Norco’s Gentis Is Overlooked

Things could not have gone any better for Shane Gentis last football season. The senior rushed for 1,571 yards, added 754 yards in receptions and scored 28 touchdowns to help lead Norco to an undefeated season.

For his efforts, Gentis was voted to the All-Southern Section team and selected as the Riverside County player of the year.

But all this was not enough to obtain a Division I college scholarship. Gentis was ignored last Wednesday on national letter-of-intent day. Three of his teammates signed with Arizona State.

“This is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to deal with,” Gentis said. “I know I’m good enough, but the recruiters think different.”

Gentis’ main problem is size. He is 5 feet 8 and 195 pounds. He runs the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds. Recruiters prefer backs that size to be able to run the 40 in 4.2 or 4.3.

Although he received letters of interest from many major colleges, Gentis said the attention started to wane in November. He took a paid visit to Colorado State two weeks ago, but after he arrived there coaches told him they did not have a scholarship available.

“When I got back from that trip, I realized that college coaches didn’t think I was good enough,” Gentis said. “It really hit me hard.”

He might attend junior college in the fall or try to join a lower-division college program. He could also be a walk-on at a big school.

There are other notable players without scholarships, including quarterback Seka Edwards of Westchester, offensive tackle Jason Rempel of Calabasas and running backs Enrico Bozman of Los Alamitos and Chris Johnson of Saugus.

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Dean Bradshaw, boys’ basketball coach at Simi Valley, has been suspended for the remainder of the season for shoving one of his players during a game against Westlake on Jan. 14.

The decision was made by officials of the Simi Valley Unified School District last Thursday. Bradshaw, who was suspended after the incident, was told of the punishment Friday.

Bradshaw, in his sixth year as coach, shoved senior reserve guard Sam Rodriguez to the floor for apparently not playing well in the fourth quarter of the Westlake game.

“I regret the incident and I apologize to the Simi Valley community and Sam Rodriguez,” said Bradshaw, who will return to his coaching job at the end of the season.

Simi Valley (15-6) will be coached by Brian Saunders, a local attorney who has worked with many of the players in youth basketball leagues. Saunders took over two weeks ago and is 3-1.

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Security has been increased and tickets limited for Wednesday night’s boys’ basketball game between Gardena Serra and Santa Monica St. Monica. The Camino Real League showdown will begin at 7 at Serra.

Arthur Hernandez, Serra’s principal, said he has assigned two additional police officers to the game and that the crowd will be limited to 150 fans from each school.

The precautions are being taken because of a fight that broke out between the teams in their last meeting Jan. 24 at St. Monica. Two players were ejected, and Serra Coach Dwan Hurt struck a parent who was hitting one of his players.

Hernandez and Cheryl Milner, St. Monica’s principal, were ordered by league officials to improve the atmosphere for Wednesday’s game. Milner suggested playing before no fans, but Hernandez obtained a compromise to limit the crowd.

Prep Notes

The CIF State Federated Council passed a motion last week that requires the midcourt stripe to be used in girls’ basketball. Girls currently are not penalized for returning the ball to backcourt after it has been advanced to front court. The rule goes into effect next season. . . . The San Juan Capistrano St. Margaret’s boys’ basketball team set a Southern Section single-game scoring record last Tuesday with a 151-35 victory over South Gate Southeast Lutheran. The record of 144 was set by Ribet Academy against Antelope Valley Christian during the 1990-91 season. . . . This is the final week of the regular season for boys’ and girls’ basketball teams in the Southern Section. Playoff pairings will be announced this weekend. City Section basketball teams have two more weeks left in the regular season.

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. Mater Dei SS I-A 24-0 1 2. Crenshaw City 4-A 16-2 2 3. Westchester City 4-A 18-3 3 4. Dominguez SS II-A 21-2 4 5. Fontana SS I-AA 22-1 5 6. Inglewood SS II-AA 21-3 6 7. JW North SS II-AA 22-0 7 8. Los Alamitos SS I-AA 20-3 8 9. St. John Bosco SS II-A 21-2 9 10. Santa Barbara SS II-AA 23-2 11 11. Hart SS I-A 20-1 10 12. Manual Arts City 4-A 15-4 12 13. LB Poly SS I-AA 18-6 15 14. Verbum Dei SS IV-A 18-2 14 15. Fairfax City 4-A 15-4 16 16. Loyola SS I-A 16-5 17 17. Glendora SS II-AA 22-2 18 18. S. Ana Valley SS I-AA 21-3 19 19. Orange SS I-A 20-2 20 20. Lynwood SS I-AA 16-7 NR

GIRLS

School Sect. Div. Rec. LW 1. Brea-Olinda SS III-AA 23-0 1 2. Lynwood SS I-AA 23-1 2 3. Alemany SS II-A 20-0 4 4. Buena SS I-A 17-2 3 5. Woodbridge SS II-AA 23-0 5 6. Peninsula SS I-AA 19-3 6 7. Gahr SS II-AA 9-15* 8 8. Ch. Islands SS I-A 19-2 10 9. Carson City 4-A 17-2 9 10. St. Bernard SS IV-AA 19-5 7 11. Mater Dei SS I-A 18-3 14 12. Bishop Amat SS II-A 20-1 13 13. Cypress SS II-A 21-3 11 14. LB Poly SS I-A 19-4 16 15. Valley Chr. SS IV-A 22-2 15 16. B. Montgomery SS III-AA 16-7 12 17. San Bernardino SS II-A 20-3 17 18. Morningside SS III-AA 16-5 NR 19. Fontana SS I-AA 18-4 19 20. JW North SS II-AA 21-2 21

* Indicates 10 losses by forfeit.