Trojans’ Return to Running Game Heightens McCullough’s Interest

Larry Smith’s departure as football coach at USC last Friday has not changed Saladin McCullough’s dream of running the ball for the Trojans.

McCullough, a running back for Pasadena Muir and one of the most recruited players in the Southland, is very much considering USC. His interest in the school might have increased when Smith was replaced by John Robinson over the weekend.

“Our running game this year was right out of John McKay’s playbook,” said Jim Brownfield, Muir’s coach. “So Saladin certainly would be familiar with Robinson’s plays, since (Robinson has) vowed to return to the power running game.”

McCullough led Muir in rushing with 2,142 yards and 36 touchdowns. The 5-foot-10, 180-pound senior averaged nine yards a carry. Although he has visited San Diego State, McCullough remains most interested in USC.

“I don’t think it matters who is USC’s coach,” said Kasem McCullough, Saladin’s brother. “Saladin has always wanted to go there, and now that they have a coach who likes to run the ball, his interest is even greater.”

Two of the Southland’s top boys’ basketball teams, Santa Ana Mater Dei and Lakewood Artesia, suffered defeats but played well in holiday tournaments.

Mater Dei, top-ranked by The Times, defeated Long Beach Poly in the title game of the Huntington Beach Ocean View Tournament of Champions, 85-54. But the Monarchs (13-1) were beaten by Sacramento Jesuit last Wednesday in the semifinals of the Above the Rim Tournament at Encinitas Torrey Pines High, 76-68. They went on to win the third-place game against Fairfax, 85-53.

Third-ranked Artesia, which beat Gardena Serra for the title in its own tournament on Dec. 26, lost to Shawnee of New Jersey in the semifinals of the Beach Ball Classic in Myrtle Beach, S.C., last Tuesday, 52-44. Artesia (12-2) defeated Westover of Georgia for third place, 54-52.

Forward Charles O’Bannon, who scored 25 points against Westover, was selected to the all-tournament team.

“We left for Myrtle Beach right after our game against Serra, so the kids were a little tired for all the traveling,” said Wayne Merino, Artesia’s coach. “But it was a great experience to play in such a tough tournament, and going 2-1 there wasn’t too bad.”

Mater Dei resumes play this Friday at El Toro. Artesia takes the week off before playing host to Inglewood Morningside Jan. 16.

Roz Goldenberg has been a pioneer for women in the basketball coaching ranks. She started her career as the girls’ junior varsity coach at Burbank High in 1974, then made history in 1984 when she took over the boys’ varsity team at Oakwood High in North Hollywood.

As the state’s only female coaching boys, Goldenberg led Oakwood to the Southern Section Small Schools Division title in 1988. That team included all-state guard Mitchell Butler, who now plays for UCLA.

Goldenberg, 35, left Oakwood two seasons ago to become the women’s coach at Sierra Community College in Rocklin, 25 miles east of Sacramento.

“It was a much easier transition, going from girls to boys than boys to women,” Goldenberg said. “When I took over the boys’ team at Oakwood, I just let my personality go, and it really meshed with the guys. When I took over here, I ruffled some feathers at the beginning.”

Sierra was 14-12 last season, the first winning record in school history, and is 11-4 this season.

Goldenberg said she is frustrated that so many high school and college women’s teams are being coached by men and is encouraging many of her players to consider coaching.

The Oakwood boys’ team is still coached by a woman, Angel Hardy, who assisted Goldenberg for several seasons.

Running back David Dotson, who set several state rushing records a year ago at Valley View of Moreno Valley, is not off to a good start at USC. Dotson, who sat out last season as a redshirt, was suspended by former coach Larry Smith last month so he could spend more time on his academic work. Dotson remains on scholarship.

Dotson, 5 feet 11 and 185 pounds, made a name for himself last year when he broke the state single-game rushing record with 507 yards in 27 carries against Lake Arrowhead Rim of the World. He also holds state records for most yards in a season, 3,544, and a career, 7,265.

The California Interscholastic Federation is close to selecting a marketing company it hopes will bring in corporate sponsorships.

Last year, the CIF decided to seek corporate dollars more aggressively. It devised a plan to improve its marketing and then opened up bidding to companies that wanted to implement the plan.

Twenty-two companies applied and the final six were reviewed by the Marketing Management Committee two weeks ago. The committee is down to three unidentified finalists. A winner will be selected before the CIF Federated Council meeting, Feb. 5-6, in San Francisco.

“We hoped to select one company at our last meeting, but there was too much additional information we still needed,” said Larry Rice, CIF marketing consultant. “We want to make sure we choose the right company, since so much is at stake.”

School Properties, Inc., of Yorba Linda, which has handled marketing for the CIF for the last six years, is not among the finalists.

Prep Notes

The Manhattan Beach Mira Costa boys’ basketball team defeated Crescenta Valley last Wednesday in the championship game of the St. Louis Holiday Classic in Honolulu, 70-65. Mira Costa Coach Glenn Marx used to be an assistant at the University of Hawaii. . . . Three local boys’ basketball teams--Manual Arts, North Hollywood and Fremont--fared well at last week’s Las Vegas Holiday Classic at UNLV. The 29-team tournament ended Wednesday, with Manual Arts (9-5) losing to Huntington Beach in the third-place game and North Hollywood (14-1) defeating Fremont (8-4) for fifth place. The tournament was won by Oak Hill of Mouth of Wilson, Va. . . . Quarterback Stais Boseman of Morningside, wide receiver Antonio Carrion of Dorsey and defensive lineman Travis Kirschke of Anaheim Esperanza were selected to Parade magazine’s All-American team.