Pickett Is the Pilots’ Bombardier : Preps: Point guard, whose outside shooting helped turn around Banning’s basketball fortunes, is preparing for a challenging senior season.

When he was sitting in the hot sun aside the Banning High pool just over a year ago, Marc Paez was feeling pretty good about himself.

Paez, the coach of Banning’s basketball team, was pleased with his squad’s prospects for the upcoming season. Six-foot-seven senior Bryan Hill, nearly rehabilitated from a broken ankle, was feeling strong and confident, and the school’s down-sizing from the City Section 4-A Division to 3-A would surely help the Pilots improve on a 9-16 record.

But things weren’t perfect and Paez knew that. His team had no point guard to speak of and needed outside shooting. But you can’t have everything, can you?

Well, yes, sometimes you can.

As Paez sat poolside, in walked Jason Pickett, a junior at Compton Dominguez High. Pickett, a 6-1 point guard with a penchant for shooting from the outside, was about to solve all of Paez’s worries in one fell swoop: He was transferring to Banning.

“It was Christmas in June, as far as I was concerned,” Paez said. “I thought we were going to be good inside, but my question was point guard and outside shooting. When Jason came in, he brought both. After that, I had a feeling we were going to be a tough team to beat.”

Tough indeed. With Pickett as ringleader, the Pilots improved to 17-12 and won the City 3-A championship, the school’s first City title in 10 years. Pickett and Hill were named to the City 3-A team.

“Jason told me about (the transfer) a week before coach even knew,” Hill said. “A couple of days later, he was playing summer league with us and everything was fine. Everything lit up. It all just came together, we started playing well, and all of a sudden we were contenders.”

Paez didn’t ask too much about Pickett’s decision to transfer (“Why look a gift horse in the mouth?” he said). For his part, Pickett, who grew up in Wilmington, doesn’t say a whole lot about it either.

“I just wasn’t comfortable at Dominguez,” he said. “I have nothing against the team, but I really wasn’t feeling comfortable education-wise. Banning is closer to home and the people know me. At some schools, while I could play basketball for them, I don’t like the type of school it is. I’m here to play ball, graduate and get a scholarship.”

Russell Otis, who coached Pickett at Dominguez as a freshman and sophomore, never understood why the point guard left.

“I was disappointed, yes, but I wasn’t upset,” Otis said. “If a kid doesn’t feel like he fits in one program, he should go somewhere where he will fit in and feel comfortable playing.

“Jason just told me that he felt he didn’t feel like he fit in. To this day I don’t know exactly what that means. He never really explained it. But he’s a kid who, when he makes up his mind about something, he makes up his mind and that’s it.”

Whatever propelled Pickett to Banning, his presence was welcomed. Considered one of the top high school point guards in the Southland, the soft-spoken senior has the kind of foot and hand speed that coaches cherish.

“Jason’s awfully good,” Paez said. “He is extremely quick. He is as quick a kid as I’ve seen on the court. It’s explosive. He’s fast and it seems like, when he needs it, he’s got an extra gear that fast kids just don’t have. He pops it into that extra gear, and it just gets him by people.”

Pickett’s play at Banning--he led the team in scoring with a 20.3 average, including a game-high 25 in the Pilots’ 59-58 victory over Monroe for the 3-A championship--caught the attention of scouts and opponents alike.

“For his size, he could be the No. 1 point guard prospect in the area,” said Joel Francisco, who runs the Long Beach-based scouting service So Cal’s Finest. “He’s got great speed and quickness and a real solid jump shot. Jason has a lot of physical talent. He just zooms up and down the court. He’s so unpolished. He hasn’t even come close to his potential.”

Issy Washington, who has coached Pickett on various all-star teams for the past five years, calls him “one of the most intense competitors that I’ve ever had.”

“Jason plays with a lot of intensity,” Washington said. “He’s a real good player, a scorer. He’s not bashful about putting it up. . . . Jason can flat-out play.”

Carson Coach Ade Kido said: “He can run with the best. And he’ll kill you with the three(-point shot).”

Of course, Pickett wasn’t the only component in Banning’s turnaround last season, but he does allow himself to indulge in a share of the accolades.

“I can’t say that it’s all me, but I do take a little credit for (Banning’s turnaround),” said Pickett, who has already been contacted by a number of colleges, including USC and Cal State Long Beach. “I give most of the credit to the seniors and the rest of the team, but I’m like the last piece to the puzzle, the finisher. I finished the job.”

Banning’s work, however, is not finished. Once again, a measure of uncertainty lingers over the team in the off-season. With the graduation of Hill, who will attend Pepperdine, Pickett will no longer be free to roam the perimeter unmolested, protected from double teams by the threat of a pass inside to the big man. And gone will be the surprise that adorned opponents’ faces when Pickett led sprint after sprint up and down the court.

“Without Bryan on the inside, it’s going to be a tougher road,” Paez said. “The combination (of Pickett and Hill) was perfect. We had the strong inside player and the strong guard, and they complement each other perfectly. This year, Jason’s going to face the double team a lot. His reputation is going to make things difficult and schools are going to be prepared for him defensively. He’s not going to surprise anyone this time around.”

Nevertheless, Hill is optimistic about Pickett’s ability to cope with the challenge.

“It’ll be harder, but Jason can deal with it,” Hill said. “Yeah, he’ll see a lot of double teams, but if he can keep his cool, do what he has to do and keep focused, he should do fine. He should be able to win player of the year.”