FABULOUS 44 PREP BASKETBALL GAME : A Final Encore From McCorkle Before He Takes Show on Road

On the eve of his high school graduation, Capistrano Valley’s Scott McCorkle leaned back on the couch in his family’s home, searching for the right words to describe his paradoxical basketball career.

“It’s been a pretty full career,” McCorkle said. “We’ve made it to the Southern Section finals twice and played in the L.A. Sports Arena. That’s every player’s dream. I got a college scholarship. That was my personal goal. We won the (Southern Section) title once, but . . . “

McCorkle’s voice trails off.

“My only regret is that we didn’t win the Southern Section this year with my brother (Brett) on the team,” he said.

It isn’t easy for McCorkle, a 6-foot-5 forward who has signed with Syracuse, to condense three years of basketball into a few sentences. He will cap a high school career full of wins, losses, milestones and even a little controversy when he plays in the Fabulous 44 California Prep game Sunday.

Capistrano Valley had a combined 67-17 record in the three years McCorkle has started on the varsity, but the man with the rainbow jumper hasn’t always been given his due.

Just ask Syracuse Coach Jim Boeheim.

“There’s been a lot of negative things said about him,” Boeheim said, “but he gets the job done. He’s an underrated player, but I’m very, very high on him.

“He doesn’t look like a great player, but every time he plays he gets 25 points. I’ve seen him play in all-star games against some of the best in the country. He’s a scorer, and that’s what we need.”

McCorkle also has been a rebounder, a leader and an enforcer. But he’ll be the first to tell you that his scoring ability bought his plane ticket East next fall.

And McCorkle remembers the past three years not by his 1,706 career points, but in a series of flashbacks.

A few examples . . .

Scenario: The Southern Section 5-A championship game, L.A. Sports Arena, March 4, 1989. McCorkle, a junior, made 10 of 16 shots from the field and finished with 24 points as the Cougars beat Irvine, 76-49.

“I’d rather have a win in a game like this than score 50 points any time,” he said afterward.

Scenario: First round of the Southern California Division I regionals. Only a week after winning the 5-A title, McCorkle was sitting on the bench, brooding after he was whistled for four early fouls in a game against Los Angeles Manual Arts.

He returned in the fourth quarter, hitting six consecutive shots and scoring 15 points. But the Cougars’ comeback fell short, 69-63.

Scenario: The Southern Section 4-A championship game, L.A. Sports Arena, March 5, 1988. McCorkle, a sophomore starter, made a layup with two minutes left to cut Simi Valley’s lead to 56-54. Capistrano Valley eventually lost, 70-64, in overtime. McCorkle finished with 13 points.

Scenario: The Tournament of Champions, December, 1988. McCorkle scored 130 points in four games for a 32.5 average. He broke former Mater Dei star Tom Lewis’ tournament record of 122 points set in 1983. He also broke Lewis’ record of 15 free throws in a tournament game by making 16 in a row against Fresno Edison.

But McCorkle’s performance wasn’t enough to earn the tournament’s most valuable player award. It went to Dylan Rigdon, who scored 21 points to lead Mater Dei past Ocean View in the title game.

Was McCorkle snubbed?

“Not really,” he said. “It’s traditional to give it to the player on the winning team.”

Scenario: The Orange County High School All-Star game, April 28, 1989. McCorkle scored 27 points to lead the South to a 121-114 victory. The North’s Robert Conlisk of Los Alamitos (24 points, 10 rebounds) was named the game’s most valuable player.

Was McCorkle snubbed?

“I can’t understand how they can give it to someone on the losing team,” he said.

Scenario: Mission Viejo High School gym, Jan. 26, 1989. McCorkle and Mission Viejo’s Eric Cramer were battling for a loose ball under Capistrano Valley’s basket with 3 minutes 49 seconds left in the league game.

Cramer lunged for the ball and caught McCorkle in the face. McCorkle retaliated, punching Cramer. Fans and players joined the melee and the game was delayed several minutes.

It was the second altercation in as many games involving Capistrano Valley. Two nights earlier, the Cougars’ game against San Clemente was interrupted by a fight between players.

“We’re the bad boys of the South Coast League and sometimes we have to defend ourselves,” McCorkle said after the game.

Five months later, McCorkle shakes his head when he recalls the Mission Viejo fight.

“I’m not the fighting type,” he said. “I was poked in the eye the week before, in the Irvine game, and I was very sensitive about my eye. Cramer was trying to steal the ball and grabbed my face, which I didn’t like. So I got up and slugged him. Then everything broke loose.”

Scenario: Second round of the Southern Section 5-A playoffs, Feb. 16, 1990. McCorkle scored 22 points against Santa Clarita Canyon, but he’ll remember the game mainly for the shot he didn’t make.

McCorkle’s six-foot baseline jumper hit iron, but no net, with two seconds left and the score tied, 57-57. Santa Clarita Canyon got the rebound and called time out. Jermaine Nixon, whom McCorkle was guarding, broke free from a screen, caught the inbound pass near his free-throw line and hit the shot at the buzzer for the victory.

“That game was the first time Chris (Kostoff) and I were both off on the same night,” McCorkle said. “Everyone was looking to us too much. We shot horribly, something like 25%. I was surprised the game was that close.”

Capistrano Valley Coach Mark Thornton said McCorkle “didn’t have the greatest senior year,” despite averaging 27 points a game.

“That’s still not bad,” Thornton said. “He got some bad press this last year, and it hurt him a little.

“He’s an emotional player, but he’s a good kid. Once he’s on the court, he changes a little bit. He’s had a hard time handling foul situations and things like that. But that will come with age.”

McCorkle’s still learning the sport. Four years ago, he preferred to kick a ball rather than dribble one.

He played little organized basketball while growing up in Seattle. His sport was soccer.

But that changed when he and his family moved to Mission Viejo during his eighth-grade year. He and his neighbor, Kostoff, began shooting hoops together, and joined the Capistrano Valley freshman team the following year.

They led the Cougar freshmen to a 21-2 record and were promoted to the varsity for the 1987-88 season. McCorkle was a starter on a team that featured experienced players such as Todd Marinovich, Jim Waikle and Steve McCaughey.

What was Thornton’s first impression of McCorkle?

“As a freshman, he was bigger and stronger than everyone,” Thornton said. “I looked at the freshman team and I knew Chris coming in, but I didn’t know much about Scott. Once I saw them together, I knew I had something.”

McCorkle and Kostoff played on three consecutive South Coast League championship teams. They helped the Cougars win 25 consecutive league games until the streak was broken last season.

“If I had to pick three top players, he’d be one of them,” Thornton said. “I had Nathan Call, who started for BYU, and before him, Dan Dargan. Scott’s a very good scorer, but I’m not going to say he’s No. 1.”

McCorkle proved to be one of the top individual players on the West Coast after his sophomore year, winning a one-on-one tournament at the Superstar camp in Santa Barbara.

“I feel I can take anyone one-on-one,” McCorkle said. “But it’s tough against a team like Mater Dei, where their defense just hounds you.”

McCorkle was a natural for basketball, blessed with a 35-inch vertical jump and a soft, arching shot. When he shoots, he generally goes straight up and is rarely off balance, even in a crowd of defenders.

“He’s a good leaper but his body control is great,” Thornton said. “He can slice through, change direction, hang and do all kinds of things. It’s hard to develop and it’s something you can’t coach.”

McCorkle’s skills drew attention from college coaches and scouts. A lot of attention.

McCorkle signed with Syracuse in November. He also visited UC Irvine, Loyola Marymount and California, and considered offers from several other schools.

“I wanted to get the pressure off early and have fun playing basketball again,” McCorkle said of signing early. “The phone was ringing off the hook when I was being recruited. My family and I got sick of it.”

After the all-star game, McCorkle will spend the summer working and playing in area leagues.

When he moves to Syracuse in the fall, he’ll room with former Mater Dei standouts Mike Hopkins and LeRon Ellis, now Orangemen and hosts during his recruiting trip.

McCorkle is optimistic about chances to play as a freshman. So is Boeheim.

“We lose 50% of our offense (to graduation) with Derrick Coleman and Stephen Thompson,” Boeheim said. “We need someone who can score and shoot outside; we haven’t had anyone who could shoot it outside in the last year.”

But can he handle the physical pounding in the Big East Conference?

“I think so,” Thornton said. “He has everything it takes to be a college player. He has to get in the weight room a little more. I think he’s got all the ability in the world.”