Newcomer Is a Center of Attention : Colleges: Dionne Vanlandingham didn’t start playing basketball until three years ago, but she has become a dominating force inside for Cal State Dominguez Hills.

Three years ago Dionne Vanlandingham didn’t know much about basketball. She spent most of her time practicing modern dance routines as part of the Long Beach Poly High drill team. At the end of the week she and her fellow Polyettes performed during halftime shows at football games.

Vanlandingham didn’t play basketball until her senior year at Poly, but she quickly learned the game. In only her third season of competitive basketball, the sophomore center is a dominating force inside. She leads Cal State Dominguez Hills in scoring (13.2 points a game) and rebounding (12.7).

As a freshman last season, she earned All-California Collegiate Athletic Assn. second-team honors. She also led Dominguez Hills in scoring and was named the team’s most valuable player.

Van Girard, the third-year Lady Toro coach, said Vanlandingham is probably the best natural athlete on the team.

“She’s going to keep getting better,” Girard said. “Her skills are already more developed and polished than they were as a freshman. I knew when I recruited her that her improvement would be down the line, not right away.”

The coach said Vanlandingham makes up for a lack of size with quickness. Most CCAA centers are taller and huskier than Vanlandingham, who is only 6-foot and 155 pounds. Her agility however, is better than the big and strong players she often competes against.

“She’s a lot quicker than most people at the post,” Girard said. “She’s just a great athlete with great ability. She’s a player that other teams in the conference will have to contend with.”

Vanlandingham is still adjusting to all the attention. She said basketball is a lot of fun so it’s difficult to take it seriously. Earlier this week she strutted into the Dominguez Hills’ gym giggling for an interview. She wore a stylish black leather jacket and large hoop earrings.

Her easygoing demeanor and soft-spoken style make it difficult to imagine how tough she is in her cardinal and gold basketball uniform.

“I’m a lot more aggressive than I was last year,” she said. “I learned right away that if you’re not aggressive in this game, you won’t get anywhere. Last year I got knocked around a lot, but not anymore.”

Vanlandingham still show signs of a young and inexperienced player, but her overall performance has led Dominguez Hills to its best start (10-2) since 1984. That season the Lady Toros started 11-1 under then-Coach Alice Textor.

Many believe Vanlandingham, 19, will be one of the league’s top players by her senior season. Her talent made a strong impression on Darlene May, who coaches Cal Poly Pomona, Dominguez Hills’ CCAA rival.

“She’s got great skills and she’s going to be a good player once she gets more experience,” said May, who has led the Broncos to three national championships and nine CCAA titles. “We would like to have her here. She runs very well and she can jump. She’s a real nice player.”

May is keeping a close watch on Vanlandingham since Dominguez Hills is predicted to be Pomona’s toughest CCAA opponent this season. The Lady Toros should be one of the forces in the six-member league since Cal State Northridge left to play Division I.

Dominguez Hills’ strength is undoubtedly inside. Cheri Bullet, a 6-foot transfer from El Camino, is Vanlandingham’s front-court partner.

“They really make a big difference on this team,” Girard said. “Two solid post players like Dionne and Cheri gives us a true inside game, which we haven’t really had before.”

Vanlandingham brought success to Poly during an impressive senior season. She prepared for her high school debut by attending a girls’ summer basketball camp at Cal State Long Beach after her junior year.

When the camp ended, she spent a lot of time shooting baskets at a nearby park with Poly teammate Letoyia Gray, a sophomore guard at Dominguez Hills this season.

By the time school started, Vanlandingham was more than prepared. She helped the Jackrabbits go undefeated in the Moore League and reach the second round of the CIF playoffs. She led Poly in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots, was named Moore League MVP, was selected to The Times’ all-star team and was named to the All-CIF second team.

“I surprised myself,” she said. “I guess I was just born with athletic ability.”

John Anderson, who runs the Olympic Girls Development League, has watched Vanlandingham play for the past three years. He said her progress has been impressive.

“She was tentative at first, but once she got started she did real well,” he said. “When I first saw her play I knew she had the ability to be a good player. She runs the court real well and she has great offensive skills.”

But Vanlandingham didn’t exactly have college scouts lined up at her doorstep. She was recruited by San Jose State and Oregon State, but chose Dominguez Hills because it was 10 minutes away from the Carson home she shares with her mother, stepfather and two younger siblings.

Her only regret is that she didn’t start playing basketball sooner. The prelaw major said however, that she got just as good a workout practicing dance routines with the drill team.