BOYS’ BASKETBALL / SOUTHERN SECTION I-AA PREVIEW : Simi Valley’s Signatures Are Balance, Defense

Don MacLean of the NBA Washington Bullets telephoned a longtime pal Thursday to wish him luck against Jordan--not Michael of the Chicago Bulls, but Long Beach Jordan High.

MacLean’s friend is Simi Valley basketball Coach Dean Bradshaw, who leads the Pioneers in the Southern Section Division I-AA championship game at 6 tonight at the Sports Arena “(MacLean) just called and said, ‘Go get ‘em, coach,’ ” Bradshaw said.

MacLean and Bradshaw know what that will take. Third-seeded Simi Valley (24-5) won a Southern Section championship in 1988, MacLean’s senior year as a Pioneer. Bradshaw was an assistant that season.

But this season’s squad bears little resemblance to the 1988 team, or last season’s Simi Valley team that lost to Jordan in the playoff quarterfinals. Both of those teams were one-man operations, with MacLean the go-to guy in 1988 and Danny Alexander the main gun last season.

This season’s Pioneers travel together, tightly bunched. Their top six scorers average between six and 11 points, with senior point guard Ryan Briggs leading the way with a 10.9 average.

“Ryan is an outstanding floor leader,” Bradshaw said. “He has a huge heart, he’s very determined, he just refuses to let us lose.”

Briggs’ backcourt mate, senior guard Craig Griffin, is the team’s best defensive player and is shooting 59% from the field. He is second in scoring with a 9.9 average.

Nathan Simmons (9.7 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in the regular season), Jeff Barlow (7.9 points per game) and Jason Conmay (6.8) also are major contributors.

Defense has carried the Pioneers into the championship game. They have given up an average of 46 points a game in the playoffs.

“We’re an outstanding high school defensive team,” Bradshaw said. “We play strictly man-to-man.”

They will need to play tight defense against Jordan guard Everett Ratleff, who has signed with Cal State Long Beach.

“Everett is a (NCAA) Division I player who’s having an outstanding season,” Bradshaw said. “They’re very athletic.”

Clogging up the middle for Simi Valley is 6-foot-6 center Vernon Simmons, the team’s leading rebounder (6.6 during the regular season) and shot blocker (42), who had 16 rebounds against Lynwood in Tuesday’s semifinal.

Simi Valley shot 62.2% in beating the second-seeded Knights, 63-51, and faces a difficult task with the Panthers (20-6).

But Bradshaw says his team is nothing if not confident.

“Inside ourselves, we truly believe we can win anytime we hit the floor,” he said. “We’re playing as well right now as we have all season.”