Sabbara Continues to Give His All : Basketball: Former Western standout is averaging only 12 points at Cypress, but he still hustles every minute.

In a recent Cypress College basketball game, Coach Don Johnson was nearly out of options trying to stop a hot-shooting opponent.

Johnson finally turned to Sam Sabbara, his 6-foot-1 sophomore swingman, and asked, “Can you get the job done?”

Sabbara, despite giving up seven inches and playing with four fouls, nodded and headed toward the court.

These are the moments Sabbara strives for. They help define him as a basketball player--one who hustles until he’s exhausted. He takes on any challenge, no matter how big.

Sabbara hawked Bob Terry, who had scored 15 of Fullerton’s last 17 points, for the final four minutes. Terry missed his next two shots, after making six in a row, and scored only one more point the rest of the game.

Despite Sabbara’s efforts, Fullerton won, 72-68.

“We need several Sabbaras on the floor,” Johnson said. “He’s as good defending the guy who’s six feet tall as (he is defending) the guy who’s 6-6. In coaching, we tend to admire the guy who gets the most out of himself, and Sam is that kind of guy.”

The work ethic Sabbara exhibits daily at Cypress is something he has concentrated on for years.

It started with his parents, who taught him the value of giving your all. He continued to strive at Western High School, where he played for Greg Hoffman, one of the more demanding coaches around.

When Sabbara went to Cypress College, he didn’t let up a bit, which pleases Johnson, who demands much from his players. Sabbara spent his off-season running and usually stays after practice to work on his conditioning, something he has done since coming to Cypress as a last season. He was a part-time starter then and averaged eight points a game as Cypress reached the semifinal round of the State tournament before losing to Long Beach.

“I made the adjustment (to college) quicker than some,” Sabbara said, “because I was used to it (working hard) in high school.”

But that work ethic was missing the first time Hoffman saw Sabbara at a basketball camp in 1983.

“This little kid (Sabbara was 12) rides up on a bike, and I asked him if he wanted to come inside to my camp,” Hoffman said. “He told me that he knew everything about basketball and rode away. . . . Then, three years later, he was a freshman and was going out for basketball. I asked him if there was anything he needed to know now, and he sort of smiled like he does. I looked at him and told him, ‘You’re mine for the next four years.’

“He’s the type of kid every coach wants. He will die for you. He’s the kid who turned it (around) for me at Western High School.”

Sabbara has made a few changes in his game since high school. He has gone from a high scorer to a more selective shooter. He also works more on his defense.

But his efforts aren’t just meant to impress four-year college recruiters looking for a team player. His numbers prove that the changes he has made in his game have paid off.

As a senior at Western, Sabbara averaged 24 points a game and made 57 of 117 three-point attempts.

“I was in love with the three-pointer back then,” he said. “I shot it a lot, but that wasn’t really the kind of player I was. That was just what they needed me to do.”

He was averaging close to 27 points most of his senior season, but the chicken pox caused him to miss a week late in the season. He recovered to help Western defeat Brea-Olinda for a share of the Orange League title.

“Chicken pox can put you out a month,” Hoffman said. “But not Sammer. He was weak and had lost like 10 pounds, but he was back on the court. He willed us to win the league title. He looked at me once and said, ‘Coach, I’m only a senior once in high school, and we’re not going to lose.’ He’s one of those guys who makes you look like a good coach.”

Sabbara only had to tinker with his offensive game when he arrived at Cypress, where the team stresses balanced scoring.

Sabbara toned down his scoring and is averaging 12 points a game for the Chargers, who play at Rancho Santiago in Santa Ana at 7 tonight in an Orange Empire Conference game. He is also averaging four assists and five rebounds a game.

“Now, I don’t even look for the three-pointer,” Sabbara said. “I would rather step around the guy and move in for the higher-percentage shot. That’s what we strive for here.”

But Sabbara is still taking the three enough to keep the defenders from falling off him. He has made 25 of 57 this season.

“He is one of the best leaders we have had here,” Johnson said. “He is always looking out for the welfare of the team. We’re very proud of him and very pleased to have him in our program.”