Jones Takes Fast Track to Recovery

As one of the nation’s best sprinters, Marion Jones is known for being quick. But her speedy recovery from a broken right wrist in basketball has been surprising.

When Jones, a junior forward for the Thousand Oaks girls’ basketball team, suffered a broken wrist and a dislocated jaw Jan. 9 at Simi Valley, her teammates feared she was lost for the season. But Jones returned to the lineup Saturday in the Lancers’ 88-55 win over Edison in the I-A quarterfinals.

Jones scored 11 points and had eight rebounds in a reserve role. Coach Chuck Brown said the addition of Jones bolstered the team’s depth.

“Where we’ve been rotating seven players, we were able to rotate eight,” he said.

“People were a little fresher in the second half and that may have led to us getting some fast breaks we otherwise would not have gotten.”

Jones played a strong game on defense, Brown said, but was hampered slightly on offense because of a protective brace on her wrist.

“It may have limited a few things she normally could do,” Brown said. “I think in another game or two, Marion will be back there where she was before the injury.”

PLAYOFF MENTALITY

Only five players scored for three-time defending IV-AA champion Santa Clara in its 54-48 victory over Big Bear last Friday, and if the Saints stay alive, it could be a sign of things to come.

“When we get into the playoffs, we have a different philosophy,” Coach Lou Cvijanovich said. “In the league, we play 15 kids. Now, in the tournament, we’ve got to change it a bit. The bottom five are not going to play that much and they know that.”

FAMILY TIES

Tim Sebek’s basketball career at Nordhoff is over. And so ends a special period in Dick Sebek’s 17-year coaching career. Sort of.

Dick’s other son, Mark, is a sophomore who was second on the Rangers in rebounds and fourth in scoring. He will be back.

“I have spoken to a number of coaches that had been coaching for a long period of time,” Dick said, “and virtually every coach had said that coaching their own sons was the highlight of their career. They say you’re harder on your own kids. I certainly find myself in that same category. I want all kids to do well, especially mine.”

He said there was a lesson to be learned in that regard.

“Maybe it’s a little unfair as a (coach/father) to want your kids to be perfect,” he said. “All you should want is for them to do the best they can do.”

TOUGH JOB

After five months as the Sylmar basketball coach, Alan Shaw resigned as promised.

Shaw, who officially resigned in December--three months after taking over the team--assumed the position with the understanding that he would stay for only one season.

He resigned at the start of the season to give the administration time to find a replacement. The school has not filled the position.

Shaw, 41, who played for Duke in the early 1970s, had no assistants and coached the varsity (2-13) and junior varsity (1-14) by himself.

“Whoever takes it over has their work cut out for them,” he said.

TRIVIA TIME

Which City school has a combined record of 5-44 in football, basketball and baseball in the past year?

ROAD FEVER

Some folks already think that Mike Stone, well, has rocks in his head.

Stone, the Reseda baseball coach and football assistant, lives on a boat in San Pedro and makes a daily round-trip commute of more than two hours. Evidently, Stone does not rack up enough mileage in his car.

He also burns shoe rubber on weekends by entering marathons. In fact, Stone completed the L.A. Marathon on Sunday in 3 hours 52 minutes. It was the 98th marathon in his career, which might soon be winding down.

“I’m a little rubber-legged,” Stone said Monday. “I’ve got two more (marathons) to go before I start seriously considering doing something else with my Sundays.”

COUNT

For Reseda, playing six games in 10 days meant players had a blurred look in their eyes, as though a left hook had just landed in the temple.

“The kids were whipped and wiped,” Reseda Coach Jeff Halpern said. “The intensity wasn’t there. I could look in their eyes and I knew that no matter what I said, it wasn’t going to make much difference.”

Reseda was knocked off, 53-51, by South Gate in the City Section 3-A Division quarterfinals last Friday night. Fatigue seemed to have taken hold.

The heavy schedule was made necessary because of postponements forced by heavy rains.

“I think the six games just caught up with us,” Halpern said. “I figured it out. We played almost 30% of the season in the last 10 days.”

Indeed. Reseda finished 14-7.

KIDDIE CORNER

Basketball is all about leaps and ‘bounds, but for Campbell Hall center Alex Lopez, so is growing up.

Lopez, you see, is the rarest of the rare: On Feb. 29, he celebrated his fourth birthday.

Lopez was born in a leap year. Technically then, he has celebrated just four birthdays, although he is 16.

“He’s the best 4-year-old in America,” Coach Jon Palarz cracked.

Lopez, a 6-10 sophomore, has averaged 12 points in the first three rounds of the V-AA playoffs.

“He’s really been at his best (in the playoffs),” Palarz said. “He’s helped us out by scoring on some awesome put-back baskets.”

TRIVIA ANSWER

Canoga Park. Over the course of the past year, the Hunters finished 0-17 in baseball, 3-7 in football, and 2-20 in basketball.

ON THE JOB

New faces coaching area high school baseball teams include Mike Nielson of Quartz Hill, Mike Bolyog of Oak Park, Scott Willis of Canyon and Bob Cooper at Hoover.

Cooper isn’t exactly new. He served as Hoover coach for 15 years before taking a one-year leave last season to watch his son play college baseball.

Nielson coached Mojave High in 1987-91. Bolyog was coach at Villanova Prep from 1981-89, leading his teams to two Southern Section quarterfinal appearances and one semifinal appearance.

Willis comes to Canyon after stints as an assistant at Moorpark College and Cal State Northridge.

BOOKKEEPERS WANTED

‘Tis the time of year when baseball coaches, faced with the rapidly approaching season, cruise the hallways in search of competent students to keep the score book.

Knowledge of the game is paramount and applicants must have a good head for statistics.

Granada Hills Coach Darryl Stroh found the perfect candidate: Christina Marden, a junior who was raised with the game.

If the name sounds familiar, it should. Her father, Steve Marden, is coach at San Fernando.

Score this one a strikeout: Christina declined Stroh’s offer.

FATHER-SON GAME

First-year Cleveland baseball Coach Steve Landress found himself in a strange predicament Saturday when his team faced Notre Dame in a scrimmage. Playing in the Notre Dame outfield is another Landress rookie, freshman Jimmy Landress, who is battling for a starting berth.

With dad calling the Cleveland pitches, Jimmy struck out in his first plate appearance.

“I think he was a little nervous,” Steve said.

Dad tried to atone in the late innings by helping Jimmy get an extra at-bat. With his son in the on-deck circle and the batter facing a 3-and-2 count, Landress ordered Cleveland catcher Doug Rubin to call for a curve from pitcher Jeron Rolison.

“I figured that since Rolison hadn’t thrown a curve for a strike all day that he’d walk the guy and Jimmy would get another shot,” the elder Landress said.

Rubin outsmarted his coach, however. The senior catcher called for a fastball and the batter popped up to end the scrimmage.

Said a grinning Rubin to the elder Landress: “I knew what you were trying to do.”

IMPRESSIVE DEBUT

Simi Valley sophomore pitcher Bill Scheffels, a transfer from Alemany, needed little time to make an impression on Coach Mike Scyphers. Scheffels, who is battling junior Bill Treadway for the No. 1 slot in the rotation, did not allow a hit in five innings in a scrimmage against Rio Mesa on Saturday.

Scheffels (6-3, 190) needed only 58 pitches to baffle Rio Mesa, which has had one of the region’s best hitting teams in recent seasons.

“His fastball was easily in the mid-80s and his curveball was awesome,” Scyphers said. “It was one of the best performances I’ve ever seen from a Simi Valley pitcher.”

That puts Scheffels in impressive company at Simi Valley, where Scott Radinsky, Steve Sharts and Scott Sharts have taken the mound. Radinsky, the 4-A player of the year in 1986, is a reliever with the Chicago White Sox. Steve Sharts is playing professionally in Philadelphia’s organization and Scott Sharts, the 5-A player of the year in 1988, plays in Cleveland’s organization.

David Coulson, Vince Kowalick and staff writers Steve Elling, Paige A. Leech, T.C. Porter and Jeff Riley contributed to this notebook.