Basketball Preview : Marymount Has a New Offense, 12 New Players and More Talent

A powerful inside offense isn’t the only new thing on the Marymount Palos Verdes basketball team.

The Mariners have 12 fresh faces and they’ll have to do without last year’s stars--guards James Anderson and Ernie Woods--who almost single-handedly carried the team as the state’s third- and sixth-leading scorers.

Coach Jim Masterson isn’t overly concerned, though. He says that although this team doesn’t have stars, it’s got more talent. For the fifth-year coach, that means improvement over last year’s dismal 7-21 record (3-11 in the Southern California Athletic Conference).

“We’re better balanced,” he said. “We’re going to have a lot of people contributing this year.”

Like last season, the Mariners’ three-guard offense will do a lot of fast breaking and apply pressure defensively. Three consistent inside scorers have shifted last year’s strength from the outside to the inside.

Center Warren Cox has been the most effective. The 6-foot-6, 205-pound freshman from the Bahamas averages 20 points and 11 rebounds in the Mariners’ three games.

“He’s a beast,” Masterson said. “He’s one of the strongest players I’ve ever coached. He’s fast, and he’s an incredible leaper.”

Power forward Kevin Johnson (6-5, 235) is the team’s second leading scorer with a 12.7 average. The freshman is battling with sophomore Kelly Black (6-6, 190), for that starting position.

The three starting guards are freshman Lenny Kai (Kamehameha High School in Hawaii) and sophomores Bryon Flournoy and Brian Martin. Flournoy, the point guard, averaged 6.5 assists as a part-time starter last year.

Martin and Kai have two strong competitors striving for their spots. Freshman Kerry Baker (R. M. Bailey High School in the Bahamas) is a solid contender for Martin’s swing guard position and freshman Ron Dinnel (Rolling Hills High) for Kai’s off-guard spot.

“It’s really nice to have so many players working out,” said Masterson, who has a roster of 14. “Even with injuries and the flu, we can still scrimmage. Last year, even when all showed up, we couldn’t scrimmage.”

A coaches’ poll voted Marymount fourth in the seven-member SCAC. L.A. City was first, Harbor second and Compton third.