FABULOUS 44 ALL-STAR BASKETBALL NOTEBOOK : Organizers Hope Game Will Have 2nd Birthday

Greg Katz had heard all the cynical remarks against organizing a California state high school basketball all-star game:

--There wouldn’t be enough interest .

-- You could never get all the top players there .

-- Others have tried to organize them . . . and failed .

But Katz didn’t listen.

“The turning point in all this,” said Katz, an assistant boys’ basketball coach at Century High School, “was getting people to believe this was the state all-star game and not just a fly-by-night one.”

He’s talking about the inaugural Fabulous 44 high school all-star game Sunday at the Bren Center. The girls’ game starts at 1 p.m. and the boys’ game is at 3:30.

Katz, the game’s co-director, said several groups have unsuccessfully experimented with state all-star games in the past. None made it to their second birthday.

“We don’t want that,” he said. “There was one in 1971 at the Forum and it went for only one year. The timing was wrong for that and it was the wrong place to have it. Times have changed now.

“A lot of people have been burned on these games. I understand where the cynicism comes from, but that led our group to work even harder.”

Katz had several reasons for organizing the game when he began work on it last year. The way he figured it, California has had a state high school tournament since 1981, so it should have a state all-star game, too.

“This has been brewing for quite a while,” Katz said. “I would go to the national coaches convention and coaches (from other states) would ask why we didn’t have a state game in California.”

Katz said a state game would have given exposure to players such as Kurt Rambis or Kevin Johnson, who were good high school players but didn’t draw much attention.

“They didn’t get the exposure until they went on to college and then the NBA,” Katz said. “There was no state all-star game then.

“There’s interest in basketball here. The players are in all the national magazines and on all the major recruiting lists.”

The Fabulous 44 got its biggest boost when it landed commitments from Lakewood Artesia’s Ed O’Bannon, the national high school player of the year last season, and Oxnard Santa Clara’s Shon Tarver. O’Bannon, a 6-foot-8 forward, and Tarver, a 6-5 swingman, have orally committed to attend UNLV next fall.

Other stars include Inglewood Morningside’s Lisa Leslie, the national high school girls’ player of the year who’s headed to USC, Capistrano Valley forward Scott McCorkle (Syracuse), El Cajon Christian’s Tony Clark (Arizona), San Francisco Riordan’s Dwayne Fontana (Arizona State), Brea-Olinda’s Aimee McDaniel (Pepperdine), Lynwood’s Linda Watson (USC) and Auburn Placer’s Christa Gannon (UC Santa Barbara).

Thirty of the 44 players in the games have signed letters of intent with Division I universities. But Katz said the game is geared more for the lesser-known players than the headline players like O’Bannon and Tarver.

“A game like this exposes what every high school in the state is doing,” Katz said. “For instance, Auburn Placer (girls) beat Brea-Olinda in the state finals. People in Orange County don’t know much about Auburn Placer, but now comes Christa Gannon in the all-star game, and everyone will get to see her play.”

Recruiting sponsors wasn’t quite as easy as getting players though. Co-director Lee Ramos said potential sponsors questioned the event’s credibility.

“The first thing they think is that this is another scam,” Ramos said. “Everyone likes the idea, but we haven’t gone out and proven that it works yet.”

Ramos has landed eight major corporate sponsors to pay for players’ travel, housing, meals and entertainment costs. Ramos said the games’ operating budget is between $10,000 and $15,000.

“And that’s just hard money,” said Ramos, whose son, Toby, plays basketball at Woodbridge. “When it comes down to gifts and trade, the budget is more like $30,000.

“We’re hoping just to break even. There’s no money in (selling) the programs or anything. It’s just a first-year project.”

But Katz is already talking about the all-star game’s future.

By next year, he hopes the event will sponsor Mr. and Miss Basketball titles, similar to the annual awards given to the male and female high school players of the year in Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.

Also, Katz said there’s talk of forming a state coaches association within the next two years. The group would have its annual meeting in conjunction with the all-star game, he said.

And where will the future Fabulous 44 games be?

For now, Katz plans to keep it in Southern California. After all, Northern California already has a lock on the state basketball tournament in March.

“But you never know,” Katz said. “It can always change.”

Leslie, a late addition to the South roster this week, wasn’t too happy with the makeshift uniform she was given Friday.

“It’s ugly,” said Leslie, whose yellow jersey differed slightly from her teammates’. “It’s not like everyone else’s.”

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. But on Wednesday, she told game officials that she was cut from the national team and wanted to play in the state all-star game.

That had the event’s organizers scrambling to come up with an extra jersey for Leslie.

The solution? Leslie’s borrowing a jersey from Earnest Killum, who wears jersey No. 13 for the South boys’ team. Killum’s name and number will be converted to Leslie’s name and number (00). Killum will use the jersey after Leslie’s finished with it.

Rules: Katz said the Fabulous 44 rules will be similar to those used in other state and national all-star games.

Each player will play at least 10 minutes. The teams will play two 20-minute halves and the boys will use a 45-second shot clock and the girls a 30-second clock. Each player is allowed six fouls instead of five and they can play only man-to-man defense.

The game officials will be from the Big West Conference and the Orange County Basketball Officials’ Assn., Katz said.

Go West: Only three of the 44 players in the game will play college basketball east of the Mississippi River--McCorkle (Syracuse), Santa Barbara’s Kristin Knapp (Notre Dame) and Fresno Clovis West’s Sharon Spooler (Princeton).

McCorkle, on Georgetown center Alonzo Mourning, a future Big East Conference rival: “I’ve heard his legs are as big around as my waist. There’s no way I’ll take it inside against him.”

McCorkle on Jim Boeheim, his future coach at Syracuse: “He’s a pretty kick-back kind of guy until you start talking sports with him. Then he goes wild.”

Besides McDaniel and McCorkle, other Orange County players expected to play are Los Alamitos’ Robert Conlisk, who’s headed to Arizona State, Mater Dei’s Andy Karich (Santa Clara), La Quinta’s Amy Jalewalia (UCLA) and Marina’s Melisa Sortino (University of San Diego). Conlisk scored 24 points and was named the most valuable player of the Orange County all-star game in April.

North girls’ coach Tom Campbell of Chico Pleasant Valley had trouble organizing a scrimmage Friday morning at the Century High School gym. He had only 10 players because guard Annie Van Den Toorn of Novato was injured in a game last week and won’t play.

Then, when Auburn Placer’s Christa Gannon, twisted her ankle, Campbell grabbed a player from the Century boys’ freshman team and put him in the scrimmage.

“Maybe we could use him in the game,” Campbell said. “We could get him a wig or something.

“Fortunately, Gannon’s ankle is OK.”

Fabulous 44 Notes

South girls’ coach Joe Murrillo of Chino said Aimee McDaniel, Linda Watson and Lisa Leslie have earned a spot in the starting lineup. “Right now I’m debating whether or not to go with a big person, (Sara) Wilson or (La Quinta’s Amy) Jalewalia,” Murrillo said. “Jalewalia’s tough.” . . . South boys’ coach Tim Sweeney of Lakewood said he hopes to put his team’s height advantage to good use. The South has five players 6-7 or taller while the North has only two. “If I was betting I would bet on us,” Sweeney said. . . . Lakewood Artesia’s Ed O’Bannon, the national player of the year, missed Friday’s practice because he was registering for classes at UNLV.

FABULOUS 44 ROSTERS BOYS-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

No. Name Hgt. Pos. School 11 Jeff Rogers 6-1 G Compton Dominguez 33 Tony Clark 6-8 F El Cajon Christian 41 Robert Conlisk 6-10 C Los Alamitos 25 Dana Jones 6-5 F North Hollywood 23 Andy Karich 6-5 F Mater Dei 13 Earnest Killum 6-4 G Lynwood 15 Scott McCorkle 6-5 G Capistrano Valley 43 Joe McNaull 6-11 C San Diego Monte Vista 35 Ed O’Bannon 6-8 F Artesia 31 Terrance O’Kelley 6-7 F Lakewood 21 Shon Tarver 6-5 G Oxnard Santa Clara

Coach: Tim Sweeney, Lakewood BOYS-NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

No. Name Hgt. Pos. School 30 Kareem Anderson 6-4 F Merced 32 Mike Atkinson 6-7 C San Jose Bellarmine 34 Dwayne Fontana 6-5 F San Francisco Riordan 24 James French 6-3 G El Cerrito 22 Jeff Garcia 6-3 G Fremont American 40 Glenn Griffin 6-8 C Stockton St. Mary’s 20 Rahim Harris 6-3 G Oakland Skyline 10 Dorian Manigo 6-0 G San Francisco Riordan 14 Mark Minnieweathers 6-3 G Bakersfield 12 Jimmie Pryor 6-2 G San Mateo Aragon 42 Wilson Stephens 6-5 F San Francisco McAteer

Coach: Don Lippi, Oakland Skyline GIRLS-SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

No. Name Hgt. Pos. School 25 Dawn Baker 6-2 F Ontario 33 Tyeast Brown 6-0 F Point Loma 43 Mildred Conston 6-2 C Oceanside 23 Amy Jalewalia 6-1 F La Quinta 41 Kristin Knapp 6-3 F Santa Barbara 00 Lisa Leslie 6-5 C Inglewood Morningside 11 Detra Lockhart 5-6 G L.A. Washington 33 Aimee McDaniel 5-6 G Brea-Olinda 15 Melisa Sortino 5-6 G Marina 31 Alisha Stevenson 6-0 F Riverside North 21 Linda Watson 5-10 G Lynwood 35 Sara Wilson 6-4 C Valencia Hart

Coach: Joe Murrillo, Chino GIRLS-NORTHERN CALIFORNIA

No. Name Hgt. Pos. School 20 Tracy Adams 5-8 G Oakland Fremont 34 Christa Gannon 6-1 F Auburn Placer 12 Jennifer Manfredi 5-8 G Sacramento Rio Americano 14 Tamie Phillips 5-8 F San Jose Leland 40 Cheryl Roberts 6-1 F Chico Pleasant Valley 10 Janelle Russo 5-7 G Santa Rosa Ursuline 24 Kristy Ryan 5-11 F Cool Golden Sierra 42 Sharon Spooler 6-3 C Fresno Clovis West 30 Kelly White 5-11 F Chico Pleasant Valley 32 Jualeah Woods 6-0 F Berkeley

Coach: Tom Campbell, Chico Pleasant Valley