Times Honors Top Prep Cagers, Outstanding Coaches

Centers Ed Stokes of St. Bernard and Lisa Leslie of Morningside and coaches Carl Strong of Torrance and Frank Scott of Morningside were the South Bay award winners Sunday at The Times high school basketball banquet at the Anaheim Hilton.

Stokes and Leslie were named players of the year while Strong and Scott were selected boys and girls coaches of the year. Scott, who guided the Lady Monarchs to the state Division I title, won the award for the second straight year.

Stokes, a 6-11 senior, averaged 25 points, 15 rebounds and four blocked shots a game to lead St. Bernard to a 23-6 record, the Camino Real League title and the second round of the Southern Section 5-AA playoffs. His previous honors include Camino Real League most valuable player and Southern Section Division I player of the year. He has signed to play for Coach Lute Olson at Arizona.

Torrance was picked by coaches to finish last in the Bay League, but under Strong the Tartars surprised everyone by contending for the title until the last week of the season. They finished third and won two games in the Southern Section 4-AA playoffs before losing to eventual champion San Bernardino in the quarterfinals. Torrance finished with a 16-11 record.

The 6-5 Leslie established herself as the most dominant girls player in the state and perhaps the nation by leading Morningside to a 32-1 record and its first state title. The junior averaged 26 points, 14.6 rebounds and nearly seven blocked shots as the Lady Monarchs rose to the nation’s No. 2 ranking in USA Today. Leslie was named to the Parade All-American first team.

Scott guided the Morningside girls to their best season ever. They repeated as Southern Section and regional champions before avenging last year’s one-point loss to Fremont of Oakland in the state Division I final, 60-50. Scott did it with a team that had only one senior--point guard JoJo Witherspoon--and started two sophomores and one freshman.