Prep Basketball Playoffs : 4-A Semifinals : McCorkle Has Grown From Big to Better, May Become the Best

Scott McCorkle, Capistrano Valley High School’s sophomore forward, vividly remembers the first time he dunked a basketball.

McCorkle was warming up for a summer league game at Tustin High, where he would be matched against 6-foot 7-inch Derek Stone of Mater Dei. He took a pass on a layup drill and decided the time was ripe for slamming.

“I was psyched up playing against a 6-7 center and decided to try and dunk,” McCorkle said. “I had been trying all year, and I finally did it.”

Of course, McCorkle forgot to mention one little detail . . . that first dunk came before he ever entered high school. McCorkle had just graduated from the eighth grade when he made his dunking debut.

So it wasn’t surprising to watch McCorkle drive on Diamond Bar’s 6-9 center Brian Hendrick for 20 points last week in Capistrano Valley’s 76-65 victory in the quarterfinals of the Southern Section 4-A division playoffs.

McCorkle has always played like a veteran. After leading the Cougars’ freshman team to a 21-2 record last year, McCorkle joined the varsity for the playoffs. He is only the third sophomore to start for Coach Mark Thornton in seven seasons, joining guards Burt and Nathan Call on the elite list.

“Scott was so much bigger and stronger than the other freshman players that he easily got bored,” said Brian Mulligan, Capistrano Valley freshman coach. “The game came so easy for him, he never really had to work hard.”

It was a different story when McCorkle, a strapping 6-5, 190-pounder with muscular arms, joined the varsity. There was never any doubt about his physical skills, but it took an attitude adjustment before he blossomed into a starter.

“I got a technical foul in the beach tournament at Capistrano Beach last summer, and Coach Thornton had a long talk with me after the game,” McCorkle said. “He said that if I wanted to be a starter, I was going to have to work a little harder and change my attitude.”

McCorkle spent the summer lifting weights and playing every day. The hard work paid off. He opened the season as a starter and earned all-tournament honors at the Laguna Beach tournament.

But he has saved his best play for the 4-A division playoffs and has averaged 15 points per game in three postseason games. Capistrano Valley (25-4) has advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in seven seasons and plays host to Santa Barbara (22-5) at 7:30 tonight at Saddleback College.

“Scott has been our most consistent player in the playoffs,” Thornton said. “He had a play against Downey where he drove around their center on the baseline and scored on a two-hand dunk.

“Later, he came off the court and told me, ‘There’s no one out there who can guard me,’ and he was right. If he grows two more inches, he’ll be one of the top five players in Southern California by his senior year.”

Growing is nothing new to McCorkle. He went from a size 5 to a size 11 shoe from the sixth to seventh grade, when he sprouted from 5-5 to 5-9. He has always been an excellent jumper but said he was uncertain about his role on the varsity team until Capistrano Valley played Mater Dei in early January.

“I had to guard Kevin Rembert and felt like I did a good job of containing him until the fourth quarter,” McCorkle said. “That night, I felt like a varsity player.”

McCorkle has been finding more open shots in the playoffs with opposing teams keying on guards Charles Lockard and Todd Marinovich. He has responded by shooting 57% as the Cougars take a 19-game winning streak into the game against Santa Barbara.