A Head for Tonsorial Artistry

Even if Rasaan Hall were to give a forgettable performance on the basketball court, his hairstyle would leave an indelible impression on Crespi High opponents and fans. Hall, a 6-foot-4 forward, wears a coiffure that represents the pinnacle of high fashion. Very high fashion.

He calls the hairdo a “high-low,” although there is nothing low about it. It is a cylindrical-shaped, high-rise flattop.

“Everybody’s telling me, ‘Cut it down. How high you gonna get it?’ ” Hall said. “I say, ‘This is it.’ But the next haircut, I just cut the sides.”

What remains is a style that approximates a magician’s top hat--apropos, considering Hall’s ability to perform sleight of hand with a basketball. He has averaged 18 points in the Celts’ first three Del Rey League games.

Not only is he making a fashion statement, he chooses to be fashionably late. Hall, a junior, has requested not to start. Instead, he comes off the bench after the first two minutes. The wait allows him to get a feel for the game’s flow and gives him a psychological advantage, Hall said.

“They think, ‘This is the sixth man. He’s soft. He doesn’t belong in the starting lineup,’ ” he said. “When I come in the game, it’s another story.”

Two-timing: Call Sylmar’s newest attack “Double Donovan,” in honor of senior forward Donovan Walker, who averaged 13.8 points in the Spartans’ first 13 games and 25 in their past three.

Sylmar first-year Coach Larry Link had second thoughts about Walker’s desire when the two met last spring. Walker was academically ineligible for most of his junior season.

“I don’t think he wanted to have somebody ride him,” Link said. “We clashed several times.”

Link was so impressed with the turnaround that he took Walker to a Cal State Northridge game last week and introduced him to Matador Coach Pete Cassidy.

“That inspired me a lot,” Walker said. “That really made me play harder. At first I was just playing to please myself, but now I’m going for a scholarship.”

Explained Link succinctly: “He’s just matured.”

Numbers game: If you thought football was the only sport in which there is a “Hell Week,” Taft Coach Jim Woodard begs to differ.

Woodard describes the Toreadors’ games against San Fernando tonight and Cleveland on Friday as such and says that his team might be hard-pressed to match either opponent athlete for athlete.

“When people show up for Fernando, they’re going to ask, ‘Which one is the 4-A team and which one is the 3-A?’ ” Woodard said. “It’s the boys versus the men.’ ”

As for the Cleveland game, which serves as the North Valley League opener?

“Bring a calculator,” he said.

Quotebook: From El Camino Real Coach Mike McNulty, whose team has won two of three Northwest Valley Conference games with baskets in the final moments: “Hey, we’re 2-1 in league--and four seconds from being 0-3.”

I yam what I yam: San Fernando Coach Dick Crowell says getting his team to pace itself isn’t easy.

“Every team has a different tempo,” he said. “Cleveland is a fast team, Chatsworth is usually a slow team. We’re somewhere in between. Our best speed is medium-fast. But even in practice, it’s tough. It’s like trying to get a kid to eat spinach.”

Staff writers Steve Elling, Sam Farmer and Brian Murphy contributed to this notebook.