Arizona’s Cook Joins Select Team

Former Van Nuys High standout Anthony Cook has been selected All-District 15 in Division I by the National Assn. of Basketball Coaches.

Cook, a 6-foot-9 senior forward, is averaging 17.2 points and 7.1 rebounds for top-ranked Arizona. He is the Pacific 10 Conference’s all-time leader in blocked shots with 261. Other players on the first team are Sean Elliott of Arizona, Hank Gathers of Loyola Marymount, Pooh Richardson of UCLA and Stacey Augmon of Nevada Las Vegas.

Second-team selections include UCLA forward Trevor Wilson, a junior from Cleveland High, and Bruin freshman Don MacLean, from Simi Valley High.

Among those chosen for the Division II All-West team was Cal Lutheran guard Steve deLaveaga, who made the second team. Three players from California Collegiate Athletic Assn. teams made the first team: Maurice Pullum of UC Riverside, Anthony Blackmon of Cal State Dominguez Hills and Troy Price of Cal State Bakersfield.

John Keister of Occidental College was a second-team choice on the Division III All-West squad.

Larnell Bush, a starting defensive back on the Moorpark College football team, has pleaded innocent to charges of assault in the beating death of John Flores, 19, a Moorpark student, outside a party in Thousand Oaks on Jan. 20. Bush, 19, from Gardena, entered his plea in Ventura Municipal Court on Monday and was released on his promise to return to court March 20 for a preliminary hearing.

John Yurek, the brother of Moorpark football player Scott, was charged with manslaughter, battery and assault in connection with the incident. Flores died from a brain injury after a fight in the 2900 block of Avocado Court.

Moorpark Coach Jim Bittner said that Bush, a second-team All-Western State Conference selection last season, had planned to transfer from Moorpark to Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria.

Another Raider player, linebacker Ken Haefliger of Thousand Oaks, was arrested along with Bush and Yurek but later released.

Bittner said that Haefliger would not be disciplined. “To my knowledge, he hasn’t done anything wrong,” Bittner said. “It is my understanding that several people were arrested but not charged. He was just one of those people.”

Leslie Milke, women’s basketball coach at Cal State Northridge, has been selected coach of the year in the California Collegiate Athletic Assn. Milke guided the 14th-ranked Lady Matadors to a 20-7 regular-season record. Included was a 67-61 upset of conference champion Pomona, CSUN’s first win over the Lady Broncos in 30 games.

Guard Bridgette Ealy and center Chris Cavalin of Northridge were All-CCAA selections. Ealy averaged 14 points and six rebounds during the conference season. Cavalin averaged 15 points and 10 rebounds. Cathy Gooden and Niki Bracken of Pomona, Lupe Quintana of Cal State Los Angeles and Patti Held of UC Riverside were the other first-team selections. Gooden, an All-American in 1988, was player of the year.

CSUN’s Julie Arlotto and Vicki Mallett received honorable mention.