Loyola-Bound Anthony Shows He Belongs With Nation’s Best : Preps: The Peninsula senior earned distinction in the 30-team Las Vegas contest by averaging more than 22 points a game.

When Peninsula High forward John Anthony was chosen the most valuable player at the recent Pacific Shores tournament, the senior proved that he could excel against the area’s finest players.

When Anthony, who is bound for Loyola Marymount next season, was named to the all-tournament team in last week’s 30-team Las Vegas Holiday Classic, he proved that his talents were comparable to those of some of the nation’s best prep players.

The 6-foot-7, 185-pound Anthony was the fifth-leading scorer in the Las Vegas tournament, averaging more than 22 points. Peninsula finished 10th in the competition, which featured top high school teams from across the country.

The Las Vegas tournament, in which Peninsula won three of its five games, was a good experience for Peninsula and Anthony.

“What’s neat about that tournament is that you can see how you stack up against the guys you read about in the magazines,” Anthony said. “I’ve played against a lot of these guys in camps and tournaments.”

Peninsula Coach John Mihaljevich compared the competition to a prep version of the NCAA tournament.

“They bring in teams from all over the country, and they are all outstanding,” Mihaljevich said. “Every team had at least one Division I player. A lot of these teams will go back to their states and become sectional champs, or even state champs. It’s that great of a tournament.”

Anthony, who averaged more than 16 points for Palos Verdes High last season, is leading the Peninsula (13-3) team in scoring, averaging more than 19 points. He is also the team’s leading rebounder, averaging more than six per game.

He is the Panthers’ best three-point shooter. His accuracy is a result of long hours of practice.

“When I (entered) high school, I couldn’t shoot,” Anthony said. “I never would have thought to shoot the three when I was a freshman. I’ve put in a lot of work on my outside shot.”

Mihaljevich, who coached Anthony last season, first took notice of the player when he was in the eighth grade. Anthony’s sister, Kim, played on the girls’ team at Palos Verdes, and after her games Anthony would take the court and shoot baskets.

“I remember that I was watching him shoot, and I saw a couple of things that I could help him with,” Mihaljevich said. “Like most coaches, if you see something you want to help a player with, and they respond back, you end up spending time with them. We would spend 30 minutes on the court after the game. I could tell he was interested in being a basketball player.”

Anthony made the Sea King varsity last season, and although Palos Verdes finished with only seven victories, Mihaljevich could tell he had a talented player on his team.

“He has worked hard to improve all phases of his game,” said Mihaljevich, who has coached for more than 30 years. “He’s done a lot of off-season work with weights and with a strength shoe.”

Anthony credits the strength shoe, which helps develop calf and thigh areas, with increasing his running vertical leap from 18 to 38 inches in the past three years.

“He has made himself into a complete player, particularly at the offensive end,” Mihaljevich said. “At 6-7, it’s rare to see a player have the variety of moves that John has on the court. He has the ability to fill any lane on the court, have the ball thrown to him and create in the open court. He can pull up short and shoot the three-point shot. In the half-court offense, he can post up his man and give us a lot of low-post benefits. He plays equally as well with his back to the basket as he does facing the basket.

“I think as he matriculates into the college world that he will do best as a player facing the basket. He will shoot the three-point shot and fill the lanes. As a college player, he lacks the size and the physique to be a post-up player. He won’t be 18 years old until next August, so he’s physically a year behind many of the seniors.”

Anthony reminds Mihaljevich of a Palos Verdes player that attained collegiate stardom.

“He’s very similar to Jan Van Breda Kolff,” Mihaljevich said. “He’s able to post up, shoot outside and play an intelligent game of basketball, much like Jan.”

Van Breda Kolff, who graduated in 1970, was a high school All-American. He later attended Vanderbilt, where he was selected as Southeastern Conference player of the year after his senior season. He played in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets.

“Jan was more of a graceful player, deceptively quick,” Mihaljevich said. “John just gets out there; you know he’s quick.”

Anthony was recruited by San Diego State, Oregon, Montana and Fordham, among others, but once he visited Loyola Marymount, he knew where he would go.

“I was always leaning toward Loyola,” Anthony said. “I like the (up-tempo) system there.”

Loyola Coach Jay Hillock was interested in Anthony because of the player’s potential.

“Of all the guys we saw over the summer, he had the biggest potential to develop,” Hillock said. “He’s like a young colt (on the court). He’s frisky and wants to play in our running system. His best days are ahead of him. A lot of kids may be better than him now, but in 2 1/2 years he may be better than all of them.”

The recruiting process “started out as exciting” Anthony said, but it did get tedious.

“The letters and calls (from recruiters) started in the summer before my junior year,” Anthony said. “It was exciting, but there were times that I would rather have slept, or done homework, than talk to recruiters.”

Anthony listened to Mihaljevich during the recruiting process.

“Coach helped a great deal,” Anthony said. “He made phone calls, talked to coaches, came in on home visits. He’s had a lot of players go on to Division I schools.”

Peninsula, has played well in its nonleague schedule, but Anthony said he knows that the Panthers must be prepared for their Bay League opener against Inglewood Jan. 15.

“All the teams in our league are very athletic,” Anthony said. They’ve got guys that can jump out of the gym and beat you up and down the court.