THE PREPS / ERIC SHEPARD : The Price of Success Is Steep for Some Southland Schools

Getting to the State basketball finals in Oakland is a reward for a fine season, but it is also a financial nightmare for many Southland schools.

Recent budget cuts in education have left many school districts with little money for athletics. Sending a team to Oakland costs between $5,000 and $10,000.

“It was tough last week figuring out how we were going to pay for everything,” said Tim Boyer, athletic director at Gardena Serra. “People in the community were stopping by the school all week, donating what they could. Everyone pitched in.”

The Serra boys’ basketball team advanced to the State finals for the first time and beat Salinas Palma for the Division IV championship.

Boyer said when everything is settled, the school will still have to pick up a hefty tab.

The Costa Mesa girls’ team got financial assistance from Western Digital Company of Irvine and Marriott Hotels for its trip to Oakland.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which conducts the tournament, helps with some of the costs. It donates nine rooms per team for one night at the tournament headquarters hotel in Pleasanton, pays $2 a mile for transportation and had a daily $17 per person allowance for food.

Still, schools must pay all of the expenses and are reimbursed by the CIF in a few weeks. And covered expenses are for 15 players and two coaches. Teams that bring more people or want to stay longer than one night are on their own.

“I figured we spent about $6,800 for the weekend,” said Bill McGinis, athletic director at Lynwood, whose girls’ team beat San Francisco Balboa for the Division I title. “My calculations tell me we’ll get about $2,200 back. Luckily, our district was able to help us out, but we have to pay them back for a lot of it.”

Hal Harkness, City Section athletic commissioner, said the district will donate about $500 to cover costs for the Crenshaw boys’ team, but the school will have pick up expenses beyond that.

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The girls’ basketball team at St. Bernard of Playa del Rey should have little trouble defending its State Division IV title next season.

The Vikings expect to have 10 players back, including 6-foot-2 Olympia Scott and 6-4 Marte Alexander. Both are juniors.

Scott scored 24 points, grabbed 15 rebounds and had five blocked shots in St. Bernard’s 59-48 victory over Grass Valley Bear River on Friday. Alexander added nine points, eight rebounds and a blocked shot.

“I feel pretty fortunate to have two big girls like this back for another season,” said Lori Pawinksi, St. Bernard’s coach.

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There is growing interest among college recruiters in Jimmy Williamson, South Torrance’s starting point guard. The 5-10 senior played well in the Southern Section and Southern Regional, leading his team to the finals in both tournaments.

Williamson said USC Coach George Raveling has contacted him recently, as well as coaches from UC Santa Barbara and Texas Christian. Fresno State and Loyola Marymount have recruited him all season.

“I’m glad I’m finally getting some of the attention that I hoped for earlier,” said Williamson, who averaged 19 points and 10 assists. “I guess the increased exposure during the playoffs really helped.”

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Darnell Robinson, a 6-11 center from Emeryville Emery, set the state record for points in a prep career this season with 3,359. Tracy Murray of Glendora had set the record of 3,053 between 1986-89.

Robinson’s last game, a 74-47 victory over Cypress Brethren Christian in the State Division V final Saturday, was one of his best. He had 31 points, 18 rebounds and five blocked shots.

“It was like trying to shoot over an oak tree,” said Scott Thomas of Brethren Christian. “There was no way we could stop him.”

Robinson, headed to Arkansas, is the tallest player in the state in Division V, which is made up of schools with enrollments under 300. Emery, located outside Oakland, has 150 students.

Although he considered transferring to high-profile parochial schools, Robinson decided to stay at Emery to concentrate on his studies.

Prep Notes

Kristaan Johnson of Crenshaw and Bryan Hill of Wilmington Banning have been selected the City basketball players of the year for divisions 4-A and 3-A, respectively. The All-City teams, voted on by local sportswriters, will be released today. . . . Lakewood Artesia prep All-Americans Avondre Jones and Charles O’Bannon were watching Sunday when Michigan beat UCLA in overtime. Both players are considering Michigan and UCLA. . . . Emeryville Emery’s victory over Cypress Brethren Christian in the boys’ State Division V championship game Saturday set a record for the widest margin of victory in the finals. The record of 26 was shared by Hacienda Heights Wilson and Irvine Woodbridge. . . . Marty Blankenship resigned as Carson’s football coach last week. He was 15-9-2 in two seasons; the Colts lost to Sylmar in the City Division 4-A championship last season.

Times’ Top 20 Basketball Polls The Times’ final 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 28-2 1 2. Mater Dei SS I-A 33-2 2 3. Artesia SS II-A 29-4 4 4. Morningside SS III-AA 29-6 3 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. Serra SS IV-A 26-7 16 13. LB Jordan SS I-AA 21-7 12 14. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 23-3 13 15. Simi Valley SS I-AA 25-6 14 16. SO Notre Dame SS IIII-A 25-7 15 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. Brea-Olinda SS II-AA 32-2 4 4. Buena SS I-A 25-4 3 5. St. Bernard SS IV-AA 29-4 7 6. Crenshaw City 4-A 25-3 6 7. Costa Mesa SS III-A 29-5 5 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