He’s a Shooting Star at Superstar : Preps: St. Bernard’s Famuyiwa impresses coaches, players at Santa Barbara and is named among camp’s top 15 players.

Resembling an anxious movie star moments before the Oscar winners are announced, Rick Famuyiwa of St. Bernard High sat with his head down and hands clenched as the names of the top 80 players at the prestigious Superstar Basketball Camp were announced.

As each name echoed through the loudspeaker at the UC Santa Barbara Events Center, Famuyiwa grew more tense. Although the St. Bernard senior claimed he was “just happy to be competing with the best players in the West,” being selected among the top 80 obviously was a major priority.

Finally, midway through the list, camp director Rick Everleth called Famuyiwa’s name and there was a sigh of relief.

“My main goal this year was just to make the top 80,” said the 6-foot-4 Famuyiwa. “I came here last year and didn’t make much of an impression. I think I was just too nervous. There were so many big-name players that I felt intimidated. This year I wanted to be one of the big guys and not get lost in the shuffle. I wanted to be among the top.

“I definitely wasn’t as nervous.”

It is a tradition on the final evening of Superstar to have the coaches vote for the top 80 players among the 288 who performed during the five-day camp. The selection process often resembles that of a shouting match as coaches plead their cases for favorite players.

As a reward, the 80 players are grouped in teams of five and allowed to play a 10-minute game against another of the all-star teams. Famuyiwa scored eight points and outperformed most of his teammates in his game.

“I was on a real high,” he said. “I reached my goal and I was very happy.”

Later that evening, Famuyiwa drew large cheers when he excelled in the slam dunk contest.

The added attention paid off for Famuyiwa. At the end of camp Thursday afternoon, he was chosen as one of the top 15 players. Since Superstar is by invitation only and annually draws some of the area’s finest players, it’s considered a big honor to make the final 15.

Entering Superstar, Famuyiwa was considered a borderline Division I prospect. Stanford, UC Santa Barbara and San Diego State had shown some interest, but his stock soared after the camp, which drew more than 150 college coaches.

In a local scouting services’s precamp evaluation, Famuyiwa was described as a possible low Division I prospect if he improved. He was noted for his tough defensive play on the perimeter.

This summer, Famuyiwa’s priority is to improve his perimeter shooting because he was moved from post position to a guard last year.

Superstar provided Famuyiwa with ample playing opportunity. In five days, he participated in almost a dozen games. When there was a break, he could be found shooting baskets on an open court.

Although a bit surprised to make the top 15, Famuyiwa said he was more shocked that his teammate, Wyking Jones, was left off.

Jones, a 6-6 senior forward, is being recruited by several major colleges. A three-year starter, he averaged 24 points and eight rebounds a game for St. Bernard last season and was voted All-CIF.

Jones made the top 80, but he didn’t impress the coaches enough to make the final list.

Last season, in his first year as a starter, Famuyiwa averaged 12 points a game for the Vikings.

“Rick is a good player, but he was a bit inconsistent last year,” St. Bernard Coach Jim McClune said. “One day he’d have the game of his life and the next he would get shutout. I’m glad to see how well he did in Santa Barbara.

“But quite frankly, I’m more surprised that Wyking didn’t make the top 15 than I am that Rick made it. Maybe I’ve got two superstars on my hands now.”

Famuyiwa, an honor student who would like to attend Stanford, is also a member of Slam-’N-Jam’s Team L.A. and will travel to tournaments in Las Vegas, Phoenix and San Antonio later this month.

“It’s show-time for me, and I’ve got to show what I can do now or it might be too late,” Famuyiwa said. “It makes you nervous, but it’s best to stay calm and just be yourself.”