SUMMER BASKETBALL : A Shootout in Long Beach

Some of the area’s--and the nation’s--best high school basketball players came to be seen in the L.A. Gear Slam-n-Jam tournament at Cal State Long Beach last week and several Division I coaches were there to watch.

Among the top name coaches were Arizona’s Lute Olson, California’s Todd Bozeman, Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, Kansas’ Roy Williams, UCLA’s Jim Harrick, USC’s George Raveling and Utah’s Rick Majerus.

Washington, D.C., beat Team Converse, 68-64, Thursday night to win the championship. Tyron Manlove of Portland won the three-point shooting contest. Brandon Wade of Rockwell City, Iowa, and Schea Cotton of St. John Bosco won the slam-dunk contest.

The consensus top player was guard Kevin Simpson of Washington, D.C.

Here is a rundown of the top area players who competed in the tournament:

Toby Bailey (Loyola, 6-6, forward)--An explosive athlete, Bailey has really improved his game since his junior season. Bailey, who will attend UCLA in 1994, will be a shooting guard with the Bruins. But he needs to be more consistent with his jump shot. He hurt his back trying to dunk during his team’s third game in Slam-n-Jam, but should be healthy in November.

Dayron Harris (Washington, 6-5, forward)--A high-school version of Larry Johnson, Harris is a muscular power forward who works hard to get his shot. He moves well and is an effective scorer near the basket. Harris does not shoot much outside 15 feet.

Kris Johnson (Crenshaw, 6-5, forward)--Another player who needs to develop his perimeter game. Johnson, the City 4-A player of the year, is a post-up player in high school. His inside moves are among the best in the City. Johnson needs to improve his dribbling.

Terrell McKnight (Dorsey, 5-9, guard)--Despite his height, McKnight is a talented point guard who handles the ball well and uses his speed to penetrate inside. He is a good high school player, but needs to develop an outside jump shot.

David Rickenbacker (Manual Arts, 6-4, forward)--Rickenbacker is very quick for his size. He handles the ball well and plays good defense. However, Rickenbacker is too small to play power forward and needs to shoot better to play guard or small forward.