SOUTHERN SECTION BASKETBALL PLAYOFFS : Corona del Mar’s Flint Makes Point With Work

Every night after dinner, Mark Flint excuses himself from the table, rinses his plate and goes off to do his homework.

Not the kind that involves math, English or social studies, but one that sounds something like this:

Dribble-dribble, swiiiiish . . .

Flint, Corona del Mar High School’s point guard, spends at least two hours a night working on his shooting and ball-handling skills at a local gymnasium. It’s something he has done for the past two years, ever since he realized that, without plenty of hard work, he wasn’t going to get anywhere as a small, unintimidating guard.

This plan has worked well for Flint, a quick, elusive, 5-foot-9, 135-pound senior.

At 6:45 tonight, Corona del Mar (19-9) will meet Dos Pueblos (15-13) in the Southern Section 3-A championship game at the Bren Center.

Last year, after upsetting Rolling Hills and Morningside in the 3-A playoffs, Corona del Mar lost to Trabuco Hills in the final, 59-55. This year, the Sea Kings are the third-seeded team. And Flint, who was a varsity member last year but watched the final game from the bench, said he and his teammates won’t be satisfied unless they win tonight.

“Last year, I think we were so surprised to get there, this year it’s not like that at all,” Flint said. “Right now (the highlights of the season) won’t mean anything if we don’t win. I’ve sat through one loss. I don’t want to lose a second one.”

As a freshman, Flint played on the freshman team with current teammates Warren and Weston Johnson and Jeff Jackson. The next year, though, the Johnsons moved to junior varsity, and Jackson moved to varsity. Flint played on the sophomore team.

“I said whoa . . . I didn’t know if I’d ever get up there,” Flint said.

He decided to do all he could to make his varsity dream come true.

“After his sophomore year until the beginning of his junior year, he worked so much, like three hours a day,” Warren Johnson said. “That’s when he became really, really good. He had a goal to be on varsity his senior year, to start at point guard.

“Now he shoots every single day until 9 or 11 or 12 at night, every night by himself. It’s weird. He says he can’t shoot (in practice and games) unless he does that every day.”

Said Flint, who works with shooting coach Tom Marumoto once a week: “I try not to be weak at any one thing. I try to work on everything, so everything’s pretty solid.”

Especially his endurance, which Corona del Mar Coach Paul Orris points to as Flint’s main strength. Last year, Flint went out for the Sea King cross-country team, one of the county’s best. After just two weeks of workouts, he was among the varsity’s top seven. He gave up cross-country this year to concentrate on basketball.

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Flint’s game is his on-court intensity. During games, his face often takes on expressions similar to a scared rabbit. His play, though, is generally fearless.

In a pre-league game against Capistrano Valley this season, Flint dribbled and drove around Scott McCorkle--a Syracuse-bound senior who is seven inches taller and 75 pounds heavier than Flint--without the least bit of intimidation.

That doesn’t surprise Roy Jenkins, who has known and coached Flint for 12 years at the Eastbluff Boys and Girls Club.

“Markie was on my first-grade team and he was intense,” Jenkins said. “I hate to use the word intense because our program is made for fun, (but) usually, with first-graders, their attention level is not very long, but Mark was one of those kids who was always looking at you and listening carefully. He was always ready to go.”

CORONA DEL MAR vs. DOS PUEBLOS

RECORDS--Corona del Mar (19-9), Dos Pueblos (15-13).

SITE--Bren Center, Irvine, 6:45 p.m.

CORONA DEL MAR UPDATE--Unlike last year, when the Sea Kings had to upset Morningside and Rolling Hills to get this far, third-seeded Corona del Mar has cruised through its playoff games. Last Friday, a strong, overall team effort gave Corona del Mar a 67-58 semifinal victory over Sherman Oaks Notre Dame. Corona del Mar has no big standout--6-4 senior center Jeff Jackson is the leading scorer at 13 points a game--but it generally receives strong play from all five starters plus reserves Weston Johnson and Doug Hesse. Defensively, the Sea Kings rely on their traditional man-to-man. Corona del Mar lost in the final last year to Trabuco Hills.

DOS PUEBLOS UPDATE--The fourth-place team from the Channel League is in the final as an at-large team. Led by 6-6 senior center Chris Gaines (20 points a game), Dos Pueblos is similar to Corona del Mar in that it likes to play a patient offense keyed on its center, but will run when the situation presents itself. “From the scouting report, we are looking at a team that looks a lot like our team,” Dos Pueblos Coach Eric Burkhardt said. “We have a little bit of height on them, they have a little bit of weight on us. Other than that, we’re so similar, it’s eerie.” Six-foot senior guards Mark Estabrook (13 ppg.) and Ken Ardouin (10 ppg.) help pace Dos Pueblos.

KEY TO THE GAME--Corona del Mar had 25 turnovers in its quarterfinal victory over Northview, but reduced that number to 10 last Friday, so that trend must continue for the Sea Kings to be successful. Because it is an unseeded and at-large team, Dos Pueblos will have to overcome any relief at just getting this far.

CONSENSUS--Corona del Mar was outmatched last year in its loss to Trabuco Hills. Now, the Sea Kings are playing better than ever and have more confidence. Dos Pueblos string of upsets should come to an end tonight, but just barely.

3-A BOYS’ CHAMPIONSHIP GAME LINEUPS

CORONA DEL MAR (19-9) DOS PUEBLOS (15-13) Name Hgt. Yr. PPG Pos. Name Hgt. Yr. John Paulsen 6-1 Sr. 12.7 F Tom Carr 6-5 Sr. Jon Upham 6-4 Jr. 7.8 F Adam Estabrook 6-2 Jr. Jeff Jackson 6-4 Sr. 13.0 C Chris Gaines 6-6 Sr. Mark Flint 5-9 Sr. 9.5 G Mark Estabrook 6-0 Sr. Warren Johnson 6-2 Sr. 12.5 G Ken Ardouin 6-0 Sr. Coach Paul Orris Coach Erik Burkhardt

CORONA Name PPG John Paulsen 6.7 Jon Upham 7.3 Jeff Jackson 20.0 Mark Flint 13.0 Warren Johnson 10.0 Coach Paul Orris