda has too few horses to compete in a league with thoroughbreds such as Taft, Cleveland and Fairfax. “We’ve basically got a center and a bunch of guards,” Nakano said. “They’re all guard-to-small-forward sized.”