Washington Finds a Home on the Road

The Washington High boys’ basketball team has earned a new nickname in becoming the City Section’s second-ranked team. In playing all 20 games on the road while their home gym is being renovated, the Generals have been dubbed the “Road Warriors.”

Washington has turned the situation into a rallying point. The Generals have made a strong claim to being the City’s top 4-A Division team by winning 18 games, among them victories over defending champion Manual Arts and perennial power Crenshaw.

“Being on the road for every game is tough, especially in basketball, where the home court means more than any other sport,” Washington Coach Kermit Taylor said. “However, our guys have really adjusted well to all of this.”

Before the season, Washington tried to schedule home games at Trade Tech and Harbor College. When that failed, the Generals were forced to take a game-to-game approach to their “home” games.

Washington has played home games at several sites, sometimes in its opponents’ gyms.

“We’ve been organizing and planning our schedule weekly,” Taylor said. “Not knowing in advance where you are going to be playing is hard, particularly when you are unable to find out until the day of the game.

“We’ve had to play a lot of night games (at another school) after that school played its afternoon games. One problem we’ve had is wearing the correct uniforms for the game. We would bring our home uniforms, but would be playing a team at their site. Now, I just have the team bring both uniforms the day of the game.”

What makes Washington’s lack of a gym so unfortunate is that the Generals have the best combined boys’ and girls’ basketball program in the City. The girls’ team, which is No. 1 in The Times’ City poll, also has to make daily adjustments.

“Despite the problems we have had, the support around the school has been great,” Taylor said. “Word has gotten out, and despite being away all of the time, our home crowds have been basically the same.”

Experience has helped Washington. The Generals have 10 seniors and an all-senior starting lineup.

“They have a real experienced team with players who have been together for a long time,” Manual Arts Coach Randolph Simpson said after Washington beat the Toilers in an early-season tournament. “Most of their kids have played varsity since their sophomore year, and now it is paying off for them as seniors.”

Balance has been a key for the Generals, with four players averaging in double figures in scoring. But if there is one player the Generals rely on, it is Barnabas James, a 6-foot-7 center and one of the team leaders in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots.

James, who will attend the University of New Orleans, is averaging 20 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots a game. When Washington has problems, it is usually when James is having an off-game.

Kevin Griffis, a 6-2 point guard, runs the Generals’ offense. He also is headed to New Orleans. Griffis leads the team in assists and steals, and is averaging 12 points. He is joined in the backcourt by Marlon Taylor, who averages six points but is one of the team’s top defenders.

At forward, Washington starts 6-4 Lamar Smith and 6-3 Isaac Burton. Smith is the surprise scoring leader with a 21-point average but Burton, who is also a standout baseball player, has been the most consistent in averaging 20 points and seven rebounds.

“We can go inside and we can go outside, depending on what the defense gives us,” Taylor said. “However, the key for us is our defense and that lets us run the court.”

Washington will go for the Southern League title when it plays at Crenshaw Friday at 4 p.m.

Any boys’ or girls’ basketball team in the Southern Section is eligible for the playoffs this season in a new format announced last week by Associate Commissioner Dean Crowley.

There will be champions in 10 divisions, with most divisions playing 32-team brackets. Most league champions will be assured of playoff berths but many will have to compete in a qualifying round next week.

Schools that do not finish among the top teams in their leagues have the option of playing in the qualifying round.

“In the boys’ Division V-AA, 52 of the 58 teams have said they will participate in the playoffs,” Crowley said. “So very few of those teams will be protected.”

The qualifying round will begin Feb. 12. The first round begins Feb. 15.

Prep Notes

The Lynwood boys’ basketball team has to forfeit 16 games for using an ineligible player. The unidentified player, a junior transfer from Warren High, was not a starter. Lynwood, a San Gabriel Valley League team, goes from 17-5 to 2-20.

Several area football players made unwritten commitments Monday, two days before the national signing day. Rolling Hills running back Robert Coulter picked Arizona, Carson defensive back Tarriel Hopper committed to USC and Carson wide receiver-defensive back Abdul Muhammad selected Nebraska. Defensive back Girmar Johnson and linebacker Kenyatta Green, both of Sylmar, committed to Ohio State.

The Manual Arts-Westchester boys’ basketball game Friday night was delayed for 45 minutes after Kevin Beal of Manual Arts bent the rim midway through first quarter when he dunked the ball. Manual Arts went on to win, 73-62. . . . Morningside replaced Palos Verdes as the No. 1 girls’ team in the Times’ Southern Section poll. The Monarchs defeated the Sea Kings last Wednesday, 56-50. Palos Verdes defeated Morningside twice earlier this season.