Prep Basketball Playoffs : 2-A Semifinals : Keefe Is Flying High but Remains Rooted in Reality

For the first two years, there was talk. But it was mostly hushed talk, mere rumblings of what was to come.

Then, last year, the murmurs became shouts and exclamations, a deluge of praise and a flood of predictions.

Now the accolades are commonplace, the lofty comparisons an everyday occurrence.

And through it all, in his four years on the Woodbridge High School varsity basketball team, Adam Keefe has kept his feet on the ground. Except, of course, when he’s dunking the ball.

Ask Keefe about the 30-plus points a game he’s scoring, and he’ll mention the team’s improved outside shooting. Tell Keefe that some people--granted, they may be silly people--have called him the second coming of Bill Walton, and the 18-year-old will roll his eyes.

“Come on, the guy’s a professional,” he will say. “I’m just a high school kid.”

He’s right, of course. He is just a high school kid, albeit a 6-foot 9-inch one. A good student who is popular on campus and who gets embarrassed when his mother wants to pull out the family photo album.

Just a regular kid, who has a full-ride scholarship to Stanford and who may be the biggest basketball recruit in that school’s history.

Just an average guy who called up Dean Smith at North Carolina and said, in effect, “Thank you very much, Coach Smith, but I have decided not to go to the greatest basketball school in the universe.”

No single player can be the only reason for a team’s success. But it is difficult to separate Woodbridge’s achievements--the Southern Section 2-A and the state Division II championships--from Keefe, the 2-A player of the year.

As Adam Keefe goes, so goes Woodbridge, and, luckily for the Warriors, when it’s playoff time, the center seems to only improve. Keefe, who averaged 26 points and 14 rebounds a game during the regular season, is averaging 35 points and 17 rebounds a game in the 2-A playoffs this season.

When San Bernardino takes the floor tonight against Woodbridge in the 2-A semifinal at Villa Park High School at 7:30 p.m., its goal will be to stop Keefe.

But Keefe said he doesn’t feel any pressure. He is relaxed before games, often stretching his 225-pound frame along a thin bleacher seat in the gym before a game to take a little nap.

“I’m pretty low-key,” Keefe said.

“He knows and the other players know that what we do is structured around him,” Woodbridge Coach Bill Shannon said. “But I don’t think he puts pressure on himself. He’s just a very competitive person. He never wants to come out of games.”

It was that competitive spirit that caught Stanford Coach Mike Montgomery’s eye.

“Clear back to his sophomore year, the thing that attracted me was his competitive attitude,” Montgomery said. “Like any young sophomore, he had potential, but things had to fall into place. He has gotten stronger and his skills have been refined. And he still has the competitive attitude.”

That attitude showed this season in a Pacific Coast League game against Laguna Hills. When the game went into overtime after overtime, and Laguna Hills threatened the Warriors’ perfect league record, Keefe went into high gear, scoring 10 of the team’s 11 points in three overtime periods, giving Woodbridge a 65-59 victory.

It showed when Woodbridge played Elsinore in the first round of the playoffs and, taking advantage of the first single coverage he had faced in a very, very long time, he scored 47 points.

But despite the dominance on the court, despite the hundreds of recruiting letters he received, despite the fact that the fans go wild when the ball is in Keefe’s hands and he has an unobstructed path to a basket-shaking dunk, he doesn’t consider himself God’s gift to Woodbridge High.

“My parents keep reminding me I’m not that good,” Keefe said.

Shannon agrees that Adam’s parents--Miles, a retired Marine Corps colonel, and Suzanne, a substitute schoolteacher--have been a steadying influence on their son.

“The students on campus look up to him, literally and figuratively, but his ego has never become a factor,” Shannon said. “Both his parents and I always stressed the concept of being part of a team. So when Mike Krzyzewski (Duke), Digger Phelps (Notre Dame) and Dean Smith started coming around and sitting in his living room, he was wondering, ‘Am I really that good?’ ”

The answer, of course, was yes. That many college coaches can’t be wrong. Recruiters wore a path from John Wayne Airport to the Keefes’ doorstep. One day, three Pacific-10 rivals--Montgomery, California’s Lou Campanelli and Arizona’s Lute Olson--sat together in Woodbridge’s gym during sixth period, watching Keefe practice. Such nationally known schools as Pitt and Nevada Las Vegas didn’t even make it to the home-visiting stage. A scheduled trip to the hallowed halls of Notre Dame was canceled. And Keefe conceded that refusing Smith and North Carolina was not exactly the easiest thing he had ever had to do.

But, through it all, he kept his cool.

Montgomery said: “He was always very courteous, very respectful. You never got the feeling from Adam that he thought everybody owed him. His feet were on the ground. That’s why we had a chance with him.”

Stanford had a chance because Keefe’s parents have always stressed academics. Keefe’s grade point average was 3.8 last semester and he would be going on to college, scholarship or not.

Montgomery, sounding like the former Montana coach that he is, said Keefe will have to earn his spurs at Stanford, just like everybody else. But he projects that Keefe will play at the power forward position.

“We are obviously very excited about him,” Montgomery said. “He was the cornerstone of our recruiting.”

If Woodbridge gets past San Bernardino tonight, Montgomery will get a chance to see his top recruit in person. The 2-A championship game will be played Saturday at the Los Angeles Sports Arena, before Stanford’s game against USC.

“Oh, if they’re in it, I’ll make a point to see him,” Montgomery said.

And, still, Keefe keeps his feet on the ground.

“Did I ever think it would come this far?” Keefe said. “No, never.”

ST. BERNARD vs. MATER DEI

RECORDS--St. Bernard 20-7, Mater Dei 19-7.

SITE--Ocean View High School.

ST. BERNARD UPDATE--The Vikings have been the surprise team of the 5-A division after they finished third in the Angelus League. St. Bernard stunned second-seeded Long Beach Millikan, 59-54, to reach the semifinals, with forward Eric Nelson contributing 14 points, 12 rebounds and 5 steals. Nelson, who received a football scholarship to UCLA, had 23 points in an opening-round victory over Marina. St. Bernard lost twice to Mater Dei in league play by two points, the second loss in overtime after the Vikings blew an 11-point lead in the fourth quarter. Coach Jim McClune said this is the first time in 10 years that none of his players earned a Division I scholarship.

MATER DEI UPDATE--The Monarchs are playing their best basketball of the season with a characteristically tough defense; they have limited two playoff opponents to an average of 57.5 points. Center Char Ruppel is averaging 12 points and 12 rebounds in the playoffs. Mater Dei, the three-time defending 5-A champion, is making its sixth consecutive appearance in the semifinals under Coach Gary McKnight. Mike Hopkins, who signed with Syracuse, is now a reserve but has averaged 19 points in 26 minutes in the playoffs. “I’d rather be playing Millikan,” McKnight said. “I don’t like playing a team three times. Both games have been very close, and I expect this one to be, too.”

KEY TO THE GAME--Edwin Stokes, a 6-10 center, is the key for St. Bernard. If he’s contributing inside, it opens the outside for the Vikings. Point guard Mark Ramstack and forward Kevin Rembert are the key players for Mater Dei. St. Bernard has an effective full-court press that will test Ramstack the entire game. Rembert scored 25 points the last time the teams played, and Mater Dei will need a big game from him.

CONSENSUS--St. Bernard was one basket from putting Mater Dei away the last time the teams met, but the Vikings failed to produce the knockout punch and lost in overtime. Mater Dei is building the momentum in the playoffs. Give Mater Dei a slight edge based on its previous playoff success.

ADAM KEEFE IN THE PLAYOFFS

Year Game Points Rebounds 1987 Beat Central, 81-64, in 2-A 1st round 24 13 Beat Walnut, 69-57, in 2nd round 22 14 Beat Righetti, 62-48, in quarterfinal 12 23 Beat Victor Valley, 73-65, in semifinal 34 21 Beat Banning, 68-60, in final 32 15 Beat Washington, 71-66, in regional semifinal 21 16 Beat Saugus, 65-53, in regional final 15 13 Beat Richmond De Anza, 89-63, in state final 25 11 1988 Beat Elsinore, 79-61, in 2-A 1st round 47 22 Beat Cabrillo, 77-51, in 2nd round 32 17 Beat La Canada, 74-60, in quarterfinal 26 11 Totals 290 176 Average 26.3 16.0