Manual Arts Rebuilds Quickly

Randolph Simpson was not the only one surprised last season when his Manual Arts High School boys’ basketball team was eliminated from the playoffs.

Then 22-3, the Toilers were expected to win their second consecutive City 4-A Division title when they faced Westchester last season because they defeated the Comets twice during the regular season.

The regular season didn’t matter. Manual Arts lost to Westchester, 65-57.

“The team last year was very talented but never came together as a unit,” said Simpson, in his fourth season at the school. “The guys played well all season, but once they got into the playoffs, they got out of sync and didn’t play their roles.”

After falling short in the playoffs, this season’s Manual Arts team was supposed to be rebuilding with only one returning varsity player.

Instead, Manual Arts has been impressive, rated No. 4 in The Times’ City poll.

“I knew that we would have a team of 13 new players playing together for the first time, and that we’d have our problems,” Simpson said. “But, I felt that we’d have quickness as our advantage and we’d be able to live off of our defense.”

It has worked well enough for the Toilers to win 15 of their first 17 games. With a three-guard lineup, led by 5-foot-10 senior Keith Franklin, they have successfully pressured opponents with their fast-paced full-court style.

All five starters are scoring in double figures, led by 6-3 guard Troy Matthews, who averages 19 points. Franklin, the lone returning starter, averages 17 points, and 5-10 junior point guard Antwan Lewis averages 15.

“We have a good perimeter shooting team, but we do have a lack of size inside,” Simpson said. “That makes us not a great rebounding team, but to offset that we get a lot of easy baskets because of our pressure defense. We are shooting 52% from the field.”

The two players Simpson counts on inside are 6-3 junior Michael Stewart, who is averaging 13 points, and 6-5 sophomore David Rickenbacker, who is averaging 11 points and 11 rebounds.

The Toilers received a big boost from transfers this season. Lewis is a transfer from Detroit, Matthews is from Lawndale Leuzinger High, Stewart is from Washington High and Rickenbacker was in junior high a year ago.

“It’s interesting how well we’re playing considering that the guys have not been together for long,” Simpson said. “All we did is stress defense first because we knew that the offense would come around.”

Manual Arts showed its strength early in the season when it defeated Rancho Cordova and Amador Valley in the Bay Area to win the Amador Valley Tournament. The Toilers’ only losses this season have been to two of the City’s top teams, Fremont and Washington.

“This is the most enjoyable year coaching for me,” Simpson said. “To do so well and to be so young is great. It’s so much fun watching these guys grow and get better with every game. For the first half of the season, we lived off of our defense. Hopefully, by the playoffs we’ll be right on stride.”

Washington, the top-rated girls’ team in the City, had a tough game against Carson last Friday, defeating the then-second ranked Colts, 62-50. All-American forward/guard Charisse Sampson dominated for the Generals.

Sampson scored 36 points and grabbed 21 rebounds against Carson. Sampson has 2,018 points, making her the first girl in City history to score more than 2,000 points in a career.

The Washington boys’ team, No. 3 in the City, also had a tough time against Carson in its 57-50 victory. Standout senior Brandon Martin, who has signed a national letter of intent to attend USC, was held to eight points.

Long Beach Jordan lost sole possession of first place in the Moore League last Thursday when it was routed by Lakewood, 73-49. Tamar Ross scored 24 points in leading Lakewood to its fourth consecutive victory.

Jordan fell into a tie with Long Beach Wilson for first place in the league with a 5-1 mark. The Panthers are 16-5 overall. Lakewood improved to 4-2 in the league and 17-5.

The Rialto Eisenhower High boys’ basketball team has won seven in a row and is getting production from three players from its football team.

Starters Omar Love, Robert Talley and Damond Wilkens--who played on the Southern Section Division I finalist football team--and leading scorer Kenny Bush, have helped Eisenhower (12-7) reach first place in the Citrus Belt League.

Prep Notes

Ventura Buena High Coach Joe Vaughan recently won his 400th girls’ basketball game when the Bulldogs beat Santa Barbara San Marcos, 61-24. Vaughan, whose team is No. 8 in The Times’ Southern Section poll, has a record of 403-40. . . . Santa Ynez and Morro Bay continued their girls’ basketball rivalry last week when Santa Ynez won, 53-39. Santa Ynez has won three of their four meetings this season. The teams have played in the Southern Section Division IV-AA finals the last two seasons. . . . National letter of intent signing day for high school football players is Wednesday.

Times’ Prep Polls

CITY SECTION BOYS

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Westchester 4-A 18-2 1 2. Fremont 3-A 20-3 2 3. Washington 4-A 14-2 3 4. Manual Arts 4-A 15-2 4 5. Crenshaw 4-A 12-2 5 6. North Hollywood 3-A 18-1 6 7. Carson 4-A 12-6 7 8. Dorsey 4-A 13-3 8 9. Fairfax 4-A 11-6 9 10. Taft 4-A 12-3 NR

GIRLS

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Washington 4-A 18-2 1 2. Banning 4-A 9-5 3 3. Carson 4-A 11-4 2 4. Crenshaw 4-A 14-2 4 5. Roosevelt 3-A 12-3 5 6. North Hollywood 4-A 12-3 6 7. Dorsey 4-A 9-3 7 8. Van Nuys 3-A 13-2 8 9. University 3-A 8-4 9 10. Kennedy 4-A 10-5 10

SOUTHERN SECTION

BOYS

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Mater Dei I 22-1 1 2. Capistrano Valley I 19-3 2 3. Lynwood I 17-4 3 4. Cajon I 18-2 4 5. Glendora II 21-0 5 6. Riverside North I 19-2 6 7. Artesia II 17-3 7 8. Trabuco Hills II 16-5 8 9. Lakewood I 16-5 10 10. San Bernardino I 18-3 11 11. La Canada III 19-2 12 12. San Marcos II 17-2 13 13. Irvine I 18-4 NR 14. LB Jordan I 16-5 9 15. Santa Clara IV 19-3 NR

GIRLS

No. School Div. Record LW 1. Peninsula I 20-0 1 2. Thousand Oaks I 20-1 2 3. Brea-Olinda III 20-2 3 4. Lynwood I 18-1 4 5. Capistrano Valley I 20-1 5 6. Gahr II 19-2 6 7. Rubidoux II 19-0 7 8. Buena I 18-1 8 9. Ventura II 15-2 9 10. Chino I 17-4 10 11. Coachella Valley I 18-0 11 12. LB Poly I 16-2 13 13. Alemany II 17-4 14 14. St. Bernard III 17-3 15 15. Pasadena I 17-2 NR