Agoura Coach Spinning Tall Tales About Sophomore Third Baseman

Agoura baseball Coach John Crow rarely boasts about sophomore prospects because they are usually relegated to lower-level teams. But Crow found 6-5, 195-pound sophomore Brian Smith too tall to overlook.

“He’s probably going to be 6-9 by the time he’s a senior,” Crow said. “And, he’s no lug. He moves well for a big player and he can really hammer the ball. I can’t wait to see him in combat.”

Smith, who played for the Westlake junior varsity last year, transferred to Agoura in February. During the summer, he batted .533 and hit a team-high nine home runs for the Van Nuys-Sherman Oaks youth team that won the Babe Ruth League World Series.

Agoura has not had a sophomore on its varsity since 1975, but two may start in Monday’s nonleague opener against Oak Park--Smith at third base and 5-7 sophomore Josh Smaler at catcher.

Crow hopes Smith’s baseball feats will match his shoe size.

“This guy wears a size 13 shoe,” he said. “If he hits a home run for each inch, he’ll be a great ballplayer.”

Game MVP?: Oakwood Coach Roz Goldenberg called guard Adam Mehr the game’s MVP despite the fact that teammate Mitchell Butler scored 50 points in Friday’s 55-47 win over Ribet Christian in the Southern Section Small Schools Division playoffs.

Mehr finished with zero points, 1 assist and 2 rebounds.

He was, however, the Gorillas’ top banana on defense. He dogged Dale Santa Ana throughout the game, limiting the high-scoring guard to 15 points.

“I’m not sure how many points he averages,” Goldenberg said of Santa Ana. “But, boy, he makes their team go.”

Said Oakwood center Dave Fond: “Before the game, we all said, ‘Adam, if you can keep him down, you’ll be the MVP.’ He played an amazing game. He stuck to the guy like glue.

“Of course, Mitchell’s 50 points didn’t hurt, either.”

Butler, who averages 31 points a game, has been Oakwood’s offensive weapon all season. Against Ribet Christian, Butler penetrated easily.

“I was open a lot in the paint and they just got me the ball,” said Butler, who also pulled down 17 rebounds.

Said Mehr: “That’s usually our game plan--pass it inside and let Mitchell and Dave do the scoring. Mitch will score 30 and Dave will score 10.”

Or, as in Friday night’s case, Butler will score 50 and Fond will score 1. But it all adds up to a win.

“I had an off game,” Fond said. “But when everyone else is cold, Mitchell has the hot hand.

“To an outsider, it may seem like it was all Mitchell Butler, but we excelled on defense. We know what Mitchell can do, but Adam’s was a special performance.”

Good review: Grant Coach Howard Levine went home after the Lancers beat University, 62-51, in the City Section 3-A Division semifinals Friday night . . . and watched his team win again on film.

“We looked at it last night just to make sure it wasn’t a dream,” Levine said.

Add Grant: The Lancers outrebounded University, 42-31, despite a considerable size disadvantage.

University’s 6-foot, 7-inch center, Greg Spector, had 11 rebounds and the Warriors’ Chuck Hegeman, a 6-4 forward, had 15 rebounds, but the rest of the team had only five. Grant was led by 6-1 forward Setro Terzian (12 rebounds), 6-3 center Troy Mcleod (11), 6-1 forward Danny Enowitz (8) and 5-6 guard Adi Saker (6).

“These guys know they have to go after the ball every time,” Levine said. “To rebound you have to play with a lot of heart and determination.”

Grant (20-3), which plays Jordan in the 3-A final at the Sports Arena on Friday, has outrebounded 14 of its past 15 opponents, including the past four.

Megaphone mischief: L. A. Baptist Coach Maury Neville was so engrossed in his team’s 55-40 Southern Section 1-A Division playoff win over visiting Brentwood on Friday night that he was oblivious to a Brentwood fan’s belligerent badgering.

The heckler attracted the coach’s attention during a third-quarter timeout.

“We were trying to do our job when all of a sudden this batting glove came flying down into the huddle,” Neville said.

The glove bounced off the face of Neville, who immediately confronted the culprit.

“I told him that I didn’t appreciate that and said something to the effect that if it happens again, I might go up into the stands,” Neville said.

Neville did not know the heckler and naturally assumed him to be a Brentwood follower.

“It wasn’t one of my fans,” Neville said. “If it was, I’d better change schools.”

WAC attack: Granada Hills football Coach Darryl Stroh was happy to hear that quarterback Jeremy Leach signed a letter of intent with New Mexico.

For about 3,000 reasons.

New Mexico, which plays in the Western Athletic Conference, is coached by Mike Sheppard, a former head coach at Cal State Long Beach and player at Cal Lutheran. Sheppard, it seems, is a man after Stroh’s heart.

“Last season they had a guy there who passed for over 3,000 yards,” Stroh said. “This could really work out well for Jeremy. I think in a couple of years, you could see him leading the nation in passing.”

Stroh said Sheppard has helped transform the WAC into one of the nation’s top Division I conferences for fans of the passing game. Brigham Young, also a WAC member, has churned out several NFL quarterbacks, including Jim McMahon, Marc Wilson, Steve Young, Robbie Bosco and Gifford Nielsen.

“When New Mexico and BYU hook up, it should be something,” Stroh said. “I just hope they show it on TV.”

That possibility seems fairly remote, however, since New Mexico was 0-11 last season.

Leach, who will start in right field for the Highlander baseball team, passed for 3,991 yards and 49 touchdowns in two seasons under Stroh. Leach (6-2, 215) led Granada Hills to the City Section 4-A Division championship last December in a 27-14 win over heavily favored Carson.

Welcome addition: Sophomore shortstop Rob Davis, who batted .337 and stole 13 bases last season for Saugus, was welcomed with open arms by Coach Bud Murray when the former transferred in the off-season to Hart.

“He’s the type of player that’s going to help your program,” Murray said. “He hit the ball really well in American Legion.”

Davis, Saugus’ leadoff hitter, also had 17 runs batted in.

Westwood bound: Canoga Park third baseman Adam Schulhofer made a verbal commitment last week to accept a scholarship to attend UCLA.

Schulhofer batted .397 with 7 home runs last season as Canoga Park won the City 4-A championship.

High school seniors are prohibited from signing letters of intent for spring sports until April 16.

Staff writers Steve Elling, Vince Kowalick and Chris J. Parker contributed to this notebook.