Western’s Sabbara Gets His Kicks Playing Basketball

Sam Sabbara did not polish his athletic ability on the basketball courts of Western High School, rather he honed his skills on the soccer fields in Jordan.

“(In Jordan) basketball is nonexistent and everyone plays soccer,” said Sabbara, a 6-foot-1 point guard at Western.

Sabbara first played organized basketball in seventh grade, five years after his family moved from Jordan to the United States.

“I was a pretty good soccer player,” he said, “but basketball intrigued me more.”

But if Sabbara started playing basketball late, he has more than made up for it recently.

Take last week, for example. Sabbara, the Times’ Athlete of the Week, scored 75 points in three games in the Fullerton tournament.

He scored 23 points and had nine assists and nine rebounds Friday to lead the Pioneers to an 83-60 victory over Fullerton in the third-place game.

It was the second time that Western (6-2) finished third in a tournament this season, each time losing in the semifinals to the eventual champions.

Sabbara has played a key role in Western’s success. He is averaging 27 points and eight assists a game.

Western Coach Greg Hoffman said those totals would be higher if Sabbara was playing more. He averages only 21 minutes a game because he is taken out in the fourth quarter of Western routs.

Sabbara is shooting 54% from the field, 54% from three-point range and 94% from the free-throw line.

“I’m not blessed with the great height or the great body size,” he said. “I’m just an average guy. You need to work hard to become better.”

In the off-season, Sabbara plays everyday if possible, looking for pickup games from Redondo Beach to Irvine.

But Sabbara’s true intensity shows during the season, including practice.

“He almost practices harder than he plays in the games,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman said Sabbara, who is also Western’s student body president, is a natural leader who demands hard work from his teammates.

Sabbara is so demanding that Hoffman has asked him not to chastise his teammates so vehemently in practice.

“I’ve had to tell him, ‘That’s my job,’ ” Hoffman said.

“Not all the guys are used to working as hard as Sam does. If they all worked as hard as Sam, we would never lose.”

Which is what Sabbara wants. He said the Pioneers have yet to play as a team.

“We don’t match up with the south county boys talent-wise, so we have to play harder and better to win,” Sabbara said.

TOP PERFORMERS

Rob Johnson was named the most valuable player of the Carson City, Nev., tournament after leading El Toro to the championship Friday. Johnson scored 18 points in the Chargers’ 59-50 victory over Carson City in the championship game and had 15 and 19 points in earlier tournament games.

Loara’s Tes Whitlock scored 23 points as the Saxons (8-0) beat Villa Park, 90-73, and had 29 in a 67-64 victory over North of Riverside.

San Clemente center Eddie Morgan scored 79 points in three games last week. In the San Dieguito tournament, he scored 29 points in a 93-90 double-overtime loss to Newport Harbor. He scored 18 and had 13 rebounds in a 71-49 victory over San Marcos and had 32 points and 14 rebounds as the Tritons beat Anaheim, 76-71.

Sam Sabbara

Western High School

* Position: Point guard

* Height, Weight, Class: 6-1, 170, Senior

* Last Week: Sabbara scored 75 points in three games as he led Western to third place in the Fullerton tournament.

* Season: Sabbara is averaging 27 points and eight assists.