Why Not Take a Short Break and Read This : Basketball: Look out below! Little, but talented, high school players are on the loose.

Almost without fail, heads turn and fingers point the moment Lincoln High’s boys’ basketball team enters a gym to begin preparations for a game.

Early in the season, those peering and pointing probably wondered what the ball boy was doing warming up.

“Is that the coach’s son? Neighbor? Paperboy? Wherever did they get that cute little uniform to fit him?”

Little did they know . . .

Archie Robinson Jr., 5-feet-1 and 105 pounds, was no ball boy.

Robinson, a freshman who just turned 15, is the tiniest varsity basketball player in the county. And he is no longer a subject of small talk among fans. He is a legitimate member of the Hive.

“Archie is a very exciting player,” Hornet guard Ken Garner said. “He’s a tremendous young man and also very smart. I think he has the most court sense of anyone on the team.”

Said Coach Ron Loneski, “He is fundamentally the best player I’ve ever had here.”

This from the man who has led Lincoln to five consecutive league titles, including this year’s in the City Central League. The Hornets, 17-8 and ranked seventh, are also favored to win their third consecutive Division III section title.

If Robinson is not the big reason for his team’s success, he is certainly one of the little ones.

But he is not alone. His teammate, sophomore Dennis Washington, is just 5-3, 130 pounds. And there are many small but productive players throughout the county.

Robinson, like many short basketball players, relies on quickness, defense and savvy.

Said Loneski, “When the game’s going on, you never see Archie not studying the game. He does it on his own. He’s exceptionally smart, and he works extremely hard.”

Robinson, as you might have guessed, gets most of his baskets from the outside. He has a 6.2 scoring average and has made 16 of 32 three-point attempts. He also averages three steals and 2.5 assists.

He says he has always enjoyed basketball and football--he has played quarterback for six years in Pop Warner--but became hooked on basketball at a University of San Diego summer camp given by Torero Coach Hank Egan.

Robinson also credits Michael Brunker of the Police Athletic League for teaching him the finer points of shooting and dribbling. With the sponsorship of PAL, Robinson won the 15-and-under California Pepsi Hot Shot contest when he was 13 and qualified for the national finals in Washington, D.C. The following year, he was defeated in the California finals.

How does he feel about being on the varsity?

“It’s definitely a privilege, and I enjoy it a lot,” Robinson said. “It’s a big challenge. A lot of guys laugh or snicker when I come into a game, but once I make my first shot, it usually stops.

“I do consider myself short, but I’m expecting to grow because my dad was about my height when he was my age.”

Robinson’s father, Archie Sr., is 6-feet, his mother, Celestine 5-3.

“If Archie fills out that body a little bit, he’ll be the talk of San Diego,” Loneski said.

Some are already talking.

Said Robinson of his increasing notoriety, “Sometimes, I’ll be in a store and somebody will say, ‘Aren’t you the little guy that plays for Lincoln?’ ”

Some coaches and scouts said 1989-90 was to be a down year for basketball in San Diego County. Maybe “down” needed defining.

These guys would make a pretty good small-star team.

Tony Lee, 5-10, Valhalla, senior--Lee is the 11th-leading scorer in the county, averaging 20.9 points per game. Said Coach Manny Silva, “People thought because we lost Tony (Clark), we’d be down this year. We’re not.” Valhalla is 19-8 and has won its second consecutive Grossmont 2-A League championship with an 8-0 record.

Mario Brown, 5-3, Ramona, senior--Al Schaffer said Brown is the shortest player he has had in 34 years of coaching. A transfer from Oakland, Brown is playing his first year of organized basketball and performing well. “He’s been a key player for us in most of our games,” Schaffer said.

Carlos Morgan, 5-9, Kearny, senior--Morgan was born in Panama but moved to the United States when he was 10. He averages 9.9 points, but Coach Bill Peterson said, “His forte is at the other end of the court. He’s one of the best defensive players in the league. We always assign him to the toughest guy.

Pat Griffith, 5-9, San Marcos, senior--Coach Ric Thompson calls Griffith a throwback to the 1950s. Sporting black hightops and a crew cut, Griffith uses a modified scoop shot and a push shot--vogue in the ‘50s--he learned from his father. “I don’t look like much of an athlete,” Griffith said. “My style of play is all-out hustle.”

Deondra Coleman, 5-7, San Diego, senior--Coleman plays both off guard and the point for No. 8 San Diego. He averages 7.6 points and four assists per game. Said Coach Dennis Kane: “When he gets in a game, the whole tempo increases.”

John Hauser, 5-8, Vista, senior--Hauser averages 10 points and three assists for Vista. “He’s not extremely talented,” Vista Coach Greg Lanthier said. “But he’s a hard-working kid. He gets the most out of what he has.”

Carter Brown, 5-8, Torrey Pines, senior--Brown is one of five players averaging in double figures (14 points) for No. 4 Torrey Pines. Coach John Farrell said Brown is an excellent press-breaker because of his quickness.

Tony Fornaca, 5-7, El Capitan, senior--Fornaca is another quick, aggressive guard who plays good defense. He is averaging 12 points.

Joe Cruz, 5-7, Southwest, sophomore--Another developing youngster with speed, Cruz adds 11 points to the Raiders attack.

Additional awards:

Best last name: Neal Small, 5-10, Escondido.

Best small-star team: Sweetwater.

Not only is Sweetwater the No. 1 team in the county, it is also one of the shortest. Mendel Nafarrete (5-6) leads a starting five that barely averages 6-feet. And from the bench, Coach David Ybarra can choose from Ramil Laurino (5-6), Juan Martinez (5-9) and Victory Fuller (5-10).

Mira Mesa (15-8) has Shed Smith (5-8), Chris Crane (5-8), Tori Farris (5-9), Brandon Hause (5-11) and Cal Chatham (5-11) to go along with J.J. Rowlett (6-2) and Marc Ziegler (6-4).

Hilltop (14-11) has seven players under 6 feet. Juniors Carlos Marques (5-9) and Chris White (5-11) are three-year starters. Courtney Brown (5-10), Chris Costello (5-10), Tim Minjaras (5-6) and Chris Oden (5-11) also contribute. “We’re not going to overpower anybody with our size,” Coach Chip Holmes said. “So we try to wear other teams down.”

Inductees to the Small-Star Hall of Fame? Juan Aguirre, 5-9, Sweetwater class of 1981, and Diego Smith, 5-2, Morse class of ’80.

Aguirre was the floor leader of a talented team, then coached by Gary Zarecky, that won the 1980 2-A section championship. Aguirre, who also quarterbacked the football team, dished off 636 assists, second-highest total in section history, to the likes of 6-9 Aaron Combs and 6-8 Tyrone Miller from 1979-81.

Smith, according to Morse Coach Ron Davis, “was an exceptional defensive player and floor general” who led Morse to the 3-A finals in 1980. He is third all-time in assists with 517.

This season, his brother, 5-11 Andre Calvin, is the first freshman to start at Morse in 14 years under Davis.

How difficult is it for a short person to play basketball?

“For every inch you’re under 6-feet, you have to be that much better in other areas,” Mira Mesa Coach Tim Cunningham said.

Cunningham is 5-9 1/2, but when he played at Cal Western College, he never let anybody list him under 5-10.

“(As a coach) I try to get the smaller guys to develop other things,” Cunningham said. “In high school, you can get away with a lot if you’ve got size. But if you’re small, and you have a liability, you’re in trouble.”

Said Ramona’s Schaffer: “One of my favorite sayings--and I got it from John Wooden’s book--is ‘Never let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do.’ ”

Kane, the San Diego coach, adopted a similar attitude when he was the smallest high school player in San Jose in the early 1970s. “When I play, I don’t perceive myself as being small,” said Kane, who is 5-5. “If I’m playing a guy 6-feet, I think I’m looking him right in the eye.”

Said Cunningham: “There’s a place for a small guy. It’s just, as a coach, you hope to have four 6-5 guys around him.”

There is also a positive side to being short, Schaffer says.

“The average fan in the stands really loves the little guy. They can identify with him. They will always root for him.”