Hillman Earns a Tryout With Jazz

Joe Hillman of Glendale was one of seven Southern California Professional Basketball League players selected by the Utah Jazz this week to participate in the team’s preseason camp, which begins in October in Salt Lake City.

Hillman, a Hoover High graduate, was playing baseball for the Modesto A’s, an Oakland Athletics affiliate in the Class-A California League, before he was placed on the temporary inactive list to pursue a basketball career.

“I’ve always wanted to play basketball over baseball. It’s been my goal,” said Hillman, who added that he has not informed the Athletics of his decision to give up baseball this season.

“(Making the cut) feels all right, but it’s not going to do any good unless I make the team. I would have been disappointed if I wasn’t asked back, but the goal isn’t done yet.”

Despite redshirting his sophomore season, Hillman, 6-foot-3, averaged 6.4 points a game in four years at Indiana. He also had a .310 career batting average in three seasons on the school’s baseball team.

At Hoover, he shattered all the school’s scoring records, averaging 41.3 points a game his senior season--then the third-best average in Southern Section history--and finishing with 2,213 career points.

Tony Chieffo of Granada Hills shot a two-over-par 73 Friday to finish in sole possession of 11th place in the 23rd Pacific Coast Golf Assn. Amateur Championship at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

Chieffo finished 14 strokes behind Texan Randy Sonnier, of who shot a three-under 68 to finish at 285 on the 6,808-yard South Course. Bryan Pemberton of Dublin, Calif., who plays at USC, and Robert Gomez of Las Vegas finished in a tie for second with 72-hole totals of 287.

Paul Stankowski of Oxnard, second after the first round, shot a 78 to finish at 302. Craig Steinberg of Van Nuys carded a 76 and finished at 303.

Demetrious Phillips and Tony Davis, both of whom graduated from Antelope Valley High in June, have made oral commitments to play basketball at Antelope Valley College this season.

Phillips, a 5-11 guard, averaged a team-high 16 points a game last season and was named to the All-Golden League team. Davis, also an all-league selection, averaged 12 points and 10 rebounds at forward.

In addition, Lorna Sawyer and Theresa Toliver said that they will play volleyball for the Marauders. Sawyer, a setter-outside hitter, was named team MVP at Antelope Valley High last season. Toliver, a middle blocker, was named Desert High MVP.

Richard Gallien of Woodland Hills coached a six-member Southern California boys’ junior tennis team to a national title Wednesday in the Intersectional National Championships in Columbus, S.C.

Southern California defeated Florida, 4-3, in the final. The winning team, which included Stanford-bound Kenny Pedroza of Ventura High, was not seeded among the top five squads. Southern California advanced to the final by defeating the New England states, third-seeded Texas and the three-time champion South team, which was seeded second.

Gallien, 28, is the men’s co-coach at Pepperdine.

Keith Wright, formerly of Cal State Northridge, caught two passes for 22 yards in his professional football debut and former Poly High star Craig Ellis caught two touchdown passes to help the Edmonton Eskimos to a 22-21 win over the Toronto Argonauts in a Canadian Football League game Thursday night in Edmonton.

It was the first official game in two years for Wright, 25, who earned All-Western Football Conference honors with the Matadors in 1987. Wright was declared academically ineligible at CSUN two weeks before the start of the 1988.