Vaughn Leads Basketball Team, Looks to Lead Graduating Class

Who is the best high school boys’ basketball player in the Southland this season?

Strong arguments could be made for center Avondre Jones of Lakewood Artesia, guard Stais Boseman of Inglewood Morningside and forwards Charles O’Bannon of Artesia and Monte Marcaccini of Sherman Oaks Notre Dame.

Not to be overlooked, however, is guard Jacque Vaughn of Pasadena Muir, who has turned in some noteworthy performances this season.

Vaughn, a 5-foot-11, 185-pound senior, had a standing-room-only crowd at Muir screaming during most of the Mustangs’ game against cross-town rival Pasadena on Friday. The team captain was the pivotal player in helping Muir (16-4) break open a close game on its way to a 75-60 victory over the Bulldogs (14-5).

Muir led, 28-25, at halftime and held off a Pasadena rally. The difference down the stretch was Vaughn, who made key shots and assists.

And the few times that tempers flared, Vaughn quickly restored order. He finished with a game-high 23 points.

“The emotion and pride involved in this game makes me play better,” said Vaughn, a four-year starter at Muir. “The end result lets me go home smiling.”

This weekend, Vaughn will be in Washington, D.C., to accept the Dial Award as the top male scholar-athlete in the nation. He was selected from a group of 50 finalists and is the first basketball player to receive the honor.

Vaughn, who signed a national letter of intent with Kansas in November, has a 3.94 grade-point average. He ranks second in a class of 350 and said he still has a chance to become valedictorian.

“I’m concentrating on the student in student-athlete,” he said. “School is definitely my top priority.”

Vaughn said he plans to major in criminal justice and might go on to law school. He chose Kansas over UCLA, Indiana and Stanford.

Jones and Boseman did nothing to damage their reputations Saturday night in a nonleague showdown between Artesia and Morningside at Gahr High.

Boseman, who has signed with USC, sank a three-point basket with 12 seconds remaining to lift Morningside to a 62-60 victory before a packed house. The Monarchs improved to 16-4, while Artesia dropped to 13-3.

“It was just a lucky shot at a lucky time,” Boseman said. “I thought it was going to be long.”

Jones made a three-point play with 33 seconds left to give the Pioneers a 60-59 lead. The 6-10 senior, who has not committed to a college, finished with a game-high 33 points, 15 rebounds and five blocked shots. He also had six dunks.

Richard Mandeville, a 6-11 center from La Canada, will have no additional chance to show he is among the area’s best. The senior player suffered a broken right leg during a Rio Hondo League opener against South Pasadena on Jan. 8 and is sidelined for the rest of the season.

“I am very disappointed that I will never have an opportunity to play for my high school team again,” Mandeville said. “It wasn’t the ending I wanted.”

Mandeville’s injury occurred during the second half of the South Pasadena game when he started to fall backward and extended his leg back to regain balance. Although he was not aware of the extent of the injury immediately, tests days later confirmed the break. A full recovery is expected.

Mandeville, who signed with Indiana in November, said he is glad he took advantage of the early-signing period.

“Even though my leg should completely recover, I would have been nervous about recruiters being scared off by it if I had decided to sign late,” he said.

Prep Notes

The game between last-place boys’ teams in the Prep League turned out to be a thriller for Claremont Webb and La Canada Flintridge Prep last week. Webb (4-11) pulled out the victory, 52-45, but needed five overtime periods to do it. “This was not the battle of titans,” said Greg Lawson, Webb’s first-year coach. “But it was a game nobody wanted to lose. None of the kids would give up.”

Pat Barnes will not follow his brother John to UCLA. Pat, a 6-foot-4, 210-pound quarterback from Trabuco Hills in Mission Viejo, said that he will sign with California next month. He selected the Bears over Notre Dame and UCLA. . . . Phil McCune, interim football coach at Ventura last season, will keep the job. McCune took over for Harvey Kochel, who is awaiting sentencing for having sex with a 16-year-old student.

The top boys’ basketball game this week is a City showdown Wednesday between Crenshaw (10-2) and Washington (13-1) at 4 p.m. at Washington. . . . The City boys’ and girls’ soccer playoffs will begin Wednesday and conclude Jan. 29. Belmont is the top-seeded boys’ team and Chatsworth is the top-seeded girls’ team. . . . Joe Murillo, girls’ basketball coach at Chino, picked up his 300th victory last week when the Cowboys beat Upland, 45-32. Murrillo, in his 15th year, is 300-91. . . . Robert Kanaby has been selected executive director of the National Federation of State High School Assns., which governs prep sports throughout the country. Kanaby, executive director of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Assn., replaces Brice Durbin. Durbin will retire at the end of this month after 16 years on the job.

Times’ Top 20 Basketball Polls

The Times’ top 20 high school basketball polls, with teams from the City and Southern Sections.

BOYS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Mater Dei SS I-A 19-1 1 2. Dominguez SS II-AA 14-1 3 3. Washington City 4-A 13-1 4 4. JW North SS II-AA 17-0 5 5. Morningside SS III-A 16-4 14 6. Artesia SS II-A 13-3 2 7. N. Hollywood City 4-A 14-1 6 8. Hunt. Beach SS I-A 15-3 7 9. Muir SS II-A 16-4 9 10. Crenshaw City 4-A 10-2 8 11. Fremont City 4-A 11-4 10 12. Thousand Oaks SS I-A 15-1 12 13. St. John Bosco SS II-AA 14-2 NR 14. Pasadena SS I-A 14-5 11 15. SO Notre Dame SS III-A 15-3 NR 16. Manual Arts City 4-A 11-5 16 17. LB Poly SS I-AA 11-7 15 18. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 13-2 13 19. Fontana SS I-AA 15-2 20 20. Trabuco Hills SS II-AA 15-4 17

* GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Lynwood SS I-AA 14-0 1 2. Thousand Oaks SS I-A 17-0 2 3. Buena SS I-A 9-2 3 4. Brea-Olinda SS II-AA 15-2 5 5. Perris SS I-A 17-0 6 6. Morningside SS III-AA 12-2 8 7. Crenshaw City 4-A 10-2 7 8. Palmdale SS I-A 12-3 9 9. St. Bernard SS IV-AA 15-4 10 10. Alemany SS III-AA 16-3 11 11. Santa Ynez SS IV-AA 16-1 12 12. Ch. Islands SS I-AA 15-3 14 13. Millikan SS I-AA 12-4 18 14. Hunt. Beach SS I-A 14-3 17 15. LB Poly SS I-AA 14-3 13 16. Gahr SS II-AA 14-3 16 17. Ventura SS II-A 10-3 15 18. Nordhoff SS IV-AA 14-0 20 19. Marina SS I-A 12-3 19 20. HH Wilson SS II-AA 14-1 NR