Prep Review : McCorkle Loses a Most Valuable Contest

It was a remarkable week for Scott McCorkle, Capistrano Valley High School’s multitalented junior forward, in the 17th Tournament of Champions at Ocean View High.

McCorkle scored 130 points in 4 games for a 32.5 average. He broke former Mater Dei star Tom Lewis’ tournament record of 122 points established in 1983. He eclipsed Lewis’ mark of 15 free throws in a single game by making 16 in a row against Fresno Edison.

But the performance wasn’t good enough to earn McCorkle the most valuable player award in the 10-team tournament. The award was presented to guard Dylan Rigdon, who scored 21 points to lead Mater Dei to a 58-43 victory over Ocean View in the title game.

Area sportswriters who had covered the tournament throughout the week were stunned when the award was announced. The writers had been asked to vote for five players and a most valuable player for an all-tournament team.

The five writers covering the tournament voted for McCorkle as the MVP. Participating coaches also were supposed to vote, but Jim Harris, Ocean View coach and tournament director, later admitted the coaches were never polled.

Was McCorkle snubbed?

“It was a miscommunication,” Harris said. “The coaches were supposed to vote, but some of them had left before the title game when we polled everyone.”

So was McCorkle snubbed?

“It’s a matter of definition,” Harris said. “You’re absolutely right, Scott McCorkle had a great tournament. But was he the most valuable player? Did he get his team to the championship game?

“I went to (Capistrano Valley Coach) Mark Thornton and (Mater Dei Coach) Gary McKnight and we all agreed that it’s a team game, and the team that wins should have the MVP. Many tournaments have an MVP and a most outstanding player, and in some instances, they’re different players.”

But was McCorkle snubbed?

First, no one should discard the role Rigdon played in leading Mater Dei to its fourth tournament title. The Monarchs won despite playing without their best player, Mike Morris, who is recovering from a stress fracture.

But no one can discount McCorkle’s play, either. It’s no coincidence that all but one of the reporters who covered the tournament omitted the all-tournament team in Sunday’s newspapers. Only one even mentioned Rigdon had been named the MVP.

When the award was presented to Rigdon, it was announced he was selected as the MVP by the media. If that were the case, McCorkle would have been the MVP.

Rating Game: Don Mead, a high school and junior college scout who lives in Irvine, rates McCorkle as the second best player in the state behind another junior, 6-foot 7-inch Ed O’Bannon of Artesia. O’Bannon will come to the county Jan. 4, when Mater Dei plays host to Artesia at Orange Coast College.

What makes McCorkle such an exceptional player? Shooting touch, leaping ability, strength, balance and a great first step.

When McCorkle shoots a free throw, he generally hits nothing but net. He has a great touch. When he shoots, he generally goes straight up and is rarely off balance, even in a crowd.

When defenders challenge the 6-5 forward outside, he uses a great first step to go around them for drives through the lane or down the baseline.

McCorkle literally plays on a higher level than most. In a 76-59 win over Dominguez, he leaped for an alley-oop pass from point guard Chris Kostoff and nearly hit his head on the backboard.

McCorkle and O’Bannon both figure to play in the Tournament of Champions next year.

We’re No. 1: The first Orange County Sportswriters’ Assn. prep basketball poll will be released Tuesday and it should be interesting to see who’s voted the top team in the county.

Only three schools--Fountain Valley (8-0), Irvine (7-0) and Estancia (7-0)--are undefeated after 2 weeks of play. Irvine, which has never been ranked in the poll, will get some strong consideration for the top spot.

“Right now, Irvine is the team to beat in the South Coast League, not Capistrano Valley,” said Rich Skelton, Dana Hills coach. “Irvine plays the best man-to-man defense you’ll ever see on the high school level, and the only time they put the ball on the floor is when they go to the hoop. A very well-coached team.”

Still, it’s difficult to overlook Mater Dei. The Monarchs (9-1) have played a tougher schedule than any of the undefeated teams and have a lot of tradition in their favor. Their only loss was in double overtime to Saddleback in the Newport-Mesa tournament final.

Other schools that should get a share of the votes include Ocean View (6-1), Saddleback (8-1), Savanna (9-1) and Capistrano Valley (4-3).

Prep Notes

Mike Zamora, Santa Ana senior guard, is quickly earning a reputation as an outstanding 3-point shooter. He made 8 of 9 3-point attempts in a season-opening victory over Buena Park and had 6 3-pointers in a 43-37 victory over Foothill in the Irvine World News tournament. . . . Derek Brown, Servite running back, had his first of five recruiting trips over the weekend to Nebraska. Brown also has trips planned to Oklahoma, USC, UCLA and Colorado. . . . Former Fountain Valley wide receiver Carl Harry of Utah has been named to the South team that will participate in the Blue-Gray all-star football game scheduled for Christmas in Montgomery, Ala. . . . Former Huntington Beach lineman Franco Pagnanelli, a junior linebacker at Princeton, has been named the team captain for the 1989 season. Pagnanelli has led the team in tackles the past 2 seasons and was a second-team All-Ivy League selection this season.