Taking Aim at a State Title : Prep basketball: An early season benching helped turn Jrmirol Duncan and Ribet Academy’s fortunes around.

The letdown was not welcome, but not entirely unexpected.

Last year, Jrmirol Duncan led Ribet Academy to the Southern Section Small Schools basketball championship and was named Times’ Glendale player of the year.

Duncan, a 5-foot-8 point guard, was the heady leader of a surprising young team that came within a game of the state final.

But when Duncan returned to Ribet last fall for the start of his senior year, his head was somewhere else. The work ethic and selflessness that made him the heart and soul of the 1990 Fighting Frogs was gone, lost beneath a pile of press clippings and college recruiting letters.

“I kind of lost focus because of all the publicity,” Duncan said. “I was performing pretty well on the court but I wasn’t doing the best I could. I wasn’t playing to the top of my ability.”

One month into the season, Duncan wasn’t playing at all. Ribet Coach Mike Miller benched Duncan for the first two games of Ribet’s Christmas tournament.

“He was living on last year’s laurels,” Miller said of Duncan. “The effort was mediocre and the results were below his ability.

“His attitude was ‘I’m talented, All-CIF, the straw that stirs the drink, and all I have to do is show up and play because you need me.’

“I had to convince him that we didn’t need him. When he finally got the message that life was going to go on without him, he woke up.”

Indeed, since returning to the lineup, Duncan has taken his game to a higher level.

He is averaging 20 points and nine assists a game for the Fighting Frogs, who cruised unbeaten through the Heritage League.

Duncan is one of five players averaging more than 10 points a game for top-seeded Ribet, which plays host to either Apple Valley Christian or Heritage Christian on Friday night in the first round of the Southern Section Division V playoffs.

“Jrmirol has come back from the problems earlier this season and is more of a leader,” Miller said. “He’s stronger, not making excuses for himself and working to get things done.

“For the last month he has been our hardest worker and most consistent player in practice.”

Despite their 23-2 overall record, this has not been a fairy-tale season for the Fighting Frogs, who have faced several internal struggles. Duncan said last year’s success created motivation problems not only for himself, but for the entire team.

“We were thinking about what happened last year instead of coming in and taking care of what we were supposed to,” he said. “One day, we all talked and got things off our chests. Everything came out and the seniors realized this is it--our last year.

“As we became better role models, the younger kids picked up on it and that’s when it all started to come together.”

Since their meeting of the minds, the Fighting Frogs have blitzed opponents. Their smallest margin of victory in Heritage League play was 30 points.

Duncan is making sure everyone shares in the success.

“More than scoring, I’m putting more into boosting the other players up,” Duncan said. “I’m pushing the tempo, passing more and trying to get everybody involved.”

Sophomore center Andre English is averaging 21 points and 11 rebounds a game. Seniors Chris Maxwell and Jaiquin Moore are averaging 20 and 19 points, respectively, and junior Travis Smith is averaging 15 points.

“Before the season, we thought about things that would leave us in the record books,” Duncan said.

Ribet etched its name into the books last Friday when the Fighting Frogs broke the Southern Section record for most points in a game in a 144-38 victory over Antelope Valley Christian. Ribet eclipsed the mark of 140 points set by Gardena Serra against Salesian during the 1980-81 season.

“We didn’t focus on the score at the beginning,” said Duncan, who scored 33 points despite sitting out half the second quarter and all of the fourth. “We just played minute by minute, second by second to see what we could come up with.”

Ribet’s goals include another Southern Section championship and its first state title.

“We feel there’s one excellent team--Rio Hondo Prep--and we’ll probably play them in the CIF finals,” Miller said. “But we’ve been pointing toward state all year.”

Duncan is confident he’ll have a state championship in hand when he moves on to play in college next year. He knows his size eliminates him from consideration at most Division I programs, but he is eager to prove that with his savvy, he can make any team better.

“After I got benched I started to dig deep and go the extra mile,” Duncan said. “I know that’s how I have to play all the time. That’s what I plan on doing for whoever wants me.”