Basketball Preview: It Looks Like Morningside : Preps: The Monarch boys’ team has played in the shadow of the state champion girls’ team. But this year the boys, too, look “almost unbeatable.”

Establishing an identity hasn’t been easy for the Morningside High boys basketball team.

For the last few years, the Monarchs have basically been a collection of no-names playing in the shadow of the school’s state champion girls team.

Some even joke that the boys are the second-best team at Morningside.

To this, Co-Coach Carl Franklin has a reply.

“Publicity-wise, we’re second fiddle,” he said. “But, realistically, we’re No. 1 because we’re the team that people at the school come to see.”

Franklin doesn’t need to convince his peers.

Based on a poll of area coaches, Morningside is The Times’ choice as the South Bay’s No. 1 team.

“They look almost unbeatable at this stage.” Rolling Hills Coach Cliff Warren said. “They stick out like a sore thumb.”

Rolling Hills and Morningside were on a collision course last season, but the anticipated game between the Bay and Ocean League champions fell through when Rolling Hills lost in the quarterfinals of the CIF-Southern Section 3-A playoffs to Corona del Mar.

Morningside reached the semifinals, also losing to Corona del Mar, but the Monarchs avenged the loss in the Southern California Regionals and made it to the finals before losing to State Division III champion Trabuco Hills.

With a deep and talented team, Morningside hopes to make another run at Southern Section and state titles this season. The Monarchs last won a CIF crown in 1985, when Elden Campbell led the team to the 3-A championship.

Franklin, returning for his 14th season as coach, refrains from making any lofty predictions.

“We should have a good team,” he said. “I think each tournament will be a challenge.”

The top-seeded Monarchs open the season Monday night against El Segundo in the Pacific Shores Tournament at Mira Costa High. From there, they move on to the prestigious Tournament of Champions in Huntington Beach on Dec. 13-16 and the Viking Christmas Tournament in Las Vegas on Dec. 27-30.

Here is a look at The Times’ top South Bay teams. Last year’s record is in parentheses:

1. MORNINGSIDE (25-6)--The Monarchs seemingly have it all: experience, size, depth and gifted athletes. They return three starters and eight lettermen from last season’s team that came within one win of reaching the State Division III finals. Five players are 6-foot-5 or taller.

Franklin says Morningside will go “nine to 10” players deep and again try to wear down opponents with defensive pressure. Many a team has crumbled under the Monarchs’ press. “If we can get them to play good defense,” he said, “I think we’ll have a successful season.”

Returning starters are center Jeff Crowe (6-7), forward Arthur Savage (6-6) and point guard Donald Sanders. The featured player, though, could be swingman Tyrone Paul (6-5), a strong leaper and shooter who impressed scouts during the summer, according to Franklin.

“Tyrone Paul is a rare talent,” he said. “I had to twist people’s arms to get him into the Superstars camp; then he won the slam-dunk contest for players 6-5 and under. He can shoot from three-point range and he can handle the ball well. He’s our most heavily recruited player.”

Others expected to contribute include 6-3 forward Tony Mitchell, a transfer who was the leading scorer for Marshall Fundamental, and guards Martel Bland and Daniel Taylor. Michael Pearson (6-7) and Preston Scott (6-6) give the team good size off the bench, and freshman Stacis Boseman (6-3) is a promising newcomer.

If the Monarchs have an Achilles heel, it could be outside shooting. They struggled at the free-throw line last season.

2. CARSON (16-8)--Coach Rich Masson doesn’t expect the Colts to kick up their heels until late December, when four of the team’s top players trade in their football equipment for basketball uniforms.

Forward Nkosi Littleton (6-2) and guards Michael Ross, Clayvand Thomas and Armin Youngblood all could end up in the starting lineup, Masson said. Until they show up, though, the Colts will put an inexperienced team on the floor. They were drubbed by Fremont, 80-56, Thursday to fall to 1-1.

Senior swingman Bobby Kelly (6-2) will carry the load until the football players’ arrival. He scored 42 points in Tuesday’s 81-80 win over Locke and had 28 against Fremont.

Kelly’s supporting cast is currently headed by center Chris Aaron (6-3) and sophomore forward Rudolph Washington (6-2). Junior forward Justin Beery (6-4), sidelined with a knee injury, will help out when he returns.

Carson was dealt a blow last summer when point guard Ontario Smith moved with his family to Mississippi. Junior Tyrone Smith (no relation) has filled in, but he lacks playing time.

“Things aren’t looking good right now,” Masson said. “But when we get everybody out, we will be very competitive.”

3. WESTCHESTER (16-6)--Gone are four starters, including two All-L.A. City players: forward Zan Mason (now at UCLA) and point guard Sam Crawford (now at Moorpark College). It won’t be easy to replace them, but the Comets’ cupboard is hardly bare.

They proved that Wednesday by opening the season with a 78-75 overtime win over highly regarded Cleveland of Reseda. “We’re going to be competitive,” said 11-year Coach Ed Azzam, “but we can’t play the same as we have in the last four years.”

The only returning starter is guard Damian Wilson, who had 26 points, four assists and six steals against Cleveland. “He may be the best guard in the state that no one knows about,” Azzam said.

Point guard Kelly Robinson saw plenty of varsity action last season, as did forward Mike Mitchell (6-2). Center LeRoi O’Brien, a promising junior, is Westchester’s tallest player at 6-8. Forward Robert Hamiter (6-5), a transfer from Florida, will become a contributor as he learns the system.

“I don’t have any goals,” said Azzam, whose team fell short of several expectations last season by failing to win the Western League title and then losing to Crenshaw in the second round of the playoffs. “I just want to be competitive and have the opportunity to win every game.”

4. ROLLING HILLS (23-5)--The three-time defending Bay League champions return only one starter, but he’s a good one. Guard Steve Clover, a 6-4 sharpshooter who signed early with Pepperdine, averaged 18 points a game and led the area with 104 three-point shots last season. He hit the 50-point mark in a few games last summer.

Still, Coach Cliff Warren has an uneasy feeling about this team heading into his fifth season at Rolling Hills.

“We’re not playing that well,” he said. “We scrimmaged Marina and Dana Hills and didn’t look good. We had such a fine summer, but now I don’t know. We’re pretty inexperienced and we don’t have much speed.”

It will be tough for the Titans to replace center John Hardy, who led the team in scoring and rebounding each of the last two seasons. Hardy now plays for the University of the Pacific.

Warren is hoping that junior Roger Hendrix (6-5) can step in and play well inside. “He will continue to give us offensive scoring,” Warren said. “He will average 20-plus points.”

Rounding out the starting lineup are junior guard Chad Heitzler, a good three-point shooter, sophomore point guard David Iwasaka and forward Shoram Shoraka (6-2).

5. PALOS VERDES (4-18)--John Mihaljevich, the dean of South Bay basketball coaches, is coming off his worst season in 23 years at Palos Verdes. If ever the Sea Kings were ready for a comeback, this is it.

Unfortunately for Mihaljevich, the same problem that plagued his team last year--injuries--has cropped up again. Front-line starters Art Shell (6-6) and Scott Wilson (6-4) are both nursing knee injuries and are day-to-day.

“They mean a lot to our program because we’re not real big,” Mihaljevich said. “It sets us back from where we want to be.”

When Shell, a talented sophomore who is the son of Raider Coach Art Shell, and Wilson return, Palos Verdes should be vastly improved.

Senior captain Andy Jacobson, a 6-2 guard, is playing well again after missing half of last season with torn ankle ligaments. He’ll share the back court with a pair of talented sophomores: Julius Coleman, a gifted athlete, and Rich Radford, who was MVP of the sophomore team as a freshman.

Mihaljevich said of Coleman: “By the time he graduates, he will be among the top guards we’ve ever had.”

Forward Chris Castello (6-3), an excellent three-point shooter, and guard Todd Demko also will see playing time.

6. LEUZINGER (15-12)--Look for the Olympians to keep the pressure on teams this season. “We’ll probably play about 10 guys,” said Coach Phil Sherman, returning for his fourth season. “We’re trying to run a little more. We ran and pressed last year, but we’ll try to do more this year.”

Leuzinger’s deep squad is headed by junior center Frank Willis (6-8), a part-time starter last season who averaged 10 points and six rebounds a game. He needs to improve his inside game, Sherman said, but he possesses a nice outside shot and will be allowed to roam the perimeter at times.

The Olympians also figure to get a boost from forward Adrian McCovey (6-5), a transfer from Fremont. “He’s a streaky player,” Sherman said. “When he’s on, he can play with anybody. But he’s not always on.”

Other prominent players are guards Marvin Felix, Robert Northern and John Griffin, and forwards Andy Tatckiwiecz (6-5) and Tyrone Meriweather (6-4), a transfer from Kokomo High in Indiana.

“We’ve got some talent,” Sherman said. “But it’s undisciplined.”

Leuzinger opens the season Saturday with a home game against powerful Crenshaw, and will face Quartz Hill in the first round of the El Segundo Tournament on Dec. 12.

7. SERRA (10-12)--Second-year Coach Dwan Hurt expects the Cavaliers to be vastly improved from last season, when they barely missed a CIF playoff spot. “I look for us to be very aggressive,” he said. “The kids have worked hard and they play well together.”

Team leader Kenny Davis is regarded as one of the area’s top guards. He averaged 14 points a game last season and joins forward Micheal Willcot (6-6) as Serra’s only returning starters. Willcot averaged eight points and seven rebounds as a junior.

Like Carson, the Cavaliers will benefit from a flood of football players. Gridders expected to play major roles include swingman Alex Marcellin (6-3), forward Donald Godden (6-4) and guards Steven Johnson and Clayton Lopez.

Serra opens the season Monday in the Laguna Beach Tournament.

8. ST. BERNARD (23-6)--The Vikings are traditionally one of the area’s best teams, but Coach Jim McClune is bracing for a comedown after losing 11 of 14 varsity players to graduation, including 6-11 Ed Stokes. Last season’s South Bay Player of the Year is now at Arizona.

“That’s a tough act to follow,” McClune said. “This is the first summer I can remember that we lost most of our games.”

As usual, though, St. Bernard has another wave of talent.

The top varsity returner is center Wyking (The Viking) Jones, a 6-6 junior. McClune says Jones has good hands and quickness and favors the hook shot.

Others who figure prominently in the Vikings’ plans are forwards Martin Smith (6-4) and Sean Fruge (6-4), point guard Terry Sullivan, center Rick Famuyima (6-4) and guard Bill Palm, the team’s best three-point shooter.

9. INGLEWOOD (16-9)--Yes, Vince Combs is returning as head coach. And yes, forward Steve King, who missed the 1989 playoffs because of poor grades, is eligible again. Is it any wonder why coaches consider the Sentinels a viable contender in the Bay League?

There was some question of Combs’ status after his run-in with Principal Lawrence Freeman last June. Combs said he was injured when Freeman closed a door on his arm. He later filed a $1-million lawsuit that is pending.

If that isn’t enough, Combs also must deal with the loss of All-CIF guard Harold Miner (now starting at USC). On the bright side, he says this year’s team has better chemistry than last season, when the Sentinels reached the quarterfinals of the 4-AA playoffs.

Inglewood figures to center its attack around the 6-5 King, an impressive player near the basket. Senior wing Marlon Williams (6-3) and junior guard Michael Stith (6-2) also have varsity experience.

10. MIRA COSTA (10-15)--Coach Glenn Marx begins his second year at Mira Costa with what he believes is a much-improved unit. The Mustangs came on strong toward the end of last season, and Marx hopes they can continue to improve all the way to the playoffs.

Mira Costa’s young team returns two starters. Junior forward Chris Davis (6-7) averaged 12 points a game last season and guard Canyon Ceman (6-5), a highly recruited volleyball player, showed signs of blossoming into a star with a 20-point effort against Morningside.

Center Mike Ashenfelter (6-8), coming off an injury- and illness-plagued season, complements Davis inside. Varsity returner Chris Hobbs will start at off guard, and sophomores Tyrone Burks and Chris Kresser are vying for the point guard position.

BEST OF THE REST:

Hawthorne (7-16) missed the CIF playoffs last season to snap a five-year string of post-season appearances. Coach Richard Wells, however, thinks the Cougars can begin another streak if the front court of center Andre Tolliver (6-5) and forwards Anthony King (6-3) and Reggie Bell (6-3) performs up to expectations. Hawthorne opens the season Dec. 12 against Quartz Hill in the El Segundo Tournament.

The most improved team in the area? It might be Narbonne (3-17), which has not had much to cheer about in recent years. Coach Bob Hoppes’ Gauchos opened the season Wednesday with a 66-31 win over Hollywood. Leading players are wing Major Goulsby (6-4), center Curtis Boyer (6-7), point guard Gabriel Maciel and off guard D’Mitri Rideout (6-3), an outstanding leaper.

El Segundo (15-11) makes the jump to the tough Camino Real League, but the Eagles might surprise a few folks. Expected to pick up the slack for departed Shawn Foster, the team’s leading scorer the last two years, are center Kenny Talanoa (6-5) and guards Scott Panfil and Tate Seefried (6-3), a transfer. Panfil averaged 17 points and Talanoa was among the area’s leading rebounders last season.

Torrance (16-11) will have an offensive threat as long as Rick Robison is on the court. The 6-2 senior ranked second among area scorers last season with a 28.6 average and was deadly from three-point range. The challenge for Coach Bob Little, who takes over for Carl Strong, last year’s South Bay Coach of the Year, is finding a supporting cast to take the heat off Robison.

Bishop Montgomery (9-13) starts the 1989-90 season with its fourth coach in four years, Doug Mitchell, formerly the coach at South Torrance. He takes over a team that returns four of last season’s top players. Point guard Darrell Daniel signed early with St. Mary’s, forwards Joe Magyar (6-4) and Pete Tolliver (6-5) form a solid front court, and sophomore Joe Hadnot (6-3) is a talented athlete.

Chadwick (8-16) should make some noise in the Southern Section 1-A Division with the return of three-year starter Larry Williams. The 6-6 center averaged 14 points and nine rebounds last season but needs to become more consistent, Coach Tom Maier said. The Dolphins also return guards Chris Gordon and Dennis Brown.

San Pedro (9-12) is off to a 2-0 start after wins over Venice and South Gate, but Coach Jack Kordich says the victories will stop when the Pirates play taller teams. Center Roger Traynham (6-5), who had 23 points and 13 rebounds in Wednesday’s 83-63 win over South Gate, is the exception on a guard-dominated team. Devay Reese and Devon Hamilton head the back court.

Coach Steve Shaw of Redondo (18-9) says the Sea Hawks have one of their tallest teams in recent years. Unfortunately for Redondo, most of the taller players are inexperienced. Leadership figures to come from senior wings Scott Denhart and Emmett Richardson. Sophomore David Cottey (6-4) will help inside.

Miraleste (15-5) hopes to challenge for the Alpha League title with the return of forward David Terrell (6-3), who averaged 15 points a game last season, and guard Eric Adler, who averaged 12.5 points. Sophomore point guard Frankie White and center Mike Holmburg (6-5) will also be counted on by Coach Todd Mirsky.