FABULOUS 44 CALIFORNIA PREP GAME : Lisa Leslie Will Play After All

Lisa Leslie of Inglewood Morningside High School, the national basketball player of the year last season, will play in the Fabulous 44 California Prep game Sunday at the Bren Center, event co-director Greg Katz said Wednesday.

Or, make that the Fabulous 45.

Leslie, who will play for USC next season, backed out of her commitment to play in the inaugural game last week to join a national touring team. She was replaced on the South team’s roster by Mildred Conston of Oceanside.

But Katz said Leslie told him Wednesday that she was cut from the national team and wanted to play in the state all-star game. She and Conston both will play in the game, bringing the total players to 45, Katz said.

“What was I going to do, tell national player of the year that we don’t want her because she was commited to play for her country?” Katz said. “I guess we’ll just call this the Fabulous 44 plus one.”

Marcell Capers of Los Angeles Manual Arts was replaced on the South boys’ roster by Jeff Rogers of Compton Dominguez. Capers will not participate because of personal reasons, Katz said.