PREP BASKETBALL STATE FINALS : Influx of Talented Transfers Propelled Crenshaw to Another Big Season

This is where Willie West envisioned ending the season all along. He was not sure, however, that his team had the same idea.

“Getting to the State finals is something I shoot for every season,” said the Crenshaw High boys’ basketball coach. “I think the tournament has really grown in prestige and importance. Convincing the kids is a lot more work, though.”

Crenshaw, the winningest boys’ team in tournament history, takes on Carmichael Jesuit for the State Division I title Saturday at 3 p.m. at the Oakland Coliseum Arena.

The Cougars are 4-0 in State championship games since 1983 and last won the title in 1989.

West said the dry spell made him nervous. The prospects this season looked bleak with few returning players. But that changed last summer when several talented players transferred to the school.

The best known is Kristaan Johnson, a 6-foot-5 junior center who attended Montclair Prep in Van Nuys as a sophomore.

Johnson, son of former UCLA All-American Marques Johnson, is averaging 21 points and 14 rebounds. His layup at the buzzer last Saturday night lifted the Cougars to a 63-61 victory over Santa Ana Mater Dei in the Southern Regional final.

“I came to Crenshaw because I wanted to play in the big games,” Johnson said. “Going against Mater Dei was a dream.”

Tremaine Fowlkes, averaging 21 points, transferred from Culver City. Reggie McFerren transferred from Gardena Serra, and Maurice Robinson and Rico Laurie came over from Westchester.

The Cougars’ lone returning varsity player was Leon Watson.

Crenshaw (27-2), which lost nonleague games to Anchorage East and Washington, has won its last 17 games.

“I thought our weakness this season would be that the kids hadn’t played together very much,” West said. “But we were able to come together and be successful and still reach our objective of going to State.”

Jesuit, an all-boys school near Sacramento, is making its first appearance in a State final. The Marauders (35-1) lost in the Northern Regional final in each of the previous three seasons.

“This school has been waiting for something like this for a long time,” said Hank Meyers, Jesuit’s fourth-year coach. “Our following has been tremendous, like that of a college team. We’ll be ready.”

Jesuit has been the state’s top-ranked team by Cal-Hi Sports since it beat Mater Dei in the semifinals of a tournament last December. Its only loss was to St. Anthony of Jersey City, N.J., in the tournament final.

Led by 6-4 guard Isaac Fontaine and 6-8 forward Josh King, the Marauders are more senior-dominated than Crenshaw.

Ben Ammerman, a 6-7 junior forward, and 6-8 center Ryan Gould provide added size.

State Tournament Notes

The State tournament starts today with boys’ and girls’ finals in divisions II and IV. Title games in Divisions I, III and V are set for Saturday. . . . Lakewood Artesia, led by forward Charles O’Bannon and center Avondre Jones, will defend its Division II title tonight at 8 against Pleasanton Amador Valley. . . . Inglewood Morningside will defend its Division III boys’ title against Palo Alto at 6:40 p.m. Saturday. Palo Alto (30-0) is the only unbeaten boys’ team in the tournament.

Lynwood is one of two undefeated girls’ teams. The Knights (30-0) play San Francisco Balboa (17-14) for the Division I championship Saturday at 1 p.m. Balboa has won 10 in a row since Brandy Reed returned to the lineup three weeks ago. Reed, who averaged 38 points last year, was ineligible most of the season. . . . The Brea-Olinda girls, making their fifth consecutive appearance in a State final, play Fair Oaks Bella Vista tonight at 6:15 for the Division II title. Brea-Olinda won the Division III championship last season.