1988-89 BOYS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEWS : Names to Remember : McCorkle of Capistrano Valley Tops an Elite Field, but He Has Plenty of Company

Players? High school players?

Orange County’s got ‘em.

And heeeere they are . . .

THE A-TEAM

* Scott McCorkle (6-foot 5-inch junior forward), Capistrano Valley--Best player in Orange County. McCorkle can shoot, and shoot and shoot and. . . . However, his abilities are not limited to filling up the hoop. He’s a good defensive player and can rebound. McCorkle was the top scorer in a national tournament in Phoenix during the summer and was named to the all-tournament team. He won the 1-on-1 competition at the Superstar camp in Santa Barbara during the summer.

* Khari Johnson (6-5 senior forward), El Toro--Best athlete in the county. Johnson already has signed a letter of intent with UC Irvine. He averaged 14 points and 9 rebounds last season, and those numbers should improve this season. Johnson runs the court as well as anyone and can finish off a break with an impressive dunk.

* Mike Frohn (6-0 senior guard), Ocean View--Best point guard in the county. Frohn is a smart floor leader who passes and shoots well. He’s excellent at controlling the tempo of the game. A good outside shooter, but he will pass up the shot for an assist. Frohn is not flashy, but he’s consistent.

* Dylan Rigdon (6-4 senior guard), Mater Dei--Best shooter in the county. He’s excellent from 3-point range. During the summer, he won the free-throw contest at the Five-Star basketball camp in Pittsburgh. Rigdon started every game last season for the Monarchs, who won the Southern Section 5-A championship. He has signed a letter of intent with UC Irvine.

* Mike Morris (6-5 senior guard), Mater Dei--Just darn good. No real weaknesses, good shooter, rebounder and ballhandler. Morris also drives strong to the basket. Several Division I schools are interested in him. He will miss Mater Dei’s first 12 games because of a stress fracture in his right shin.

A CUT BELOW

* Cherokee Parks (6-11 sophomore center), Marina--Only 3 more years. Coaches in the county are already counting. Parks is good and is going to get better. Although he’s 6-11, Parks doesn’t rely on his inside game. He can hit from 17 feet and in.

* Matt Chamberlin (6-6 senior forward), Brea-Olinda--Moves from center to forward this season, which should better showcase his talents. He plays well inside and can shoot on the perimeter, which should cause headaches for opponents.

* Keith Walker (6-5 junior guard), Brea-Olinda--Mr. Outside for the Wildcats last season. Walker, like his brother Kevin (now at UCLA), is a pure shooter. Walker has improved his overall game this season to become a more complete player.

* Scott Campbell (6-5 senior forward), La Quinta--A 2-time All-Garden Grove league selection. A great leaper. He has signed a letter of intent with Cal State Fullerton. Playing forward out of necessity, but likely will be a guard in college.

* Oscar Wilson (6-3 junior forward/center), Santa Ana--With Bobby Joyce gone, Wilson will take over the Saints’ inside game. And with Wilson’s 230 pounds, the inside game should do well. He averaged 9 points per game last season, but that should double this year. A great offensive rebounder, Wilson picks up 6 to 8 points per game off missed shots.

* Todd Norman (6-5 senior center), Ocean View--Don’t let Norman’s 240 pounds fool you. He can move. Norman has good post moves and can clear out the middle. He was an All-Sunset League lineman in football. Look for his scoring to improve this season.

COMERS

* Derek Stone (6-8 junior center), Mater Dei--Another year, another center for the Monarchs. Stone might not be another LeRon Ellis (now at Kentucky), but several Division I schools, such as Syracuse, UCLA and USC, are interested in him. He played sparingly last season as a backup to Char Ruppel, but played well during the summer.

* Carlos Palomino (6-2 senior guard), Los Amigos--Palomino, the son of former boxer Carlos Palomino, is a good shooter, but plays out of control at times. When under control, he’s tough to stop.

* Mike Curtis (6-1 senior guard/forward), Estancia--Whether from the outside or driving to the hoop, Curtis can score. A left-handed player. Coach Tim O’Brien says Curtis “is full of tricky moves.”

* Craig Marshall (6-2 senior guard), Saddleback--A defensive specialist last season, Marshall will be asked to score more this year. Marshall will look to get out on the fast break. A very tough player.

* Robbie Pietsch (6-4 senior forward), El Modena--A fundamentally sound player. He built up his strength. Pitsch was a good shooter last year. This year he’s a good basketball player.

PRESSURE COOKER

* Marcus Hopkins (6-6 senior center), Sunny Hills--Brian McCloskey (6-7) is gone and so are his 18 points and 12 rebounds per game. Hopkins will be the one to fill the void in the middle. Got off to a good start last season, but missed the last half of the season with a torn rotator cuff and is recently back to full strength.

* Malru Dottin (6-7 senior center), Saddleback--Will try to replace brother Gylan’s leadership and scoring. With his size (230 pounds), Dottin can dominate inside.

* Chris Kostoff (6-2 junior guard), Capistrano Valley--A key to the Cougars’ success this season. He replaces point guard Charles Lockhard, who averaged 8.3 assists last season. If Kostoff doesn’t pass well, Capistrano Valley doesn’t run.

* P.A. Emerson (6-6 senior center), Woodbridge--Let’s face it, there is no way Emerson can replace his predecessor. But, how often does an Adam Keefe come along? Still, Emerson has to play well for the Warriors to win. He needs to rebound a lot and score a little.

SUPER SOPHS

* Rob Johnson (6-5 guard), El Toro--Johnson can just plain shoot, which comes in handy on a basketball court. He was named to the all-tournament team at San Clemente last season.

* Brett Michelson (6-7 forward/center), Sunny Hills--Michelson was the star of the junior varsity last season and will be used as a reserve on the varsity this year. But look for him to get plenty of playing time.

* Romalis Taylor (6-3 forward), Woodbridge--A great leaper who will needed for rebounding and defense. He will share time at forward with . . . * Bryant McLemore (6-3 forward), Woodbridge--See Romalis Taylor.

* John Molle (6-4 forward), Irvine--Coach Steve Keith says Molle may end up as one of the best sophomores in the county by the end of the season.

* Almost the entire Santa Margarita team. The Eagles are playing on the varsity level for the first time and the team is made up of sophomores, with the exception of two freshmen.

PLAYERS FOR OTHER SEASONS * Chris Sheff (6-4 senior guard), Laguna Hills--A good basketball player, but a great baseball player. Sheff, a center fielder, hit .440 and was fourth in the county with 23 stolen bases. Sheff averaged 16 points per game for the Hawks’ basketball team. He should be even better this year. But he’ll choose baseball after high school.

* Fred Schweer (6-3 senior guard), Woodbridge--Schweer is considered a Division I quarterback. He is also a point guard and a good one. But he’ll choose football.

* Tim Manning (5-10 junior guard), Trabuco Hills--As a defensive back, Manning is leading the county in interceptions. When the football season ends, he’ll play guard for the basketball team. Manning will take anything that gets offered; he’s probably too small for either sport.

POUND FOR POUND

* Rick Swanwick (6-10 senior center), Trabuco Hills--Last season he weighed 275 pounds. This year he’s 220 and learning new skills. Such as jumping. Swanwick will be a force in the Pacific Coast League.

* Mark Moneypenny (6-10 1/2 sophomore center), Mater Dei--As a freshman, Moneypenny was 6-6 1/2 and 140 pounds. You could knock him over with a pass. This season, Moneypenny has grown up and filled out. He weighs 200 and will back up Stone. McKnight says he’s a year away from being an impact player.

SPACE EATERS

* Scott McCaughey (6-10 senior center), Capistrano Valley--McCaughey spent 2 years backing up Jim Waikle (7-0) and will take over as the Cougars’ lane-clogger and rebounder.

* Fritz Wickman (6-9 junior center), Brea-Olinda--Coach Rick Jones asks little from Wickman. A little rebounding, a little defense. If Wickman does both, Chamberlin and Walker can concentrate more on offense.

* Robert Conlisk (6-10 1/2 junior center), Los Alamitos--Coach Steve Brooks is expecting a lot from Conlisk. With little varsity experience, how much he can contribute is to be seen.

BEST OF THE REST

* Pete Bach (6-3 senior forward), Fullerton.

* Jim Barker (6-2 senior forward/guard), Kennedy.

* Jamaal Duff (6-7 junior center), Foothill.

* Greg Evans (6-2 junior guard), Ocean View.

* John Lloyd (6-8 senior center), Dana Hills.

* Steve Marusich (6-6 senior forward/guard), Servite.

* Marcus Mitchell (6-0 senior guard), Anaheim.

* Stefan Mumaw (6-8 senior center), University.

* Tim Pavelec (6-3 senior forward), Rancho Alamitos.

* Mike Pettengill (5-10 senior guard), Kennedy.

* Matt Recktenwald (6-6 senior center), Sonora.

* Rodney Stewart (5-10 junior guard), Brea-Olinda.

* Tim Tillman (6-7 senior forward), Savanna.

* Doug Weaver (5-11 junior guard), Fountain Valley.

* Matt Werner (6-5 senior center), Esperanza.