Rough Day for 3 Southland Stars

The high school basketball world converged on Albuquerque, N.M., last weekend for the McDonald’s all-star game. The three Southern California representatives in Sunday’s nationally televised game--Don MacLean of Simi Valley, Darrick Martin of Long Beach St. Anthony and Chris Mills of Fairfax--must have felt as if the world was converging on them.

The update on the three, for those of you scoring at home (it gets a little complicated):

On the court, Mills made 4 of 13 shots and was booed once for shooting instead of passing to either of a pair of wide-open teammates. Actually, that was par for the course in this game, which is hardly noted for its team play.

Martin, a point guard, made 1 of 10 shots and had 2 assists in 22 minutes. MacLean went 1 for 7 and said afterward that any problems were in his head because of recruiting pressures.

Off the court:

--Talks between Jim Harrick, UCLA’s new coach, and Jesse Martin, Darrick’s father, continue, with both sides feeling confident, although not about the same thing. The Martin camp still wants Darrick out, but the Bruins want to smooth things over with more conversation and say that the outstanding point guard can still be happy despite the coaching change.

“Things are at an uncertain stage,” Jesse Martin said.

--Mills, the subject of an investigation by the National Collegiate Athletic Assn. about an alleged $1,000 payment from the University of Kentucky to his father, wasn’t talking. Basically, his father, Claud, wasn’t either, until Sports Illustrated came knocking.

--MacLean, one of the top unsigned players left in the country, said he will choose his school some time this week. He has dropped Kentucky from the running, but not because of the Mills incident, he said. That leaves UCLA, Nevada Las Vegas, Georgia Tech and Pittsburgh.

“It’s hard to concentrate on what I’m supposed to do,” MacLean said after the game. “When I make the decision, I’ll be a much happier person.”

Trivia Time: Who holds the national high jump record for 14-year-old boys? (Answer below)

Hint I: He is in high school now.

Hint II: He has become better known in another sport.

At Mater Dei of Santa Ana, a school known for producing top basketball talent, the baseball team was the main draw for college recruiters this year. When the signing period began last Wednesday, four Monarchs signed to play Division I--including the three outfielders.

In left: Mike Basse, hitting .367, is heading to Tennessee.

In center: Larry Sutton, a 3-year starter who batted .387 last season and is in the .330s in 1988, signed with Illinois.

In right: Jim Austin, another 3-year starter who is hitting .455 this year, is committed to Arizona State.

The three are a big reason why Mater Dei is 13-2.

“People aren’t able to take an extra base with our three outfielders,” Coach Bob Ickes said. “Even the left fielder throws behind the runner. We’ve thrown out two runners this year from left field when they took too wide a turn at first base.”

Having lost his record-setting quarterback, Perry Klein, and his offensive coordinator, Steve Clarkson, Palisades Coach Jack Epstein was in no mood to mince words last week.

“Clarkson is a very good coach,” Epstein said of his former assistant. “I gave him a lot of range. Now he does this to me. I guess he never learned about ethics.”

Clarkson has been helping to implement a new offense at Carson since February, and Epstein began hearing rumors soon afterward that Klein, the only returning starter from the Palisades team that reached the City 3-A title game last season, would follow him there. Epstein’s concerns became reality last week--Klein will play his senior season for Carson.

Clarkson wasn’t available for comment.

“He would have been a big fish in a little pond here,” Epstein said of Klein, who threw for 3,899 yards last season, third-most ever in the country. “He could be a fish out of water now.”

Diana Klein, Perry’s mother, said the family, which lives in Malibu, is renting an apartment in Carson so her husband won’t have as far to drive to work during the week. Danny Klein, Perry’s father, owns a business in Gardena that sells surplus electronic and computer parts.

The Soviet Union’s junior national basketball team will tour the United States in May for the second straight year, although, unlike in 1987, Southern California will not be one of the stops as it was in 1987.

The 10-game series between the Soviets and regional Amateur Athletic Union all-star teams will be played New York, Hampton, Va.; South Bend, Ind.; Jonesboro, Ark.; St. Petersburg, Fla.; Lexington, Ky.; Jackson, Tenn.; Columbia, S.C.; Des Moines, Iowa, and Chicago.

Trivia Answer: Russell White. The two-time All-Southern Section running back at Crespi of Encino cleared 6-8 1/2 while attending Lawrence Junior High in Chatsworth.

White doesn’t high jump anymore, but he still excels in track, having finished second in the state triple jump last season with the top performance in the nation for sophomores at 49-7.

Prep Notes

The Jamaal Wilkes Pyramid of Success Tournament, with four basketball teams from Orange County, Los Angeles, Arizona and Nevada, will be held Friday and Saturday at Santa Monica College. James Moses of Gardena Serra, John Staggers of Crenshaw, and twins Clarence and Terry Lamb of La Puente Bishop Amat are among the local players involved. Net proceeds from the tournament go to the Los Angeles Urban League and UniCamp for underprivileged children. For more information: (213) 383-9898.

Pitcher Olonzo Woodfin, who earned All-City honors at Sylmar High last season and was 4-1 with an 0.68 earned-run average in 1988, will miss the rest of the season after breaking his right ankle during practice April 8. . . . The Las Vegas Holiday tournament, long one of the favorite Christmas basketball stops for area high schools, will include Cleveland of Reseda, El Camino Real of Woodland Hills, Inglewood, Lakewood, Ocean View of Huntington Beach, Rolling Hills, St. Bernard, and Santa Barbara in the 1988 field. The 30-team competition will be held Dec. 26-29 at Nevada Las Vegas.

In an effort to protect itself against future claims that due process was not granted when a team or player is ruled ineligible, the Southern Section is putting together a form that every athlete and a parent or guardian will have to sign before the season begins. It will detail options available if a problem arises, and the Southern Section will have the signed copy as a safeguard against future claims. The form is expected to be used in the fall.