The High Schools : Butler Set for a National Audience Today as Subject of ESPN Profile

He might attend a small school, but Mitchell Butler of Oakwood High continues to draw recognition on a national scale.

For the second time this school year, a Valley athlete will be featured on ESPN’s “Scholastic Sports America,” a 30-minute program that covers high school sports across the nation.

Butler, a 6-foot, 5-inch senior swingman and two-time Southern Section Small Schools Division Player of the Year, will be highlighted on this week’s show, which airs at 4:30 p.m. today.

In clips previewing the program, Butler, the 1988 Times’ Valley Player of the Year, is termed one of the “best in the West.” Video crews shot game and interview footage of Butler--who will attend UCLA in the fall--2 weeks ago.

Crespi All-American running back Russell White was profiled on the program last fall.

Fluctuating market: They are known as Dow Jonesers, teams whose fortunes ebb and flow like those of hasty investors. Meet Westlake’s basketball team, a team whose season could have been played on Wall Street.

The first indication of the Warriors’ penchant for inconsistency was a December loss to Alemany in the Hart tournament. Alemany is 3-16. A couple of weeks later, Westlake became the first Marmonte League team to defeat Simi Valley in nearly 3 seasons.

Westlake’s 6 league wins have been by an average of 12.8 points; its 3 losses by an average of 8.7. The Warriors’ inconsistency is not limited to full games. They sometimes waver from quarter to quarter.

For instance, Westlake led Camarillo by 10 points early in Friday’s game but eventually lost by 17, 70-53.

“We’re up and down and all around,” Westlake Coach Greg Hess said. “We played a great first quarter, then they just decided to double up on our guards. I thought we’d deal with it, but we didn’t. It took us out of our offense and stopped us from scoring.

“I saw the situation early, and tried to diagram us out of it, but we folded up the tent.”

Chasing the bull: Many City Section boys’ coaches gave players a day or two off this week to study for semester finals--there are no games scheduled until Friday--but Granada Hills Coach Bob Johnson plans to work his team overtime after its 3 consecutive losses in North Valley League play.

“It’s been a bear market lately,” Johnson cracked. “And we better see the bull real soon.”

Granada Hills (11-7, 3-4 in league play) was regarded as a preseason contender for the league title. But after a 102-74 defeat to Cleveland 12 days ago, the Highlanders played poorly in losses last week to Kennedy (55-51) and Taft (69-55) and have fallen into last place.

“I think part of the reason is that we’ve played some pretty good teams,” Johnson said. Cleveland, Taft and Kennedy are all ranked among the top 5 teams in The Times’ Valley poll.

Johnson said that his team will spend most of its 4 days of practice this week “trying to figure out how to handle a press.”

If the Highlanders are unable to resolve their ballhandling woes, there may be a sense of finality in finals week: Granada Hills visits Cleveland--which has won 14 consecutive games--on Friday at 7 p.m.

Down but not out: Birmingham boys’ basketball Coach Elliot Turret has been frustrated by his team’s inconsistent play this season--the Braves are 7-10 overall and 3-4 in East Valley League play--but that has not dampened his sense of humor.

When asked to describe Birmingham’s performance this season, Turret quipped, “We’ve got a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of team. When they start playing like Dr. Jekyll, I want to go and hide.”

Self-analysis: David Hoffman doesn’t wait around for performance reviews from his bosses. After each game, the first-year coach at Calabasas (7-11, 3-4) tries to assess his performance by where the team and the program are headed.

The early returns? Hoffman said he grades out at a C+.

“I don’t go home and sit there with a razor blade, but in order to be successful you have to constantly re-evaluate yourself,” he said.

Hoffman could cut himself a little more slack. The Coyotes start 3 sophomores and 2 juniors but are still in the race for a playoff spot.