METRO LEAGUE PREVIEW : Chula Vista’s Green Could Make League Opponents Blue

The Metro Conference is the only one in the county without a representative in The Times’ top 10. Only one of the 10 All-Conference picks from a year ago returns.

And perhaps most noticeable is that among the league’s eight teams, there is no legitimate center.

In a conference with three Vistas, there simply will be no view, or at least no one tall enough to gain a vantage point.

“We’re not short,” Chula Vista Coach Mike Collins insisted. “But we might be short by North County standards.”

North County varsities, however, will not be invited to the Metro Conference season, which can be construed as a bright spot.

As Sweetwater Coach Dave Ybarra pointed out, “We’re all in the same boat.”

A lack of height, then, might not be noticeable until the playoffs.

THE RACE

Top contenders: Chula Vista (8-6, 1-0), Bonita Vista (6-7, 1-0).

Could surprise: Castle Park (5-6, 1-1), Mar Vista (3-4, 0-0), Southwest (5-6, 1-0), Sweetwater (4-10, 2-0).

Hoping for improvement: Montgomery (3-9, 0-2), Hilltop (1-11, 0-2).

Games of the year: Chula Vista at Bonita Vista, Friday, and Bonita Vista at Chula Vista, Friday, Feb. 7. In the past two years, since Jim Conlin took over as coach at Bonita, Chula Vista has been unable to win in the Barons’ gym. The converse also has been true. If one team is able to break the tradition this year, it probably will gain the conference championship.

THE PLAYERS

The Man: Perhaps it’s best to let Metro Conference coaches debate the talents of Chula Vista guard Jerome Green.

Said one coach, alluding to Green’s one-man show, “I don’t know if I would want him on my team.”

Answered Chula Vista’s Collins, “Hey, I like having him around. He would be an asset to any school, but it’s tough to coach a kid who has a whole lot of talent because others are always thinking you’re over emphasizing the individual.”

Green is a natural outside shooter whose range extends far beyond the three-point arc. He can also drive, spin and create points from inside.

“He is by far the most talented player in the league,” Southwest Coach Steve Selland said. “He really is unstoppable.”

Green is also the only one of 10 All-Conference picks from last season back this year and he leads the county in scoring with a 26.6 average.

Who will fill Rope Perry’s shoes? The starting center for Bonita Vista last year has taken his 6-7 frame across the street to Southwestern College.

Conlin didn’t have a big center to fill in, but it doesn’t really matter because big centers in the Metro Conference are contradictions in terms.

They are all really miscast forwards.

Like Chas Abbott (6-3, 205 pounds), who takes Perry’s place in the starting lineup for Bonita Vista.

Others to watch:

--Chula Vista point guard Lamar Bailey stands only 5-7, but commands respect from his teammates. “In terms of leadership,” Collins said, “he’s invaluable. And the other kids listen to him.”

--Chula Vista forward Andy Duran, at 6-4, 230 pounds, will try to be as dominating in the gym as he was on the football team’s defensive line, where he gained recognition as a Times All-County performer.

--Bonita Vista forwards Frank Peralta and Gerald Rhoden, two seniors who stand 6-4, could tip the balance of power in Bonita Vista’s favor. Combined with Abbott, not only do they have the back-line size most teams lack, they also have the experience. Currently, Rhoden is averaging 18.3 points and Peralta 14.7.

--Southwest forward Tony Diaz, a 6-2 junior who is the league’s third highest scorer so far at 15.2 points per game.

--Castle Park’s Bob Stanton (6-1 guard), Tom Carney (6-1 forward) and Willis Odom (5-11 forward), all of whom started last season and give Castle Park the experience it needs to contend this season.

THE INTANGIBLES

Plan B: Without much height in the league, coaches will rely on quick guards, and they appear well supplied in that area. Chula Vista has Bailey and Green, Southwest has seniors Dwayne McBride (5-8) and Rodney Larma (5-5), Castle Park has point guard Stanton and off guard Leonard Corazo (5-9), Sweetwater has seniors Brandon Tennant (6-1) and Guillermo Sanchez and Bonita Vista has senior Andrew Partch (6-0).

Marred by Mar Vista: Last season, Mar Vista knocked Chula Vista out of third place by upsetting the Spartans at Chula Vista by two points. It was one of only two league victories Mar Vista managed. “We forgot we had to play defense,” Chula Vista’s Collins explained. “These other teams always seem to jump up a level for us.” Mar Vista is picked by several coaches as a dark horse contender this year.

OK, it was a lie: There is one center in the league who actually stands 6-7, Sweetwater’s Jim Giedd. But Giedd is a sophomore who until this week played on Sweetwater’s junior varsity. Ybarra says Giedd is a year away.