Vernon Middleton Does ‘Dirty Work’ to Help Harbor Win : College Basketball: Harbor College forward Vernon Middleton has just average statistics. But both he and his coach see the potential for doing better--maybe much better--if he plays tough under the basket.

Vernon Middleton wanted an education. Harbor College needed a basketball player.

The two are doing just fine together.

With an average of 13 points and 6.2 rebounds a game, hardly statistics that make a great player, Middleton still feels that he stands a good chance of getting a scholarship offer from a four-year school.

Nevertheless, before the end of the season he hopes to improve his averages to a more respectable 17 points and eight rebounds.

“I think I can improve if I work harder,” Middleton said. “I’ve been doing OK so far, but I know I can play better.”

Playing for a four-year college will be just another challenge, the 6-foot-3 forward said. “I can walk up to the four-year level and take the challenge,” he said. “I know I’ll survive.”

Middleton was only a part-time starter last year for the Seahawks. But after he averaged 18 points per game in the community college playoffs, he was moved into the starting lineup this season to stay. The Seahawks had a 15-9 record before Saturday’s game.

Coach Ken Curry said: “When Vernon does the dirty work, he’s really a great player. Diving and going for the ball inside are what gave him those 18 points per game in the playoffs last season.”

The coach added: “The main thing we have to work on with Middleton is actually getting him to want to do the dirty work. That’s why I make him play the post.”

The role of starter is not a new one for Middleton, who was one of the stars on the Taft High basketball team, where he averaged 16 points per game.

One of the things he had to get used to at Harbor was doing without the adulation from fans that went with high-school stardom. Now his biggest fan is his mother, Bobbie.

“When I was in high school I got a lot of attention, and that was really great,” Middleton said. “At the JC level it’s a very different attitude. Everyone is on the same level of play, and you have to work together as a team.”

Playing basketball is a family affair for the Middletons. Vernon’s older brother, Larry, received all-state community college accolades for two consecutive years. A younger brother, Tony, is a freshman playing at West Los Angeles College.

Seeing Larry succeed was a big factor in making Vernon follow in his footsteps.

“Trying to achieve and accomplish the kinds of statistics my brother put on the boards has always been important for me,” he said.

Middleton’s mother saw basketball as a way for the children to advance.

“My mother used to tell all of us that we should use any talents we had to get a good education,” he said.

In Middleton’s case, one talent happened to be basketball. But unlike other players his age, he hasn’t succumbed to pipe dreams about a career in the National Basketball Assn. After he graduates, he says, he just wants to find a good, steady job that will pay him a decent wage.

More specifically, Middleton is majoring in criminology and plans to eventually become a police officer.

Thoughts of a scholarship to a four-year school cross his mind, of course, but of the schools that have shown interest in him so far, few offer scholarships.

At the beginning of the season, Harbor College was not even ranked by the JC Athletic Bureau, which rates community college teams in this state. The school is now ranked 18th.

The Seahawks, however, have been picked to place second to L.A. City in the seven-member Southern California Athletic Conference, which opened play last week.

Harbor lost three players from last year’s team: Keith Billingslea (18.8 points per game), Ronald Lewis (16 points) and Jerome Hendrix (14.7 points).

This season, the offense, led Terry Nelson (18.6 points per game) and Middleton, is more well-rounded.

“Terry is definitely the best player we have on our team,” Middleton said. “He really wants to win.”

Though Curry said he has been disappointed in the play of his team, he still is optimistic that it will improve.

“Right now we are one or two plays away from a great record,” he said. “If we do the things we are capable of, this team will be amazing to watch.”

Middleton cited some internal squabbling that threatens to hold the Seahawks back. “In the last 10 games we’ve had some problems coming together as a team,” he said.

The best part of playing at Harbor College, he says, is the fun he has with his teammates. And the worst part is having to overcome friction between players’ personalities.

“After we did some exciting things early in the season, everyone started to look for individual statistics and forgetting about getting the win,” he said. “We’ve shied away from each other.”

Middleton admits that he must share the blame. But he says the team still has a chance to do well if each player helps boost the morale of the others.

“Being positive about playing is the only way we’re going to get through this,” he said. “That’s what I’m going to try to do to help the team out. At the very least, I’m going to try to be a better person.”

In Middleton’s mind, going to class is a lot like playing basketball. If you don’t show up on the court, he says, you won’t succeed in winning. And if you don’t show up to “play” in class, you won’t succeed in life.