GIRLS’ BASKETBALL PREVIEW : Kennedy Seeks to Revive Glory Days Behind Versatile Harris

As a youngster, Shaneya Harris was difficult to slow down.

If she wasn’t on the basketball court, she was roller-skating or at soccer practice. Or at ballet lessons, gymnastics, or ice skating. Otherwise, she could be found at a baseball or softball game, or in the swimming pool.

“I took a taste of everything,” Harris said. “I don’t think I ever was bored.”

Watching Harris move up and down the basketball floor at Kennedy High, it is easy to see she moves quickly. And after two seasons as an All-City Section performer and a Times All-Valley selection, Harris is setting her sights on a loftier goal, leading Kennedy to a City 4-A championship.

“We want to go to the Sports Arena (site of the finals) this year,” Harris said.

Teammates, coaches and opponents alike view Harris--an NCAA Division I prospect--as the key to that goal, although the unassuming senior sees herself as merely a cog in the machine.

After averaging 23.7 points, 14.3 rebounds, 4.4 steals and 3.7 assists a game as a junior, Harris could prove to be the best player in the City Section this winter. But she remembers a time when she wasn’t even sure she should try out for the Kennedy varsity.

“Coming from the ninth grade to the 10th grade, I didn’t know if I could make the team,” Harris said. “I was shocked when I made All-City as a sophomore.”

Harris is a sleek, 5-foot-11 athlete who runs the court with grace. She is an opponent’s nightmare in the Golden Cougars’ trapping, pressure defense. Offensively, Harris might have been an unknown quantity as a sophomore, but she has seen nothing but specialized defenses since.

Scoring is not foremost in the thoughts of Harris, who says that Kennedy’s win-loss record is the only statistic that concerns her.

“I don’t go out there thinking I have to score 20 points for us to win,” she said. “I just go out there and try to lead us. I’ll do whatever is needed.”

Her efforts could return Kennedy to its glory days of 1978-1990 when the Golden Cougars won 130 consecutive league games and three City titles (1981, 86-87).

Harris is joined by three seniors--point guard Charlene Ching (4-11), off-guard Keosha Tidwell (5-4) and senior forward Yolanda Robinson (5-8)--who have played together for three seasons. That group, combined with 6-3 junior center Kerri Garland, poses a formidable challenge for opponents.

“They are carrying on our tradition,” Coach Donis Bailey said. “They feel they are a part of history.”

Harris remembers the Kennedy tradition well. She was in the stands when her step-sister, Nina Grooms, starred on the teams of 1984-86 and when her brother, Athesis, played for the boys’ team in 1989-90.

“I used to come and cheer,” Harris said. “I would come out of the stands and help the cheerleaders.”

Harris comes from a tight-knit and athletic family of eight brothers and three sisters. Seven of her siblings still live at home.

“I have to stop and count them to remember them all,” Harris said with a laugh.

Her step-father, Henry Grooms, plays basketball in a recreation league sponsored by an aerospace firm for which he works as an engineer. He served as his daughter’s youth basketball coach and still coaches youth teams. Her mother, Tonie, stays active by playing in a women’s soccer league.

Perhaps being part of a large family has made Harris such a team-oriented player. “You’ve got to be able to share in a family like that,” Bailey said. “Shaneya is a very unselfish player.”

Harris’ teammates agree.

“She encourages everybody,” Tidwell said. “She is always taking players aside and helping them.”

Said Ching: “You can always depend on her. She really gets motivated.”

Harris, who serves as a captain along with Tidwell and Ching, said the best way she can lead is by example.

“I try to be a role model,” Harris said. “They see you hustling all of the time and, hopefully, they take from that example.”

The following are area teams to watch:

SOUTHERN SECTION

Alemany--The Indians (28-5 last season) won the Southern Section Division II-A championship and advanced to the state Division II regional final, but Melissa Hearlihy, last season’s Times Valley coach of the year, must replace point guard Rachel Corelli and 6-2 center Sarah Guziel, both of whom graduated. Talent remains with hot-shooting sophomore Samantha Rigley, sophomore defensive standout Kelly McKay and junior post player Zevette Mitchell.

Buena--After losing in the Southern Section final three consecutive seasons, the Bulldogs (25-4) are favored to win not only the Division I-A title but a state Division I championship under longtime Coach Joe Vaughan. With versatile 6-0 junior forward Michelle Giordano (15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds) leading a tall and balanced group, Buena was ranked sixth in the USA Today national preseason poll.

April Buck (8.9 points, 6.3 rebounds), a 6-2 senior center, and Julie Hardy (9.7 points, 4.5 rebounds), a 6-0 senior forward, combine with Giordano to give the Bulldogs an imposing front line. Point guard play will be a key to Buena’s success. Amanda Falls, a 5-4 senior guard, is extremely quick. Amber Seward, a 5-9 senior swing player, gives the Bulldogs another good shooter.

Palmdale--If the Falcons (21-8) can avoid injuries to key performers Kim Schielke (5-10 senior point guard), Latisha Beam (5-9 senior forward) and Dee Wyre (5-6 senior guard), they should win their fifth consecutive Golden League title and could advance deep into the Southern Section Division I-A playoffs. Beam averaged 14 points and 9.5 rebounds last season.

Schielke, one of the area’s top college prospects, averaged 14.5 points, eight rebounds and four assists last season, but Palmdale lost seven games when she was out of the lineup early in the season because of an ankle sprain. With her, the Falcons rolled to the Southern Section quarterfinals before losing to eventual state Division I champion Peninsula.

Thousand Oaks--The Lancers (29-2) have lost Michelle Palmisano, the state’s fourth-leading all-time girls’ scorer, to graduation and UCLA. They will seek their third consecutive Southern Section title with a talented cast that includes three seniors: athletic 5-11 forward Marion Jones, 5-9 three-point specialist Melissa Wood and 5-8 defensive standout Samantha Clarke.

Westlake--The Warriors (22-6) say so long to Lauren Goldstine, Ventura County’s all-time leading rebounder and the school’s leading scorer, who is attending UC Santa Barbara. But the cupboards are far from bare for first-year Coach Len Locher. Marlee Organ (5-7 senior guard) and Shanon Sincock (5-10 junior forward) are versatile performers. Tracy Young, a transfer from Glendale, adds punch.

CITY SECTION

North Hollywood--The Huskies (18-5) have been riding a wave of emotion this season with the return of senior forward Nikki Hamilton. Hamilton lost two-thirds of her right ring finger in an accident in October but was back in time to sink the winning shot in North Hollywood’s opener at Washington. As usual, Coach Rich Allen’s team will rely heavily on quickness, balance and depth, with junior forward Darvena Merritt, 6-0 senior center Tricia Cosby and junior guard Tamika McKinon giving Hamilton support.

Van Nuys--The Wolves (20-3) shared Mid-Valley League honors with North Hollywood last season and will build around the skills of 6-1 center Erica Upton, who has the potential to dominate as a scorer and rebounder. Balance will come from senior forward Cora Everding and senior guard Vennicia Kingston.