He’s Calm in Recruiting Storm

To blunt a rally Saturday afternoon at the Sports Arena, Charles O’Bannon shrugged off what had been a mediocre performance--for him--and sank a key basket with 1:58 to play, helping Lakewood Artesia successfully defend its Southern Regional Division II title.

Moments after the Pioneers’ 68-54 victory over East Bakersfield, O’Bannon calmly answered questions from several reporters and then signed a few autographs for fans who gathered outside the locker room.

The 6-foot-6 forward finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds, below his season averages of 24 points and 12 rebounds.

He was not worried about his statistics, though. His only concern was getting back to the State final. The Pioneers will defend their Division II title Friday night at 8 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena against Pleasanton Amador Valley.

O’Bannon spent Sunday at home trying to catch up on some needed rest. He was so tired that he slept through the NCAA tournament pairings telecast.

“I don’t even know who UCLA will play in the first round,” O’Bannon said Sunday night.

He said he had not had a chance to talk with his older brother, Ed, a sophomore starter for the Bruins.

Charles O’Bannon, one of the most recruited seniors on the West Coast, probably won’t sleep through pairings day next year. The four colleges he is choosing among--UCLA, USC, Michigan and Kentucky--are frequent NCAA tournament participants.

Before making his college decision, though, O’Bannon will try to add another championship ring. Then he will sit down with his parents, Ed Sr. and Madeline O’Bannon, and Coach Wayne Merino and weigh the benefits of each school.

“There has been a lot of pressure on me this season,” O’Bannon said. “But it has nothing to do with recruiting. I’ve actually enjoyed the whole process, and I’m glad I waited to sign to see what happened to each school this season. The pressure has been at Artesia, where everyone thinks we have to win it all to be a successful team.”

Many top recruits signed last November, but O’Bannon chose to wait until the spring signing period, which begins April 14. He said that, among other things, he wanted to see if UCLA Coach Jim Harrick would receive his contract extension and if any of the colleges on the O’Bannon list had coaching changes or were put on probation.

Although he admits there is some pressure to attend UCLA because of his brother and proximity to the family’s home, O’Bannon said he will pick the school that is best for him.

“My ideal school would have a coach that I could learn from, an academic environment where I can get extra-special help and the right college and social atmosphere,” he said.

O’Bannon said there is no truth to the rumor that he and teammate Avondre Jones are a package deal. The 6-11 Jones is also unsigned.

“If Avondre and I could continue playing together in college, that would be something very special,” O’Bannon said. “But we’ve gone through the recruiting process individually, and we’ll make up our own minds. It wouldn’t make sense to be a package.”

Jones, a center, is averaging 21 points and 14 rebounds. He is considering UCLA, USC, Michigan and Arizona.

He denied rumors last week that he had said he would attend Michigan.

“I haven’t decided anything,” Jones said. “I’m still considering the same schools I always have.”

Quotes from the Southern Regional tournament:

“I saw them play Huntington Beach last Saturday, and my only concern was that we wouldn’t be physical enough to play with them. Obviously, I was wrong.” --Willie West, Crenshaw’s boys’ basketball coach, after his team beat Santa Ana Mater Dei in the Division I final, 63-61.

“I can’t really recall what happened. I took the shot and the adrenaline took over.” --Akeli Jackson after scoring the winning basket in Gardena Serra’s 69-67 victory over San Diego Lincoln in the Division IV final.

“I just turned 28, but my players keep telling me I look pretty old.” --Ellis Barfield, Lynwood’s girls’ basketball coach, after his team beat Ventura Buena in the Division I final, 44-33.

Prep Notes

The Simi Valley baseball team, ranked No. 2 in Baseball America’s national preseason poll, was beaten by Long Beach Millikan, 3-0, in the championship game of the El Segundo tournament Saturday night. Millikan, the two-time defending Southern Section Division V-A champion, improved to 5-0. Simi Valley dropped to 4-1. . . . The first Southern California boys’ all-star soccer shootout, matching senior players from the Southern Section against the City Section, will be played Friday night at 8 at Cal State Los Angeles.

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. Crenshaw City 4-A 27-2 2 2. Mater Dei SS I-A 33-2 1 3. Morningside SS III-AA 29-5 4 4. Artesia SS II-A 28-4 10 5. Muir SS II-A 28-6 5 6. JW North SS II-AA 31-1 3 7. Hunt. Beach SS I-A 29-5 7 8. Dominguez SS II-AA 25-4 6 9. Thousand Oaks SS I-A 26-2 9 10. S. Torrance SS III-AA 28-4 12 11. St. John Bosco SS II-A 25-3 11 12. LB Jordan SS I-AA 21-7 8 13. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 23-3 13 14. Simi Valley SS I-AA 25-6 14 15. SO Notre Dame SS IIII-A 25-7 15 16. Serra SS IV-A 25-7 NR 17. San Dimas SS III-A 26-5 17 18. Westchester City 4-A 22-7 18 19. LP Kennedy SS II-A 26-4 16 20. Lynwood SS I-AA 21-8 20

GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Lynwood SS I-AA 30-0 1 2. Thousand Oaks SS I-A 30-2 3 3. Buena SS I-A 25-4 2 4. Brea-Olinda SS II-AA 31-2 4 5. Costa Mesa SS III-A 29-4 8 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 25-3 6 7. St. Bernard SS IV-AA 28-4 7 8. Morningside SS III-AA 25-3 5 9. HH Wilson SS II-A 28-2 9 10. LB Poly SS I-AA 22-4 10 11. Capo Valley SS I-AA 24-5 11 12. Santa Ynez SS IV-AA 27-3 12 13. Alemany SS III-AA 25-6 15 14. Marina SS I-A 22-5 14 15. Ventura SS II-A 22-6 13 16. Hunt. Beach SS I-A 25-4 16 17. Nordhoff SS IV-AA 22-2 17 18. Millikan SS I-AA 18-8 19 19. Peninsula SS I-AA 17-9 20 20. Gahr SS II-AA 21-10 20